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celestron astromaster 130 eq

Biggazza88

By Biggazza88
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Biggazza88

Biggazza88

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hi all!

just after some advice on my new astromaster 130 eq, trying to find out if i brought a 'toy' or a ok starter scope, :)

i added a celestron x-cel lx 5mm lens to the existing equipment supplied (10mm and 25mm erecting EP,)

any thoughts hints and tips appreciated!!

cheers, gary.

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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Hello Gary and welcome to SGL!! You have bought yourself a starter scope. If you know of a good way of getting clouds to go away let us know! Your first task should be to start to learn your way around the sky - maybe try "Stellarium" ( a free download) to see what should be in the sky, weather permitting.

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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Hi Gary

I believe the Astro master is a pretty good starter scope. The only problem is the shocking finder supplied with it. It was worse than useless on the one I tried. It may well be worth you investing in a decent RDF or Telrad .

That would be my only recommendation. :)

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Gary and welcome to the forum. I agree with Steve above in that the scope itself is a decent performer but the red dot finder is both difficult to align with the scope and is far too bright and will interfere with preserving your night vision. Alternatives would include the Telrad here or the smaller Rigel Quikfinder here. They are both around the same price but the Telrad does have the advantage when used with special maps that use the illuminated circles to help you find objects in the night sky and examples of these free Telrad maps can be seen here. The mount that your scope sits on, like so many others at this price point, are a bit "twitchy" in that any movement of the scope takes a while to calm down. This can be addressed in part by making sure that everything is tightened down and a weight of some sort is suspended from the the central eyepiece tray to improve rigidity. Your scope will certainly show you plenty of objects and will certainly help you sustain enough interest until you want to upgrade which will inevitable as your observing experience grows.

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

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Baz Pearce

Baz Pearce

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I've got 1 too :). Optically i think it's a fine scope. Stars are pinpoint and Solar system objects look great too. The red dot finder is all but useless, so i took it's guts out and crammed a 6X20 finder in there instead and it's much better.

Although, please be careful with the mount. Mine tipped over on it's side not long after i started using it. The block holding the worm gear became separated, and it wouldn't change direction on the R.A. axis, without several turns of the adjustment handle. Took me a while to realise what had happened. I decided to see if i could glue it back together, and to my horror i noticed that rather than being soldered, it was glued in the first place, with less glue than you'd find on a cigarette paper.

Since i've clamped it in place instead and added a Skywatcher tracking motor held on with another 4" G clamp and it's all in working order again. I'd also advise against buying a Celestron motor as the speed controls are difficult to get right and they chew through 9 volt batteries like nobody's business.

It's in good enough shape now to do Solar (properly filtered of course), Lunar and planetary webcam imaging and live broadcasts on Nightskiesnetwork, and i've seen a few fine examples with a DSLR also.

Baz.

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Biggazza88

Biggazza88

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yea i had notaced the mount is a bit dodgy but it does the job! glad u said about those celestron motormounts because i was looking at them and thought 'hmm that would be usefull' but maybe i should scratch that idea. would you say a motor mount is a good idea on this 'scope? much easier to find things i suppose?

gazza

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Baz Pearce

Baz Pearce

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yea i had notaced the mount is a bit dodgy but it does the job! glad u said about those celestron motormounts because i was looking at them and thought 'hmm that would be usefull' but maybe i should scratch that idea. would you say a motor mount is a good idea on this 'scope? much easier to find things i suppose?

gazza

I got it mainly for working with the webcam. It's most useful for tracking for photography. But if you want to keep your hands warm in your pockets, or just trying to eek out a little more detail by not taking your eye off something while observing an object for a long period, then i would recommend buying 1.

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Baz Pearce

Baz Pearce

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No problem Gazza,

The motor itself cost £91 from FLO for a dual axis, but i haven't worked out how to fit the DEC motor yet (probably needs to go to a welder's for that. The single axis just for R.A. costs £79.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/single-axis-dc-motor-drive-for-eq3-2.html here's a link to the single axis model. The 6 volt power pack i use cost me £5 off the local market, and the 4" G clamp to hold it to the mount cost me 4 quid off e-bay.

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