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Finally bought a scope! SW 200p Dob!

drnat

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drnat

drnat

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After much indecision and blind alleys finally forked out and purchased a telescope today.

In the end went for a safe 8" Dob to see if astronomy is a long term hobby (my wife gives it a couple of months!). Should be picking it up tomorrow - so guaranteed continuing heavy cloud for a while now!

Decided against goto & something more expensive until I know more about what direction I want to take & can then make a more informed decision.

Big thanks to all on here who have contributed to my various threads on 'which scope to buy' & can't wait to get out there & enjoy the views.

Looking forward to star hopping & trying to see the messier 110 (ish!) etc :-)

I shall try to do a first light review & updates on life with an 8" Dob!

Thanks again guys, a great forum with sound advice for newbies like me.....

Clear sky's

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ronl

ronl

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So now we know who's at fault for all this cloud and rain, 

when we do get good weather you will have some great

views with your 200p, it's a great scope. Enjoy! 

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Elm0

Elm0

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Good choice!

I love my dob. You'll get some great views out of it. I'm sure the wife will be hooked once shown the results!

Make sure you pick up a Cheshire collimator too. It should be fine, but you will need to tweak it at some point.

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brantuk

brantuk

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Congrats on your new scope - the 200P dob is a sound scope to cut your teeth on and you'll lose very little if you decide astronomy's not for you after all and have to sell up. Now for the challenging part - learning the sky and finding stuff (buying the scope was the easy bit lol). :)

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Charic

Charic

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drnat......Hi, Great Choice, although the Wife might be right? with Summer around the corner? Longer Days, shorter nights, does restrict your viewing schedule, and you may feel that the effort of setting up is not worthwhile or practical, as some folk at this time of the Year put their telescopes into hibernation! That said, Autumn-Winter is only a few Months away (for Scotland anyway) and as the nights get longer / darker you will enjoy the rewards of owning the new Skyliner telescope.


can I recommend that you just try the telescope as it is, without worrying too much about all the upgrades that are possible, with just one exception, a new BST 8mm or 12mm eyepiece. No need to buy to many extras yet, until you come to terms whether the hobby is for you, and due to the shorter / lighter nights. The eyepieces in my signature are more than adequate for your telescope, and will be more comfortable to use.


Your wife will be surprised the first time she views the Moon, but an additional pair of binoculars, 7x50 or 10x50 help and will keep the Mrs occupied too.


Download Stellarium if you haven't already. You can look ahead to plan your observations, set -up virtual telescopes and eyepiece combinations to trial, and its a great learning tool.
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drnat

drnat

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Congrats on your new scope - the 200P dob is a sound scope to cut your teeth on and you'll lose very little if you decide astronomy's not for you after all and have to sell up. Now for the challenging part - learning the sky and finding stuff (buying the scope was the easy bit lol). :)

Thanks Brantuk - one of the reasons for finally going for the Dob was so I can try star hopping etc. been trying it with Bins - only problem with the LP was couldn't see the intended object that was searching. I have bought a Rigel to help with this....

Can't wait to see if I can do any better - can't blame the equipment now :-)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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drnat

drnat

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drnat......Hi, Great Choice, although the Wife might be right? with Summer around the corner? Longer Days, shorter nights, does restrict your viewing schedule, and you may feel that the effort of setting up is not worthwhile or practical, as some folk at this time of the Year put their telescopes into hibernation! That said, Autumn-Winter is only a few Months away (for Scotland anyway) and as the nights get longer / darker you will enjoy the rewards of owning the new Skyliner telescope.

can I recommend that you just try the telescope as it is, without worrying too much about all the upgrades that are possible, with just one exception, a new BST 8mm or 12mm eyepiece. No need to buy to many extras yet, until you come to terms whether the hobby is for you, and due to the shorter / lighter nights. The eyepieces in my signature are more than adequate for your telescope, and will be more comfortable to use.

Your wife will be surprised the first time she views the Moon, but an additional pair of binoculars, 7x50 or 10x50 help and will keep the Mrs occupied too.

Download Stellarium if you haven't already. You can look ahead to plan your observations, set -up virtual telescopes and eyepiece combinations to trial, and its a great learning tool.

Thanks Charic, am avoiding getting many extras. The Rigel to help with star hoping and have stellarium but pref sky Safari 4 on the iPad - great piece of software. Excited to continue to learn about & navigate the sky....what interested me in the beginning, along with the physics of it all!

A friend is going to lend me some eye pieces - don't know much about them all yet but will keep your suggestion in mind - is this one that has some magnification but not too much and keeps a decent FOV?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Charic

Charic

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Thanks Charic, am avoiding getting many extras. The Rigel to help with star hoping and have stellarium but pref sky Safari 4 on the iPad - great piece of software. Excited to continue to learn about & navigate the sky....what interested me in the beginning, along with the physics of it all!

A friend is going to lend me some eye pieces - don't know much about them all yet but will keep your suggestion in mind - is this one that has some magnification but not too much and keeps a decent FOV?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

drnat........My thought is that the eyepiece is only as good as the telescope, Its the telescope that has to  produce the perfect image at the focal plane. The eyepiece just allows you to see that final image. 
Some eyepieces are better built and cost more because of their optical construction and type of glass in the eyepiece. What you choose ultimately is what you find to be the most suitable for viewing and cost. Any suitable eyepiece will work, you just have to decide what's suitable. The Skyliner comes with two EP's The 10mm can easily be bettered. hence my recommendation. The 25mm will see you through a little longer, but may not be wide enough. (for that reason I chose the SW Panaview, but there are others too choose, as you will find out from other folk here at SGL.
The BST Starguider eyepieces work wonderfully well in the Skyliner telescope, they have  a good wide  field of view and good eye relief. If you opt for the BST's, buy two and test them first. If their not to your liking, send them back for a refund of the purchase price. No one else offers this facility. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Skys-the-Limit-Astro-and-Optical/BST-Starguider-ED-/_i.html?_fsub=2568750014
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triton1

triton1

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We'll done good choice,I too went for the 200p on an eq mount for my first scope.I,ve had 2 years now and still not bored.It,s probably our weather never get a chance to use it much

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Luke

Luke

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Congrats on your new scope :) I am hoping my new scope will turn up tomorrow as well.

Although these dobs are large scopes, they are so easy to set up, and to bring back in. So if you're not sure if it will be clear or not, you can pop it outside to cool down to the outside temperature, and if it doesn't clear, you've hardly made any effort anyway :)

There is so much to see with 8 inches of aperture. Great choice!

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