Skywatcher Heritage 130p Advice

[Nick-In-Ireland]

After going the same route that many of you probably took to decide on which scope to get, i have finally decided to get the Heritage 130p, i initially considered a goto, then i was set for a 200p dob with a decent budget to get plenty of bells and whistles, however i have decided on the Heritage because this is my 1st scope and of small ish outlay if i decide not to continue with this hobby, which i don't think will happen as i have been interested for many years but never took the final step and bought a scope.

Heres where i am at:-

Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

Barlow Lens

Skywatcher Laser Collimator

Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece

EyePieces:- Vixen NPL in 25,10,8,6 focal lengths to give me the following mags with the barlows below:-

26-52-65-81-108-130-162-216 x2 barlow

26-58-65-81-108-146-182-243 x2.25 barlow

Question is, which barlow would be more suitable for this scope, is the Badder x2.25 pushing things a bit much ?

Thanks in advance.

Nick.

[Optical Dob]

Hi Nick,

I'm on my second year with the Heritage 130. The only other things that I ended get for it was a cheshire and one extra eyepiece. Ive also made a light shield. So my advise would be to get the scope and a cheshire then take it from there. I don't wish to dampen your excitement for new gear but the extras can come later. Just my own views and I'm sure others will be along soon and tell you what decisions they took.

Nice little scope that many people on here have.

[JamesM]

Personally I would limit the magnification to what a x2 barlow can offer you and this one is a pretty reliable choice. I would have recommended the Tal barlow but I have read that they may have ceased production on these which is a shame as they were top performers at a top price. Maybe something to look out for on the used market such as Astro UK Buy & Sell. The x2.5 offering a magnification of 243 is fine, if only you were able to access the very best night sky conditions that would permit this. In general the best magnification say on planets that in the main you could hope for would be around x180-x200 but anything above that is fairly rare and of course is in part determined by the quality of the scope.

On a general point regarding astro purchases, in my experience it is tricky knowing how much to invest whilst still determining your own level of expectation and interest. Having said that I would argue that when making that decision, bear in mind the resale value of some items that are considered to be more 'desirable' than others because in the longer term they are more able to maintain their value should you want to sell it on (...to end your interest or to upgrade) therefore making the actual cost of the original investment kept to a minimum. For example, I always recommend that those starting out go for the Skywatcher 200P because should their interest wane, the resell value (70%) would mean that they could expect to recoup up to £200 of the £290 original price tag resulting in a modest outlay for such a great scope. I hope you don't mind my "preaching" the above because I'm sure you will stick with astronomy. The key is to go for best quality that you can afford from the beginning which hopefully can save you on the intermediate upgrading that costs a lot more in the longer run.

Clear skies

James

[LukeSkywatcher]

After going the same route that many of you probably took to decide on which scope to get, i have finally decided to get the Heritage 130p, i initially considered a goto, then i was set for a 200p dob with a decent budget to get plenty of bells and whistles, however i have decided on the Heritage because this is my 1st scope and of small ish outlay if i decide not to continue with this hobby, which i don't think will happen as i have been interested for many years but never took the final step and bought a scope.

Heres where i am at:-

Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

Barlow Lens

Skywatcher Laser Collimator

Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece

EyePieces:- Vixen NPL in 25,10,8,6 focal lengths to give me the following mags with the barlows below:-

26-52-65-81-108-130-162-216 x2 barlow

26-58-65-81-108-146-182-243 x2.25 barlow

Question is, which barlow would be more suitable for this scope, is the Badder x2.25 pushing things a bit much ?

Thanks in advance.

Nick.

In my honest opinion................i have a Heritage 130P:

You are doing right by choosing the Heritage 130P. It is a very good starter scope and is not expensive. If you decide astronomy isnt for you, you are not out of pocket much.

Regarding the barlow lens.....................here in Ireland and the UK, a 2x barlow will be PLENTY.

Laser collimator.............you really dont need one. The Heritage comes perfectly collimated out of the box. You can always make a "colli cap" out of an old 35mm film canister.

Vixen NPL eyepieces (which i own and love), you will really only need a high,medium and low power (30mm,15mm and 8mm) or there abouts. They really are top quality. They give great contrast and sharpness.

The Heritage 130P and the eyepieces i have serve me very well, so i cant say more

[nederman63]

I. Bought this scope in January, so far only added a good quality Barlow. Will get a few decent eyepieces but that's all for now. If I keep my interest going I will add, but waiting to see how things go first. And as others have said, it's a great little scope.

[Amra]

I bought a 6mm EP and a barlow for my Heritage 130P, but these I only tend to use for planets and at some point the planets actually seems more detailed & crisp with less magnification than with more, depending on sky conditions. The focuser is quite wobbly, I don't think my laser collimator gives a good result so I use collimator cap or chesire instead.

I bought some baader solar film for solar viewing as well and made a solar filter for it, it's recommended to get a shroud as well if you want to view the sun, so that no stray light enters the tube unfiltered.

The Heritage 130P has served me well now for a few months. I had the same train of thought as you, originally, and bought it as an entry telescope, without having to spend too much cash if my interest was to vane. It hasn't at all, and now I still use it while my SW 200P is collecting photons for my imaging training.

[blueroom]

I bought the 130p Heritage as my first scope and was very pleased with it. It's very portable and can be easily stored away (in a wardrobe for example).

The only slight criticism I had is the focuser is a bit wobbly and the flexi-tube could stick a little when trying to collapse it.

I've upgraded to the 200p dob now but the Heritage is a great scope for beginners.