Celestron astromaster 130EQ-MD

[jasondean71]

Good morning all.

Firstly thank you for accepting me request to join this forum.

My wife bought me a130EQ-MD for my birthday. As I am new to this whole game, I would like some advice on a couple of things following my first couple of nights viewing.

The red dot finder is poor to say the least and I did align it in day light as advised, but still find it difficult to use. So is there anyway of replacing this with a more suitable finderscope without damaging the main scope casing? Also what scope would you recommend replacing it with?

At present, the only eyepieces I have are the 25mm and 10mm that came with the scope, so what would you recommend grading with to get a decent beginners experience of the night sky?

Your help is much appreciated

Jason

[AstroTux]

Hi Jason, and welcome to SGL.

I think the AstroMaster 130 is a good starting point for anyone just unto Astronomy and should give you plenty of enjoyment. I started out with one when I took Astronomy up again, and won't get rid of it even though I have upgraded to a 10" Dob :grin: . I know many members on here have this 'scope.

Personally though, I think the red dot finder is naff, and quickly replaced it with a Rigel QuickFinder http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/rigel-quikfinder-compact-reflex-sight.html . Don't worry about the extra battery pack. It will run on a CR2032 battery for years, and you can always keep a couple of spares in your pocket. The Telrad is a similar device but probably just a little too big for this 'scope. I find it much easier to use than the RDF and greatly reduces the time it takes to hunt down elusive objects.

Take your time with the eyepieces supplied and don't rush into anything - as I did. I now have a collection of plossl eyepieces that cost a fair bit and that I will probably never use again. The temptation with short focal length reflectors like these is to buy short focal length eyepieces so that higher magnifications can be achieved. Unfortunately we all tend to go for price over quality meaning that we will buy the cheaper plossls with short eye-relief.

When I eventually purchased a couple of BST StrarGuider eyepieces for my Dob, I tried them in the AstroMaster and realised what I'd been missing. If only I'd known I would have got an 8mm and 15mm of these long ago.

Have a read up on collimating your 'scope, it may look complex to start with but you will get the hang of it quickly enough and be able to keep the 'scope in top condition.

Other than that, just keep reading SGL and asking questions. I'm sure you'll find us a helpful lot,

all the best,

Alan

[LightInsomnia]

I have the 114EQ (smaller version of your scope). The RDF is Rubbish on mine too. Since fitting a Rigel Quikfinder, it's been a pleasure to use

[jasondean71]

Many thanks for all the advice... i will certainly look into your recommendations

[jasondean71]

Sorry.. forgot to ask. How does this finder attach to the 130EQ?

[rory]

Simple double sided tape or use cable ties. .

Jobs a goodun .

[jasondean71]

thanks Rory

[BadgerSlap]

Hi Everyone

I too have a one of these scopes and I'm looking at getting some new eyepieces. I've accepted the advice in other posts that I don't want to buy cheap and many. So that leave me with the question, what should my first 'proper' eyepiece be? Is there such thing as an round generic eyepiece? Also is the ebay seller 'Sky's the Limit Astro and Optical' any good? I was thinking of getting 1.25" 15mm BST Explorer Dual ED eyepiece Branded "Starguider"' ... but this is based on the flawless logic   of I have a 10mm and a 20mm so 15mm is in the middle. Also BST have been mentioned favourably in several posts  .... 

[AstroTux]

what should my first 'proper' eyepiece be? Is there such thing as an round generic eyepiece? Also is the ebay seller 'Sky's the Limit Astro and Optical' any good?

Unfortunately there is no such thing as an all-round eyepiece - it all depends on what you are looking for.

Larger faint nebulae and galaxies do not require huge amounts of magnification ( 20x to 40x for Andromeda I reckon ) but an eyepiece with comfortable eye relief is essential for picking out the detail. Smaller brighter objects such as planets can often take much higher magnification ( 100x to 150x - depending upon conditions ), and objects such as open clusters frequently sit somewhere in the middle.

My two favourite sizes for the AstroMaster 130 would be 8mm ( 81.25x ) and 15mm ( 43.33x ), but with access to a 40mm or thereabouts for the really large stuff. It's difficult to say what yours would be.

Alan at Skies the Limit has been recommended by many members of this website, and I would second that opinion. You can always read his section in the reviews part of this forum to check for yourself http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/146417-skys-the-limit/. Every time I have dealt with him through 'fleabay' his service was superb. Add this to the fact that the StarGuider eyepieces are also highly recommended and you can see the general consensus. I would say that they are not cheap compared to the 'run-of-the-mill' plossls that are available on 'fleabay', but they are a distinct improvement over them and are certainly not expensive. I find the eye relief particularly good and the overall observing experience much better. They can definitely be termed 'proper' eyepieces and turn the AstroMaster 130 into a very useable 'scope.

Hope this helps,

Alan ( not Alan at Skies the limit :grin: )

[rory]

Hi Everyone

I too have a one of these scopes and I'm looking at getting some new eyepieces. I've accepted the advice in other posts that I don't want to buy cheap and many. So that leave me with the question, what should my first 'proper' eyepiece be? Is there such thing as an round generic eyepiece? Also is the ebay seller 'Sky's the Limit Astro and Optical' any good? I was thinking of getting 1.25" 15mm BST Explorer Dual ED eyepiece Branded "Starguider"' ... but this is based on the flawless logic of I have a 10mm and a 20mm so 15mm is in the middle. Also BST have been mentioned favourably in several posts ....

I wouldn't personally go for the 15 sat between your 19 and 20 mm . I would initially be tempted by either a low power eyepiece for finding objects easier and nice wide views . Something like a 32mm plossl or 24mm 68*. Or go toward a high power eyepiece .

Sky's the limit are a good trustworthy company by the way. .

[BadgerSlap]

Thank you AstroTux and Rory for your advice. This has helped me greatly. I'm going to get something for looking at planets. Either the 5mm or 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED eyepiece Branded "Starguider" and then get a 40mm 50 degree Premium Plossl eyepiece a few months later.

[rory]

Thank you AstroTux and Rory for your advice. This has helped me greatly. I'm going to get something for looking at planets. Either the 5mm or 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED eyepiece Branded "Starguider" and then get a 40mm 50 degree Premium Plossl eyepiece a few months later.

  those bst's will be great for higher powers with your scope, they have nice eye relief and perform way better than the price tag suggests.

 by the way if you look into getting a low power eyepiece at a later stage, 32mm (50*) is as low as you need to go if sticking with 1.25" fitting or 24mm if you use a 68* eyepiece . going lower doesn't show more sky.( so im told  , ill leave the explanation to someone who actually knows what there talking about  )

[eeyore]

Hi all, I've just got one of these telescopes myself.

I can find plenty info on how to set the scope up out of the box, but are there any recommended guides for a nu:be on there first outing?

[rory]

Hi all, I've just got one of these telescopes myself.

I can find plenty info on how to set the scope up out of the box, but are there any recommended guides for a nu:be on there first outing?

I can recomend the book " turn left at Orion" it will guide you to a whole bunch if objects throughout the seasons .

Stellarium is a free download and is a great bit if kit for seeing what's up and when .

I would initially try out Jupiter if I were you. . WHY. ? well it's easy to find ( brightest thing in the sky bar the moon ) and should give you a wow moment, you'll see it's moons and some surface detail too.

Also recomend trying the Orion Nebula. ( m42) great object to view.

Clear skies to you .

[eeyore]

I can recomend the book " turn left at Orion" it will guide you to a whole bunch if objects throughout the seasons .

Stellarium is a free download and is a great bit if kit for seeing what's up and when .

I would initially try out Jupiter if I were you. . WHY. ? well it's easy to find ( brightest thing in the sky bar the moon ) and should give you a wow moment, you'll see it's moons and some surface detail too.

Also recomend trying the Orion Nebula. ( m42) great object to view.

Clear skies to you .

Cheers, the book will be read and my first tagers are now noted down

[dag123]

Hi Vacuum, I replied to another your posts in another thread on a similar topic.

But to respond to the things being discussed here...

I don't use the red-dot-finder, rather just manually star hop with my 32mm EP from the EP kit.

I chose the EP kit for no other reason than to learn about how the EPs behaved and to find out myself what works well and what does not.

The results are quite simple. The 32 is used all the time for locating targets, the moving up to the 13mm.

The 8 and 6mm are not really used much, instead I have the two XCels that are much easier to look through.

Hope this helps.

dag123

[tsh]

I have the same scope, and my first EP purchase was a 5mm X-Cel. On reflection, this was probably a little bit too far towards the high magnification end to get a lot of use unless the sky is very still. Bigger but not clear isn't much of an improvement, particularly when the field of view is smaller, and vibration has more effect.

[Langy]

I have the 130EQ as I found that it worked out £10 cheaper to buy the MD separate for when I have the extra to spend.

Yes the RDF is not the easiest thing to use. I accidentally left it switched on for 24 hours which may have been a blessing. Now when I use it I'm not blinded by the brightness of the LED's. I use it to get me to a rough location on the sky rather than pinpointing a subject that I want to see. It helps but objects still take a few minutes to find.

I've read some posts where people seem to have more EP that I have hot meals in a week, I'd guess that most have been an upgrade as I can't believe you would get continuous use out of all of them all the time. Even though I'm new I'd guess that having a range of good EP that cover 3-4 focal lengths would cover almost anything you want. As mentioned before magnification isn't everything. Jupiter has to be the first thing that I search for in the sky at the moment, it never fails to amaze me with the moons and it gives a little confidence before you move on to the next thing.

No one has mentioned yet but what about a Barlows? If you have a good couple of EP I suspect that with a good Barlows most focal lengths would then be covered. Also if you plan to buy a Barlows in the future remember that you may double up on your focal lengths if you have bought EP in that range.

Roll on some clear skies at night so I can spend longer than an hour outside as cloud comes and goes before it finally covers over.

[dag123]

Regarding barlows, I have a x2 and x3 but only use them when using the webcam for imaging Jupiter.

I can split the double-double in Lyra with my 5mm X-Cel and going any higher in magnification does not seem to be useful as focus is too difficult.

My 10mm X-Cel gets a lot of use, second only to my 32mm. So if I had to choose two EPs, it would be these.

I suppose if you want to keep EP to the minimum and use barlows:

Starting with a very good 32mm on it's own; would become 16mm with x2 barlow; 10mm with x3 barlow; 5mm with x2 plus x3 barlows.

I've never tried to do such comparisons though.

dag123