SW 150 ED PRO - first light. Moonlited beforehand

[Telescope40]

Hello all. 
Had the new scope for a couple of weeks.  Poor weather since it arrived and tonite was first real chance for a test run. 
A new flange had been ordered from Moonlite with a view to fitting my CFL focuser to the OTA. It arrived yesterday so the stars aligned nicely. 
First target for me had to be the Orion Nebula. 
(Venus and the Moon had gone behind nearby building). 
Played about with a few EP’s and started to concentrate. 
BINGO - for the first time I saw E and F stars. Took a few minutes to confirm this as was amazed the scope had hit the ground running. To say I’m impressed is an understatement. Spent a good 25 mins on M 42.  The nebula just kept giving. 
Decided to move on to a few of the winter usual suspects. 
M34 M36. M37. M38. M45. M44. M41 Cor Caroli. Castor. Mizar. 
This scope seems well sorted. Tight stars. 
A few notes to bear in mind. 
Biggest scope I’ve owned. It’s big !!!  Had a Meade 5000 127 apo. Weight wise it doesn’t seem any heavier. It’s the dimensions along with a fixed dew shield any prospective owners need to be aware of. 
Couple of niggles - not the scope itself. 
Tube rings not gripping the OTA as it should. Some slippage - will need to follow this up. 
Moonlite focuser drawtube not quite long enough to reach focus. Used an extension tube - resolved. 
Little bit of vibration when focusing - mounted on an NEQ6 pro mated with a UNI28 Berlebach tripod-  not a biggie. 
Battery’s on my RDF and illuminated finderscope dead - DOH   The joys !!!!!!  Didn’t check beforehand. 
Glad I sold a couple of scopes and pulled the trigger  On this scope. 
Cant wait to try my binoviewers on the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars later in the year. 
Hope to catch lunar on my next night out. 
If you’ve got this far - thanks for reading. 
John 
 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Telescope40

[Paz]

Congratulations on the new scope. I bet the Moon with binoviewers will be good!

[Alan White]

Wonderful stuff, glad you have finally had first light and that all is good.

These scopes are a temptation for many, myself included.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Alan White

[Saganite]

38 minutes ago, Alan White said:

 

These scopes are a temptation for many, myself included.

For sure Alan, I would go for one if I did not have my 5" f15 Achro. 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Saganite

[Alan White]

2 hours ago, Saganite said:

For sure Alan, I would go for one if I did not have my 5" f15 Achro. 

In my case its the lack of a suitable mount and additional funds for now, but......... you never know.

[Telescope40]

7 hours ago, Alan White said:

Wonderful stuff, glad you have finally had first light and that all is good.

These scopes are a temptation for many, myself included.

 

6 hours ago, Saganite said:

For sure Alan, I would go for one if I did not have my 5" f15 Achro. 

Hello guys.  Appreciate the comments.  Think I am all sorted now for scopes.  It is a bit of a beastie and I felt like part of a field artillery team on more than one occasion last night.  

Chuffed it showed me, almost immediately, something I had never clapped eyes on before. This  was the icing on the cake for this first session. . 

First job as noted, is re lining the tube rings with some more felt as the slippage issue was rather worrying for a minute or two. 

I'm off work next week.  Hope this godawful weather lifts and I can hit a bit of lunar and get wow'd again I'm sure 

Thanks    John 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Telescope40

[HAsun]

Hello,

I've succumbed and acquired one myself ! I did a swap for a C11. I also have a very fine D&G 6" f12 achro, but I thought this would be a better option for lunar and planetary imaging.

 

 

[Telescope40]

26 minutes ago, HAsun said:

Hello,

I've succumbed and acquired one myself ! I did a swap for a C11. I also have a very fine D&G 6" f12 achro, but I thought this would be a better option for lunar and planetary imaging.

 

 

Hello @HAsun

I think you made a good choice. I parted company with my C9.25 and Meade 127 to assist with fundage. 
Wonder how many 150’s have been sold in the UK?? Think only a handful of peeps on SGL have them so far. 
I still have a smaller frac  ( Stellarvue 102 )that I will use when I would like a quick grab and go session. 

Regards. John 

[Space Hopper]

We'd love to see some pictures.......? 😃

[Telescope40]

59 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

We'd love to see some pictures.......? 😃

Here you go @Space Hopper Rather impromptu I’m afraid. Mods so far. Moonlite focuser - 2nd dovetail bar and carry handle fitted. 
john 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Telescope40

[joe aguiar]

I have one as my signature say. Got it maybe in mid October. 

I was bit worried cause it's most likely 51 glass not 53 or they would say. But I thought colour would be worse but its was very good.

On the Abbie rating it's about 87% but it is kinda long at f8.

I would have loved a 53 glass even doublet at f8

Joejaguar 

Edited February 29, 2020 by joe aguiar