Help

[Senga]

HI. My daughter got a vivo reflector telescope f70076 for Xmas last year. We have never really been able to work it properly. I have tried again tonight. We can get the moon in the little view finder, but when we try to look through the main lens it's just black ( we have tried all the different lens together, separate mixed up) any ideas what it could be. Thanks in advance 

[Waldemar]

the vieuwfinder and the scope itself need to be brought in line. Best way to do that is in daytime on a remote target.
Or... the dustcap is still on the front lens... would not be the fisrt time...

[Senga]

Will try again tomorrow, dust cap was removed lol ( that's my party trick with the camera lol) thank you

[DRT]

It sounds like you might not have the telescope in focus. Point it straight up on a clear night (always lots of stars up there!) put your 25mm eyepiece in the focuser, remover the front dust cap and adjust the focuser back and forward slowly until you see some stars. Now try pointing it at the Moon again

 

[popeye85]

Sounds like the viewfinder isn't lined up with the main scope-it is very easy to fix and doesn't take long-you can do it at night if you have a good target to use but is easier on the daylight-anything over a couple miles away will do fine. Just get the target lined up In the scope using a low powered eyepiece then use the adjusters on the viewfinder to get it lined up in the fnder. Depending on how precise you want to be you can up the power of the EP and adjust the finder until you are happy.

[Charic]

.....as above, lock the scope onto some distant target, get that in focus, then adjust what you see in the finder scope to match what appears through the telescopes viewfinder, job done.

[ronin]

As said sounds like the view finder and the main scope are not looking at the same thing. Actually happens a lot that the presumption is they bolt together and would be aligned.

Pick somethng a good distance off, 1 or 2 miles away is suggested, not the neighbours chimney. That is a really common problem. Get the target in the main scope then delicately adjust the finder, then recheck again. Likely to take a couple of times at making alignment adjustments. Big problem is not to move the main scope while adjusting the finder.

Concerning leaving the front cap on, yes it has occurred and more then once, and not with beginners either. Beginners tend to check they have removed the front cap. Best was the person who couldn't see anything with a scope and eyepiece they had used for several months if not a year or two. The moon was a faint dim blurry glow in the eyepiece. Somehow they had managed to get the eyepiece in the focuser with the lower lens cap on, the lower cap being a semitransparent white one, hence the slight showing of the moon through it.

[Glimpse111]

For sure viewfinder isn't aligned. The black thing you see is a sky and moon is somewhere around so try to navigate the scope little bit left, right, up and down and hopefully you should be able to see the moon. Once found you can  the do the focus and alignment.

[DRT]

@Senga,

All the advice above about alignment is correct but you will never achieve alignment unless you first gain focus. I know - I went through exactly this problem when I bought this as my first scope

This is what the Moon looks like in the field of view of your 130P with the supplied 25mm eyepiece...

The FOV is approximately 4 moon widths across, which is roughly 2 degrees. With your scope on a dark night it is very difficult to find a 2 degree circle of just blackness, particularly at higher altitudes. That is why I think you do not have the scope focused. You need to focus it first by finding some stars (any stars) and then follow the advice above about alignment.

Good luck