Helios 120/1000 refractor

[manny*]

Hi there,

awesome to be here. Just a little advice please. I always was dob/reflector man, but bought locally from Facebook (£40) this Helios (now Sky-Watcher) reflector. 

Is in great condition. I have read a mixed reviews about this scope, but for that money you can’t say now. I have the usual plosil lenses that comes as a standard, but was wondering what upgrades would you Astro wizzards recomend?

the focuses is a bit......not great.... any possibility for upgrade? Dual spear? 

will use this scope for visual observation only at the moment. Mainly planetary and clusters and nebulas. Maybe solar observation? 

Thank you for any advice. 

[Ricochet]

You say you were a dob/reflector man, do you still have any other eyepieces to use with this scope or just the ones that came with it? If you have eyepieces already then I would suggest using the scope as it is and finding the things you're not happy with and changing them. For instance if you're not happy with the focuser then FLO sell a selection of focusers. I assume that anything listed as fitting the Skywatcher version will also fit your scope. I would also swap out that finder for a combination of 9x50 RACI and a red dot/circle finder. If you can fit a 2" diagonal to the focuser (or a new one) then that will give the possibility for wider views. You could then use something like a 40mm ES68 for your low power, although at this focal ratio perhaps something cheaper like an Aero or Panaview might be fine. If you're looking for eyepiece recommendations then let us know your budget so that we can suggest suitable options.

[manny*]

Thank you for your reply. 

I don’t have anything left (all the dobs and eyepieces sold ages ago), so starting from scratch.

didnt have the space, but new house, more space so want to get in to it again.

really apriciate your advice will have look tonight. I will definitely let you know if I need more help or advice.

Thank you