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Skywatcher 130 m set up

Hoppsie1335

By Hoppsie1335
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Hoppsie1335

Hoppsie1335

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I am new to star gazing and have just bought a skywatcher 130 m put it together today but can someone explain how I set the the telescope up for my location tried to set the red dot scope up on the moon but it was not in view when looking through the. Eyepiece I am a complete novice and it turned cloudy before I managed to get the moon in view. Any tips on how to quickly observe the moon using the eq2 mount

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SplintUK

SplintUK

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Don't panic, it can seem daunting at first but it soon gets easier. Don't worry too much about aligning the mount to north just yet, just get it roughly to start with. That will come later.

Make sure you put the altitude setting to about 53 degrees and the mount pointed at about where the North Star is, and that bit will be done enough to get going.

The next thing is aligning your finder to your scope. The good news is that you don't even need clear skies for that. At night a distant light (streetlight) is good. Put in the 25mm eyepiece (EP for short) and point your scope at a distant light get it roughly central. Turn on your red dot finder (RDF) and notice how its a mile or two out. That's normal for fresh out of the factory - time for another healthy Douglas Adams style 'don't panic' again. There is a plastic wheel on the side at the front of the RDF. That slews the RDF from side to side. There is another plastic wheel at the back underneath the RDF. That does up and down. Turn these screws until the dot of the RDF is on the distant light.

Replace the 25mm EP with the 10mm EP and again centre it on the distant light. You can now use the same plastic screw wheels on the RDF to fine tune your finder alignment. You may find when you put the RDF on and off that alignment drops out a little bit from time to time, but its easy enough to check it and re align it.

Have fun with the explorer 130 eq2. It was my first scope too. Just you wait till you see Saturn and the Orion Nebula. Buy yourself a copy of "turn left at Orion" (the spiral bound one if you can get it) and enjoy!

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nephilim

nephilim

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That all sounds so familiar!! I got the 130m in Oct of this year and was absolutly clueless on what to do and how it all worked, I fretted about polar alignment, collimation & figuiring out how on gods earth I was supposed to 'point' it using the EQ2 mount. I found it alot easier aligning the RDF in daylight as u then have alot more reference points as to where u actually are, once thats done practise on the moon for a while, just so u can get a feel as to how the EQ2 works, then u can start on Jupiter M42 etc. 3 months down the line ive got polar alignment sorted'ish', and i'm able to find and track objects alot better in only a short time. Its all down to practise and patience, you will get there in the end and the people on here have hordes of info on ANYTHING u need to know so just ask!! good luck.

Steve.

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi and welcome to the forum. What can seem straightforward to one person can equally be very frustrating to another especially where the equatorial mount is concerned. At least you have come to the right place as there is a lot of experience on here for you to access and by experience, I also mean making mistakes as we have all done. SplintUK's advise above will get you up and running and there are many videos on YouTube from 'Astronomy Shed' which can help visually place what goes where.

Clear skies and you know where we are if you need further assistance. :smiley:

James

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Hoppsie and welcome to SGL, enjoy your new scope, if you are having any specific problems with the use or set up of your telescope or any ancillary equipment, then just post your question into the relevant forum section. Enjoy your Astronomy :icon_santa:

John.

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Hoppsie1335

Hoppsie1335

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Don't panic, it can seem daunting at first but it soon gets easier. Don't worry too much about aligning the mount to north just yet, just get it roughly to start with. That will come later.

Make sure you put the altitude setting to about 53 degrees and the mount pointed at about where the North Star is, and that bit will be done enough to get going.

The next thing is aligning your finder to your scope. The good news is that you don't even need clear skies for that. At night a distant light (streetlight) is good. Put in the 25mm eyepiece (EP for short) and point your scope at a distant light get it roughly central. Turn on your red dot finder (RDF) and notice how its a mile or two out. That's normal for fresh out of the factory - time for another healthy Douglas Adams style 'don't panic' again. There is a plastic wheel on the side at the front of the RDF. That slews the RDF from side to side. There is another plastic wheel at the back underneath the RDF. That does up and down. Turn these screws until the dot of the RDF is on the distant light.

Replace the 25mm EP with the 10mm EP and again centre it on the distant light. You can now use the same plastic screw wheels on the RDF to fine tune your finder alignment. You may find when you put the RDF on and off that alignment drops out a little bit from time to time, but its easy enough to check it and re align it.

Have fun with the explorer 130 eq2. It was my first scope too. Just you wait till you see Saturn and the Orion Nebula. Buy yourself a copy of "turn left at Orion" (the spiral bound one if you can get it) and enjoy!

Thanks for the advice and tips hopefully I will get to grips with it soon

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