Skywatcher 130

[Brian1953]

Just purchased Skywatcher 130 second hand (only used twice). No manuals or instructions but it is assembled. Printed instruction manual to help me, but could really do with some pointers on setup and use. This is my first telescope and it feels like I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Live in a great part of Cumbria with little light pollution and keen to get started. Can anyone offer any help or advice?  Many thanks.

[Littleguy80]

Hi Brian. Could you post a picture please? This may well be the same scope as I have so should be able to give you plenty of pointers  I felt quite overwhelmed when I first got my scope too but it doesn’t take long to get the hang out of it! 

[Cosmic Geoff]

A bit more information would help us to help you. What kind of mounting does the telescope have? What in particular is giving you difficulty?

There is lots of information already available online on how to setup and use a telescope, both here and elsewhere. There are even various videos on YouTube on astronomical topics. So check out the available information, and if you are still stuck, feel free to ask here.

Using a telescope is not 'rocket science'. You take it outside, stick it on the tripod, point it at something interesting, and look through it.

First tip - take the telescope outside and point it at the daytime scenery.

[Cornelius Varley]

Here are a couple of videos that should help you

 

 

 

[alanjgreen]

Hi Brian,

As said above, we need to see which exact scope you have, there are many variations of the skywatcher 130. If you cant upload a picture then can you find a website where the scope is available "new" and then copy/paste a link into this thread?

Your scope may have an AZ mount or an EQ mount, depending which the advice we give will differ!

One mistake to avoid is "dont use it for the first time in the DARK", instead, get out in the daylight and view some distant trees or chimneys (DANGER - DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN!!)

- getting the red dot finder and the scope pointing to the same target is the first job you can complete in the daytime!

I live in Cumbria, if you "message me" on this forum then you are welcome to bring your scope to my house and we can play with it together

Alan

[Cornelius Varley]

And this video shows the Skywatcher Synscan 130 in operation