struggling with skywatcher 127 mak

[mickjackson]

Hi guys.

really need some help.

had my 127 for 8 weeks and really struggling.

moons ok but anything further and its no good.

I thought it was cos it was a small scope that I can only just and I mean just make out a couple of jupiters bands with both a 7mm celestron x-cel lx ep and a webcam.

havnt collimated it because I thought they were pretty much bombproof.

anything I can try guys ???

Many thanx...

[nightfisher]

Mick, stick with it, they are good scopes, i had mine out tonight for half hour looking at Jupiter and the Orion nebula, its essential to cool the scope before using and a case of matching eyepiece power to the seeing conditions, some times its better to use a lower power ep when conditions are less than perfect

[ronin]

Whats the mount?
Also a Mak has a long focal length so needs generally long focal length eyepieces.

Your is 1500mm and a 7mm eyepiece will give 214x and a field of view so narrow you will have trouble finding anything.

On a 127 I would not suggest less then a 10mm eyepiece. You need a 30 or 32mm plossl, or the 25mm X-Cel.

If you think that the statement max mag = 2x dia then forget it, that is marketing and to make you feel good. Reality is probably about 150x as a usable maximum. Recently I have seen 2.5xdia and 3xdia but oddly the scopes have not changed.

For Jupiter drop to 80X, 18mm eyepiece, Saturn will be better at 120x-130x - 12mm eyepiece.

For nebula, clusters the 30/32mm plossl and possibly a 20mm.

[mickjackson]

Thanx guys.

had it cooling for 2 hours this aft and got the same poor views as usual.

ive tried the 10mm and 25mm wide which came with it, and combinations with a 2x barlow too.

all giving the same poor viewing.

the moon looks awesome but a tad closer.....lol

[mickjackson]

Sorry, mount is an eq3-2 synscan goto...

[nightfisher]

Mick, i hate to say it but the 10mm that came with your scope is only meant to be a small paper weight, if your budget will allow, get a BST 18mm starguider, this will work very well in your 127, and it will barlow to 9mm 

[mickjackson]

Yeah I know theyre useless but I thought the 7mm x-cel's were good eps ?

Should I sell that or just add to my collection with the bst ??

I have the budget but was gonna sell the scope and buy a better one (already got aperture fever ;-))....

Will the bst be a good ep to have on a future scope.

please bare with me as im still new to this..

Thank you

[nightfisher]

Mick, we will get one thing clear, this forum is all about sharing knowledge and helping others out, so not a case of "bearing with you" please dont give up on the 127, if you get a larger scope it will more likely be a newt and these will give you problems to start of with, keep the 7mm, this will be useful on really good nights, an 18mm BST will work in most scopes, maybe not so good in a really fast newt but at f5 and above it will be a very good ep, if you stick with it i guarantee you will learn to get the mak performing at its best, there are times when this hobby can be so frustrating, my 150 mak is really letting me down today, last time i used it, it was brill, today its pants 

[mickjackson]

Thanks nightfisher.

its pretty depressing at timez but im not a quitter.

I only bought the little scope incase I didnt get into the hobby and waste my money.

ill try the 18 bst as ive nothing in that range anyway.

[jimbo747]

I have its cousin, the celestron 127 slt, bought at Xmas so still new to this. I got a cheapo 2x Barlow mainly for use with the webcam and a couple of cheap plossls, 20mm and 8mm. With our scopes apparently there isn't a massive advantage going for top of the range eyepieces.

With our scopes and its narrow field of view getting the goto spot on is key. I hate the rdf, takes ages to get it exactly pointing to same area so will be first area to upgrade.

Maks are best at viewing the planets and the moon, you'll find excellent images of Jupiter and Saturn taken with one, however a good majority of dso's will fit in with a 32mm plossl, I'm finding the standard 25mm piece OK for the time being.

My astrobin site has a couple of images that show what can be done with this scope and a cheap old webcam, and more experienced users have far more impressive images.

http://www.astrobin.com/users/jimbo747/

[mickjackson]

Hate the rdf ?

Whats that m8 ???

[nightfisher]

the RDF is the little red dot finder device, a finder scope is much better with one of these scopes

[rowan46]

excuse me asking a silly question. Are you using a dew shield with it? if not you should.

[chiltonstar]

The SW 127 Mak is a fantastic little scope for the money - don't give up on it!

With mine, Jupiter is usually best with an 8mm EP (BST), but I do go down to a 6mm EP on nights of excellent seeing, and with targets like double stars, Mars and Saturn. The scope certainly will reach x250, but the seeing needs to be good enough and the scope well cooled.

I find a neodymium filter sharpens the image a little with Jupiter and dims the view slightly, which helps with bringing out more detail, or I use a neutral density filter for the same purpose.

Chris

[mickjackson]

Hi rowan46.

Nope, not got a dew shield yet.

but shouldnt I start off with a fantastic image that will slowly deteriorate as the dew collects ??

thanx

[mickjackson]

Thanx chris.

ill take all that on board m8...

:-)

[mickjackson]

Rdf = red dot finder....

ha.

cheers nightfisher

[happy-kat]

The rdf needs to be aligned to what the telescope is seeing to make it useful.

This is a daylight task on a distant TV mast or chimney.

[dweller25]

Hello Mick,

Here are my pointers for getting the best out of the Skmax 127.

1. Make sure the scope and the mount are very well cooled down - On most nights in the UK if you are using a Mak without a dewshield and the front corrector has not dewed up then it has not cooled down enough to get a good view.

2. *** Check the collimation ***  - there are loads of guides on the internet and it's quite ueasy to do as it's from the rear of the scope.

3. Get a dewshield.

4. Get a good diagonal........http://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/william-optics-125-dura-bright-dielectric-diagonal.html

5. For the planets you will not get much more than around x150 so get a good 10mm eyepiece.....http://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-slv-eyepieces.html

6. Buy a Baader Neodymium filter to enhance contrast......http://www.firstlightoptics.com/light-pollution-reduction/baader-neodymium-filter.html

Hope that helps.

[jimbo747]

Hi rowan46.

Nope, not got a dew shield yet.

but shouldnt I start off with a fantastic image that will slowly deteriorate as the dew collects ??

thanx

A dew shield is a must, even just some cardboard round the tube sticking out a foot or so will help. When you leave it to cool outside are you leaving the cap on or off? An hour I find is plenty, even from going to a warm house to near 0 outside.

I've started keeping mine in the shed so its within a couple of degrees of outside, below is a link to a case that fits the scope perfectly with space for the rdf and some EPs.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/311246148036?nav=SEARCH

[mickjackson]

All taken on board guys.

thank you..