Mount and eyepiece advice for the Skyliner 200p scope

[Cassiopeia_W]

Hi all, 

I'm looking at buying a Skyliner 200p scope second-hand, but it doesn't included a mount or eyepieces.

 Is it possible to:

- Pair this scope with reasonably a priced mount (<£100) or even a tripod used for birdwatching (do you need a specific mount for this scope?) 

- Get an OK set of eyepieces (<£50)  used for seeing planets and some beginner DSO. 

- Advise me on a telescope mount and eyepieces compatible with the Skyliner 200p for the prices stated above.  

The reason i'm asking is because my funds are limited ATM, so i'd like to buy a decent telescope with the intention of upgrading its accessories as funds permit and my astronomical knowledge advances.  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[alanjgreen]

Hi Cassiopeia,

If the guy is selling it without the base then I would wait for another one to come up for sale

 

Alternatively, these guys sell stand-alone dobsonian bases (but a bit pricey)

http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/MOUNTS/dobsonianmount.html

 

 

[alanjgreen]

Here's another thread for similar question

 

[Cassiopeia_W]

Hi Alanjgreen, 

Many thanks for your reply! 

The scope was advertised as follows: 

Skywatcher 200P OTA Fully Loaded with Low-Profile Dual-Speed Crayford Focuser and upgrades.
A lovely blue tube Skywatcher 200P (8") Newtonian Reflector Telescope OTA that is fully loaded and upgraded.
Diameter: 200mm
Focal Length: 1000mm
Focal Ratio: F5

* Skywatcher blue-tube 200P
* Skywatcher Low Profile Dual Speed Crayford Focuser (2", with 1.25" adapter)
* Black tube rings
* Long Dovetail bar
* Whole tube Flocked with black velour material
* Blackened Secondary Mirror
* 9x50 Finderscope (blue)
* Adjustable collimation thumbscrews (Secondary)
* Bob's Knobs adjustable collimation thumbscrews (Primary)

This is for the OTA (telescope) only, no mount or eyepieces included.
.......................................................................................................................................

This is my first scope and i'm unsure if a 'mount' is equivalent to a 'dobsonian base', would you suggest enquiring if it includes a dobsonian base? 

 

[Cassiopeia_W]

Thanks for the link, i'll take a look! 

[John]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The Skywatcher Explorer 200P F/5, which I think you have bought, is a good scope. It won't have the dobsonian base though. The Skyliner 200P is the dobsonian mounted one and that is an F/6 tube.

It is quite large and heavy though so will need a proper astronomical mount. A birding type tripod or a really cheap astro mount £100 is really cheap) will simply not hold it.

The lowest cost way to mount the scope would be to build a plywood or MDF dobsonian mount for it - you could do that for just a few £'s if you are handy at DIY and have access to some wood, bolts etc.

For an equatorial mount you will need at least and EQ5 or CG5 for which you will need to budget £100-£150 on the used market. The less expensive EQ3-2 and EQ2 mounts simply are not up to the job of holding this tube.

On the eyepiece front, the minimum quality I'd recommend would be the plossl eyepieces that are sold for £15-£20 apiece from the Astroboot website:

http://www.astroboot.co.uk/AstroBoot

Any cheaper than that won't do the scope any favours at all.

[Cornelius Varley]

Google "dobsonian mount plans" for some construction ideas.

[Ricochet]

As you say you are still just looking at buying it perhaps you could give an idea of your total budget and we can give some ideas of what you could get with your money. 

[John]

Here are some plans for a dobsonian mount that might be of interest:

http://www.scopemaking.net/dobson/dobson.htm

 

[DRT]

Have you actually bought the 200P? If not, how much would you be paying for it?

You could probably pick up a second hand 200P Dob with all the standard accessories for around £200. That might be a better plan?

[Cassiopeia_W]

Thanks for all the great responses.

My budget is ~£300  for a fully-functioning scope, however, i'd like to buy a 8" scope that I can upgrade... I think that means buying second-hand is my best option.  

 

 

[Cassiopeia_W]

I haven't bought a scope yet; I just came that advert on a second-hand scope website and thought it seemed a reasonable deal at £180  

And to clarify my previous post - by 'upgrade', I meant the scopes accessories. 

Thanks 

[brantuk]

This one's a better deal cos it comes with an EQ5 mount and is the more recent black model - the blue older model ones are well over three years old:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=119894

There's also a few accessories with it and a bunch of SaN magazines and Turn Left at Orion book, star charts, and maps. Looks to be in good nick as far as I can see from the pics and just over in Manchester so not too far from you. Certainly worth a look. Hth

[alanjgreen]

A brand new one is 285. And has a guarantee.

a second hand one would be around 200-220 with all the original parts.

this one has "upgrades" but compared to loss of the mount base and the 2 original  eyepieces doesn't seem  to be the simplest / cheapest way to a first scope.

You could see if he will throw in the original eyepieces if you really want "this" scope, then you only need to add the mount.

 

I now see that Brantuk has it sorted

[Cassiopeia_W]

Ah. Great advice! You're correct if I was going to get that scope it makes sense to get it brand new . That other second hand deal looks much better, i'll investigate!