Just bought first telescope

[TimR]

Hi there, after much deliberation,hesitation and procrastination I have bitten the bullet and bought my first scope.

Thanks to reading through multiple threads on this great resource I decided on the Skywatcher 200P Dob with additional Celestron eyepieces (7mm and a 2x Barlow). It arrived yesterday whilst I was at work from First Light Optics (great service). I thought it wise to get a Cheshire collimator at the same time.

I knew it would be large after viewing some unboxings etc on YouTube, but when it has been assembled and is right there in front of you,wow,the thing is a beast!

Everything builds up easily in no time at all, and the whole set up seems extremely robust and well made. Due to the bad weather in Co Durham I have not had the chance to align the finder scope yet or view the night sky. When the weather improves I hope to get back with a report of a complete newbies findings. I have been reading Turn Left at Orion and have found it invaluable, went straight to M31 with 10 x 50 bins.

Thanks for all of the advice,and clear skies. Tim

[Guy Wells]

It'll be cloudy for months now, no doubt

[rowan46]

Here's wishing you clear skies. I see as usual that flo have overdone the cloud packing and as usual newbies in their desire to open the scope have let the clouds loose to cover the country. A great scope enjoy

[TimR]

Guilty as charged 

[Luke]

Congrats on your purchase, Tim, a great choice. Look forward to your first light report.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Congratulations, it's a fine telescope.

No doubt you will have many rewarding hours of viewing the night sky. Once you can actually see the sky, that is 

[TimR]

Looking forward to getting out there with it. Its quite dark in my garden, but I'm only about a twenty minute drive from the Derwent reservoir too for some very dark skies. Should go in the back of a Fiesta with the seats folded down I reckon.

[Naemeth]

Congratulations

One thing to note, they look big at first, but then suddenly start to shrink as you get used to them (or get a larger OTA!). Hope you enjoy it .

[TimR]

Thank you all for the encouragement and good wishes. Once my daughter and I become competent with it and the sky we intend to have a star party and have friends and family around to see what is out there. We thought the 7mm eyepiece would be a good choice for planetary stuff in UK skies.

[rwilkey]

A 7mm eyepiece is a good choice for planetary and the Moon, I expect the eye-relief will be a bit tight to start with, but it's just a case of getting used to it.  A wider field lower power eyepiece, say a 32mm, will be quite useful also, though if the scope came with the standard 25mm, that will be good also.  Congratulations on buying your first scope, you will not be dissappointed!

[Rob63]

Congrats, and welcome to the Dob Mob 

One small tip - if you are carrying the scope in a car, the shaped polystyrene that held the scope in the packaging makes a nice cradle for transportation.

[bingevader]

Have fun!

[Stargazer_00]

Congrats on the new scope.  Keep working on Turn Left at Orion as well.  It's a fantastic resource and gets you to all the major landmarks of the night sky across a year.  One thing I didn't notice until later on after I started is there is a section at the back of the book for the Northern Sky.  Essentially the front of the book describes the changing views in the southern sky over the course of a year then has a section at the back which describes the northern sky, which is visible in varying degrees of quality throughout the year.   There are many wonderful things in the northern sky which you can come back to time and again (think double cluster).  I'd recommend you check this seciton out as well.  Apologies if you already found this 

[TimR]

Thanks again. The scope came with the Skywatcher 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. From what I have been reading the 10mm is alright  to get you started, but seems to be the one most users replace first.

My budget allowed for the Cheshire, Barlow and 7mm so I decided to get everything delivered together. This will be my set up for the foreseeable future. I have been reading up on what to look out for because it hasn't stopped raining since it was delivered! The section in the back of Turn Left should come in handy,and the polystyrene packaging has been stored in the loft ;-)

The forecast looks a little more promising for tomorrow night at least