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Hi folks 

    IV been getting so much info of this site, it's amazing. Thank you all.

I'm a complete novice, getting into astronomy after looking through a mates cheap celestron first scope and well too be frank it blew me away! My son is also very keen to learn. I'm very excited as this hobby will compliment my other hobbies of fishing and camping.

    All my viewing will be done away from home due to light pollution, tree's and buildings, so portability is definitely key.  I decided that a mak127 will probably be a good choice as my main interest for now will be solar and planetary.

 My question is regarding mounts. I want easy and quick but quality and stability.  Another friend recon's I need goto?  He may be right but that means lots more gear to carry and buy.

I'm confused !  When I used the celestron I just lined it up to the moon with no problems also looked at Mars and Venus , I think? Haha.  This setup I used had definitely not been set up properly and he had no idea on using it  .Tracking the objects was no problem as I quickly worked out the dials.  

 Thanks for any replies in advance 

Back to eBay looking for bargains now haha 

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Welcome to SGL. I lf you are interested in astrophotography you need a goto mount. So please tell on what you exactly want to do :)

Skywatcher makes good goto/normal mounts. 

Is the mak 127gonna be your first scope? Why did you select it? 

How far is your dark site? 

 

 

 

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Goto isn't needed so much for planetary and solar, they are mostly easy to find.  It can however be great in that the mount tracks the target so when you let your son look it will keep it centred in the eyepiece even at high magnification.

 

You can get very portable goto mounts that have internal batteries so they are easy to transport.

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Hi thanks for your reply

  I will only be observing for now, so no photography.

 The 127mak got good reviews for a cheap,small scope. If I had the right location I would have picked a big DOB.

It is my first scope.

I don't really have a dark site sorted yet, but I do know places to me locally. When I go camping, fishing it's usually 2 hour drive minimum. I go lake District, Scotland and Ireland.

I will need to source protective tough case as well .

 

 

 

 

 

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A Maksutov has a very long focal length making it a good choice for close up Lunar and planetary observing but they can also be used for white light solar observing with a front mounted solar filter.

With a long focal length, a sturdy mount is required but for solar system observations you won't need GoTo.

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There are basically two different types of tripod mounts; Alt-az and Equatorial. Alt-az simply moves left-right and up-down, while Equatorial mounts are aligned on the Polar Star and will then sweep across the sky in an arc following objects as they appear to move (they don't but we do as the Earth rotates).

Both types can be either manual or go-to. It is also possible to get Equatorial mounts with motors which will track but don't have the computer to find objects.

Generally it is cheaper to buy the telescope and mount as a bundle. Buying separately can add quite a bit to the price. Thus the Skywatcher 127 Mak (257 pounds) plus the AZ4 (174 pounds) comes to 431 pounds at First Light Optics (link at top of page).

As a bundle the telescope comes with an Equatorial EQ3-2 for 405 pounds http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skymax-127-eq3-2-telescope.html  In the future it would be possible to upgrade this mount to goto buying a conversion kit (about 250 pounds) http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p3235_Synscan-GoTo-upgrade-kit-for-EQ-3-and-CG-4-mounts.html

Two other offers are the Skywatcher Skymax 127 SupaTrak at 349 pounds https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-supatrak.html  This has motors and allows tracking. And the Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO at 395 pounds https://www.firstlightoptics.com/az-goto/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html  When correctly set up, this can locate over 40,000 objects!

Which is best will depend on your requirements. The EQ3-2 is, I think, the heaviest and does take a little more time to set up, but it is also the most solid and has the possibility of upgrade. The Supertrak is the cheapest, but for an extra 50 pounds I'd go for go-to. A manual Alt-az is the simplest and may be all you need - but not necessarily the best value. Have a look around though, other dealers may offer it as a bundle.

 

 

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If you have a mount with motors you'll need an external battery really. You will never not need a portable mount it the hobby bites, so the az4 will give you that portability quick set up and ease of use can even not fully extend the legs and use it from your fishing chair I would think. The mak will be good as it is a sealed unit and quite robust (in the scheme of things) for taking camping. You might want to research it it is ok for solar though even with the essential solar filter as I'm not sure the focal length makes things get a bit hot!

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I have the 127mm Celestron Mak with the GoTo mount. The telescope is a good one. As for the GoTo mount, it's a portable mount and I have taken it on holiday several times.  For viewing planets, it's not as stable as one might like when using high magnification. And you don't need GoTo for the brighter planets other than to track. On the other hand, you may find that looking at the planets does not occupy much of your observing time, in which case you may find the GoTo feature very useful.  This telescope has a standard dovetail bar so you can mount it on any suitable mounting - no need to use it with just one mount.  If you definitely don't want GoTo, the same scope appears to be available with other mount packages - for planetary you'd want an equatorial with RA drive.

BTW, with GoTo you can find planets in the daytime, with a bit of care.

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I have the Skywatcher 127 mak on the Alt/Az GoTo mount. 

Fantastic little scope which performs well and is easy to setup. 

The Mount is ideal for it but if you want to do AP with it then the scope and mount will be no good. 

The scope is very slow at f11.5 and the mount suffers from field rotation due to the fact that it's not aligned to the celestial north pole. 

Having said that if you just want to use it visually then it will be perfect. The moon and larger planets through it are very clear and bright. 

Wait til you see Saturn for the first time through it. 

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Wow guys thanks for all your help.  

   Definitely a lot to think about haha. 

I think I'm more confused than ever.  The reason I wanted to keep it simple was just that grab and go advantage.  If I get a goto mount and power runs out, does that make the scope unusable?  I am often out for 3-4 days sometimes more! 

 The equipment mount with the add on goto motor now sounds more attractive. 

 I take it its very difficult to track small objects without computer aid? 

  And there is me thinking all I had to sort after this was filters and lenses haha

  I am thinking it's probably best to get down to a club and maybe one of the better stores (like the sponser) 

 Are there any stores in North West? 

 Thanks again everyone for your input.  You make this incredibly complex subject much easier for the likes of me  ?

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