Help with scope (8" SW dob) order

[Vaizki]

I'm going to order my first scope (since the 80's) tomorrow and I want to make sure I have everything I need in one order. This is because I'm going to carry those boxes right into a car and haul them to my summer cottage next weekend. And I do NOT want to be stuck there with a set up scope that can't be used for viewing.

So, I am getting the SW Skyliner 200/1200 f/6 dobson, no goto or other gimmicks. Comes with "kit eyepieces" of 10 & 25mm. I assume they will be good enough to get me going and I don't need to splurge on a 8mm Baader Hyperion just yet?

I am also seriously considering a PanaView 32 or 38 to get wider views to just feel my way around the sky a bit when I'm not bothered to hunt for specific stuff. I know it's not really NEEED but it would be a luxury item, hopefully well compatible with the 200P.

But what do I really need (must have + should really have) in addition to the 200P kit? A collimator? A 2x barlow? Red dot? Rum? Tools I have.. lots of them.

[John]

I'd say the essential extras are:

- a red torch

- a good star atlas

- a cheshire collimation eyepiece

A Telrad finder or something similar is something that others feel is very useful to help aim the scope, maybe not 100% essential but very useful all the same.

Additional / upgrade eyepieces can follow in due course. You may want to research these some more as the choice, and price range, is so wide.

[Moonshane]

+1 for John's comments although I consider a red dot finder essential.

[John]

+1 for John's comments although I consider a red dot finder essential.

Personally, so do I

[Moonshane]

for the benefit of the OP, the main thing about a RDF is that it just makes the experience more enjoyable as things are easier to locate leading to less frustration. if you can afford a cheap plossl (maybe a 15mm) and barlow then this would be a good initial step into eyepieces and would give a good overall range.

[Vaizki]

Thanks, now the stupid questions start..

- how important is the "quality" of the collimating and can you give an example of a decent non-gold-plated one?

- will any red torch do? I have a lot of good variable output led torches and red gels for photographic use... Just wrap one on a torch with an elastic band?

- RDF .. Is there a standard mounting between makes for them or do I need to drill holes in the tube?

[rory]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/collimation/cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html perfectly fine. cheaper 2nd hand about a tenner or so.

rdf , go for a telrad finder, the base has sticky tabs to hold it on or use cable ties , no drilling rqd. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html

my red head torch was abit bright so a few coats of nail varnish (red) dulled it abit. but any red torch is better than white light.

i believe for a first trial a source of red light, collimating tool and a guide to the sky would do you. thats all .

[Vaizki]

Excellent, thank you so much. One more.. Star Atlas.. since I'm on the 60th parallel and the obvious suspects publishing star maps in Europe are on the 50th (Germany & UK), is there a "norther europe" or "polarbear saturday night special" atlas for us snow-dwellers? Or will all the northern hemisphere maps also cover what I see?

This sounds like a stupid question because frankly I haven't gotten my head around to how star visibility is affected by location. My gut feeling says that since for me Polaris is higher in the sky than for the Germans, I am actually seeing a subset of the sky they have.. but the objects I see might be observable for longer periods as they'll be above the horizon for a longer time. So the german maps should be a-ok for me. Now kill me

[TheThing]

Get hold of Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas. Published by Americans but it doesn't really matter who or where for star atlases as they show the whole sky.

The only time it really matters is if buying a planisphere or setting up software like CdeC etc.

TheThing

[cotterless45]

Bung your latitude into Stellarium, download for free and hours of fun,

Nick.

[Damo636]

+1 for the Pocket Sky Atlas.

[Capricorn]

Use the day light to set the scope up.

If you throw the boxes in a car drive to X and it is dark then you cannot set the scope up initially in the dark.

Assuming the worst and it need collimating then that is something to do inside in the warm with coffee/rum.

You have tools, but have you the correct tools? A 1Kg club hammer is a tool but if you need a 3mm allen key to adjust the secondary it is of limited use. You are limited to using the hammer for the course adjustment only.

So tools to collimate, hopefully not initially required but could be, collimator to check collimation (cheap collimation cap?) and I would say 8mm and 15mm plossl. You WILL want to see things bigger - everyone does.

A bucket load of patience, or luck.

[John]

....- RDF .. Is there a standard mounting between makes for them or do I need to drill holes in the tube?.....

You can either get one that replaces the supplied optical finder and fits in the same mounting "shoe". The Baader Skysurfer III is a good example of one of these:

http://www.firstligh...surfer-iii.html

Or you can go for a Telrad or a Rigel Quikfinder which have self-adhesive mounting plates (no drilling) and can be mounted alongside the optical finder. Here is the Telrad:

http://www.firstligh...-astronomy.html

The "Rolls Royce" approach is to replace your optical finder with a right angled one to save neck strain (you will see what I mean when you start using the supplied straight through finder !) AND to add a Telrad to the scope as well

[John]

......Use the day light to set the scope up.

If you throw the boxes in a car drive to X and it is dark then you cannot set the scope up initially in the dark......

Very important advice above - familiarise yourself with the scope, it's motions etc in the daylight. Also take time to accurately align the finder with the main scope in the daylight using a distant object (ie: 1 km away not a few metres !). If the finder is not accurately aligned you will find it very difficult to find anything.

A more specific tip with the scope you are buying is to use the 1.25" eyepiece adapter separately from the 2" one, ie: don't have them both in the focuser tube at the same time. This is a common mistake to make with these scopes and the instructions are not clear on it. If you do use both these adapters at the same time your will not be able to focus on any astronomical objects which will be very frustrating !

[chesty]

i use a telrad on my dob and it works great

[Vaizki]

Yea I'm not going to get it out of the boxes in the dark, I'm not crazy

I'm just going to take it to the summer CABIN and unpack it there, set it up & collimate and then take outside if there's any night left. If not, the next night.. I'll be there for a while.

Right now it's looking like the Dob, Telrad, German atlas with telrad rings & cheshire coming in as soon as Teleskop Service confirms to me what the delivery time is for various couriers..

[John]

Yea I'm not going to get it out of the boxes in the dark, I'm not crazy

I'm just going to take it to the summer CABIN and unpack it there, set it up & collimate and then take outside if there's any night left. If not, the next night.. I'll be there for a while.

Right now it's looking like the Dob, Telrad, German atlas with telrad rings & cheshire coming in as soon as Teleskop Service confirms to me what the delivery time is for various couriers..

Sounds great - hope you enjoy it

My daughter had a trip to Finland a couple of months back and really enjoyed the visit. It looks a lovely country, especially if you like the outdoor life !

[Vaizki]

It is done & so it begins. Incoming:

- Skywatcher 200P dobson

- Telrad

- Cheshire collimator

- Deep Sky Reiseatlas

- Baader Hyperion 8mm - yea yea I know I wasn't going to get one yet.. but.. it felt like the right thing to do

In the end it worked out in total to €600, less than any of my better camera lenses cost so didn't feel like the end of the world.. And the box is MUCH bigger!

Thanks everyone for the tips, I'll be sure to let you know how I get on with this lark.

[knobby]

Just remember that the higher power eyepiece will look pants until the scope has had a chance to cool to the outside temperature , the higher power shows the poor atmosphere and temperature air currents more ! I thought my first decent ep (baader 5mm) was rubbish ... Until the scope cooled , then I had my best view ( so far ) of Saturn

Good luck with the scope , sounds like a good choice

[Vaizki]

About the temperature.. I'm not planning to store it inside the cabin but in a shed, quite dry and all but not heated or insulated and exchanges air with the outside world enough to track outside temperature and humidity if not to the extremes at least closely. Is this a-ok all the way? I'm given to understand that this stuff should hold up to living inside unheated metal structures so this should be a breeze

[knobby]

Sounds good ... Try to save some silica moisture absorbing sachets and put them with the scope , should be fine if you keep the spiders out

[Vaizki]

Forgot to post here last night.. First light! Just fiddling about and a look at M31, I guess that's the first one off the list (although I will be revisiting it ASAP when the weather is better!).

Thanks all, next I'll be trying to fit the Telrad and I really need to learn to recognize more constellations.