SkyWatcher 150PL

[osbourne one-nil]

I'm comsidering purchasing a Sky-Watcher 150PL, to mount on my Porta II Mount, to give me more aperture and more focal length than my Televue 85. It actually weighs less than the TV85, so I've no concerns about the mount holding it, and I love the mount; it's easy to track, rock solid and a much more convenient height than a Dobsonian.

I've also been looking at the Orion Optics VX6L, but the price difference is huge, and I'm not convinced the theoretically better mirror will ever have the chance to be tested under my lousy Cumbrian skies. In any case, I do have one of their mirrors in my 10" truss dob (and very good it is too).

My query is would it be possible, or even worth bothering to upgrade to a 2" focuser? To be honest, I'm in two minds about 2" eyepieces anyway, as they're so heavy and big! I'm wondering if the secondary needs to be a certain size to allow 2" eyepieces to work anyway?

Any other views on this scope gratefully received!

[Laurie61]

I would think the 150pl would be just fine mounted on a Porta II Mount. Presumably you switch to the 10” if the seeing is good and want to push the mag a bit more?

The use of different size scopes and magnification is quite interesting, as you probably know; the bigger the scope the more detail can be seen, atmospheric conditions permitting. A 150mm scope will show detail down to 0.77 arc seconds, for the average human eye to discern this detail you need around 180/190 X magnification. Going past this dims the view and although making your target object bigger will not show any more detail. Better optics will hold their sharpness longer as you increase Mag. The question then is how good they need to be on a 150mm scope when using 180/190 X. I would think the optics on a 150pl are more than good enough to give sharp views up to 200 X so I would be inclined to give the OO scope a miss and put the money saved toward something else, eyepiece ect?

Regards fitting a 2” focuser with longer focal length eyepieces you would benefit from a bigger field of view, along with lower mag. Useful if trying to find Comets ect.

I would think the secondary on a 150pl would be OK with 2” EP,s

[bod00]

Hey Osbourne,

I have the 150pl and my views have been excellent since my upgrade from the 114mm i had before! i use mine on a GEM1 eq mount and if i am honest i find the size of the scope often interfears with the slow motion controls and i have never really got to grips with EQ mounts in general so i was thinking of a Altazimuth mount so i am interested on how you get on!

I use BST 1.25" Ep's and although they are all i have ever used the views are really sharp and clear i have managed to bag jupiter and saturn really well and the 8mm i use gives me 150x which is great for Jupiter but i am thinking i can maybe push another 30x out of it for saturn may even try for 200x but my garden is pretty short and there are houses/trees all around so i only have it in view for about an hour and jupiter is off behind the houses so i am stuck for a little while!

The scope is not very heavy just very long so take into consideration if you plan to move it a lot, but if you do get one please let me know how you get on with the mount as i really like the looks of them

Good Luck

[John]

I have to be honest and say that I don't think a 150PL on a Porta II mount would work well. It's not the tube weight but it's length that is the critical factor. I'd not even use a 150PL on my AZ-4 mount with it's steel legged tripod, or at least not for high power viewing. The 150P would probably be fine - it's tube is a lot shorter.

[nightfisher]

Im inclined to agree with john, i toyed with A 150PL for my AZ4, but felt it would be a handful

[osbourne one-nil]

That's the advice I got from a retailer today - which I think always worried me in the back of my mind. The thing is, if there's such thing as a cheap telescope, a 6" Newtonian is a cheap scope (with the obvious exception of anything from Orion Optics!). I'm almost tempted to risk it....but not quite. If I do,I'll certainly report back. I did think about the f5 variant, but whilst it gives me a lot more aperture and resolution, it doesn't help in terms of focal length.

One thing I've pondered on is something like a 5SE or a 6SE, which I could mount on the portamount without any problem, and if I ever had some spare time, and it happened to be clear, I've got a nice tracking mount too.

Why can't someone just invent the perfect scope?! It would make life a lot easier.

[nightfisher]

how about the 150 skyliner dob, same OTA as the 150pl and with a easy mount

[osbourne one-nil]

Well, I'm odd and illogical which means that if I was going to get a dob, I'd want it to be bigger than the one I have (at least 12" therefore).

I'm really looking for something to mate with my Portamount and make use of its lovely slow motion controls, but am beginning to realise that my TV85 is probably as good as it gets in terms of that mount!

[nightfisher]

sounds like a plan, im considering a 150pds for my AZ4, seems like a good idea

[bod00]

There is a good chance it will be too big as i dont think you can appreciate how long it is until you see it, the 1200mm focal length means its at least that long and it is a bit difficult to manoeuvre on the EQ so if the other guys think its too big they are probably right!

I would hate to say i bought the wrong scope as its quality is amazing but i guess ease of use and portability trumps the true focal length! I will be using this scope for the near future but sadly in the back of my mind i think its too big so i will be looking for something else maybe!

I am sure you could get a higher aperture scope on there just need to find the right one!