Found a skywatcher Telescope at the car boot for £20, is it any good ?

[yesteryeargames]

Evening all, I found a skywatcher Telescope at the car boot for £20, can anyone tell me what one it is ? is it any good , and how can i set it up correctly please.

i have a cheshire that i use on my 200p but it seems too big for this scope?, how will i collaminate it correctly, and setup all the tripod bits as i have only ever used a dob mounted scope , all these weights and things on the tripod seem scary for a behinner.

thanks

[rowan46]

Its either a skyhawk 114 or an explorer 130 my guess is the sky hawk, do the numbers on the scope not tell you ? not bad for 20 quid by the way

[Astro_Baby]

Its a SkyHawk for sure.

[knobby]

On the black label under the focuser in pic 3 should be some numbers, they will help us identify it... Looks well worth £20

Well done

[yesteryeargames]

numbers on it , D 114mm F= 1000

[yesteryeargames]

Sorry , posted from my phone and its come up about 5 times as a reply, can a mod please merge or delete them.

How would one go about setting this up ? i would love to give it a try later . I was thinking it would make a nice grab and go scope if its all working ok.

[rowan46]

yes that's a skyhawk http://www.apm-telescopes.net/media/manuals/skywatcher/en/18.pdf

[Scott]

I'm guessing you've got a bargain there. whether you'll be content with the views after owning an 8" I don't know. Still, if you're not happy with it I'm sure someone will make good use of it. maybe someone after a starter scope?

[yesteryeargames]

Just cleaned it, collaminated as best i could and had some early evening views of the moon, its looking like a perfect clear night to give it a proper test.

This will be a nice grab and go scope or maybe one for the family to use.

How much are these worth 2nd hand as a matter of interest ? only thing wrong with is that the spotting scope is missing the dust covers.

[rowan46]

Astro gear usually goes for (depending on age and condition ) about 50-70% of new sometimes a little more or less so I reckon about £50 would be a fair price

[bish]

Bargain grab n go. I would have bought it too.

[steppenwolf]

What a bargain - you can't lose at that price!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Astro gear usually goes for (depending on age and condition ) about 50-70% of new sometimes a little more or less so I reckon about £50 would be a fair price

£50-60 sounds about right to me. Not bad for a £20 investment. But if the family can use it, i say keep it.

[baggywrinkle]

Nice buy...well worth £20

[Beulah]

Not bad for twenty quid!!! Great for grab n' go!

Looking at the EQ1 mount, you could get a motor drive and put a DSLR camera on it (with an adaptor) - get some nice several minute widefield shots...

[brantuk]

It looks in good nick far as I can see on the pics - a nice little starter scope for someone. At £20 it's a smashing bargain - might fetch around £50 (give or take a tenner) if sold on - or keep for a grab 'n' go. Nice one

[yesteryeargames]

Not bad for twenty quid!!! Great for grab n' go!

Looking at the EQ1 mount, you could get a motor drive and put a DSLR camera on it (with an adaptor) - get some nice several minute widefield shots...

Gave it a test last night on saturn, it was tiny tiny compaired to my 8 dob but still a decent view a complete beginner would be pleased with for sure.,

Im not sure if i have it perfectly collaminated, do i need a proper cheshire or just a cap with a hole in it ?

Regarding the motor that sounds like a cool little project,

How would i go about getting a motor drive on it? is it the same as this

what sort of cost would i be looking at with motor , and any other bits ?

, would love to try and take a photo of something like the orion nebula or andromeda galaxy or maybe future comets ?.

thanks again guys

[Beulah]

Yep, that's it.

Get an EQ2 motor drive as they are slightly better quality.

I don't know much about Deep Sky astrophotography with an EQ1 mount, drive and telescope, but I know that attaching a DSLR camera to the mount will produce acceptable widefield images.

An adaptor plate like this may be suitable to affix a camera.

[NGC 1502]

Motor for the scope here http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/page/4/ but costs more than your car boot bargain. They do come up sometimes on astrobuysell.

Cheers, Ed.

[yesteryeargames]

Thank for all the help guys, will look into it and report back,

[yesteryeargames]

Hi im having trouble with the spotting viewer, are there any good 3rd party ones i should try like a red dot finder to attach ?

also what sort cap whoudl i se to correctly collimate it ?

thanks

[JamesF]

You could try another Telrad instead of an RDF? Otherwise, any RDF with a Skywatcher style mount should be fine, but if you have to buy new I'd probably go for the Telrad (or a Quikfinder?) anyhow.

I'd have thought you could collimate it with exactly the same kit you use for your 200P.

James