So, I got this BIG box for Xmas....!

[RussellA]

I'd mentioned last summer (was it really a summer?), that I'd have a glimpse of Jupiter and its moons through a simple telescope and how blown away I was by the view. So, here I am now having unwrapped my Xmas presents to find my inlaws have given me Skymax/Skywatcher 102 - a four-inch Maksutov-Cassegrain, with the Synscan Mount and Goto controller, plus a tripod - which seems to have come from Optical Vision in Woolpit, Suffolk, via a camera shop in Cobham!

Now, I'm a reasonably technically capable person, but the box arrived containing a bunch of parts, the Goto controller, the tripod and some "accessories" such as

A 2 x Barlow Lens

A Super 10mm (Lens I think)

A Wide Angle Long Eye Relief (Eyepiece/Lens of some sort I think).

I don't know what any of these parts are REALLY supposed to be used for - I can see that some will fit together, but that's based on NO underlying knowledge.

Rather disappointingly, the box contains not a single word of documentation referring to the telescope tube or accessories AT ALL, and not the world’s most detailed instructions for the Synscan Go-to controller. This is a MAJOR short-coming from my perspective.

So, I'm very excited about getting this lot set up and having the chance to view some interesting stuff, but where do I start? I know pretty well nothing about telescopes and astronomy (although I don't find it at all hard to grasp the theory). Even the initial alignment (Brightest Star?) of the Goto seems vaque - it seems to pre-suppose that I know the name of the star/planet that I can see at about 230 degr' and about 25 degr' elevation, to identify it in the catalogue of the synscan. I don't know what I'm looking at! So I thought it best to join a UK forum, and start investigating before I break anything!

How should I go about setting the scope up and aligning it etc etc??? All suggestions welcome. I'm in Surrey (Leatherhead), and have a reasonable view to the S/SW out of the front of my house.

Many thanks for any help!

Russell.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Download some free software called Stellarium, that'll tell you what stuff is called for a start.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[kniclander]

I think the skywatcher website has pdfs of instructions for its scopes cos mine came without anything too.... :scratch:

[Parallax]

Here is a link to the SW website

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/manuals.asp

I think that your manual is the 3rd one down

Any more questions, just fire away.

Steve

[Ant]

Hi Russell,

I have a GOTO mount and a very similar scope to you as well.

Once you grasp the fact that it isn't that complicated (I thought that the controller was really complicated till I had a play) you'll be fine.

For the One/Two/Three star alignment, you do need to be vaguely familiar with the brighter stars - but Stellarium will sort that out for you.

The single biggest error that I've read about with regard to the GOTO setup are.

1. The date is the American format MM.DD.YY

2. Remember to get the Daylight Saving time right.

Apart from that it works really well.

The Barlow is a magnifier (in effect) it will double the power of the Eyepieces that you have. The lowest power Eyepiece will be the 25mm (or maybe 20mm - not sure which came with your scope) which will give a magnification of 52x. The barlow will double that to 104x.

Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs here...

The wide angle long eye relief eyepiece will be the low power 25mm eyepiece, 52x (104x with the barlow).

The 10mm eyepiece is your high power at 130x (260x with the barlow).

Cheers

Ant

[misterp]

Hi,

Firstly I would put the tube on the mount (if it isn't already on it).

Then I would align the finderscope. In daytime, using the lowest power eyepiece first find a fairly distant object, such as a tv Ariel or the top of a tree. Centre this in your telescope. Once centred using the 3 Little screws on the finderscope align the finderscope so it is centered here also. The reason for this is it is alot easier to find a bright star in the finder than it is in the telescope. At night you can find the star in the finderscope, centre it and then it should be in your telescope also. In the beginning finding stars in the finderscope it tricky but you just have to practice.

Then, in the dark turn on the power. You can get your location from Google Earth or Autoroute, maybe also a SatNav. As previously mentioned the date is in American format (MM-DD-YY), I ALWAYS use GMT and set daylight savings to 0.

Using a star atlas or planetarium software (previously mentioned Stellarium is fab, also Cartes Du Ciel is good) identify a bright star and select it on your handset, the scope should then goto fairly near to it, centre it using the hand controller and do the same for another star. I use the 2 star alignment usually.

Once completed try the goto on Venus, very bright in the early evening or the moon or something easily identifiable such as the Pleides.

Hope this helps.

Also, you might try going to a local astronomical society, I am sure someone there will help.

Finally HantsAstro.org hold a telescope amnesty in Winchester, quite a way from you but that might be benificial.

Good luck

Ian

[ottUp]

Here is a series of little articles on the basics of setting up a mount and telescope. The scope used in the article is not the same as yours, but the setup advice holds. This may help get you started.

- Richard

[scotastro]

RussellA

Did you get the instruction manual with the scope. PM me if you want a copy of the manual or if you want help working out the items.

I have the 130 reflector version and a 127 Maksutov.

Mike

[rusirius]

Now, I'm a reasonably technically capable person, but the box arrived containing a bunch of parts, the Goto controller, the tripod and some "accessories" such as

A 2 x Barlow Lens

A Super 10mm (Lens I think)

A Wide Angle Long Eye Relief (Eyepiece/Lens of some sort I think).

I don't know what any of these parts are REALLY supposed to be used for - I can see that some will fit together, but that's based on NO underlying knowledge.

Although a simple telescope may have a single fixed eyepiece to look through, most telescopes will have interchangeable eyepieces to provide different magnifications. This alows the magnification of the telescope to be adapted to suit the object being vewed and to some extent the viewing conditions. Many scopes come with a 'standard' 26mm eyepiece. Skywatcher also includes and additional 10mm eyepiece.

My wife's Skywatcher Evostar 120 came with and eyepiece marked "Super 25 Wide Angle Long Eye Relief" which sounds very much like the description you have given. This is a 25mm eyepiece with long eye relief. Put simply, eye relief is a measure of the distance between the eyepiece lens and eye within which the eyepiece can be properly used. As a general rule, the more eye relief, the more confortable the eyepiece will be to use as it provides a greater freedom of movement between eye and eyepiece. This consideration is often more critical for wearers of eye glasses because the space between the eye and the glasses has to be taken into consideration. Even so, for all users, some eyepieces have a very short eye relief and can be quite tricky and unconfortable to use. This shouldn't be a problem for the two you have with your scope though.

To get the magnification these two eyepieces will yield, divide the focal length of the objective lens by the focal length of the eyepiece. The focal length of your scope appears to be 1300mm, so the magnifications you will get are:

1300/25 = 52x

1300/10 = 130x

A barlow fits between the eyepice holder and the eyepiece and extends its magnification giving you more options, but at a cost. Extra glass and higher magnification means more light loss. However, assuming that your barlow is 2x, then it will effectively double the magnification of your eyepieces to 104x and 260x respectively.