Help - Telescope setup question

[kenmyers]

Great work, I look forward to seeing the video.

I have a similar scope as your's and I love it so I hope you find it as good as I do. For stability of your mount try hanging a weighted bag from the mount, it stops the wind wobbling your scope so much.

Orion nebula will look great and it's the perfect time of year for it too. What size eyepieces did you get?

[symbiosis]

Rather limited range of ep's at present. A 20 & 6mm plossels and a2 & 3 x barlows. Any suggestions what else would be worth having? I'm also on the lookout for a motor drive too

[kenmyers]

I have been using the slomo controls for years and years now and really think it will improve my nights if I get a motor tracked mount so I can spend longer looking and less time fiddling. I can't wait but also do not want to rush in and buy something I will regret.

I use a 25mm eyepiece to find objects, I used to use a 20mm for this but the 25mm is so much better. It is also great for framing the whole moon and finding some DSO's like andromeda galaxy and beehive cluster etc. I don't really use the 20mm anymore unless I have it barlowedx2 for jupiters and moons.

I have a 12.5mm which is awesome and saturn is epic through it. This also barlows well for our size scope letting you see Jupiter scarily close and detailed and saturn looks splendidly crisp with it.

I have a 4mm and a 6mm which I use mostly for nebula like orion nebula (it looks fantastic with these tiny lenses and can easily and clearly define the triangulum group of stars) the 4mm is also good for saturn and jupiter and sometimes, on a really clear night, mars. I use the 6mm for the moon mostly. It is fab.

You have a 20mm, using the x2 barlow it becomes a 10mm, using the x3 barlow it becomes a 6.6mm.

You have a 6mm, using the x2 barlow it becomes a 3mm, using the x3 barlow it becomes a 2mm (your scope can not handle 2mm eyepieces and the 3mm will be mostly useless untill you find Saturn)

I would suggest a good 25mm (great for everything and barlows x2 to 12.5mm and x3 to 8.3mm) a 25mm for those full moon and DSO spotting sessions, barlow x2 for to see nebula and planets and barlow x3 to see finer detail in those. Think about the range you can make up using the barlows so you dont overlap too much.

[Qman]

Hi guys, 

 Sorry to revive a possibly dead post, I just bought a Tasco d=114mm f=900mm for the kids. Trying to set it up, I realised it wasn't stored in the greatest conditions and as such a couple of spiders thought a reflective surface was a great location. 

I am unsure how to safely take it apart for cleaning and what EPs to get as it only came with one eyepiece that the reverse can apparently be used for viewing the moon. 

Any guidance would be great guys. 

 

Thanks in advance 

[wesdon1]

6 minutes ago, Qman said:

Hi guys, 

 Sorry to revive a possibly dead post, I just bought a Tasco d=114mm f=900mm for the kids. Trying to set it up, I realised it wasn't stored in the greatest conditions and as such a couple of spiders thought a reflective surface was a great location. 

I am unsure how to safely take it apart for cleaning and what EPs to get as it only came with one eyepiece that the reverse can apparently be used for viewing the moon. 

Any guidance would be great guys. 

 

Thanks in advance 

Hi. If you can simply Hoover up/out the webs without touching Mirror surface, then do that. If you do have to disassemble it and clean it, I suggest you head over to YouTube and type a search in along the lines of "How to clean a Newtonian telescope Mirror Safely". It will be difficult to explain how to clean in words without illustration's etc. All that being said, if it is just some cob Webs, and the Mirror looks fairly clear and free of major dust, then i would just try to remove webs while Mirror is still inside Telescope, being careful to hold OTA ( Telescope optical Tube Assembly ) level to the floor, so if you drop anything inside telescope OTA, it will not fall and damage Mirror! Finally, look up "How to collimate a Newtonian reflector telescope". Your telescope is likely not been collimated for a while, so this is critical for it to produce good views. Eyepieces can be found all over the web. Pay no more than £20 for a 10mm, and £20 for a 25mm. They will suffice for a while as you gain experience and learn if Astronomy is for you and your children! Best of luck! Plz let me know how you get on! Wes.

[symbiosis]

Hi vacuum, thanks for the reminder re the video, I now realise I never got around to editing it and putting it up! 

Just found the footage I shot, so I will cobble it together, upload it to my youtube channel, and let you have the link when done

Might take me a little while so please bear with me

Cheers

[symbiosis]

Here you go, sorry I didnt video the collimation but I can vouch that it made all the difference once I did it

I still use this scope regularly and added a battery focuser and clock drive. It will happily take a DSLR for some basic imaging too!

Hope this helps - have fun!

 

[Qman]

Thanks, will try both methods suggested. Hoover as first option, then if needed may take apart. Definitely needs collimation as I will undoubtedly have messed with the setup trying to take it apart. Thanks for the video. Will update after I have tried these. Thanks to Wesdon for the eyepiece advice too.