skywatcher skymax-127

[newarcher]

hi i am thinking of buying this scope skymax 127 auto track as anyone on here any experiance of them for about another £60 it comes with goto does goto need setting up every time you use it ?i also like the skywatcher explorer 130p thoughts please folks

[tjr]

Hi Newarcher. Yes, the Goto function does need setting up each time you switch it on. This is not a complex procedure though (plus it 'remembers' its position from the previous session, so assuming you view from the same place each time you do not need to memorise your coordinates). Two star align will only take 2-3 minutes assuming you know the skies enough to know some named stars or have a star-chart.

I would recommend getting Goto for this scope for the extra £60. It has a relatively narrow FOV making star hopping and scanning the skies trickier.

[tjr]

Oh, and the Skymax 127 is a great little scope. I own one and really rate it.

[sologuitarist61]

Yep, agree with tjr, it is a fine scope and used by many on this forum. As to whether to get the Goto version, then I would say yes again - might need setting up it the first instance but then you cand dart around the skies to you hearts content.

[rowan46]

both have the same apparture so the resolution is the same however they have slightly different attributes. the mak takes longer to cool but is better at webcamming planets due to its long focal length and its more portable. the 130p has a wider view so fuzzies are a little easier to spot at 5" neither are great fuzzy spotters as you really need apparture to get good views of them. the 130p frames the larger dso's better but the mak has the edge on globular clusters out of the 2 would get the mak because of its portability and easy set up however If I didn't need hyper portability I would get this scope

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

if nobody has it in stock it's worth waiting for. I use a 5" scope because I need portability but the views on the 200p blow my scope away. visually it's the best scope under £400

[CowFish]

I have got a mak 127 and I have to say the OTA is fantastic. I got mine with the autotrak mount (non goto) which is usable but leaves alot to be desired. Someone walking past can tend to send the view wobbling about all over the place.

I have recently upgraded my mount to an eq5 pro synscan and it,s a fantastic piece of kit. Worth thinking about as a next step in a years or so time.

[tjr]

Good call Rowan. I also chose the Mak as being portable was a big issue for me. If it wasn't then the 200p dobsonian would be an excellent choice.

[Tribal-Wolf]

The goto is a doddle to set up. If you have an iPhone/Android and download skeye or similar you can find the stars you need to align it in seconds if you don't know the sky. Unless you're moving it to different sites a lot then your location will stay the same so you will only need enter the time and date then align with two stars or brightest star depending on how accurate you want it. For £60 more it is worth as the handset to upgrade from autotracking is £150+ a cable to connect it.

[Foggymike]

FLO have just got the 200p dobs back into stock today. I'm looking forward to receiving mine in a few days

[JamesM]

If you want to know what is involved setting up the Skywatcher Skymax 127 GOTO take a look at this manual to see how it works and to judge for yourself.

James

[Arushin]

I used to love my 127 Mak. The go-to mount is the only real let-down as it is not brilliantly sturdy ( the cat walking past used to make it wobble while I was imaging) so either the cat had to go (tempted) or I had to look at an upgrade. The go-to set-up is a little daunting at first but once you have done it a couple of times it becomes easy. I regretted selling my 127 so much that I recently invested in the 180 pro version which I have mounted on an EQ6 pro. No more cat problem, and yes it IS still alive!

[newarcher]

thanks everyone looks like its going to be the 127

[Jon Sales]

Been looking at one of these too with the goto mount.

Either that or the Nexstar 5SE.

[Tribal-Wolf]

I used to love my 127 Mak. The go-to mount is the only real let-down as it is not brilliantly sturdy ( the cat walking past used to make it wobble while I was imaging) so either the cat had to go (tempted) or I had to look at an upgrade. The go-to set-up is a little daunting at first but once you have done it a couple of times it becomes easy. I regretted selling my 127 so much that I recently invested in the 180 pro version which I have mounted on an EQ6 pro. No more cat problem, and yes it IS still alive!

That's one of the worst excuses I've heard for upgrading your scope lol:D

[Kevinpayne1]

I have this scope. It's my first and can only say that I have been really pleased with it. Even from my light polluted back garden in Notts I have gained a new perspective on the night sky. I can't really compare it with anything else but the goto is fairly simple to set up and even as a beginner it took a couple of sessions to get the hang of it and before long only takes a couple of mins to set up.