The SkyWatcher Explorer 150PL

[bod00]

Hey everyone,

There is currently a SkyWatcher Explorer 150PL for sale and i was wondering what peoples opinion of it was?

I am looking to upgrade my current scope but found this scope to be attractive due to the 1200mm FL and f/8 speed i am using the BST explorer EP range and think it would be a good scope to match them!

I am looking at initially moon, jupiter and saturn views but want to move onto clusters and DSO when i can get out the countryside!

Would the EQ3 be too heavy of a mount to take in the car?

Any thoughts always much appreciated

Thanks

[nicnac]

the 150P would suit DSOs more and will perform pretty well on the sol objects, it would be better suited to the EQ3 mount too, the PL might be a tad too much.

the EQ3 isnt heavy, it can be split down to legs, head and weights mind

[ronin]

Should be a reasonable step up over the 114, 73% increase in light gathering - although I have read that to notice a bigger objective significantly you should consider a 50% diameter increase so more then twice the light gather. Caused by the eye response not being linear but logarithamic.

I would say that the main difference should be in the image quality, I think your 114 is most likely a spherical mirror and I have seen others say the design is possibly Bird-Jones. Assuming one or both the 150PL should give better images.

Therefore the step up would make sense, presumes the cost is OK and the mirrors are good also, since you should get better quality images, and a reasonable increase in light gather. The combination of both seem worthwhile.

Would expect the BST's you have to work well, would be very surprised if they did not.

[John]

I think the 150PL is an excellent scope but it is slightly under-mounted on the EQ3-2 mount. Nevertheless it would be a good step up from your current scope in a number of respects apart from performance, which would also be a noticeable improvement - 73% more light is not to be sniffed at !. The 150PL would also work very well with your current eyepieces.

I feel a 150mm F/8 is a "real" telescope wheras a 114mm newtonian is just a taster, really.

[Luna Unicorn]

Hi Bod-00

I have a 150PL. Just to warn you it is a long scope!

I took it out on location (burton dasset in warwickshire- if anyone is familiar- great views but to much traffic and headlights!) for the first time over the weekend. I got mine in february and have been using it in my back garden- i live on a main road with horrible lights but can see Jupiter no problem with it. I been on the hunt for saturn, found it on saturday but then the wind picked up so wasnt much good!

In terms of size the scope only just fits on the back seat of my Fiat 500. It wont fit in the boot. The mount would have to be broken up to fit in the boot. But my friend held it in the front sinceit was the first time we took it out and didnt want to start re building on our first attempt.

Im thinking of trying to get a carry bag for it i wrapped it up in a blanket as i didnt want to scratch my car and to stop it rolling about. Im thinking of putting it in a sleeping bag unless any one knows of a cheap carry case?

Sorry for hijacking this post, but any recommendations on good eye pieces. Ive been using the ones which came with it but know i should upgrade !

Hope that helps!

Luna!

[colesmat]

Luna unicorn: my next purchase will be BST starguider ep's. There are a lot of fans of them on here and theyre not too expensive. After using the stock ep's for a while I'm hoping there will be a big improvement.

[bod00]

Thanks for all the feedback, i think what John said sums up my thoughts on the scope and i appreciate the comments ref size Luna, i will be about 75% home and 25% away but i have an estate car so hopefully this will make transporting easier!

I initially thought it might be under mounted on the EQ3-2 but hopefully it wont be too bad, its on ebay at the moment for £155 with a day left so i will keep my eye on it, if i can get it for under £200 or about £220 i might just go for it!

Luna - my Ep's are the BST exploer ED ones and i find them really good with my current scope and a lot of people reccomended them to me, they are £47 each and come in good sizes for the 150pl (hence my interest) but i believe people like the vixen NPL at about £35 too if you have a larger budget then i am sure there will be a lot more available!

Thanks

Thanks again

[emadmoussa]

How about the Explorer 200P? It's way more suited for planets...

[bod00]

How about the Explorer 200P? It's way more suited for planets...

I am sure that there are better scopes around and i have seen the 200p and the Dob version so its something i am looking at i just spotted the 150PL on ebay and thought it was a decent price so might have been worth a punt so thought i would get some advice!

I will see what the final price looks like and make a decision then i guess but at least its not such as a bad scope as my current one!

Thanks

[SnakeyJ]

Just a thought - there's also quite a nice looking 200P dob, with a lot of extras on fleabay at the moment (no connection). Same length as the 150PL, a little wider but less weight overall than the 150PL and EQ3-2.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKYWATCHER-SKYLINER-200P-DOBSONIAN-TELESCOPE-MANY-EXTRAS-/330903398418?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item4d0b612812

Not sure if it will make the buy it now, but could be a good purchase for a little under this.

[bod00]

SnakeyJ thanks for the link, just read the description and he certainly is throwing in a lot of kit there!! Now i know that the 150P/PL or the 200p are good choices then i can do a bit more research but if i can get the 150 for under £200 i think its a steal!

Thanks

[Carl Reade]

Hi bod00, after a lot of researching I purchased the 150P in Feb. The 150PL has more magnification due to the longer length. I can say they have a very good rep. I'm very happy with mine on the EQ3-2 mount which works fine. Would have went for the 200P but not as portable.

[Siriusmeg]

I upgraded from a 130 astromaster to a 150p dob (ostensibly bought for my kids) and I did notice a significant difference in image quality - that is in part due to the much longer focal length, but I did feel that the image quality was improved too. My BST explorers work very well in both scopes - great eps.

Now I've got a 200p too - even better though much bigger and heavier! Must stop collecting scopes

[emadmoussa]

I upgraded from a 130 astromaster to a 150p dob (ostensibly bought for my kids) and I did notice a significant difference in image quality - that is in part due to the much longer focal length, but I did feel that the image quality was improved too. My BST explorers work very well in both scopes - great eps.

Now I've got a 200p too - even better though much bigger and heavier! Must stop collecting scopes

Oh, don't you have a 3 scopes max agreement with your other half like the rest of is?!