Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Celestron Travel Scope 70


Burgo

Recommended Posts

Hi, my son has just got this for Christmas.

We first set it up last night. Got a great view of the moon.

Then tried again tonight. This time we went from the 20mm EP to the 10mm EP, this was much better.

As he is just starting out, does anybody have any advice for him. He is 10 years old.

The one thing I think we do need to change is the tripod. Yes it is lightweight, but downside is it seems real flimsy and easily moved.

I'm not sure about the finderscope either. I get the idea, but it seems  more problematic than it is worth. You can set it up but it can be moved too easily.  I'm sounding very negative, but i'm not. Just 2 things that I think I may have to look at replacing if anybody agrees.

All help gratefully received to encourage my son (and show that dad is not completely useless !!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello and welcome to the SGL. You have already identified the 2 main problems with this scope. You can try to add extra weight to the tripod, but I do not think it is really worth it. A steady photographic tripod is much better.. The finder scope can also be replaced, but try to see how you get on without using one. The only other thing that I would eventually change is the 10 mm eyepiece. You should preserver with your current one as you learn how to use your scope, but replacing it eventually with a good Plosssl will give you better views.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dad got one of these as a present some time ago.

You are right the tripod is the first thing to beef up to something more solid. I lent my dad a Horizon 8115 tripod - more often used for binoculars but plenty solid enough for a 70mm refractor. It would set up low enough for your son and adjust high enough for when you want to have a crafty look after your son has gone to bed!

The finder is not much use - I would not bother with it at all. Your 25mm eyepiece will give a field of view of over 3 degrees which should make finding things fairly easy on its own. If that is still tricky a red dot finder might be useful. The 25mm and 10mm eyepieces are fair enough - I would stick with them for now rather than change them but if you want higher magnification you could also get an eyepiece shorter than 10mm to give higher magnification but I would leave that until later.

Your eyepieces will magnify as follows:

25mm = 16x

10mm = 40x

A 32mm plossl would magnify only 12.5x but would give you a 4 degree wide field of view - making finding things even  easier.

Something like say a 4mm eyepiece would give 100x magnification and this would (roughly speaking) make the moon fill the field of view. Personally I would not advise going higher than that - things get harder to find and keep in view and you start to push the boundaries of what the telescope can do. 

I would keep the emphasis on getting out and looking at stuff with what you have already got for now plus a more solid mount - there are plenty of good targets for small scopes with just a few eyepieces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A 70mm refractor-telescope is a wonderful thing for a kid to start what could well be a lifetime of love for sciences, it seems a pity to have such come with a unstable and, basically, useless mount/tripod. It seems to happen all to often. So first things first - you can get him an AZ-4 mount from most any reputable seller of astronomy goods. Including the sponsor of this site - FLO.

It may seem a pricey gamble to make should your son lose interest, but upon re-sale, you'd get back about 2/3rds. of your investment in his nascent affair with the sciences. This is the beast to which I refer:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/skywatcher-az4-alt-az-mount.html

I'll now let someone else find a good work-around for a decent finder for this. A 70mm refractor is a perfect scope for a kid. A 75mm is what I first got when I was a little bit older than 10. But it wasn't delayed through my lack of interest - I'd loved all-things-astronomy since age 4.

Starry Skies!

Dave

Oh - and welcome to SGL - we love finding answers to questions, so do keep 'em coming!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

This is the beast to which I refer:

Seeing as how we're talking about a beast for a mount :) What about a Telrad Finder. The mount will take the weight and they generally come with sticky pads to attach to the scope. A few rubber bands will firm things up if you're not confident of stickiness levels.

Comes with the added benefit of the ability to use telrad finder charts to aid your young astronomer in learning celestial navigation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Celestron 70 Travel scope and yes, the tripod and finder are both pants. Happily, both are easily replaced; the tripod with a sturdy photography tripod or a bespoke telescope mount like the AZ4 mentioned above; the finderscope with a  proper finder shoe which will give you access to a large selection of better finderscopes and/or red dot finders.

FLO (sponsors of this site) and Harrison Telescopes both sell finder shoes, buy one or more :)

Remove the 3 screws holding the focusing mechanism in place and gently ease it from the rest of the telescope. Just inside the telescope body you will find two bolts holding the finderscope in place, remove them. Luckily the holes in your new finder shoe will allow you to simply bolt it straight on without having to drill any holes. Replace the focuser assembly and screws, and you are sorted :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you a reasonable camera tripod to attach the scope to, check how they will join, not always simple, they are likely more stable. Could consider buying one at one of the charity shops, they seem to turn up reasonably often.

For a telescope tripod keep an eye out on the classifieds here and on ABSUK, they turn up occasionally.

In terms of a finder as the scope is not large how about an RDF finder - IF you and son can get used to using one. Bit of a knack as the idea is you look beyond it at the sky and then a red dot appears where it is pointed at. Thoughts really are they are fairly small and lightweight, problem is getting used to them.

Suspect the eyepieces are not great but you will not want to spend a great deal on eyepieces. Sonsider the budget plossls from Sky's the Limit. Not going to be the greatest but at £12 a piece still likely an improvement. From direct and personal experience do not even think about or consider the 4mm. You'll be tempted but it would be a waste of time and money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for a decent camera tripod rather than a dedicated astro mount. While less stable, a tripod retains the extreme lightness and portability that is this scope's major advantage. You won't need a high end tripod for this either, as it is so light, just something better than the awful thing it ships with (I use a Hama Star 61 with a spotting scope and it's more than adequate, though I would advise something a bit chunkier for astro use). I should think the Amazon Basics tripods would be sufficient - the video one would handle it easily.

For the finder, I'd say either go with a red dot finder or just use a low magnification.

Agree with others on here that now is not the time to buy more eyepieces - get used to what you have. If you do decide you want to expand your options, a 2x Barlow lens might be a good investment - used in conjunction with the eyepieces you have it will double their effective magnification. Again, no need to spend a lot - £35 or so should do it. Higher end Barlows provide every little added image quality when used with the type of scope (a short achromat) you have .

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, another with same scope, mounted on Celestron LCM GoTo mount (a £50 eBay bargain) with a wedge added between motor base and tripod... s’actually rather good for lightweight portable AP - fitted mine with Orion 50mm Guider & QHY5!

In short, chuff all wrong with the little TravelScope70... but everything wrong with it’s shoddy wonky tripod.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thank you so much for the replies. I will def get the tripod replaced. I thought I had one from a camera but I will be blowed if I can find it.

thank you again, will let you know how we get on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 04/01/2017 at 11:39, Peter Drew said:

"An AZ3 would be a better and cheaper mount IMO as it has good slow motion controls. :icon_biggrin:"

 

Agreed Peter! Thus far my (bought used) AZ3 is working pretty nicely with my ST80 (perhaps the next step up from the Travelscope 70 once the OP's son is settled in stargazing?) - the combination is lovely and light. And I'm a sucker for a bit of slo-mo on Saturn etc... :)

My beast of a photo tripod cost a whole lot more, as indeed did my ultra lightweight BeFree!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 04/01/2017 at 19:46, Burgo said:

thank you so much for the replies. I will def get the tripod replaced. I thought I had one from a camera but I will be blowed if I can find it.

thank you again, will let you know how we get on.

I have a few camera tripods kicking around, a couple of which aren't getting used. Happy to send you one of its can find a suitable one for the price of postage. 

PM me if you're interested and I'll see what I've got. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.