Skywatcher 130; 130P; 130M or alternative

[kbp]

I had lots of advice from the Forum when I bought my first telescope 18 months ago, which was a Celesron Nexstar 127. All the help I received from the Forum was greatly appreciated. Now I'm seeking more advice ....

My grandson is keen to have his own telescope and its his 18th birthday later this week. The budget is limited and the telescope needs to be quite portable. FLO has the Skywatcher 130 @ £115 which seems a good buy, but is it worth stretching the budget to buy either the 130P or 130M at £165? I've also seen two on ebay that look quite interesting (both ex-display):

Celestron Astromaster 130 buy it now £159

· Aperture: 130 mm (5.12 in)

· Focal Length: 650 mm (25.59 in)

· Focal Ratio: 5

· Eyepiece 1: 20 mm (0.79 in)

· Magnification 1: 33 x

· Eyepiece 2: 10 mm (0.39 in)

· Magnification 2: 65 x

· Mount: CG-3 Equatorial

· Motor Drive: Included

· Optical Coatings: Aluminum

· Finderscope: Built-on StarPointer

· Weight: 24 lb (10.89 kg)

· Tube Attachment : Dovetail Bar

· Tripod: 1.25" steel tube legs

· CD ROM: The Sky L1

· Highest Useful Magnification: 307 x

· Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 13.1

· Resolution (Rayleigh): 1.07 arcsec

· Resolution (Dawes): 0.89 arcsec

· Light Gathering Power: 345 x

· Angular Field of View: 1.5 °

· Linear Field of View (@1000 yds) : 79 ft (24.08 m)

· Optical Tube Length: 24 in (609.6 mm)

and a Celestron Power Seeker 127: buy it now £129

Aperture (mm)

127 mm (5 in)

Focal Length (mm)

1000 mm (39 in)

Focal Ratio

7.87

Eyepiece 1 (mm)

20 mm (0.79 in)

Magnification 1

50 x

Eyepiece 2 (mm)

4 mm (0.16 in)

Magnification 2

250 x

Barlow Lens

3 x

Finderscope

5x24

Mount

German Equatorial

Accessory Tray

No-Tool Tray with Eyepiece holder

Tripod

Aluminum

Weight (lbs)

17 lbs (7.71 kg)

Highest Useful Magnification

300 x

Lowest Useful Magnification

18 x

Any thoughts would be helpful, many thanks, Karen

[Cornelius Varley]

The Celestron 130 uses the same optic set as the Skywatcher 650/130 but uses more plastic in its construction, find finderscope is also considered to be quite poor. The powerseeker 127 should be avoided, it isn't as good as the Celestron/Skywater 130.

[kbp]

That's great to know thank you. So now I need to decide which of the Skymaster models.

[bingevader]

That's great to know thank you. So now I need to decide which of the Skymaster models.

Yep!

As you can see, the only difference between the 130 and the 130M is the motor, which will track objects when polar aligned.

However, the 130P is slightly different having a parabolic mirror. This will produce a clearer, sharper (but smaller for the same eyepiece) image than the 130 as more light is focused on the secondary than with a flat mirror.

Cheers

[AgeingSuperhero]

I would recommend the 130P, i bought this as my first scope and loved it.

You should check out Astro Buy and Sell UK site, you might be able to pick one up at a cheaper price.

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk

[kbp]

Thank you for your thoughts and explanations. Is the magnification similar to my nexstar 127?

[umadog]

Thank you for your thoughts and explanations. Is the magnification similar to my nexstar 127?

Yes.

[Cornelius Varley]

Thank you for your thoughts and explanations. Is the magnification similar to my nexstar 127?

No. The 130P has a focal length of 650mm and the Nexstar 127 (same a Skywatcher Skymax 127) has a focal length of 1500mm. The magnification for a given eyepiece is FL telescope / FL eyepiece. The Nexstar 127 will give 2.3 x more magnification for an eyepiece compared to the 130P

[PlanetGazer]

Yep!

As you can see, the only difference between the 130 and the 130M is the motor, which will track objects when polar aligned.

However, the 130P is slightly different having a parabolic mirror. This will produce a clearer, sharper (but smaller for the same eyepiece) image than the 130 as more light is focused on the secondary than with a flat mirror.

Cheers

The 130M includes a motor and a red dot finder. the 130 have a finder scope.

The 130 and 130M have 900mm focal length, while the 130P have 650mm focal length.

[AlexB67]

it may also be worth considering why you have selected the EQ mount type scope, a Dobsonian mount would be cheaper give the same optics in the sky-watcher range. Just to point it out, and worth considering perhaps. The scopes at that price are not going to be that sturdy and wobble easily. The Dob will be a more solid mount at that price range. I can highly recommend the heritage 130p anyway in my sig, and can be bought for 130 - 140 in most places and it is very portable, weighs around 6.7 Kilos and can be carried around in one hand. Not trying to sound biased being a dob fan myself, but if visual observing is what you are after, I'd consider it especially.

[inedible_hulk]

+1 for the 130P, also my first scope

[kbp]

Again thank you for the info. I've been in touch with FLO today who were very helpful. But they mentioned two things for me to consider: first setting up the mount; and second culmination. They suggested a skywatcher startravel 102 (AZ3). I agree with the points they made, but it has a lower magnification and is more expensive. The dob does have a better mag. Still undecided, but any further thoughts definitely appreciated.

[bingevader]

A goto refractor?! I wonder why they suggested that?

You hadn't mentioned that goto was in the equation (which is why it is more expensive).

Yes, equatorial mounts can take a bit of getting used to, so the startravel would make that easier.

But there's a 130P on the same mount for a couple of quid less.

Collimation takes a little practice, but does become much easier, and Skywatcher have a pretty good reputation as being reasonably collimated straight out of the box. It's not usually the first consideration.

I assume they're trying to take into account your experience and that it's for your grandson, but he is soon to be 18!

I suppose you could ask him, but if as you've said, the budget is limited, then I'm not sure why FLO are suggesting something that's over £100 more!

If he's keen and capable, he won't be disappointed with the 130p.

Sorry, not helping much!

Cheers

[kbp]

Still hunting ... But I've just seen a skywatcher explorer 130P on ebay for £120 buy it now. This would be an easier set-up and it has a good magnification. Any thoughts?

[kbp]

Oops I should add its a skywatcher explorer 130p super trak auto.

[kbp]

Thanks Bingevadar. The startravel 102 az3 is listed at £185. From the positive posts about the 130P it does seem a good option and you have a point about learning to do the set-up and culmination.

[PlanetGazer]

You can check my topic, as I was/still I'm in your position. I got good suggestion and help, may be handy. http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/190665-beginner-telescope/

[kbp]

Thank you for the link PlanetGazer - I'll check it out.

[farunj]

I would suggest u go for the dob! Its much easier to set up, and also much easier to handle!

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2

[bingevader]

Thanks Bingevadar. The startravel 102 az3 is listed at £185. From the positive posts about the 130P it does seem a good option and you have a point about learning to do the set-up and culmination.

Oops, my apologies, I was looking at the wrong one (£285 )!

If you think your grandson is keen, he'll get used to the equatorial mount.

If you think he might struggle or be put off, take a look at the dob same bits of glass, differently mounted.

Cheers

[Schorhr]

+1 for considering the dobsonian, I have a Astro3 Mount (eq2<astro3<eq3-2) and the Heritage 130p is already a Bit wobbly especially on high magnifications.

Also for deepsky, anything under 5" is a bit of a downer. Thanks to cheap smartphones and astro apps, even without experience, goto is not necessarily needed.

[kbp]

Thank you for all the replies and advice. I went ahead and bought the Sky Watcher 130P AutoTrak for £120 including postage. It'll get him started

[bingevader]

Good for you! It should more than get him started.

There's a thread here, should he get stuck with the AutoTrak.

Cheers

[kbp]

The link will be helpful, thank you. I'll print the details off for him.