Hi from Cambridge, UK

[Tiny Clanger]

On 20/12/2020 at 12:18, wobblewing said:

Hi all,

I've recently bought a Skywatcher Heritage 150p / 750 (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html).. Still waiting for it to arrive.  Have also bough a 2x barlow to go with it (and a moon filter, too).

My son is really into space stuff, so I primarily bought it for him - but I can see me really getting into this myself!  Complete beginner, but have always wanted to have a go... I see some great images with folks using the 150/750 combination.. Did lots of research beforehand and it seems like a great option to start on (a new model it seems).

Once we get used to it I'd really like to try some imaging with my mobile phone or webcam or something similar, with a bit of image stacking ( I don't have a DSLR and in any case I think it'll be too heavy to fit it onto the focuser of this model telescope).  Looks like you can get respectable results with a simple setup.

Would appreciate some tips (have read about a shroud around the truss's and PTFE tape on the focuser thread is a good idea)

 

Welcome !

Excellent choice of 'scope (must be, it was mine too !) I was lucky in that I began researching a few weeks before it appeared, decided no telescope with my specific requirements in my price range was available, then suddenly the 150 heritage arrived , all new and perfect for me.

Yes, the focus is a bit ...  agricultural , a couple of turns of PTFE tape improves it enormously  ( make sure the end of the tape is really well smoothed down,, because you rotate the thread both ways, so the end of the tape can be lifted, start to unwind and get chewed up. ) The shroud can be a simple external wrap around thing , made of any opaque material which can be curved but has sufficient rigidity to stay cylindrical . Initially I just used a bit of a closed cell foam camping mat, held on with string. You didn't say how old your son is, but maybe if he's primary school age that would be a good project for him using some cardboard to make a first shroud ?

Something you might want to think about in advance ( in the hope that the sky will be clear on the day the 'scope arrives) is a low table or something to stand it on , the feet on the base are arranged in an equilateral triangle with sides of 33cm ( to the outside of each foot) The table or whatever needs to be very stable, the slightest wobble will be hugely magnified . If your son is small, he may not need it at all , but you certainly will unless you are going to use it from a seated position.  Even if it's going on the ground, if that ground is grass or may be a all damp , I'd  put a plastic sheet down (an opened out binbag would do ) the base is not going to last long if it gets damp, it appears to be MDF type stuff.

Set up the red dot finder in the daylight to avoid wasting clear night skies faffing with it (and it's much easier to be confident you are looking at a distant church spire with both 'scope and RDF than to be sure you are looking at the same star with both ... there will be a magnificently bewildering number of stars on offer through the telescope, believe me !) and do look at the thread on here about what are reasonable expectations for views through a small telescope.

Heather

[wobblewing]

Well the 150p turned up just in time for Christmas.   The lad was very excited,  but then the clouds came 🤣

However we got a peek at the moon through the hazy cloud,  enough for a first go!

Tried to take a pic with my phone up against the lens, but found it really hard.