Possible upgrade already Help

[Harry85]

Hi all,

I've recently purchase a Celestron powerseeker 114eq and really enjoying it so far, my next step was to purchase some new eyepieces was looking to get the BST Starguiders, however I am now wondering if i should purchase a new scope, my options would be skywatcher 130P/ DS 150P / PDS 200P, budget will be around £500 should i go for a GOTO version and save some more? is the GOTO something that can be fitted to the mount at a later date (sorry if a stupid question).

Will i see a big difference with these telescopes vs what i have already? Is there diffrent scope you would recommend in the price range? Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Harry 

[happy-kat]

Hi

Great to read you've been enjoying your telescope. Do you enjoy finding stuff as some goto mounts will also work manually with no power.

What are your main aims and is storage to observing location far/stairs etc.

[Harry85]

Hi happy

I do enjoy finding stuff searched for m65 m66 but kept getting lost was about to give up altogether and then found m13 so was really happy I think I'm going to leave the goto as I'm enjoying spinning around trying to find stuff nebulas clusters galaxys, only seen the moon as Saturn and Jupiter are too early for me atm, storage wise we have a large kitchen so it's near the doors so no problem with storage and straight out into the garden I'm enjoying using the eq mounts too, still lots to learn but will I see a big diffrence from a 114 to and 130-150-200 skywatcher or should I stick with what I have and get new eyepieces 

[happy-kat]

Eyepieces if standard size can be used on other telescopes.

Many things are still grey smudges just they get bigger with more aperture and I gather if globular or clusters you might resolve more stars.

Eq mounts get heavier as they get bigger with bigger telescopes. Might need more than one trip to take outside. My first thought was something like the 150p bundled with an altaz4 mount (that's not Equatorial but left right up down manual nudging).

Perhaps think about how much of your observing is through quick setup and look and if you share your observing with other family members and whether tracking would be useful.

The dobs like the skyliners offer the most aperture for the money as the mount is simply constructed. 

[DaveL59]

hi Harry

I doubt that going from 114 to 130 aperture you'll perceive much difference to be honest. There will be some improvement but it'll be a little. If you really want to upgrade then a 150 would be a better step I think. I've a TAL-1 (110) and SW130 and there's not a lot between them image-wise, tho the TAL does punch above its weight. As Kat says, the mount will become more important as you step up, because of the weight of the OTA and the need to keep it more stable as well as its payload capability. For EQ mounts you can always add in a RA motor to allow it to follow objects once you've located them which can be handy.

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you have a Powerseeker 114 you might benefit from an upgrade. 🙂  A significant increase in aperture would help you see more of fainter deep sky objects and also offer a shade more resolution for planets.

I suggest giving some thought to your upgrade route. Most telescopes can be put on various alternative mounts.  Is the manual equatorial really doing anything useful for you, or could you manage with a manual alt-azimuth mount (including Dobsonian?) Do you want powered tracking in RA, or the option to add it later?  If you want the option to upgrade at some time to powered RA/Dec drives or a full GoTo by buying an upgrade kit, this limits you to choosing a German equatorial. 

I note that you are not thinking of a Goto system at present. £500 would only buy you a basic outfit with little gain in aperture over the 114. You could just buy a GoTo mount, but not one with much potential for scope upgrades.  I find GoTo really useful, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

[happy-kat]

Another example

The skywatcher star discovery 150i is under £400 and gives 150p mm parabolic reflector on an altaz goto mount that has 'freedom find' which means that mount can be used totally manually with no power amongst other things. The mount if used with power has a wifi dongle so would use an Android or Ios device with the free skywatcher application to control it and use goto.

[happy-kat]

You might enjoy looking through the various Show us your        then add cat mak reflector refractor threads.

Are you using the book Turn Left At Orion for finding targets?

What eyepieces do you have already?

There may be more to squeeze out from what you have whilst thinking about your next direction.

[Pixies]

Any EPs you get now will be transferable to another scope that you might get later on. Certainly the reviews of this scope criticise the EPs in particular.

https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-powerseeker-114eq-review/

Bear in mind that we are entering a 2 month period of light skies. Also, there have been a LOT of recent telescope purchases due to the lockdown (judging by the number of out-of-stock products). I reckon that you should get the EPs now and if you wait a couple of months, they'll be quite a few new scopes going secondhand, as some people might realise that this hobby isn't for them.

[Harry85]

Thank you all for your replies, I've ended up buying the skywatcher 150p before I saw the other comments, I'll also pick up some new eyepieces haswell next week and in a month or 2 I'll keep an eye out for other scopes as and when they pop up again thank you all