£300 knowing what you know now :)

[AstroAdam]

i would agree with nicks90 and swampthing , it would be an idea to start with the skyliner 150p only because the 200p is bang up to nearly the limit of your budget and it wont leave you much room for addon's like rdf or a few eye pieces..

but if the £300 is your limit for just the telescope and you are willing to pay a little extra for eye pieces then you might as well go for the 200p ...as you'll probably get aperture fever like every one does lol..

I think the standard EPs, whilst not being brilliant, are not bad, and perfectly adequate to start off with. I had the standards for 8 years before I upgraded, and had a lot of pleasure from the scope.

Its better to start off with aperture, then over the next few months, decide what EPs you want/need and buy them bit by bit.

The 200p is a brilliant scope for the cash. I now have mine mounted on an HEQ5 pro with rings, mostly for imaging and GOTO, but the dob mount is great.

Baby steps!!!

[AstroAdam]

i would agree with nicks90 and swampthing , it would be an idea to start with the skyliner 150p only because the 200p is bang up to nearly the limit of your budget and it wont leave you much room for addon's like rdf or a few eye pieces..

but if the £300 is your limit for just the telescope and you are willing to pay a little extra for eye pieces then you might as well go for the 200p ...as you'll probably get aperture fever like every one does lol..

The standard finder is absolutely fine to start with...! I made do with it for 8 years - only changed it to a Telrad because mounting mine on an HEQ5 meant that the finder was sometimes out of easy reach...

[korginger]

Just back on - looks like its a very clear decision on the 200p and throw in a few upgrades as my knowledge of the skies build and i demand more from my viewing. By the sounds of things I wont necessarily need to buy all the bits and bobs for a while, which suits me (and my wife) lol.

So with that, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your input, and wish you all clear skies

[sparkyjon]

korginger i'm sure you'll love it mate , enjoy and any more questions just ask this place is a minefield of knowledge , just i haven't got any lol..

[skir]

Recently? From where?

To the OP - 2nd hand is the way to go if you can see it first, but the 200 dob is so popular the prices can get a bit silly on ebay etc. If you can wait it might be worth hanging on to the summer - 2nd hand prices may go a little lower as "Stargazing Live" fever dies away and light summer nights cause some people to sell the scope that they didn't use much last year anyway.

i think also anything with 'sky watcher' in the title seems to sell for a premium too. I'm a keen skier and salomon skis are the same on ebay .

There was a brand new looking orion 10" push to system dob that went for 390 the other day, if it had been a SW I think it would have gone for a lot more.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm just going to throw in my vote for a 200mm Dob.

[Astro_Baby]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150pl-eq3-2.html

I would go for the 150PL on an EQ3/2 heres why, good planetary performance and reasonable deep sky. The scope wont be too fussy on eyepieces and colimation wont be so critical. That means you can use cheaper EPs to good effect and can get by with a smple collimation cap.

Low cost orthos for around £30 secondhand will work well. For a a little over the budget you could buy a few EPs...I'd buy a Vizen NPL at 30mm, and an Ortho around 10mm for starters. That would take me slighlty over budget but I would get the s ope and then watch the secondhand ads for EPs.

Thats based on whatI know now.

An alternate would be the 200 Dob...much depends there on whether you prefer the simplicity of the Cob or the convenience of an EQ mount and also what yoir primary targets would be. For deep sky get the Dob for planetary get the 150PL.

Bear in mind both options wont leave much over for accessories and the supplied Eyepeceswith these scoes are not great. If the £300 is the wedge and thats it I would downscale to a 130P on and EQ2 and invest the rest in some better EPs.

[bingevader]

Another vote for the SW 200p dob!

You'll do fine with the stock EPs for several months whilst getting to know the 'scope and the sky.

Then it'll nearly be Christmas for the EP upgrade(s) and by that time you'll have a good idea as to what EPs you want too!

Cheers

[yesteryeargames]

I have had the skyliner dob for a month , the results amaze me each time , I am a complete noob this is my first scope , for £290 worth every penny

[jonathan]

I would say your first accessories should be a dew shield (either make one out of camping mat or look for buy ready-made), then high magnification eyepiece. The medium eyepiece (20 - 25mm) should be fine for finding targets, but when you want to get up close you may appreciate the clearer views afforded by a higher quality piece of glass.

After that you can add a red dot finder, right-angle corrected finder / diagonal, dual speed upgraded focuser, and several others I don't have time to mention now. It can be quite expensive but all adds to the enjoyment!

[nicks90]

Stability, would prefer it to be manual, with very fine movement, so I can learn the stars better. CG4 equatorial mount is very stable

Better magnification of planets a nice long focal length refractor

Ability to see galaxies and star clusters a 4" refractor will be lovely on open clusters etc

Would also be nice to be able to use it for terrestrial use, kids like to see the ships out in the bay. - erect image 45 or 90deg diagonal

If i was ever to use it for photography it would most likely only be the moon. - you'll be hard pressed to beat a eq mounted f10 for good large images of jupiter and the moon

oh look, the Celestron Omni XLT 102 on cg4 eq is on sale at FLO for £319..........my, thats a pretty telescope!

not helping, am I?

but seriously - with all the options mentions, 200dob, 150eq newt, 4" refractor - they will all be stunning and i just wish I had saved my pennies a little and not bought my 130mm newt and instead waited to buy any of the scopes recommended in this thread.

[jonathan]

I agree with the above in red, Celestron Omni CG-4 is a very nice manageable EQ mount, can be manual or easily upgraded later to motorised (about £120, tracking only). Money spent on this mount (about £220 without motors) would mean less money for the telescope and eyepieces etc, but a good stable mount is a wise investment that you can grow into.

[jonathan]

If you can save up another £100 you could then easily afford the Celestron Omni XLT 150, practically the same scope as the Skywatcher 150P. If the supplied eyepiece is anything like the 25mm that came with my 8SE, I believe it will be better than the one supplied with equivalent Skywatcher telescopes.

[korginger]

woohoo got myself fixed up now

[korginger]

[doctortim]

Hi, first time poster here,

I hope nobody minds me hijacking this thread but I'm in the same position as the OP ie £300 to spend on telescope (birthday coming up). Having read the almost unanimous advice to get a Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian I am seriously considering one. Some of the descriptions of the sights get me very excited, I didn't expect to be able to get as much on my budget however I have some concerns I'd appreciate advice about.

Before finding this forum I was expecting to buy something like a 4 inch goto refractor possibly the Meade StarNavigator 102mm, the 200p bothers me in that it is a reflector and much bigger (from what I can tell by looking at web pictures).

Collimation scares me a bit, I understand it's about aligning the optics but that's about it. Do I need to buy extra kit for the 200p to do this? Is this an essential purchase with the telescope or is it something to consider for christmas?

Travel, my garden has a whopping great streetlight in the corner so I'm expecting to take my telescope out and about. The 200p doesn't look like it's suitable for carrying on foot but if I relented to driving do I need a case or cover (assuming it doesn't come with one)? Is it prone to damage or misalignment on the back seat or boot?

Navigation, I thought a goto would be a good way of finding the feint things and tracking them. I have an android phone for google skymap and a little linux laptop for stellarium and I take these out to the local fields or on holiday, these have really helped me find my way around and get to learn the more obscure constellations. Am I likely to find it simple to spot the non naked eye objects with the 200p? Is it a pain tracking by hand (especially if I add a more powerful eyepiece)?

To the OP, has your 200p met your expectations? Anything you particularly like or dislike or anything you didn't expect about it?

Thanks all.

Tim.

As a footnote, I haven't had a telescope for over 30 years when the rubbish reflector I had as a teenager put me off. I've been after a telescope for a few years now but uncertain what to get, too afraid of wasting my cash on something I'd later regret. When I found this forum last night and realised I could afford something as big as an 8 inch telescope it got me so excited I haven't been able to sleep properly!

[swamp thing]

Hi Tim

First off welcome to the forum.

Personally I've never seen anyone struggle to move about an 8" Dob. These are small light scopes weighing only a few kilos. I've seen guys carrying the OTA in one and and the mount in the other. So portability is no issue.

Collimation is easy, much easier than setting up an EQ mount. Takes just a couple of mins. You will need a collimating device with the scope. Most scopes will come collimated, but its best to check for yourself. Once collimated an 8" f/6 scope will hold this for some considerable time unless bumped about.

Carrying it in a car. I would wrap the optical tube in an old blanket, then place it across the back seat, using the rear seatbelt to secure. Stick the mount in the boot. Unless doing some serious off roading it should keep collimation after most car journeys.

I used power driven EQ mounts for years believing (falsely) that nudging a Dob would be tricky. After getting my first Dob.......I'll never buy another EQ mount again. Nudging a Dob is as easy as falling off a log.

Finding stuff (star hopping) is easier with a Dob too, as the scope doesn't move along axis like an EQ mount, it simply moves in whichever direction you push/pull it with equal ease.

[doctortim]

Thanks Steve, that's great.

I think I'll leave the collimation until later but I am considering getting a 2x barlow but perhaps I should be asking, if you had just bought a 200p, what would you spend your next £50 on?

cheers,

Tim

[Beulah]

200p Skywatcher Dobsonian is a win for the price. The optics are very good.

It's also a keeper - there really won't be any need to upgrade for a long time, if ever. To save money (if the desire for larger scopes strikes after a while), just pack this nifty scope in the car (fits in most cars) and find a darker location!

[RikM]

Cheshire and a Rigel QuikFinder. Probably £60 though but worth it.

[Qualia]

As the title is suggesting, can you give me the best idea of what to buy with a budget of £300.

Oh, that's easy. I'd give our very own SGLer, Sir Moonshane a ding and I'd ask him what his magic hands could conjure

[korginger]

got a quick question about my new dob - the part on the right i know is for dropping my ep's into but when and why would i need the part on the left of the photo?? sometimes the obvious stumps me lol

[swamp thing]

Cheshire and a Rigel QuikFinder. Probably £60 though but worth it.

I'd go with these suggestions from Rik. You may not need to adjust the collimation on your scope, but on the other hand, you never know. If you do, and you don't have Cheshire Maresville.

[RikM]

got a quick question about my new dob - the part on the right i know is for dropping my ep's into but when and why would i need the part on the left of the photo?? sometimes the obvious stumps me lol

They are both eyepiece adaptors. One for 1.25" fit and the other for 2" fit. You swap them about depending which eyepieces you are using. Like many people, I have one 2" low power eyepiece and a few 1.25" medium and high power eyepieces. I just use the 2" adaptor and stick one of these in for the 1.25" eyepieces. I don't use the original 1.25" at all.

[korginger]

RikM - thankyou very much for clearing that up for me, I was thinking it was an attachment for a camera lol. Soooooo much to learn lol