Hello All Stargazers

[Periscope]

Hi, my name is Geoff. Why NoScope for my username? Well at the moment I have no scope.

I got facinated with stargazing when I was in my late teens and bought myself a 4" Newtonian Reflctor scope from a well known High St photographers, no internet in those day's so no chance of choosing a decent scope, like we have today. I got many hours of pleasure with this scope, which I cannot remember the name of, but it was classed as an up market beginner's scope at that time and was much better than a pair of 10 x 50 binnoculars, that had got me interested in the first place, after marvelling at the Moon's surface.

Then girls came on the scene, and the scope spent more time packed away, than it did viewing the heaven's and finally, the mirror, started to loose its coating after about 10 years. By this time, my interest was not the same and eventually, the scope ended up in a jumble sale and that was that.

Now I am a lot older and have a disabled wife to take care of, rather than spend my time watching the television, I have spent many hours, wrapped up on dark cold evenings viewing the heavens once more, again with a pair of decent binnoculars.

I have also rekindled my interest again, by looking at the huge choice of scopes that are available today and at much cheaper prices, than they were years ago, if you compare what a 4" costs today, to what it cost in 1970. Having sold several Radio Controlled Model Warships (yes I am ex RN) I have accumilated almost £800 which I aim to spend on a good telescope and a few spare lenses and filters, to get me started again.

I have decided to limit myself to £650 for the scope & mount and the rest for accessories. I want to choose the best possible scope for my money, with the largest aperture/focul length which will enable me to seek deep sky objects and also be good for planetery observation.

A Meade is out of my range, so I was thinging of going for one of the Skywatcher scopes and two which have come within my price range are the

Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5 Snc Scan GoTo Newtonian (8") Reflecter, or the

Skywatcher Skymax Pro 150 (6") Maksutov Cassegrain, EQ5 mount, the latter seeming the best option in terms of quality.

What I am looking for is one that will enable me to see deep sky objects and good planetary observations. but as I am not too familiar with optics I would like to know what other's think would be the best choice. Size is imaterial, as I won't be travelling too far with it, but compactness could outweigh the larger scope, providing I would get better results, with the smaller Cassegrain. Astrophotography could become a consideration at a later date, but is not a priority. The rest of my little nest egg, is to purchase a few extra lenses and some filters, just to get me started, which would just about leave me skint.

I don't want to start with a lower end model and wish I had opted for something better, I know what to expect with a larger scope and just want to be able to get the best possible results for the money I have to spend.

Having the GoTo feature with the Newtonian would be nice, but it's the optical quality that overules the gimmicks and if the Cassegrain (although smaller) can knock a better punch, then maybe that is the one to go for.

I will listen to sound advice and hope that you can provide an answer to help me choose wisely.

Hopefully, I will soon be out there, setting up my scope, instead of having NoScope!

Regards

Geoff

[barkis]

Welcome Geoff, and I hope you enjoy SGL, I'm sure you will. It is a very happy forum, and loads of help if you need any.

As for choosing your scope, well there are so many choices as you have already found out just looking around.

If your main targets are going to be Deep Sky Objects, their very description describes what the are. Deep Sky, and by definition, quite faint. Therefore, to give yourself the best chance of seeing most of them, the size of the telescope's Objective has to be considered. In other words, the larger, the better. That's not to say smaller scopes are inferior, far from it. there are some excellent instruments out there. I believe though, that size is king for deep Sky stuff.

When you are ready to start, you could do a lot worse than have a word with Steve at FLO, who's Logo you can see at the very top of this page. He will give you some great help in making your choice. There are other dealers of course on the site here. You can find them in the Retailers Section of the board.

Welcome again Geoff.

Ron.

[scotastro]

Hi NoScope and welsome to SGL. :wave:

Compared with the 70s the choice of telescopes now is staggering

Skywatcher make very good quality for the price. Regarding your choices you have the classic dilemma - which is more important to you DSOs or planets.

The 8" Newtonian would be best for seeing faint deep sky objects (DSOs) assuming you have suitable dark skies - views of the planets will be good too though less contrasty. While the smaller 6"Mak would give great views of the planets, but will be limited to the brighter DSOs.

Either scope will take a astro CCD camera or webcam for imaging, though the Mak would probably cope better with a heavy DSLR.

Mike

[narrowbandpaul]

if u are looking for optical quality, then u can look no further than Orion Optics, based in Crewe.

They offer high quality newtonians in 6-16" Apertures.

Whats more they will also make great scopes for astrophotography, where cassegrains dont because of theyre long focal ratio. Check out orionoptics.co.uk.

I have one of their 10" mirrors. it is of far higher quality than those supplied by the like of RCOS (ritchey chretien optical systems). I have a strehl of 0.991 and a PV RMS of 1/67th wave.

Im not saying that that quality and size of mirror is in your range...I got a special deal on mine.

But a 6" 1/6th wave or 1/8th if you can afford an thier vixen mounts would be good. (mine is 1/10th wave)

You could add vixen hi quality precision drives and have a good astrophotography mount

Thats what I would think of..

6/8" Newt, 1/6th or 1/8th wave optics on the vixen tripod, which can be upgraded later after saving more...

The chinese telescopes ie Skywatcher are OK, they do the job, but you dont know what you'll get. It could be a fine fine telescope or it could be Rubbish...there are no guarantees. And as for meade, I wouldnt own one again (although my dob has shown me nice things). Theyre optics are Rubbish and not up to serious astrophotography. I have used a 12 and 16" LX200, and they are hopeless. Moving mirror focussers dont work for astrophotography, although they can me adapted.

So skywatcher, or even better, Orion Optics...

Good Luck

Paul

[Stephen Green]

Hi Geoff and welcome to the SGL as you can see there are alot of different ideas on which scopes are best that is what is nice about this forum there is plenty of advice :sunny: :sunny:

Stephen

[Astro_Baby]

:wave: Hi noscope from me as well.

I was recently in more or less the same position as you. Returning to the hobby after a 20+ year absence. My scope back then was a 4.5" reflector of uncertain manufacture. A boyfriend bought it as a present. Anyway I dabbled a bit got the bug but then life got in the way

In the last few months I have come back to the hobby and yse the market has changed out of all recognition. Telescopes which back in the late 70s / early 80s which would have had HUGE price tags have come down in price and the sheer choice out there is dazzling - it also makes it hard to choose really - choice is always a mixed blessing.

I wasnt sure if I was going to stick at it so I bought cheap - Sky-Watcher 130PM. It gacve some good views and refired my enthusiasm and I wanted to go bigger.

My choice was the SKy-Watcher 200P on an HEQ5. My choices were either that or a Celestron C8-NGT which is pretty much the same telescope on a GoTo mount. The advice I got was that the CG5 mount wasnt really up to it and an 8" Newt would push the mount to its limits.

I decided I could live without GoTo so went for a more solid mount in the HEQ5 ( which is very solid indeed ).

I wont say I havent had any problems but they are bedded down now and the mount and scope are great. I cant comment on optical quality because a) I havent had much chance to use the 200P and I am not qualified to hazard an opinion on optics having quite limited experience.

In fairness all this kit seems to be quite problematic at times no matter what its provenance so I dont think the fact I had problems with mine says a great deal. Certainly I have seen pleanty of psosts where people have had equivalent problems ( or worse ) with just about every manufacturer out there.

I cant advise but can only relate my thinking and the reasons I went that way. For me a big Newt was something to aspire to 20+ years ago and once I had the time and cash thats what I bought. The 200P is a bit of a handful but I love it.

[narrowbandpaul]

nothing wrong with skywatcher

but still cant see past orion optics...if can afford of course :-)

thing with a Skywatcher mount is that they are costly, most your budget would go on that, not giving you much cash for aperture. Although they are good for starting out in astrophotography

[Jeff RV]

Hi Geoff, Welcome to SGL, Would be nice to see some pics of the R/C Warships. 8)

Jeff.

[Talitha]

:wave: Hi Geoff, welcome to SGL!

[ngc2403]

i would like to take this chance to wel;come you to the forum Geoff,

i would like to say that your plans sound good and that mr Narrowbandpaul is a d************************************* - i have a better scope than him and if you would like then i would be happy to help you show him up in some sort of join project when the skies clear

ally

[narrowbandpaul]

yes Im afraid its true, he has a strehl of 0.993....grrrr (and a fixed focuser)

nhc2403 if u join up with geoff, I could join up with a certain Douglas Cooper....and then who do you think would win...

hmmmm...

geoff, i have the sincere misfortune of personally knowing ngc2403, in fact he is sitting 1 foot away on another machine

paul

[Periscope]

Thank you all for the kind welcome and for your advice. I am even more baffled now. Anyway here goes.

I have knocked the 6" Cass in the head, cos I want as much light as I can get, rather than brilliant images of our nearer neighbours, and I have got two 8" Newtonians that appeal to me.

Again, the Skywatcher Explorer 200P Go To on the EQ5 mount

And the Celstrion C8 - NCT Go To

Both these scopes seem about the same on comparison, after reading all I can muster on the web about either of these two scopes.

I have even managed to find the cheapest deals too. Sorry Paul, although looking at The Orion Europa scopes, an 8" is out of my price bracket and I am not so sure on their mounts, they don't look as beefy as the other makes. So consiidering all the info I have gathered ( I do like the idea of a Go To, Too) I have decided to go along with Astro Bunny, and have decided to go for the Skywatcher 200P Go To set up, plus at £599 from Telescope Planet, you get a free gift and I think I will have Patrick's Sky At Night Book, just to brush up on my knowledge, ( It's a while since I did any serious star gazing). cos I have already got a decent pair of binocs.

So thank you Astro Bunny for tipping the balance for me. and besides as my old mum used to say, you won't go far wrong if you listen to what a woman has to say.

So I'm off to the bank in the morning, to deposit my bundle of money, from the sale of my boats and then order my Scope. Providing the skys clear a bit, I might be taking a flask out in the garden and spending a few hours, trying out my new toy.

Seriously though, I am really looking forward to getting familiar again, with all the contellations. I think the first on my list will be the Seven Sisters, this was the first cluster I ever had a close look at back in the 70s and through a much larger 8" it must be a sight to behold.

I'll be popping in the Lounge now and again, once I loose my sea legs, and gain my wings for some serious deep sky obs.

Geoff

[barkis]

Well you have made a good choice Geoff, that scope will give a lot of pleasure for a very long time.

Enjoy.

Ron.

[Periscope]

Thank you Ron. It's surprising by shopping arround, how much you can save too. I have seen the same scope at £655 on one site and a few more arround £615 to £625, but Telescope Planet is the best at £599, what I've saved will buy me a decent Moon Filter. I think I need an eye filter at the moment though, as I have been sat in front of this screen all evening, comparing scopes and looking for the best deals. I have gone what you would call BoG Eyed!

Geoff

[barkis]

Thank you Ron. It's surprising by shopping arround, how much you can save too. I have seen the same scope at £655 on one site and a few more arround £615 to £625, but Telescope Planet is the best at £599, what I've saved will buy me a decent Moon Filter. I think I need an eye filter at the moment though, as I have been sat in front of this screen all evening, comparing scopes and looking for the best deals. I have gone what you would call BoG Eyed!

Geoff

I keep looking for a BOGOF Geoff. (Buy One Get One Free.), but I'm still looking.

[wonneil]

Hi Geoff,

Glad to know I'm not the only one with no scope!

My choice was between the 8" Explorer or the 5" Skymax as they both have some great reviews and are good value for money.

As it will be my first ever telescope and have no knowledge, I have made up my mind which actually has nothing to do with stargazing, I've simply opted for the smaller one due to it being more portable and taking up less room.

Always needs to be considered if you have a small garden and quite high fences! hehe

[barkis]

That is a sensible criteria, the less stress the better in the pursuit of observing pleasure.

Ron.

[Astro_Baby]

Actually I went for the HEQ5 without GoTo as the HEQ5 is a stronger mount than the EQ5.

And expereince tells me the stronget mount on earth possible is only just barely strong enough.

Orion Optics - whem I was in the midst of problems with the Sky-Watcher I did consider swapping but OOs stuff is so expensive I could have only afforded a basic 6" scope from them.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Welcome to SGL Geoff, I'd go for the HEQ5 over the EQ5 too. You can upgrade to goto later if you like but the main thing is the beefiness of the HEQ5 over the EQ5. The Celestron gotos are famously noisy, which you might want to take into consideration.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[beamer3.6m]

Skywatcher Explorer 200 on HEQ5 everytime.

Can be purchased with GOTO or without, but with the option to upgrade it later.

Great scope and a fine balance between weight, portability, quality and light grasp.

[Periscope]

Well I ordered my 200P on the EQ5 Synscan GoTo yesterday. I have just rang the shop after seeing your advice Kaptain, to change my order for the HEQ5, but it has already been despatched. So I will just have to manage with the EQ5 and the GoTo. Having said that, it's no good worrying about it. I'm sure it won't make too much difference, because if the mount wasn't stable enough for such a large scope, Skywatcher wouldn't use it in the first place. Maybe I can have a look at it to see if I can add some more stability to it, as I won't be moving it much further from my garden for a while. I live in an area, where light polution, is not too drastic, my biggest problem is a large neighboring Horse Chestnut that blocks my South West view. Now where did I put that chain saw! :scratch:

Sorry for getting your name wrong Astro Baby. I must have had Rabbits on my mind at the time. By the way are you a female, just going by your User Name?

Geoff

[narrowbandpaul]

I would have gone Orion optics, but hey, each to his own.

I do have reservations about the carrying capacity of that mount, but maybe it will be absolutely fine for visual observations.

Hope you enjoy

Paul

[GazOC]

Hi Geoff, you won't go far wrong with a 8" Skywatcher Newt and the mount will be fine for visual and lunar/ planetary imaging.

Gaz

[SteelRat]

Yeah, you are sure to enjoy that setup 8) Let us know when it lands eh?

Welcome aboard Geoff :salute:

cheers

Matthew

[Periscope]

Paul, I would have gone for the Orion, but an eight inch with mount was out of price range. But from what people have said about the Explorer 8", I think for the price, I won't get a better package. Plus I sent off for some extra lenses and filters, to give me a decent start.

I won't be doing any imaging for a while yet, as photography is not a subject I know much about. I will get lots of pleasure looking at DSO's and the Planets.

At the moment, I am sorting out my large shed/workshop, to make space to house my scope when not in use. Luckily, it is heated by a couple of low watage heaters, which keep it at around 15 to 20 degrees during the winter months.

Geoff