EP starter set for skywatcher 200

[Terr1]

Hey I want a starter set of 3 EPs (1.25) for my skywatcher 200.

I'm a beginner and really dont know what to get. I plan to start with planets and the easier objects like m42. As I wear glasses I prefer longer eye relief.

I would perfer something around 75 gbp per EP if possible. I only own a TS SMW 66 6mm EP, the rest are poor quality.

[John]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Given your wish for longer eye relief and your budget I think the BST Explorer / Starguider eyepieces would fit very well. As you have the 6mm / 200x slot filled, you could add the 25mm and 12mm BST Explorers for 48x and 100x. The 25mm would show you around a 1.25 degree true field which would show objects like M42 and other larger deep sky objects very nicely.

If you wanted a bit more flexibility you could go for, say, the 25mm, 15mm (80x) and 8mm (150x) BST's instead. These eyepieces work out at around £50 GBP each.

[Terr1]

Cool thanks.. I was already looking at the bst explorer / starguider, but was unsure of the eye relief specs on them.. I guess ill buy a few of thoes off ebay then

[John]

The BST Explorers have eye relief that varies between 16mm and 20mm. Quite generous. One place that sells them is here:

http://www.365astronomy.com/8mm-BST-Explorer-ED-Eyepiece.html

[Floater]

Good advice from John - as ever - and I don't have the knowledge to add anything on that front.

Just a word of caution about rushing off 'to buy a few of those off eBay'. Take your time; have a look around on retail sites; check used/pre-loved markets, and read, research and re-read. And if you're still determined that eBay is the place for you, have a look around on there, too. There are some ridiculously different prices for the same product and lots of additional costs if you buy from abroad, the U.S. in particular. Caveat emptor.

Oh, and have fun while you're doing all that ... :-))

EDIT: I see John is steering you away from eBay already!

[Terr1]

Thanks for the shop link.. They had the other stuff I needed as well

[ronin]

365Astro add on £3.60 for postage so the cost is £51, Alan at Skies the Limit has them at £49 and no postage, StL, so they are a bit less.

I found this when I bought one from 365.

Don't worry about Alan, Skies the Limit, being on ebay.

What observing do you do? As in DSO or planetary.

If planetary then you may want to consider the Celestron X-Cels, they perform effectively identically to the BST's but the focal lengths are slightly different and for planets there is a better range at the shorter focal lengths, so a little better set of options at the magnifications.

The BST's are 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 25mm

The X-Cels are 5, 7, 9, 12, 18, 25mm

Unfortunately the X-Cels are £63. :mad:

[Les S]

Skies the Limit also offer a discount for multi buys. I am buying 3 in September and the discount is worth having.  Drop them an email for a quote.

Les

[Ouroboros]

What does BST stand for?

[John]

What does BST stand for?

It's a branding that a chinese manufacturing company called Barsta use.

The same eypieces are sold under a number of different brandings around the world as are other products that Barsta makes.

[Terr1]

I ordered a BST starguider 18, 15, 12, 8 from sky's the limit.. Thanks for the discount tip..

And I also jumped on the ES 24mm deg68 that was on sale on bresser.de to replace my skywatcher possel 25mm.

So hopefully I have what I need.. Im just missing a cheap webcam for autoguiding, however they are hard to come by..

[John]

That seems a comprehensive set. You might find that you can use some shorter focal lengths in due course as well. Unless you decide to use a barlow lens which would make some sense.

[Terr1]

Yeah I have a barlow I bought when I got the telescope.. However it seems like a generic 1,25" 2x so not sure how good it is.. Payed like 45gbp.

[Terr1]

Looks like the generic skywatcher version.. Can anyone recommend a decent barlow? 75 gbp range?

[Ouroboros]

It's a branding that a chinese manufacturing company called Barsta use.

The same eypieces are sold under a number of different brandings around the world as are other products that Barsta makes.

OK, thanks.

[beamer3.6m]

Decent barlow = Orion Shorty or Celestron Ultima (both 2x)

[Charic]

Terr1.......working on the assumption that you have the 200P Explorer! the BST Starguiders are good and should still be ok on your scope, remembering the Explorer is actually f/4.9. I know I'm splitting hairs here, the Explorer is a whole f/ stop faster than the Skyliner.

At the end of the day, whatever the specs, your eyes alone will decide their outcome.

[Terr1]

Terr1.......working on the assumption that you have the 200P Explorer! the BST Starguiders are good and should still be ok on your scope, remembering the Explorer is actually f/4.9. I know I'm splitting hairs here, the Explorer is a whole f/ stop faster than the Skyliner.

At the end of the day, whatever the specs, your eyes alone will decide their outcome.

yeah correct its the explorer 200.. Didnt know there where other models in the 200's

I hope the starguiders will work okay in a f/5 scope

[Charic]

Yeah! There' s two Skywatcher 200Ps, your Explorer on the equatorial mount, and the Skyliner on a Dobsonian mount..as you can see, I have the 200P Skyliner, Dobsonian.

On my f/6 (f/5.91) the Starguiders are just fine for my eyes. You should find them suitable too, on your f/5 (4.91) if not,return them. Coma aberration at the extremes of the field of view may be more noticeable on a faster scope? This can be corrected, if noticeable, by either using a coma corrector, or premium eyepieces from other brands. On axis, there should be no major issues. You would only really need to worry about this if coma is very apparent, or you explore / venture into widefield astrophotography!

The Explorer is more suited to equatorial tracking and possibly better for imaging if you motorise the mount, whereas the Dobsonian version is more a visual tool, capable of allowing short exposures of the Moon, with a phone or DSLR.

[John]

yeah correct its the explorer 200.. Didnt know there where other models in the 200's

I hope the starguiders will work okay in a f/5 scope

I tried using a couple of Starguiders (8mm and 12mm I think) with my F/5.3 dob at the SGL star party earlier this year and they seemed to work pretty well. If there is astigmatism (distortion to star images) it will be right at the edges of the field of view and, for what they cost, this is not a big deal.