identification

[booth_robert]

Can anyone help identifi this scope please I know its 200mm X 800mm f4 but can't make out the brand and model

[John]

I think it's one of these:

http://www.vcastro.com/reviews/helios/

They are available under a number of brandings.

[Dave Lloyd]

F4, is that a spherical mirror? There no mention of a correcter downstream of the mirror, only no Schmidt type corrector plate.

[booth_robert]

Mmm do I buy this as an upgrade from a skywatcher 130m that I am having problems with prime focus I already have a eq5 with motors rigged up to a astro eq box of tricks for tracking is it worth £100

[booth_robert]

Sorry dave am still a noob only just started out lol

[Cornelius Varley]

Mmm do I buy this as an upgrade from a skywatcher 130m that I am having problems with prime focus I already have a eq5 with motors rigged up to a astro eq box of tricks for tracking is it worth £100

Purchasing this would be a backward step. The mirror is spherical, not parabolic and would would difficult to keep collimated at f4. The spider veins are very thick compared to the type used by Synta (0.5mm).  Basically, this telescope is not in the same league as Skywatcher,  Celestron etc.

[Dave Lloyd]

I thought the mount looked fairly sturdy but if you've got an eq5 you're already far ahead.

[booth_robert]

Cornelius Varley the 130m is not a parabolic mirror ether

[booth_robert]

The 130 has big veins as well mmmm

[John]

I think the 130 is F/6.9 isnt it ?

You can get away with spherical at that focal ratio but not at F/4.

£100 is a good chunk towards a decent upgrade scope. You can buy a used Skywatcher 8" F/5 for around £120 and put it on your EQ5. Far, far better scope I think.

[booth_robert]

true still don't know full spec of the ota yet so if it has a parabolic mirror it would be okay

[John]

true still don't know full spec of the ota yet so if it has a parabolic mirror it would be okay

How are you going to find out ?

A parabolic F/4 is a challenging mirror to make. Skywatcher charge £400 for an 8" F/4 just as an optical tube. I think "caveat emptor" would have to be applied to a claimed 8" F/4 parabola for £100 including the mount.

[Stu]

Reading the review John posted up, I would not touch it. Does it not say something that they only kept the mount and completely junked the tube because it wouldn't focus?