Skywatcher Skyliner 200p for a beginner?

[Duffbus]

Hi all, I am on the verge of purchasing the Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dobsonian as a surprise gift for my wife. We've talked about getting a scope for years as we are both utterly fascinated by the night sky! Following extensive research on this forum I had settled on the 150p but lots of people advise to get the 200p if funds allow as the extra £80 or so is well worth spending. I am about to purchase from FLO and they have it listed as a 'beginner scope' - I am exactly that! I am slightly nervous that the wife will freak when she sees the size of it (although a surprise visit to the Royal Observatory for 'an evening with the stars' the night before, which includes having a go with the 18 tonne Victorian telescope, will mean she may be underwhelmed with the 200p!).

Is the 200p suitable for a complete novice? I'm concerned I'm suffering from a touch of the 'Go big or go home' syndrome.

Any views gratefully received.

[alanjgreen]

200p is a great scope.

it will last you for years and is not too big but it is large.

search on YouTube for a video to see the size of it, to make sure.

there are many postings on this subject to be found on this forum, have a search...

8inch is a good size to see a lot of objects. If you go smaller then you may soon want to upgrade.

order "turn left at Orion" (book) to help get you started, search on this forum for the book title to find out about it.

 

Alan

[popeye85]

Yep! As above-great scope but it is a fair size for lugging around! 

As a novice have you considered the option of getting a GOTO scope to help you learning your way around the night sky?

[Putaendo Patrick]

An 8" Dob is simple to use and represents excellent value for money - a 6" Dob is a little smaller and lighter, but not by much so I would recommend the larger model if finances permit.

Give it a year and your wife will be dropping subtle hints about a 20" Dobsonian - then you have problems!

Seriously, the 8" is very suitable for a beginner but can easily take you through to quite advanced observing. My only hesitation is based on light pollution - observing in London can be quite limiting due to this although many people do and have a lot of fun!

[Pig]

Hiya Duffbus,
I agree the set up is quite cumbersome due to the mount they are usually supplied with and to keep the focuser in a comfortable viewing position the tube needs to be rotated within the tube rings as you scan across the night sky. The views are pretty good though and it is a great scope for its cost.
Refractors on the other hand are very manageable and also give excellent views.... there are many options and all have their merits

[Marci]

 

5 minutes ago, Pig said:

o keep the focuser in a comfortable viewing position the tube needs to be rotated within the tube rings

No rings/OTA rotation on the skyliner 200p dobsonian... viewing position is fixed. You confusing with explorer 200p?

[Pig]

My apologies  yes the Dobsonian mounts are very simplistic and great to use.

[Duffbus]

4 hours ago, alanjgreen said:

200p is a great scope.

it will last you for years and is not too big but it is large.

search on YouTube for a video to see the size of it, to make sure.

there are many postings on this subject to be found on this forum, have a search...

8inch is a good size to see a lot of objects. If you go smaller then you may soon want to upgrade.

order "turn left at Orion" (book) to help get you started, search on this forum for the book title to find out about it.

 

Alan

Thanks Alan, the book is on order. I've spent a lot of time researching on this forum - such a useful site!

[laudropb]

I started with this scope and have never regretted it. It is said to be the most popular scope in the U.K. and that tells you something. It is simple to set up and easy to use once you get the hang of nudging it to keep targets in view.

[Duffbus]

4 hours ago, popeye85 said:

Yep! As above-great scope but it is a fair size for lugging around! 

As a novice have you considered the option of getting a GOTO scope to help you learning your way around the night sky?

Initially I thought about GOTO but the challenge of finding things myself certainly appeals. Naively I also thought I would try some photography as I have several SLR's and lenses - I've quickly realised that will be further down the line! 

[brantuk]

I found I learned the sky a lot quicker with a manual scope, and the 200P dob is an ideal size for a new astronomer to start with. It's the first aperture size that really starts to show you deep sky fainter stuff. Plus it's not too big to chuck in a boot and drive off to a dark site - fairly manageable and light weight - not to expensive - and stores in a reasonably small footprint. Just don't plan any photography with it - that would require a totally different setup.

(Oh and what you learn from it will be dead useful by the time you get to goto, driven, and eq scopes).

[Charic]

6 hours ago, Duffbus said:

Is the 200p suitable for a complete novice?

More than!

I could/will be a lifelong scope unless you get what we colloquially refer to as `aperture fever` whereby your desire requires  a bigger scope with more  aperture. 

Fully assembled and ready to go, the scope takes up about the same floor space as the average kitchen chair, and its chest height to me, I`m 5' 8"

When /if you upgrade the supplied 10mm eyepiece, can I suggest either the 12mm or 8mm  BST Starguider, with hindsight, in that order, although I bought the 8mm first, this scope works well with a 6mm and 12mm. As BST don't supply the 6mm, I opted for another brand, the SPL 6mm. With the 12mm Starguider, you could barlow the eyepiece to achieve the 6mm 200x power, that the scope is capable of, but anywhere between 6 - 12mm is good, going higher say 5 or 3.2 is for special occasions (  when the seeing  conditions are perfect ) especially on the Moon.

As for ease of use, the Skyliner is simply place and use! It does need cooling ( most scopes require this - the mirror will be warm inside the house,  so as it cools to ambient outside, the heat released is visible at higher magnification, visible as a heat wave of distortion when trying to view say Jupiter when you first start your observation ) anything up to an hour is all it takes, could be longer, often shorter. The other thing is collimation, it aligns the optical system, although it should be factory set, but a few bumps and knocks on the way to your house could upset the factory setting, but once mastered, collimating is pretty straight forward, often requiring only a few seconds of your time.

As your buying for the better half and possibly  sharing the scope, a good pair of binoculars ( this is down to the end  user ) can also be handed to-and-fro, whilst your eyes are not at the scope. I prefer low powered 8x40s like the Helios Naturesport + to take in larger swathes of the sky, their easy to hand-hold, allowing for a more stable image. Unless you have some physical  hand shake, anything over 10x magnification will require a tripod or some other method of support, I even mount my 8x40's to create an even sharper image, and my hands are pretty stable.

If I had not wasted my money on my first telescope, the  Celestron 127EQ ( lesson learnt, only by trial and error) the 200P would have been my first scope, gleaned from the advice here at the  SGL.  I'm glad I made the right choice.

[Duffbus]

9 hours ago, Putaendo Patrick said:

An 8" Dob is simple to use and represents excellent value for money - a 6" Dob is a little smaller and lighter, but not by much so I would recommend the larger model if finances permit.

Give it a year and your wife will be dropping subtle hints about a 20" Dobsonian - then you have problems!

Seriously, the 8" is very suitable for a beginner but can easily take you through to quite advanced observing. My only hesitation is based on light pollution - observing in London can be quite limiting due to this although many people do and have a lot of fun!

Thanks - light pollution is minimal for me as I'm in Suffolk :-)

[Duffbus]

5 hours ago, laudropb said:

I started with this scope and have never regretted it. It is said to be the most popular scope in the U.K. and that tells you something. It is simple to set up and easy to use once you get the hang of nudging it to keep targets in view.

Cheers for the reassurance - just placed the order! 

[Duffbus]

4 hours ago, Charic said:

More than!

I could/will be a lifelong scope unless you get what we colloquially refer to as `aperture fever` whereby your desire requires  a bigger scope with more  aperture. 

Fully assembled and ready to go, the scope takes up about the same floor space as the average kitchen chair, and its chest height to me, I`m 5' 8"

When /if you upgrade the supplied 10mm eyepiece, can I suggest either the 12mm or 8mm  BST Starguider, with hindsight, in that order, although I bought the 8mm first, this scope works well with a 6mm and 12mm. As BST don't supply the 6mm, I opted for another brand, the SPL 6mm. With the 12mm Starguider, you could barlow the eyepiece to achieve the 6mm 200x power, that the scope is capable of, but anywhere between 6 - 12mm is good, going higher say 5 or 3.2 is for special occasions (  when the seeing  conditions are perfect ) especially on the Moon.

As for ease of use, the Skyliner is simply place and use! It does need cooling ( most scopes require this - the mirror will be warm inside the house,  so as it cools to ambient outside, the heat released is visible at higher magnification, visible as a heat wave of distortion when trying to view say Jupiter when you first start your observation ) anything up to an hour is all it takes, could be longer, often shorter. The other thing is collimation, it aligns the optical system, although it should be factory set, but a few bumps and knocks on the way to your house could upset the factory setting, but once mastered, collimating is pretty straight forward, often requiring only a few seconds of your time.

As your buying for the better half and possibly  sharing the scope, a good pair of binoculars ( this is down to the end  user ) can also be handed to-and-fro, whilst your eyes are not at the scope. I prefer low powered 8x40s like the Helios Naturesport + to take in larger swathes of the sky, their easy to hand-hold, allowing for a more stable image. Unless you have some physical  hand shake, anything over 10x magnification will require a tripod or some other method of support, I even mount my 8x40's to create an even sharper image, and my hands are pretty stable.

If I had not wasted my money on my first telescope, the  Celestron 127EQ ( lesson learnt, only by trial and error) the 200P would have been my first scope, gleaned from the advice here at the  SGL.  I'm glad I made the right choice.

Many thanks for your detailed response, some great information that I will be able to reference in the not too distant future when I start thinking about eye pieces etc. I'm thinking that a moon filter is something I need to get fairly quickly? The prices vary somewhat, are there any competent budget filters you could recommend?

Cheers

Alex

[Charic]

No need for a filter! 

The Moon is bright, some nights extremely bright, but will not blind you.
The Method I used most is to leave the telescope end cap in place, removing the smaller  2" cap from the end cap. This  reduces the glare, but also reduces the ability of the scope, because I have gone from an 8" scope down to a 2" scope, but on the Moon, its not an issue, I still see the same. Another  item to use  maybe, are your Sun glasses, if its the glare thats an issue?

I have a Moon filter, used it once, but there are Neutral density type filters, and filters that you can dial to affect the polarization of the light, but I would suggest just trying the scope first.

[Duffbus]

4 hours ago, brantuk said:

I found I learned the sky a lot quicker with a manual scope, and the 200P dob is an ideal size for a new astronomer to start with. It's the first aperture size that really starts to show you deep sky fainter stuff. Plus it's not too big to chuck in a boot and drive off to a dark site - fairly manageable and light weight - not to expensive - and stores in a reasonably small footprint. Just don't plan any photography with it - that would require a totally different setup.

(Oh and what you learn from it will be dead useful by the time you get to goto, driven, and eq scopes).

Thanks, I have just placed an order for the 200P, appreciate the reassurance  

[Duffbus]

4 minutes ago, Charic said:

No need for a filter! (still editing?)

Ah, that's good! running out of funds having just bought the 200p!

'Still editing?' - not sure what you mean?

[Charic]

3 minutes ago, Duffbus said:

'Still editing?' - not sure what you mean?

Sorry, just me. 

I wanted to add more to " No need for a filter " so I  added ( still editing ) whilst  still editing?
Allows me time to check, correct and re-edit if need too!

[Duffbus]

3 minutes ago, Charic said:

Sorry, just me. 

I wanted to add more to " No need for a filter " so I  added ( still editing ) whilst  still editing?
Allows me time to check, correct and re-edit if need too!

Ha ha, I figured that's what you meant but wasn't sure. A lot of folk on here suggest it as a purchase so I guessed it was something I should consider. The wife is likely to inflict considerable pain when she finds out what I've purchased, to then tell her we then need to spend another £30 on a filter so we can look at the moon is likely to result in permanent injuries 

[Charic]

Just wear glasses or reduce the aperture, it satisfies my need.
Some of  us even wear eye patches at night ? saves squinting and hurting the eye muscles of the less dominant un-used eye. This also gives you a good eye to see with when walking around the garden, after viewing the Moon! It also protects your dark adapted vision in one eye, as some folk are quite capable of using either eye at the scope.
When using the finder scope, I locate my target with BOTH eyes open, its intuitive, as/when both images align( apparent when you try this method) and provided you have set up the finder during the day on a distant target, this method works  just fine.
That little 2" cap on the dust cap! there are two of them, but only one will come off,  the other will hold/store the removed cap, you`ll see. But the idea of the 2" cap is for Solar observation, using proper filtration to protect your eyes.
Moonlight is reflected Sunlight, but it will not blind you in the same way as  looking at the Sun would, which will do untold damage to your eyes, so never dare or try, just to see what if?  without eye protection/filter for Solar work!........... fail,  and you`ll need to learn braille?

[JOC]

If its any help I purchased a Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian from FLO as our first ever telescope about 3-4 weeks ago.  However, I was concerned about the potential size so I purchased the Flex-tube version and this nicely collapses and seems much more manageable as an object than I think a fixed tube of that length would be.

[brantuk]

54 minutes ago, Duffbus said:

Thanks, I have just placed an order for the 200P

I still have my 200P - but it's EQ goto mounted - my dob is a 16" manual scope and it's as much a joy to use as the EQ - just in a different way - you'll love it I guarantee.

[Duffbus]

On 01/01/2017 at 22:23, Charic said:

Just wear glasses or reduce the aperture, it satisfies my need.
Some of  us even wear eye patches at night ? saves squinting and hurting the eye muscles of the less dominant un-used eye. This also gives you a good eye to see with when walking around the garden, after viewing the Moon! It also protects your dark adapted vision in one eye, as some folk are quite capable of using either eye at the scope.
When using the finder scope, I locate my target with BOTH eyes open, its intuitive, as/when both images align( apparent when you try this method) and provided you have set up the finder during the day on a distant target, this method works  just fine.
That little 2" cap on the dust cap! there are two of them, but only one will come off,  the other will hold/store the removed cap, you`ll see. But the idea of the 2" cap is for Solar observation, using proper filtration to protect your eyes.
Moonlight is reflected Sunlight, but it will not blind you in the same way as  looking at the Sun would, which will do untold damage to your eyes, so never dare or try, just to see what if?  without eye protection/filter for Solar work!........... fail,  and you`ll need to learn braille?

Thanks again Charic for your top tips, fingers crossed the scope arrives before the wife's birthday on Saturday!

[Duffbus]

On 01/01/2017 at 22:23, JOC said:

If its any help I purchased a Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian from FLO as our first ever telescope about 3-4 weeks ago.  However, I was concerned about the potential size so I purchased the Flex-tube version and this nicely collapses and seems much more manageable as an object than I think a fixed tube of that length would be.

Thanks JOC, I'd missed that version! Full tube version will arrive any day now eeeeek!