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Skywatcher Heritage 130P or AstroMaster 114 EQ?

R3BORNUK

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R3BORNUK

R3BORNUK

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Hi everyone, first post to the group.

Need a lot of advice for a starter telescope (got a small 40mm, but that's more a magnifying glass than a telescope :grin: ). I've been looking at the two mentioned in the title, and I've found good and bad reviews for both.

The 114 EQ seems to have more options, but whether they're gimmicky or not I'm unsure. The 130P looks a lot plainer package, but has a wider aperture.

Transport/weight is no issue, nor is set-up, collimating etc. I'm a very fast learner, and a patient study. I'm currently in the first year of studying for a Bachelors in planetary science, leading to Astronomy, and I need something that won't break the budget (£150 mark - I don't mind having to upgrade again in a few years)

Does anyone have any experience or opinions about the two scopes I've mentioned, or is there a better option completely?

Many thanks,

Karl.

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Paulhenry85

Paulhenry85

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I've owned both scopes in the past. I found optically there the same and both great for lunar observations and portability.

The heritage is tiny so you will need a table or wall to place it on, but the scope is very easy to use.

The astromaster is full size telescope and despite it smaller primary mirror having the EQ mount makes tracking really easy but using it does take a bit of getting use to.

I personally got more learnings from using the astromaster and for that reason I recommend. (but I am a glutton for punishment.)

I am sure for your budget of £150 you can pick up a skywatcher 150p dobsonian second hand and that is a fantastic scope!!.

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Charic

Charic

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R3BORNUK.............Hi. If the astro is anything like my celestron powerseeker 127, save your money! simple. Your going to have to bust through your budget, but if you can get a second hand Newtonian Reflector on a Dobsonian mount, you`ll be a happy chappy. Recommended mainly for  visual use observation,  Astro-photography not so easy on these scopes, but not impossible, but  good down to Earth, reliable, simple to use, and excellent results an 8" (200P (P=Parabolic Mirror). Trust us, look at our sigs? New about £279

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frugal

frugal

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We have the Astromaster 114, and it is ok asa simple visual scope. However the stand is really light weight, which means that if you do much as brush against it you have to wait 5 seconds for the vibrations to calm down. It is also next to impossible to connect any kind Of camera as when you have the center in focus the edges are hideously out Of focus.

It also has a weird mirror design which makes it short and easy to carry, but does seem to cause some visual problems.

Saying that, we have seen the moon clearly and Jupiter with it's moons. We have even seen syndromes and the Orion nebulae. However after onlya dozen good sessions with it, I am eyeing up a better scope just because it is So frustrating to use some times.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

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Charic

Charic

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So, with a bit of a budget stretch?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

(Looked, cannot find second hand anywhere)

....check here at Bungay ? about  50 mins drive away http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKY-WATCHER-SKYLINER-200P-203MM-8-F-1200-PARABOLIC-DOBSONIAN-TELESCOPE-/271328075759?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item3f2c69dfef Its slightly dearer, slightly bigger, much better, but even if you  just make contact  or go pay a visit, maybe your expectations and requirements may change. Their an authorised UK dealer too, so support not to far away. Its just an idea to wet the appetite.

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R3BORNUK

R3BORNUK

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....check here at Bungay ? about  50 mins drive away http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKY-WATCHER-SKYLINER-200P-203MM-8-F-1200-PARABOLIC-DOBSONIAN-TELESCOPE-/271328075759?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item3f2c69dfef Its slightly dearer, slightly bigger, much better, but even if you  just make contact  or go pay a visit, maybe your expectations and requirements may change. Their an authorised UK dealer too, so support not to far away. Its just an idea to wet the appetite.

Aye, loved the look of the 200! Unfortunately its £70 dearer than my "stretched" budget, and £120 dearer than my original budget! 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive about the price-for-quality for astronomy equipment; pay peanuts and you get monkeys. But I do have to set an absolute limit (for now).

So for the £200, would the 150p be a good investment?

Thanks for the advice guys!

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Charic

Charic

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R3BORNUK....................Id say the 150P would be a good buy ............ the 200P would be the good investment. Its probably the best time of the Year for receiving gifts / cash ( but not everyone is always lucky)  Your budget for now is £200. Next Month/Week (December allready) add £35, then see what you get for Christmas, then Buy the 200P for a Late Christmas present in January. It hurts to wait, but I recommend you wait, accept the agony, and delay your purchase until you have the money. Just look around the site at the signatures, and the amount of 200P`s in use, either EQ or Dob mounted. I would also say get the Dobsonian. no messing about with alignments, and all that twiddling and fiddling with locks and OTA rotations. The 25mm supplied with the telescope is good to go, Upgrade the 10mm (I chose a BST 8mm ~ Brilliant) and you wont look back. 200P is bigger, better, heavier. and  Aperture is King, but if its too heavy,  then you may have to stay with a 150P.  12Months of the 150P and you`ll be yearning (maybe) for the 200P or bigger still. This 200P Skyliner is going to last me a long while yet. Remember,  only opinions here. Its down to you. More sleepless nights while you decide. lol, take care

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Schorhr

Schorhr

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Hello,

I have the Heritage and also a few smallere telescopes and eq mount slightly more stable then what most of those kits sell with.

Forget the kits on eq2 or even fake eq3(as some lable the Astro3), a sturdy mount would be a neq3 and that alone is over the budget.

The heritage is low to the ground, it's biggest flaw. A sturdy box and/or a low folding stool to sit on can take care of that though.

Then it provides great views, is stable enough even at 200x magnifications...

Fun telescope.

The only thing you will need aditionally (next to books/maps/printouts and a red lamp) is a eyepiece for higher magnification or a achromatic barlow for starters. 12-18£ for the barlow or 27£ for a 6mm 66deg eyepiece that itself has a barlow element you can unscrew and increase the magnification by changing the distance if you like tinkering.

A 6" dobsonian is easier to view through, slightly better views, less coma, more aperture... BUT the best value is indeed a 8" dob. It would show the first faint spiral structures of galaxies and single stars in clusters, while in 5/6" only a few details show (but much more then with, say, 3").

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wpitcairn

wpitcairn

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I would say go for a second hand 150P, always go for a parabolic mirror as the corrected spherical mirrors are really bad.

You have a better chance of getting more planet detail as the aperture increases.

For portability you can't beat my skymax 127. I think they do a smaller 102 version.

Will

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Gosport_Graphics

Gosport_Graphics

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Admittedly, this is my first delve into astronomy, but having bought my Skywatcher 200P in October, I am still staggered by the clarity under good seeing conditions  :grin:

Lets face it, 90% of sky-watching is going to always depend on location & conditions. You can spend thousands on equipment, but on a cloudy/poor seeing night, I can see pretty much the same with just my eyes  :shocked:

Loving every second spent with my 200P, and now starting out in AP  :grin:

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Mark

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bombassa

bombassa

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150p vs heritage would get you more apperature, better focuser and no open truss design problems.

If I could be a first time buyer again i'd go for the 150 dob.

I'm not saying the heritage is a bad scope. It just has it weaknesses.

But we all love our children  :kiss:

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