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A question about a £100 pound telescope


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Hi, nemesis, and welcome to SGL.

As above, you can get more powerful eyepieces, but a word of caution: greater magnification means a fainter image and the limits of the scope will rapidly become apparent. You will always see more with a small bright image than a big faint image. I suspect with this scope, you will gain more by using the magnifications you have and training your eye to see rather than just look (if that makes sense to you).

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1 hour ago, nemesis94 said:

Thanks for your reply. Yes I see what you mean, I am only recently getting into astronomy. I will be upgrading to a more powerful telescope soon.

You should have one basic x2 Barlow Lens with the scope as the description shows, and also 10mm & 25mm eyepiece.

If you stick each eyepiece into the Barlow, they will become 5mm and 12.5mm accordingly (in other words Barlow will add x2 "Power").
I would not suggest buying anything else for such a scope.

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Although it's a 'cheap' telescope, it has a decent mirror. You might find you see more by buying a decent mid-range eyepiece, the standard Skywatcher 25mm isn't bad but I keep meaning to replace my 10mm one with something a bit better such as one of these:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

 

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1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Although it's a 'cheap' telescope, it has a decent mirror. You might find you see more by buying a decent mid-range eyepiece, the standard Skywatcher 25mm isn't bad but I keep meaning to replace my 10mm one with something a bit better such as one of these:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

 

Its a cheap, but good scope. The standard EP's are fine to use. You will be kept busy with the 10mm and 25mm it comes with. Because this scope is about 100 (of anyone's money), i robably would not buy more EP's for it, BUT...............you plan to buy a bigger scope and any 1.25" will be useful. 

I'd just sit back and relax and enjoy the Heritage. I cant remember if it comes with a 2x barlow (mine didnt, but later models did).

 

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There is a bit of a quandary here in as much that at f4 the scope needs A  decent eyepiece to get the best out of it. This is compounded by the fact that although the supplied 25mm might be usable the 10mm imo is poor.  However a decent plossl replacent (gso?) plus a similar 2x Barlow could be cost effective way to go. You might get these at knock down price at Astroboot.

 

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17 hours ago, nemesis94 said:

Thanks for your reply. Yes I see what you mean, I am only recently getting into astronomy. I will be upgrading to a more powerful telescope soon.

Welcome from Land Down Under

Before upgrading to a new scope, first decide what going to use it for

Just viewing planets, moon or other deep sky objects, than cannot go past SW 250mm collapsible dob, as easy to set up, and store and transport

If looking to venture into AP, then probably a SW ED80 on a HEQ 5 or 6 mount

Helpful as well, to lob up to a astronomy club in your area, and talk to members there, and they only too happy to show you there set-ups

John

 

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I have the same kit, made in the same factory overseas, but under a different branding or marque.  It's a 100mm f/4 Newtonian...

kit2.jpg.00a766a3505721d3983546e425542f1d.jpg

I consider it a specialty telescope; not really for a beginner.  I got it for low, low power observing primarily.  One night, I popped in this lovely 30mm, that FLO carries incidentally...

1544087269_VixenNPL30mm2.jpg.c76a42fa328f904437216e6e0ce61ff8.jpg

...and then took this afocal shot of the Moon at a low, low 13x...

011217-30mm.jpg.9838ba8945a59c3bf1ec4790c993bea5.jpg

I'm in the process of improving it throughout, after which it will suit the purpose for which it was purchased, and admirably.  Perhaps even better, I got mine when it had gone on sale.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Make good use of your 100mm f/4 for low-power, wide-field views; but you can bump up the power if you'd like.  There's no law against that; merely opinion.  To wit...

1323449274_010417-10mmKlee.jpg.23c1f0cfc576a7503ece209bed12cb50.jpg

I used the very same, bundled 10mm, but with a 2.8x barlow for that afocal shot of the Moon, and at 111x.  I simply held the camera up to the eye-lens of the eyepiece, and snapped the shot; no timed-exposure.  Barring a testy negotiation with the mount that comes with it, there's nothing to keep you from using it at the higher and highest powers of which it is capable; 150x at least; perhaps even higher, and for the Moon.  The telescope has a focal-length of 400mm...

400mm ÷ 150x = a 2.7mm eyepiece, which are about as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth.  However, with a quality 3x barlow, you can combine that with an 8mm eyepiece, and for near to the same.power.  

Never dispense with the kit, now or in future, for it has the potential to be quite useful on occasion. 

Truth be told, to use it at the higher powers comfortably enough, it would require tube-rings, in order to rotate the focusser for a more comfortable observing position, and then to mount it upon a small equatorial; an EQ-2 ideally, but not the Sky-Watcher...

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-eq2-mount-tripod.html

...no, not that one.  This one, rather...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meade-Instruments-Polaris-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B00LU1CJX4

I just got one of those kits in myself, about a week ago, for the EQ-2 mount primarily, and for all of my smaller telescopes in addition.  Where you mount the telescope, it has a Vixen-type interface, to accept dovetails; the Sky-Watcher does not.  For an extra £8, you get another telescope, and it's a very good one, too.  I know, as I've observed with it, twice already.  The second-light...

1091959931_072618-2ndLight3.jpg.f6e4c599142b5e970fe7fffc69e990c0.jpg

It is somewhat of a shaker at the high powers, with the bundled long-focus Newtonian mounted thereupon, but only when focussing.  I plan on mounting my 100mm f/4 upon it in future, once I get some tube-rings for it, or make some even; not impossible; quite doable in fact.

There is one caveat, however, with the mount.  For the price, as it comes off the "sawmill" there in China, the mount may very well arrive requiring servicing, but no special tools are required.  It simply entails  a bit of work: disassembling the mount, cleaning and re-greasing the components where necessary, then reassembling it.  There are also some minor adjustments to perform, but nothing difficult.  I've already tuned-up my own, and documented the process even. 

The mount operates splendidly, now.

This is the dovetail-bar of my 100mm f/4, and its interface; yours is identical...

170085319_mountinginterface2.jpg.926991aaf8108fc63d5dcb310129526d.jpg

Folks do place these on other mounts; other alt-azimuths...

YTY2MWI3NDlhZTU0ZWQyNDg3MzQ4NzFmZWYzMmRj

But only when mounted upon an equatorial will the telescope reach its full potential.  My problem, at present, is finding a way to mount it upon an EQ-2; and I will find it.  You can, too.  

If the telescope had a spherical mirror, I probably would not have gotten it, or obsess over it if I did.  Its parabola makes it worth enjoying, regularly, and again, to its full potential.

One more thing about this 100mm f/4: for the higher powers, the collimation must be spot-on, and I've solved issues with my own in that regard as well.

There will always be larger telescopes to be had in future, with larger apertures...

...but not necessarily for grabbing and going.

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