Future upgrades

[Jamie16v]

Ok guys, due to my impulsive nature I am already thinking of upgrading my scope but I want to be wise about it (if I can). I currently have the sw explorer 130m. It's a little rough round the edges, has a scratch on the secondary mirror but for what I payed for it, I'm not all that bothered. To me it still gives good images. My plan is to slowly upgrade my eyepieces to a variation of the celestron x-cel range before I think of a new scope. 

I have my eyes set on the Explorer 200p eq5 which is in my budget. Do you think this is a worthwhile upgrade? 

I may one day think about AP but that's a long way off, I though if I add an RA motor this may suffice? A heq5 mount is way out of my budget at the moment so if that means no AP then I can live with that. 

What are your opinions?

TIA , Jamie.

[N3ptune]

I have a  similar instrument on EQ5 but it's called BKP 200 here, same dimensions 200x1000 F5

So far I am really satisfied with this setup, the view is sharp and clean, it's good aperture size, and quality optic for the price. The mount is solid and stable for visual observation, it's working well outside à -15c. It has a polar scope and if you add a motor it will track an object very well (really useful for sketching). The finder scope is also effective.

--> I use some Xcel LX eyepieces, they all deliver a clean view with almost no coma 25mm, 18mm, and 5mm @60 degrees FOV, (the 2x Xcel Barlow works well with the 25 and 18mm too.) One year later I still think there were a good pick for the quality/price I don't have much to complain.

========

The downsides are:

- It's a large/heavy tube on an equatorial mount, so it's extra efforts to use it. Practice in the Livingston is required to balance the instrument on the mount.

- I am 5'-11" and is some positions I can't reach the eyepiece, I have to climb on a 4 inches custom step to be comfortable.

Otherwise it's a great 8 inches instrument.

[Tim]

Skywatcher's 200mm mirrors have earned themselves an almost legendary status. Worth the upgrade? Absolutely

[Jamie16v]

3 minutes ago, Tim said:

Skywatcher's 200mm mirrors have earned themselves an almost legendary status. Worth the upgrade? Absolutely

It's sold then I guess lol

[N3ptune]

Working with a manual mount like the EQ5 to learn the sky is a valuable thing for me. After almost 2 years, I still don't think about getting a SynScan mount, because it's fun to appreciate the seeking / finding progress.

-->  It takes times, it's the hardest path but it's rewarding.

[Jamie16v]

1 hour ago, N3ptune said:

Working with a manual mount like the EQ5 to learn the sky is a valuable thing for me.

That's my take on it too. I still couldn't find andromeda earlier though lol

[N3ptune]

It's not too hard to find, once you get it's location you are never going to forget where it is.  Try locating the main stars of Andromeda to see the constellation clearly, after, you can locate the specific star Mirach and the galaxy is around that star.

You can use binoculars to look around Mirach and find the object, after you can use the telescope to study it.

(All that assuming your are not in the middle of a city with heavy light pollution.)

[Jamie16v]

9 hours ago, N3ptune said:

 

(All that assuming your are not in the middle of a city with heavy light pollution.)

I am pretty much in the city, the sky's were clear last night (for a change) so I took a drive to a dark spot. Only to find it really cloudy and windy there. It put me off so I drove back home

[N3ptune]

The exact same situation happened to me last night... I had to pack up the telescope after I just finished it's installation. Roughly, I had 60 seconds to look at Venus, at least it's that.

Next time at the dark spot, If you locate the stars of the constellation Andromeda (using a star wheel if required), you will find the galaxy

 

[Jamie16v]

1 hour ago, N3ptune said:

The exact same situation happened to me last night... I had to pack up the telescope after I just finished it's installation. Roughly, I had 60 seconds to look at Venus, at least it's that.

Next time at the dark spot, If you locate the stars of the constellation Andromeda (using a star wheel if required), you will find the galaxy

 

i took a look on stellarium earlier and i think i was looking in the wrong place, i was looking below Mirach but its more to the right. the phone app i used isn`t all that clear.

[N3ptune]

Ahh there could be a lot of factors to not find an object. it me took 6 different observations to find the Cat's Eye nebula in Draco. And maybe 3 sessions to find the blue snow ball nebula.

(: But once I find it, it's a party inside my mind!

[Jamie16v]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I have finally bought a 200p on an eq5. I have not used it yet as the sky's have been miserable and I've been too tired around work. I have given my 130m to my friend which he seemed "over the moon" with. 

I would like to look into a diy goto system with stepper motors. I have the necessary skills and equipment to put one together, kinda. I built my 3d printer from an open source so that's kind of more complex than a goto system. 

Anybody know of any good arduino based projects I could copy?

I have  found 3d printable stepper motor brackets for the eq5 mount on thingiverse so there's a start. 

[bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, Jamie16v said:

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I have finally bought a 200p on an eq5. I have not used it yet as the sky's have been miserable and I've been too tired around work. I have given my 130m to my friend which he seemed "over the moon" with. 

I would like to look into a diy goto system with stepper motors. I have the necessary skills and equipment to put one together, kinda. I built my 3d printer from an open source so that's kind of more complex than a goto system. 

Anybody know of any good arduino based projects I could copy?

I have  found 3d printable stepper motor brackets for the eq5 mount on thingiverse so there's a start. 

I sold my eq5 tp @John78 im sure he made a goto system with stepper motors ask john he may be able to help

[LukeSkywatcher]

130mm upgrade to 200mm is GREAT. 

[Jamie16v]

5 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

I sold my eq5 tp @John78 im sure he made a goto system with stepper motors ask john he may be able to help

Thank you, I may message him tomorrow when I'm less tired lol

[Jamie16v]

1 minute ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

130mm upgrade to 200mm is GREAT. 

I hope so, can't wait for a clear night so I can have a go. I need to get out of the habit of reaching for my little celestron Cometron too. It's just so handy lol

[LukeSkywatcher]

15 minutes ago, Jamie16v said:

I hope so, can't wait for a clear night so I can have a go. I need to get out of the habit of reaching for my little celestron Cometron too. It's just so handy lol

As you may know already..............

70mm aperture upgrade doesnt seem that large (5"-8"). As you go up in aperture though, the light gathering ability of the scope increases exponentially. I made a similar upgrade a few yrs ago and my mind was completely blown by the difference.

Every scope though, has its use and charm. No one scope can do everything.

[John78]

On 9/11/2017 at 20:26, Jamie16v said:

Thank you, I may message him tomorrow when I'm less tired lol

I got your message.  For posteritys sake I'll post the response here...

 

AstroEQ has done everything you need already - its a fully up and running EQmod interface to your EQ5 - he has some plans and designs for the stepper brackets etc... but importantly - he has the arduino code you can load onto a mega2650 and then you're golden...

https://www.astroeq.co.uk/tutorials.php

You could of course just buy an AstroEQ straight from Tom also for perfectly reasonable sums money - but that's not quite as satisfying as DIY'ing it to an expert bodger like me.

 

This looks interesting add on...

https://www.astroeq.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,190.0.html

[Jamie16v]

7 hours ago, John78 said:

 

You could of course just buy an AstroEQ straight from Tom also for perfectly reasonable sums money - but that's not quite as satisfying as DIY'ing it to an expert bodger like me.

Thank you for your reply. I have ordered a v4.5 pcb from ebay and the pre programmed ic's from astro. I am about to purchase the components from farnells and get some stepper from ebay. I have also already 3d printed some nema 17 brackets. 

As you can see, like you, I like the hard way too lol.