Small Telescope

[IckleImp]

Hi

As previously posted I currently have a Travelscope 70 which is is mainly used by my wife for birdwatching. I do use it occasionally for astromony and have managed to view Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon. I would now like to purchase something small for myself to further my astronomy but is must meet certain criteria.

Size:- We have a small caravan which we use a lot and I wish to take it with me, so it needs to be small enough to store in the boot along with our other gear.

I also wish to use it in my garden but my area sufferes from heavy light polution

Mount:- I would prefer a tripod of some sort so that I can vary between standing and sitting and I would rather not have to rely on a table, so I have discounted Dobs

I wish to view planets and other common objects and learn more about what is up there. I am not interested in AP

Type:- small refractor, small reflector or small maksutov

I am not looking for large aperature and I realise the limitations of small scope.

My budget is £200 max. I realise I may get something better for a little extra but that is always going to be the case whatever I look at.

So far I have looked at the Skymax 90 & Startravel 102 both on eq1 mounts.

Thanks in advance

[ronin]

My preference would have been the Evostar 90 on the EQ2 mount, the EQ3-2 takes it over the £200.

The Mak with the long focal length will deliver a narrow field of view, sounds good for magnification but not good for manually locating anything. If you cannot find it to look at it ain't much use, also higher magnifications mean things drift out faster.

The 102 I think would not give the views you might want - CA will be present, agreed some in the 90 but not so bad. This aspect is personel so you may not be bothered.

The drawback being a longer scope.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

1. With a dob you can either use an observer stool to sit or stand. So this should not be a limiting factor to rule out dobs. Even a astronomical tripod has a minimum height.

2. If you have a small caravan, you can store the scope in the caravan during transport? So it shouldn't be a limiting factor on Scope size either.

The EQ1 Mount is in all honesty pretty terrible. Especially in our often "windy" climate. So you will have to resort to hanging weights under the tripod and that sort of thing to stabilize it a bit during viewing.

So in that respect, the 150p would be a fantastic scope that fits your budget exactly! It has a reasonable long focal length, so will give very nice views of the solar system objects and will do well at deepsky objects, especially at a dark site.

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

The skymax 90 is very limiting in aperture and you will grow out of it real quickly. The startravel 102 is a short tube achromatic refractor that will show a lot of chromatic aberation on bright objects like the moon and planets.

Especially if you live under Heavy light polution, the extra aperture of the 150p will at least allow you to see some more objects from your back garden other than only a few brightest objects.

Just my 2 cents.

PS. If you desperately want a refractor on a tripod. I would definetely recommend to Shell out £30 extra and go for this one:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq3-2.html

The EQ3-2 Mount is much more stable and the long F10 focal length of the Evostar 90 reduces Chromatic Aberation significantly compared to the Star Travel Scopes. It will still be there, but much less.

[IckleImp]

I had not thought of the Evostar 90.

The 150P looks a little big plus I would have concerns with the mirrors going out of alignment being bounced around in the caravan

[brantuk]

I would go for this one: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html

It'll fit in the boot or the caravan very easily with room to spare and will give you the best light gathering for the budget. All the popular brighter objects will be accessible, it's well within budget, and it's a good basic starter scope to get you going. You may want to stow the weights in the passenger foot well. Alternatively, the motorised version down the page is the same price. Hth

[laudropb]

I would keep well clear of the eq1 mount. It is just not steady enough

[Owmuchonomy]

I had not thought of the Evostar 90.

The 150P looks a little big plus I would have concerns with the mirrors going out of alignment being bounced around in the caravan

I've just started a thread in the Scope and setup discussion forum with a caravan and suitable scope theme. I am of the view that a Dob would be perfect. I'm awaiting the opinion of others. You can always wrap the OTA in a duvet or sleeping bag and lay it on the bed/bunk in transit.

[hobsey]

How about on of theses? Can also be mounted on to a steady tripod.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html

[Jim Steele]

For a Dob, I would get this one, folds down to a really compact size perfect for traveling!

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

A little left over for some accesories.

Jim

[IckleImp]

I had looked at the 100p and the 130p flexitube. would I get better image quality form the 100p over the evo90?.

I hear mixed reviews about the flexitube in particular the focuser and also stray light effecting the view, as it is not a closed tube. In addition the secondary mirror does not look particularly well mounted and may be prone to movement.

A point to note:- I already have a very stable First Horizon tripod

[GuillermoBarrancos]

I had looked at the 100p and the 130p flexitube. would I get better image quality form the 100p over the evo90?.

I hear mixed reviews about the flexitube in particular the focuser and also stray light effecting the view, as it is not a closed tube. In addition the secondary mirror does not look particularly well mounted and may be prone to movement.

A point to note:- I already have a very stable First Horizon tripod

The 100P not so, the 130P will give a bit better views due to larger aperture. Tho the Evostar 90 will be stronger on planets and moon due to it's long focal length.

I still think the 150P dobsonian is unbeatable at the £200 price point. It really isn't that big and can be easily secured in your caravan, like for example someone suggested, tucked away wrapped into sleepingbag in the bunkbed.

The tube can be lifted out of the base.

You need to colimate a reflector after a long Journey anyway, which is quick and easy to do when you get the hang of it.

[Alfian]

From my experience of caravanning - space will always be at a premium and I would choose something that will take the odd knock (gentle hopefully) . For me that would rule out most reflectors. I have a Skymax 102 - very compact - works quite nicely on a heavy-ish (3Kg) duty phototripod and ball head. It is very portable (comes in it own neat carry bag) and is optically very good. Superb views of moon and pretty good view sof planets. However - the field of view is small -1.3 degrees with a 32mm plossl. The Evostar 90 on an AZ3 would be better in this respect and the CA is not so bad. CA seems to be an issue for some - not so much for others. The 900/90 Evostar though fairly rugged is best part of a yard long - so that needs to be considered though in terms of a compact set up. The 102 Startravel/ AZ3  is a useful compact set up that will give nice wide field views but with increased CA on brighter objects like moon/planets. 

[IckleImp]

I don't think I would be popular taking up masses of room in the caravan, so although better I think the 150P is a little large, the explorer 130p is also too large having seen one recently.

To be honest I am not particularly bothered about a small amount of CA

[IckleImp]

Does anyone have experience with the Skyhawk 1145p

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Does anyone have experience with the Skyhawk 1145p

I would stay away from that one, as it comes with the dreaded EQ1 Mount.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

I don't think I would be popular taking up masses of room in the caravan, so although better I think the 150P is a little large, the explorer 130p is also too large having seen one recently.

To be honest I am not particularly bothered about a small amount of CA

A small amount CA ends up again on the Evostar 90/900 + EQ3-2 combo I mentioned earlier.

The startravel series are very prone to heavy CA on bright objects like Moon and Planets.

You could buy a Baader Semi-APO filter to reduce the CA a bit, but that would add another £60 to the equation.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/achromat-semi-apo-filters/baader-semi-apo-filter.html

Tho these filters really work best on long focal length refractors like the Evostar.

[IckleImp]

I would stay away from that one, as it comes with the dreaded EQ1 Mount.

Ignoring the EQ1 mount how good it the scope?

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Ignoring the EQ1 mount how good it the scope?

The 1115 reflector is less than 2cm smaller in wide (diameter) and about 15cm shorter than the 130P. Hardly any difference really.

Maybe you have seen the Explorer 130 perhaps? As that one has 900mm focal length as to the 650mm of the Explorer 130P.

With the 130P you get a better aperture scope and slightly better mount.

Myself, I would personally not go smaller than 150mm aperture, as you just grow out of it too quickly . But that's just me.

It's Your Money and Your Choice really. All we can do is give you advice. You have to decide in the end what you want to buy.

[IckleImp]

Obviouly if I get the better mount then that would transferable to a better scope at a later date.

I will check out the Evo 90 and 130P Explorer at a local astronmony shop.

I believe they also stock the 150P for comparision. I agree I want the largest aperture I can afford and I may have to squeeze a little more out of my finance manager (wife) to get the best I can.

Thanks to everyone for their advice it is much appreciated

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Obviouly if I get the better mount then that would transferable to a better scope at a later date.

I will check out the Evo 90 and 130P Explorer at a local astronmony shop.

I believe they also stock the 150P for comparision. I agree I want the largest aperture I can afford and I may have to squeeze a little more out of my finance manager (wife) to get the best I can.

Thanks to everyone for their advice it is much appreciated

If you want to future proof yourself at least a little. Buy something Nice for Your wife as bribe and try get the 150P dobsonian for yourself.

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

Or in case of Mount, go for the Evostar 90/900 as it comes With the EQ3-2 DeLuxe mount. It's the best and most stable Mount for that price range.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq3-2.html

A little future tip: with any of these scopes, you can get the best out of these scopes by buying some better EP's at a later date (like the affordable Baader Hyperion EP's). That will improve views quite dramatically. Squeezing out every best bit these scopes have to offer.

[TrixieLoyalist]

I would go for one of these strictly sticking to the budget with an eyepiece or two for refractor and with a collimating tool for the newtonian.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq2.html

The 90mm Maksutov doesn't seem too bad a choice but it has the weakest mount so it could be hard to keep it still to look at stuff, but it'll have samey light gathering as the Evostar 90 but less wide field of view for things like open clusters, the Explorer 130P is a good choice because it'll see fainter stuff through light pollution.

Or save up a bit more and get the Evostar on a better mount

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq3-2.html

Those are my thoughts as an astronomy newbie anyway. Good luck!

[Alfian]

A review of the Evostar 90 here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/141556-skywatcher-evostar-90mm-refractor-review/

[GuillermoBarrancos]

A review of the Evostar 90 here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/141556-skywatcher-evostar-90mm-refractor-review/

It´s definitely an excellent package for the Money! Especially the package with the EQ3-2 Deluxe Mount, which is worth the extra £70 alone.

Never liked the Star Travel Scopes. They are excellent and cheap Scopes for guiding purposes tho.

Tho, I Guess when you have the option to go to dark sites frequently, it can be a decent little widefield Scope.

But from a light poluted backgarden, where you are Limited to the brighest Objects With these aperture Scopes, you definitely want the slow F ratio of the Evostar refractors, to cut down on the CA.

[cutepetgroomer]

well, I am awaiting before making my final purchase but I have found out one of my relatives actually works for one of the companies that makes telescopes so if I"m really patient and give them an idea of what I"m looking for they will be able to help me and all I would end up paying would be the shipping fees... which I think is a pretty sweet deal. They are gonna upgrade from one they own themselves and are willing to give me the one they currently have... but I do agree, those of us who tend to take our telescopes travelling a bit could use a tripod that is sturdy enough to be usable for our needs and what we would like to do.. 

[tyco]

The 150 dob is the best telescope for your £200.