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Mr Cat

MrCat

By MrCat
in Welcome

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MrCat

MrCat

Posted
Posted

Hi there folks!

I'm totally new to the world of star gazing with anything other than my own eyes or a youtube documentary :)

I have always fantasised about being able to afford a decent telescope, tho I know little about them other than they're generally out of my price range...

However!... I just scored a telescope from my local skip/dump/recycling centre for £30. There is no specific model name on it but it says 'Helios' and D=76mm and F=700ml on the side, and has 2 eye pieces one with H20mm and the other H8mm.

This is the closest thing google could find for me on a quick search just now - 

This all means pretty much nothing to me at the mo, and it's quite dusty. Hopefuly it's all good, I'm not sure what can go wrong with these things but anyway that's me and this is my beginnings of hopefully getting in some proper cool star gazing, I'm quite excited! :D

So I'm here to find out more from all you lovely people. I'll get some pics of the thing or a wee vid and post it up sometime soon and grill you for some tips and advice about cleaning it up and using it.

I'm from Scotland, out in the sticks in the wilds of Argyll so I think I'm pretty well placed with no light pollution...and the dark nights are setting in early.

I'm generally very up-beat, enthusiastic, and slightly mad.

Cheers folks
Catch y'all soon ;)

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happy-kat

happy-kat

Posted
Posted

welcome

Quite a bargain for £30 to get started in a new hobby.

Stellarium is a brilliant free piece of software.

Don't worry if the mirror is dusty just use the telescope first the mirror can be quite bad and still not affect views.

A rubber rocket blower is useful to blow bigger debris/dust bits off the mirrors. These can be had for around £5 or less.

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Lonestar70

Lonestar70

Posted
Posted

Hi MrCat,

Welcome to SGL.

Nice find and should get you started on the slippery road of astronomy where being slightly mad is a great asset... you have joined the right crowd.

Where are you located in Argyll? I am near Lochgilphead and would be happy to assist if you need any help.

Clear Skies.

Sandy. :grin:

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glowjet

glowjet

Posted
Posted

Hi MrCat and welcome to SGL, Helios scopes were quite reasonable in operation, the main thing is to check and see, if the main mirror is in a decent clean condition, if it has been recovered from a skip/dump recycling centre. If it is in an unclean state, please don`t do anything without asking advice on the forum, in the beginners help and guide sections. The same goes for any other inquires you may have, you will find plenty of help, enjoy the forum :) 

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MrCat

MrCat

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Awww thanks folks, I like you lot already! I feel most welcome, and what a shocker to find so many 'almost' local' folk too! Brilliant. I am in the right place.

I'm away to get some pictures of my new scope so I can post some proper questions :D

Cheers!

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MrCat

MrCat

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...being slightly mad is a great asset... you have joined the right crowd.

Where are you located in Argyll? I am near Lochgilphead and would be happy to assist if you need any help.

We're almost neighbours! :D I've PM'd you.

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

Posted
Posted

Welcome to SGL, MrCat. The scope should well get you started, but you might want to add eyepieces with a larger field of view than the Huygens types you have. This will make finding things in the sky MUCH easier, and need not cost much. I bought a 20mm Plossl for just 15 euro for my kids' scope, and it performs very nicely indeed. Lots of second-hand kit can be found here:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

And another +1 for Stellarium, of course

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