algol Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 ok guys and gals, i have the skywatcher 130pm and have been thinking of upgrading sometime next year or so.now i know a few of you have started with this scope and since moved on to bigger and bettrer things.so i'd like to know whatt you went on to and your suggestions for where to go next.cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippy Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 I guess the magic question is: 'what would your budget be?'. Tony.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff_k Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 With the last reply in mind, if your budget will allow, the Skywatcher Explorer 8" Newtonian always gets lots of hugs. Very similar in essence to what you have, but bigger so no great learning curve to go through in operational terms.On the other hand, one of those nice Skywatcher APOs are not to be sneezed at, although your credit card might catch a cold.Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheThing Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 I had a Skywatcher 130m. My next few scopes ran like this: - - Traded in for Meade ETX-70AT cos I thought I wanted GOTO. Horrible mistake that I have regretted every day since! ETX got little use and was sold to fund a pram for my little boy (best thing for it really!)- Went without a scope for 8 months and missed it terribly. Regretted getting rid of 130 even more! Couldn't afford a new scope, so was resigned to old bins for a while.- Was gifted a 5" Helios short tube refractor from a very generous CAS Chairman. Great scope, but I'm not a lover of refractors. Had plenty of use though.- Swapped the Helios for my current beauty - 6" Tal 2M Newtonian. Much happier now!So, I haven't really increased in size much at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algol Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 well budget wise your prob looking at this side of 500, prob even around 300 as it stands.i was thinking of goig for a dob to get the most ap for my money. the 8" skywatcher dob has caught my eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennbech Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 A 200 Newtonian is just a bigger version than you have today. Is this what you want or have your needs changed? (Travel more etc). Why do you want to upgrade in the first place? What makes you want a new scope? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algol Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 don't travel with the scope, but if i did i would probably take the one i have now.erm, well i'd like to be able to se more and in more detail, i stil havent found M1 or galaxies such as M81/M82 so a bigger scope may help me with this. also i want more planetary detail, eg cassini on saturn or anything on mars lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennbech Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Huuuuge dobsonian (I want one!) .-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berrymoss Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Can you do astrophotography planetary and DSO with a dob ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeP Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 The problem you'd have is keeping the object stationary in the FOV - Dobsonians are not driven (can be but not normally so and I have no knowledge of what is required). Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narrowbandpaul Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 i have a 12" lightbridge deluxe...I'm open to offers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beamer3.6m Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Explorer 200 on HEQ5.They sell for £500 from FLO I think. Great upgrade, it was what I went for and I do not regret my upgrade at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotastro Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 If you can live with the size the Skyliner 10" Dob is a very good scope for £350. Planets and DSOs all look great.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legion48 Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 ok guys and gals, i have the skywatcher 130pm and have been thinking of upgrading sometime next year or so.now i know a few of you have started with this scope and since moved on to bigger and bettrer things.so i'd like to know what you went on to and your suggestions for where to go next.cheers Hi Agol,If you want to get into imaging then read on.The 130PM was my 2nd scope and while it was a cracker, it really wasn't that much better than my 1st, a Celestron 114mm. Neither was my 3rd - a Celestron 130SLT. I'm on my 4th now, a Celestron C6 NGT and this one is a keeper. Sure, I'd like a 8 or 10 inch but I really couldn't handle the extra size. I can have my C6 aligned and imaging in less than 10 minutes as it fits in my shed so cool down time doesn't come into it. What makes this one a keeper is the mount, a CG5. OK, it's a bit noisy on slewing but it's rock solid with the C6 on top and that's what you need for imaging. With x2 and x4 barlows stacked At F40 it will keep Jupiter or a Lunar crater on screen for a couple of minutes and that means 1200 frames or more. I was lucky to get 600 frames at F10 with my previous mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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