Newbie saying hi

[spottedhaggis]

Just purchased my first telescope ever (I am 50) on ebay.  Looked at new but budget was limited and I figure I can get a better used one for the same money as a not so good new one.  Managed to find Skywatcher Skyliner 200p 8"dobsonian on ebay.

Me and the wife are excited at being able to look some of the planets, were both scifi fans.

I know next to nothing about telescopes, I am an IT/Cyber nerd but telescopes are a different world, so Ill have plenty of stupid questions.

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.

[Tiny Clanger]

Hello and welcome , I arrived here not long before you , and with a 150mm dob . I found this forum cropped up often when I searched for online help for my own stupid questions, and always provided patient cogent help, so I signed up to say thank you directly and cut out the search engine middle man ! Bet your questions won't be daft , but will get helpful responses.

So, has the 'scope arrived yet ?

Heather

[banjaxed]

Hi and welcome to SGL, you won’t be disappointed with that scope.

[Zermelo]

Welcome,

you'll find that no question is too stupid here 😀 but the search function is pretty good, and you may find that your questions have been answered before you've asked them. Good luck with your Skyliner.

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[toshapetriji]

Hello and welcome I buy all my equipment secondhand too no shame in that it's usually very well looked after and half the price. Nice to have you join us.

[spottedhaggis]

3 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Hello and welcome , I arrived here not long before you , and with a 150mm dob . I found this forum cropped up often when I searched for online help for my own stupid questions, and always provided patient cogent help, so I signed up to say thank you directly and cut out the search engine middle man ! Bet your questions won't be daft , but will get helpful responses.

So, has the 'scope arrived yet ?

Heather

Its too big to ship, so I am driving to collect it tomorrow afternoon.  I am in Maidstone, it is in Chichester, should make for a very pleasant drive.

[spottedhaggis]

ok first stupid questions.  Assuming the scope comes with the factory kit.

1. What, if anything is it advisable to add, and why?

My guess is, your gona ask what we want to look at...EVERYTHING 🙂

Limited budget, as always, especially now.

[DaveL59]

3 minutes ago, spottedhaggis said:

ok first stupid questions.  Assuming the scope comes with the factory kit.

1. What, if anything is it advisable to add, and why?

My guess is, your gona ask what we want to look at...EVERYTHING 🙂

Limited budget, as always, especially now.

Welcome aboard, hope you have fun with the new toy, once the clouds have gone away of course...

I'd hang fire on buying bits until you have it and can assess what you've got but these may help.

Check if it has a collimation cap or cheshire eyepiece with it, if not then a good idea to get one as you may well need to check/adjust the collimation once you've brought it home or at least periodically over the years.

Eyepieces well worth thinking about better ones if it only has the stock ones. A range of BST ones or perhaps a zoom might be a good starting point.

A Right-angle (RACI) finder would make things easier on your neck so might be worth considering if you find a straight thru one a chore to use.

The book Turn Left at Orion, perhaps to help find your way around 🙂 

[spottedhaggis]

it apparently comes with Premium Cheshire collimating eyepiece so I guess Im covered

[Zermelo]

33 minutes ago, spottedhaggis said:

ok first stupid questions.  Assuming the scope comes with the factory kit.

1. What, if anything is it advisable to add, and why?

My guess is, your gona ask what we want to look at...EVERYTHING 🙂

Limited budget, as always, especially now.

There have been a few before you who have wondered the same thing, as you might imagine. This thread was from someone with different kit, but the advice is pretty generic and worth a read.  Generally, probably better to try things out with what you have before you decide you need to splash the (more!) cash.

+1 certainly for "Turn Left at Orion" if you can get hold of a copy, and it will give you something to read while it's raining 😂.  If you can't find it, then you can get some of the information in the book on their website.

[sloz1664]

Hi and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[Starwatcher2001]

Welcome aboard SGL. Good to have you with us.

That's a good scope and you're gonna have a blast with it. I bought my most recent telescope second-hand and saved a bundle. It's often the best way to go as astronomy equipment tends to be well looked after.

Astro kit aside, I'd recommend getting somewhat familiar with the night sky (if you haven't already). Get yourself a good star atlas, or maybe download Stellarium (it's free, and there's a web version), or SkySafari (my favourite) for Android or IOS.  Learning the constellations and how they move through the sky gives you a great backdrop to getting a grip where all the goodies are.

On the sci-fi front, a fun project might be to see some of the stars featured in various films. Here's a good start:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_and_planetary_systems_in_fiction

http://stellarium.org/

https://skysafariastronomy.com/

Cheers,

Mark

[gilesco]

Hello and welcome, the good advice already given is start low, see what you can do and what you can't and then come back to the forums on what you can't do.

No one piece of equipment will cover all use cases.

Believe it or not, I bought a mount before I chose a telescope.

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi there and welcome.

[Tiny Clanger]

3 hours ago, spottedhaggis said:

ok first stupid questions.  Assuming the scope comes with the factory kit.

1. What, if anything is it advisable to add, and why?

My guess is, your gona ask what we want to look at...EVERYTHING 🙂

Limited budget, as always, especially now.

I'm on a similar budget , to me £50 for an eyepiece is an expensive investment which needs a lot of thought .

What I didn't fully grasp when I bought my 'scope was that (a bit like the inkjet printer with 'demo' cartridges) the eyepieces and finders on these cheap end of the market devices are often the least expensive the manufacturer can get away with so they can sell a working package at an attractive price. Essentially you get a couple of decent mirrors in a tube on a simple base, on which (if you wish) you can build something better by buying more stuff.  Wait and see what might be included with your purchase , if it is the standard skywatcher 10mm and 25mm (which came with my 'scope ) the 25mm is OK, the 10mm is less good. But they are usable, and certainly better than nothing.

Happily for us strapped for cash types, probably the best things to add to a telescope are patience and time , so you can learn how to see , as well as what there is for you to see.

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you and your wife have lots of fun with the hobby and the forum. 🙂

[spottedhaggis]

ok so I picked it up today from an extremely nice man in a beautiful Georgian house, a music composer.  For an extra £100 I also purchased the following items (all in a nice silver case)  So all told £320 for a case of good lenses and a pretty decent scope, that looks barely touched.

Plossl 15mm Fully Multi Coated
Plossl 9MM same
Plossl 20mm Same
Plossl 12mm Same
Revelation AStro 2x Barlow
32mm Camera Project Lens
DSLR Camera adaptor
ND96 25%T Flter
#47 Filter
#11 Filter
#82A filter
#25 Filter

A long red thing that has a tiny hole at one end and I gather is the Collomater

I have a ton of reading to do but the weather at the mo is a bit crap.

A little more about me

A Scotsman living in Maidstone Kent.  I am a a technical solutions architect, which essentially means I am a nerd, work for a manufacturer of transmission equipment (Fibre Optic, Wireless, Ethernet) not cars.  Job ios a global role so I get to travel which is awesome, though not at the moment.  Im 50 years old, have a 24 year old son, 21 year old daughter, cat called Jasper, another cat called Brian and a dog called Pete, wit the nickname of otter alot of the time.  I live in Maidstone, Kent.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @spottedhaggis & wife and welcome to SGL. 

[Skywatcher130]

Welcome 😀

[popeye85]

Welcome aboard! The kit you got is good! Maybe add a widerfield eyepiece to complete the set (30mm)

Also a planishere is great for learning the constellations and a red light torch is a must! And then spend as much as you can on warm clothing 🤣🤣

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL 

[Neil H]

Hi welcome to an amazing hobby if the clouds would f*** off lol

[rwilkey]

16 hours ago, spottedhaggis said:

ok so I picked it up today from an extremely nice man in a beautiful Georgian house, a music composer.  For an extra £100 I also purchased the following items (all in a nice silver case)  So all told £320 for a case of good lenses and a pretty decent scope, that looks barely touched.

Plossl 15mm Fully Multi Coated
Plossl 9MM same
Plossl 20mm Same
Plossl 12mm Same
Revelation AStro 2x Barlow
32mm Camera Project Lens
DSLR Camera adaptor
ND96 25%T Flter
#47 Filter
#11 Filter
#82A filter
#25 Filter

A long red thing that has a tiny hole at one end and I gather is the Collomater

I have a ton of reading to do but the weather at the mo is a bit crap.

A little more about me

A Scotsman living in Maidstone Kent.  I am a a technical solutions architect, which essentially means I am a nerd, work for a manufacturer of transmission equipment (Fibre Optic, Wireless, Ethernet) not cars.  Job ios a global role so I get to travel which is awesome, though not at the moment.  Im 50 years old, have a 24 year old son, 21 year old daughter, cat called Jasper, another cat called Brian and a dog called Pete, wit the nickname of otter alot of the time.  I live in Maidstone, Kent.

Hi there, I thought you were a Scotsman from your obvious name, but welcome from me too, that sounds like a pretty good deal you got there.  Good luck & clear skies!