My first scope, a little advice to see if I'm on the right track

[nightfisher]

The 150p ds is a great scope and you got a good deal your welcome to set it up round mine on EQ5, i will polar align it and you can see how an EQ mount works also see the AZ4, unfortunately i only have one tripod or i could loan you the EQ5

[Steve Clay]

I've never used the Az4 but I've read on here many times that people say the 150 and az4 is a great combo.

Steve

[Carbon Brush]

2 hours ago, nightfisher said:

The 150p ds is a great scope and you got a good deal your welcome to set it up round mine on EQ5, i will polar align it and you can see how an EQ mount works also see the AZ4, unfortunately i only have one tripod or i could loan you the EQ5

An excellent example of why SGL is the best astronomy forum.

[CraigT82]

On 04/09/2019 at 12:12, Thor92 said:

Also anyone know a shop around the Leeds/Bradford area.

 

Rother Valley Optics, near Sheffield. Great place to have a look around some of the options youte considering.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Just chipping in to clear up the AZ5 capacity confusion. The mount is rated to 5kg with the supplied aluminium tripod and 9kg with a 1.75" steel tripod.

The AZ5 mount can be bought as a single unit, without the flimsy tripod.

The bolt fitting is 3/8s rather than the more common M10.

One can buy the 3/8s steel tripod, or look out for a used EQ mount/ steel tripod and fit an adapter between the tripod head and AZ5 mount.

A small newtonian mounted on an AZ5 is incredibly intuitive and comfortable to use.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/sky-watcher-38-stainless-steel-tripod.html

Or if using a standard m10 EQ3/5 steel tripod, this adapter to convert to 3/8s:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/astro-essentials-3-8-photo-adapter-for-heq5-az5-tripod.html

The AZ4 is the cheaper option and more likely than the AZ5 to be found used. I've not tried it but plenty of people seem to like the combo.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have the steel legged AZ4. It's a nice solid tripod (far stiffer than a lot of the entry level mounts like EQ-2) and ideal for a grab'n go role with telescopes up to about 6 or 7Kg. The lack of slow motions can be managed. (Dobs don't have slow motions either).

[Thor92]

On 06/09/2019 at 08:22, CraigT82 said:

Rother Valley Optics, near Sheffield. Great place to have a look around some of the options youte considering.

That's very handy to know! Thanks, I will definitely be calling in there! Thanks!

[Thor92]

Thank you all very much for your replies.

I've bit the bullet, after getting my first view through a decent scope and mount at @nightfisher jules house.

So now I appear to have gone way way over my budget lol I have;

SW 150PDS
EQ5 Deluxe mount - (New version with green anodised bits and apparently slightly uprated internals)
Coma Corrector
Upgraded polar scope
5 x 50 finderscope
BST StarGuider 60º 8mm ED Eyepiece
Bahtinov mask is currently printing as we speak (3D printer)
Cannon 450D / Nikon D3300 - Bidding on them ATM, still undecided which one I prefer, the cannon has more options but the Nikon is a lot newer and has more ISO range and a larger chip.

Hopefully that'll be enough to get me started, may have a little play with a AZ mount aswell. Look out for a crazy engineer building an observatory on harden moor, that'll probably be me!


 

[Adam J]

On 04/09/2019 at 12:55, Thor92 said:

So small update seems I may have been slightly off with wanting a DOB. After doing more research and talking to a few people it seems Sky-Watcher Explorer 150P EQ3 would be something that fits the bill more. Especially as the go to mount could come later.

 

For visual yes, But not if you want to do deep sky Astro Photography. 

The mount is the most important thing for that is the mount and that it can support the telescope size you want to use. 

Any 6 inch Newtonain is going to require a HEQ5pro as a minimum. You can pick them up second hand for around £500 

With a smaller scope (70mm refactor) you will likely get away with a EQ5pro or a EQM35pro

Smaller still (60mm scope or a lens) then a Star Adventurer is a good bet. 

But as you want to do some visual and deep sky I would recomend the EQ5 pro at the least. 

Adam  

[nightfisher]

2 hours ago, Adam J said:

For visual yes, But not if you want to do deep sky Astro Photography. 

The mount is the most important thing for that is the mount and that it can support the telescope size you want to use. 

Any 6 inch Newtonain is going to require a HEQ5pro as a minimum. You can pick them up second hand for around £500 

With a smaller scope (70mm refactor) you will likely get away with a EQ5pro or a EQM35pro

Smaller still (60mm scope or a lens) then a Star Adventurer is a good bet. 

But as you want to do some visual and deep sky I would recomend the EQ5 pro at the least. 

Adam  

I am going to play devils advocate on this, and say EQ5 is going to be good for visual with 150P-DS and usable for a bit of basic short exposure imaging with motor drive, if the bug really bites Thor can sell the EQ5 for close to original price and upgrade to a nice HEQ5

[Adam J]

1 hour ago, nightfisher said:

I am going to play devils advocate on this, and say EQ5 is going to be good for visual with 150P-DS and usable for a bit of basic short exposure imaging with motor drive, if the bug really bites Thor can sell the EQ5 for close to original price and upgrade to a nice HEQ5

I would go 130PDS not 150PDS as its not much less aperture for visual but much lighter for Imaging.

[Science562h]

8' & 10" is medium sized & 12" is large. The 8 inch is, as most people say, the sweet spot. 

[Neil H]

Hi there is a really nice skywatcher 150p on an eq3 mount for £200 in Brum so not far from you it's a fast scope

Looks like that's sold but there is another brand new under £400

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SkyWatcher-Explorer-150P-6-Parabolic-Telescope-EQ3-2-Mount-UK-10912-20448/133185825860?epid=1305237472&hash=item1f027e6c44:g:cJAAAOSw6MVdj0bT