ST120 compared to Heritage 130p

[Chris Hopson]

Hi all,

With the weather not too good, I've been filling up my time reading alot of good reports regarding the the 130p, & also comparisons for st80's & st102's vs 200p dobs.

I dont have a very good mathematical brain sadly, but found dicussions on light gathering power/ central obstruction very interesting.

Now i've had my waffle, has any one made a direct comparison between the two scopes, or could someone point me in the direction of a thread I might of missed?

This is just a general inquiry.

Many thanks.

Chris

[Stargazer_00]

i'd guess they offer similar views with the main differences being the 130p needs collimation, needs to cool a little but is probably lighter and the ST120 has CA on bright objects and pin sharp on stars, no central obstruction either. The ST120 is also very robust and wont need to cool. The 130p doesnt have a larger objective but with that central obstruction (secondary) the actual aperture area is probably very similar.

Other than that i'd expect them to basicially provide the same views

[Chris Hopson]

Some good points there, this leads my head to that thinking as well.

Many thanks.

Chris

[fredster]

I had the 150P and ST120 together. Still have the ST120 but now with an Orion 200mm F4.5.

I love my ST120 simply because its robust, needs no input from me, cools quickly, doesn't need monstrous 2" eyepieces to give sublime widefield vistas, its the perfect holiday scope tucked away in the boot and the moon/planets are not as bad as usually made out.

Yes the 8" eats it alive on everything except field of view and pin points stars. But i grab for ST120 more than i do for the 8", even when at home. Its gives such pin point stars that clusters look amazing, the newt simply cannot compete. And working through the MIlkyway is its forte.

Just one of those scopes that shouldn't be good in theory but is total hoot to use in practice.

[Mr Fiery Jack]

I would consider the 120 refractor over the 130p.

[Chris Hopson]

Thanks for your input folks. I like the sound of sublime vistas, only the weather is appalling! Or should that be seeing?

Chris

[Stargazer_00]

doesn't need monstrous 2" eyepieces to give sublime widefield vistas

This is true but of course when comparing to a larger telescope but in this one monstrous 2" eyepiece give even more subline vistas :D

[fredster]

This is true but of course when comparing to a larger telescope but in this one monstrous 2" eyepiece give even more subline vistas :D

Yep, with the 2" diagonal on the back and the ES 82 24mm, the view is a mind boggling 3.25deg at 25x And the exit pupil a lovely 4.8mm. A perfect set of figures.

Pretty good with the 1.25" Tal 25mm Plossl (MkII Konig 60deg afov). 2.5deg true field at 24x and 5mm exit pupil.

I love my ST120!

[shirva]

Hi Chris..I have the st102 and a 200mm newt..two very different scopes. Each has its merits. .the 102 nice widefield and crisp image, , fair bit of ca on the moon last time out..the newt I love for the bigger aperture and detail it brings...I have just bought the ed80 pro for imagining. .but being honest I think all three are keepers and allows different views on different subjects. ...all depending on what you want to do ..no scope can do it all..widefield, planets, astrophotography. .get them all ..lol...

Davy

[JamesF]

Given the choice I would use my 10" dob over my ST120 pretty much every time, but when I want to be out quickly or need something that's convenient to move around I still grab the ST120. I have it on an AZ3 mount which is really right on the limit, but I can put the mount and scope over one shoulder, stuff a few eyepieces in my pockets and go. It's not without its faults, but still nice to have around.

James

[Which Star is that]

Anybody with a Startravel 120 - could you tell be how long the tube is with nothing in the focuser and the dew shield removed? (I assume it can be removed!)

I am trying to find out if it would fit in an airline carry on bag and Skywatcher don't seem to know! (I have emailed them to ask!)

Rick

[JamesF]

Just answered in the other thread

James

[Chris Hopson]

Thanks for your comments guys. It's got me wondering if I should buy one for quick sessions.

I use my mak on a horizon tripod. I have to say it's superb on the moon, Jupiter & Orion with 12mm BST. Perhaps a st102 on my horizon tripod would work as well, & give me better framed images in the EP for C14,M13 - haven't tried this one in the mak, nebula & brighter galaxies.

Or as James said st120 on az3, or even an az4 Ali, but I guess the latter would be a over spend compared the the az3.

What I really want is some decent weather!

Chris

[Which Star is that]

What I really want is some decent weather!

If only!

[CraigT82]

One point is that the heritage wouldn't require the purchase of a new mount.

Also being open tube and fairly short it cools very quickly, however you'd probably need to do a couple of mods to get decent contrast (I've made a light shroud for the truss tube and also the gap between the focuser and tube... and flocking).

Craig

[Chris Hopson]

I did the same with the 200p. I found it made a good difference to the contrast, not to mention good fun doing it.