help advice needed, what to buy first

[JonDoe]

Hi guys ive recently purchased my first telescope a Skywatcher 127mak on a EQ3-2 mount, Eyepieces: 10mm & 25mm, it has a red dot finder aswell, the thing i need help with is upgrades or items i might want to consider, family members have asked me what i would like for christmas so its a good opportunity to get them without costing me anything.

so could anyone suggest what i should consider adding to it or upgrading, ive got £200 to spend, many thanks in advance

p.s dont say a new telescope

[Capricorn]

OK, Ignoring the new scope option, I suspect that you will find the mount a bit unstable for use. I will however class this the same as new scope and ignore it. Ultimately you may want to look at a change to an EQ5. See how you get on with the set up and look also at means of adding stability to an EQ3-2.

First is can you get on with the Red Dot Finder, some do some do not. That may be a necessary change.

Do you have dual motors for the EQ3-2 ?

A set of them may be useful if you do not. (~£100)

After that the only area is eyepieces.

You have a 25mm and a 10mm. As it is a Mak I suspect that 10mm is as small as you will make use of,

Additional eyepieces say 3 more, just what lengths.

A 30mm will be useful, perhaps a 12mm and 15mm.

Being a slow scope then plossl's will work pretty good, and that leave the Vixen NPL's as a fair choice.

If you wanted a bit "better" then the BST Starguiders from Sky's the Limit are good, but no 30mm, they have a 25mm and with the wider angle they are a reasonable upgrade they are £47.

Then there are the Celestron X-Cel's (£69), in may respects similar to the BST's very close performance and as I do not have both I leave it there. I have the BST's for use on a 105Mak and they are very good, but never come across an X-Cel to campare to.

For £200 you can get 4 BST, 3 X-Cels and lots of NPL's.

Get one of the family to buy you an exercise mat or similar and make yourself a dew shield from it on boxing day, they are useful for a Mak and everyone will have fun - better get a couple of mats. Hobby craft do a thinner foam sheet about A3 size that may just go round a 127 (doubtful) that is easier to cut and shape.

[Baz Pearce]

Hi Jon,

Webcam and IR cut filter, Solar filter, good Barlow lens. A couple of decent eyepieces. Should be able to do all that with your £200.

Baz.

[ollypenrice]

Books.

What you can see in any telescope is quite limited, but exciting. If you know a bit about what you are looking at then it changes gear. Who discovered it? When? Who began to understand the underlying astrophysics? How did that understanding evolve? Where are the ideas going now?

Books.

Olly

[JonDoe]

thanks for the replys so far, there is alot to consider when your only just starting out, so with it being so close to christmas im best not rushing into any buys i might later regret so im going to ask for cash to spend in the new year.

please dont be put off adding any ideas as all are welcome, waiting will also give me time to read up on the excellent reviews that members have made.

[John]

....thanks for the replys so far, there is alot to consider when your only just starting out, so with it being so close to christmas im best not rushing into any buys i might later regret so im going to ask for cash to spend in the new year.....

I think thats a very sensible decision. There are so many accessories available it's bewildering.

Personally I think the EQ3-2 mount is fine for the scope you are using but fitting some motor drives to the mount would make high power viewing much more comfortable.

As well as the motors I might consider some decent eyepieces such as the Vixen NPL's. A 30mm plus an 8mm would complement the eyepieces that came with the scope quite well although your budget would allow another one as well - say the 15mm ?

But do take your time - there are just so many options to choose from !

[rwilkey]

You will need a dew shield, either bought ready made here: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-flexible-dew-shield.html

Or to make your own from camping mat material, your scope will dew up first time you are out otherwise. Congratulations on such a worthy scope!

[wookie1965]

you can make the mount more stable by filling the legs with fine sand keep tapping the legs as you do to compact it then check it after a couple of times you have used it. This will give it a lot more stability.

[JonDoe]

Dew sheild will be ordered this week, great idea with the sand in the legs, noted. looking into EP`s, anyone suggest a make of barlow.

already have Turn left at Orion, anymore i should consider.

please if anybody else has any advice on items i might need, maybe things not directly involving the scope and mount which will come in handy.

im sure one day ill be the one giving advice out so untill then many thanks for all the help.

Jon

keep looking up

[VigdisVZ]

Dont spend cash on an expensive dew shield when you can DIY one from a camping mat.

Redlight torch/headlamp is a must.

[rwilkey]

Try out the scope first and then you will be able to make a better decision about what you may want later, don't anticipate, judge what you may need from some experience.

[RikM]

anyone suggest a make of barlow.

already have Turn left at Orion, anymore i should consider.

The long native focal length of the 127 Mak means you probably won't need a barlow for visual use. You would use a barlow together with a web cam for planetary imaging but you would need to get the motor drives first. I used 15mm the most with the Skymax.

Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas is a nice size star map giving a bit more detail than TLAO.

[wookie1965]

Yes don't buy dew shield make one they are easy to make if you really want to buy extra eyepieces read these they will give you a good insight.

http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

[JonDoe]

no good asking for advice if you act upon it, dew sheild in the process of being made, will look around for a tutorial on here. (best material to use length and so forth).

reading the excellent reveiws on the stes wookie posted, very helpful.

will leave the barlow for now then, in time imaging is something im interested in doing so will purchase one when needed.

rwilkey your probably right i need to get there and start viewing.

thanks to everyone.

p.s red torch on order too.

[perrin6]

Do you have a pair of binoculars - they can be very useful for general views and finding your way about the sky ?

[brantuk]

I would suggest you consider a dew controller and dew bands for the front lens and possibly eyepiece - I use Kendrick and swear by them even though they're a bit pricey. The Hitech Astro controller is good as well (heard loads of positive reports) but whichever one you'll be glad you got dew control now and in the future. It'll consume about 80% of your budget - or go s/h to save a bit. Hth

[stem1989]

Your going to find lots of different opinions on here so its really down to what you want to do in the future.

Dabble at imaging:

- webcam (price varies try second hand)

- dual axis motors (£90)

Observing:

- Some good eyepieces

- single axis motor

these would be my initial thoughts although its ultimatly what more you would like to get out of your set up.

As people have said its better to future-proof and step up in mount but if you can find a nice second hand EQ5 mount on astrobuysell for less than £200 pref with motors then disregard the above and go for that

[Peter Drew]

A purchased or DIY solar film filter will add another dimension to your viewing.