I am a beginner, what can I expect from the ''Skywatcher Telescope N 150/750 Explorer 150P EQ3-2''?

[MBErdogan]

What is the leg spread of a NEQ-5 tripod? I cannot find it anywhere.

[Cosmic Geoff]

12 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

I made some pictures of my balcony, the width of the balcony is 1,14 m. Do you think there is enough space for this telescope: ''Skywatcher Telescope N 200/1000 Explorer BD NEQ-5' or the: ''Skywatcher Telescope N 150/750 Explorer 150P EQ3-2''?

Are you serious?😲

The balcony is clearly much too small to fully deploy the EQ-5 tripod with a 200/1000 Newtonian on it. The Newtonian eyepiece will be close to the edge of the balcony also.  The same remarks apply with slightly less force to a 150/750 newtonian and mount - there will not be enough room to deploy the scope and work around it.

I suggest that considering the lack of space and the likely poor seeing because of the proximity to the building, you consider a smaller and more compact design of scope with an eyepiece at the back end, e.g. a 102mm or 127mm Maksutov.  This is still enough aperture to give you many hours of pleasure on suitable targets.

 

[John]

The ideal setup on a narrow balcony would be a short scope with the eyepiece at the inward end (ie: an SCT or a Mak-Cassegrain) mounted on an alt-azimuth mount on a pillar. For the mount, a Skytee II mounted on a pillar mount would allow SCT's / Mak-Cassegrain's in the 150mm or even 200mm aperture range to be used in a relatively confined space without having to hang off the outside edge of the balcony to get to the eyepiece. Also the SCT or Mak-Cassegrain design is good for solar system observing, which seems to be your primary interest

So one of these (with uprated clamps):

On one of these:

With perhaps one of these on the mount ?:

 

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by John

[MBErdogan]

Actually my mother has a large enough (sort of) garden. There is only one disadvantage, which is that there is limited view. You can only look high in the sky, because I am surrounded with high fences in that garden.

[Neil H]

Hi I agree with what's said you don't have the space a nice refractor or Mac will do better a Newtonian and mount won't fit , I think even a refractor may be hard work 

How strong are the railings could you mount a pier to them 

[gilesco]

7 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

Actually my mother has a large enough (sort of) garden. There is only one disadvantage, which is that there is limited view. You can only look high in the sky, because I am surrounded with high fences in that garden.

To be honest, if I was in your position, I would look at building something very transportable, that I could take out to a park or a dark skies site and easily set up. I would not think about being able to use the telescope on the balcony, but would look to have a set of kit that fits nicely into a couple of small flight cases, together with an accessory bag and a tripod that is reasonably sturdy, but compact.

If you do start to get serious about astronomy and the kit peeks your interest then you probably won't think twice about moving house in the future to somewhere more suitable

As has been mentioned, if you are looking at Planets, and especially, you really  want to go with the balcony set up then you should seriously look at an AltAz mount rather than an Equatorial, equatorials are good at tracking DSOs, but visually with a small aperture I don't think you'll be that impressed with the results in a town environment.

Equatorial mounts can operate in quite an anti-intuitive way for a beginner, not something you want to be happening when your viewing space and operating space is limited, just takes the counterweight bar to smash your balcony french windows, topple over the tripod, and knock your telescope off falling 5 stories to the ground below, hitting someone at the bottom on the head. Biggest nightmare scenario ever...

 

[MBErdogan]

Which telescope would you reccomend to me, I want one that is very close to the skywatcher 150p but a little compacter.

[gilesco]

1 minute ago, MBErdogan said:

Which telescope would you reccomend to me, I want one that is very close to the skywatcher 150p but a little compacter.

These get good reviews:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html

 

[MBErdogan]

What do you think of this one: https://bresser-online.nl/Webwinkel-Product-146565945/Messier-Telescoop-OTA-MC-152-1900-HEXAFOC.html?utm_source=tradetracker&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=feed ? Where can I buy the mount?

[gilesco]

7 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

What do you think of this one: https://bresser-online.nl/Webwinkel-Product-146565945/Messier-Telescoop-OTA-MC-152-1900-HEXAFOC.html?utm_source=tradetracker&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=feed ? Where can I buy the mount?

To me it looks too big to be transportable. I think you should look at a 102mm (4") or 127mm (5") Mak.

We don't know your budget, but as a rule of thumb, you should probably look to spend as much on the Tripod + Mount as you do on the OTA.

The best way to find out the optimum Mount for a particular OTA would be to contact the reseller, manufacturers often bundle OTAs with Mounts as a different product ID, when buying for the first time, I would recommend you get a bundle as a package, then only buy OTAs & Mounts separately when upgrades require it.

I don't have experience of that particular OTA, others might have better advice. The reseller will know, as they sell those OTAs, so they should handle queries like that all the time.

[MBErdogan]

Do you know what the size of this one is: https://bresser-online.nl/Bresser-Messier-NT-203S/800-HEXAFOC-EQ-5/EXOS2 ? It comes with a mount fortunately, but I don't know the length.

[gilesco]

4 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

Do you know what the size of this one is: https://bresser-online.nl/Bresser-Messier-NT-203S/800-HEXAFOC-EQ-5/EXOS2 ? It comes with a mount fortunately, but I don't know the length.

200mm aperture ("opening" in the spec), so it's just getting bigger, and that is a Newtonian again, so the eyepiece is in a really bad place for balcony viewing and certainly not easily transportable.

[Spile]

In your situation I would chose binoculars (used if available) and a tripod. The combination would give you flexibility - You can use them from your balcony and also take them to somewhere less built up. Comparing the views will be interesting and transportation will be so much easier.

[MBErdogan]

I think I have found the perfect one: https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/sky-watcher-skymax-150-pro-eq5-synscantm-telescope.html 

[John]

13 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

I think I have found the perfect one: https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/sky-watcher-skymax-150-pro-eq5-synscantm-telescope.html 

The scope is the one that I suggested. Not sure about the equatorial mount though in your situation. The spread of the tripod legs and the awkward positions that the scope can be in when observing some parts of the sky could make life tricky.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

3 hours ago, MBErdogan said:

I think I have found the perfect one: https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/sky-watcher-skymax-150-pro-eq5-synscantm-telescope.html 

The scope is bigger than I'd recommend for your situation, and the tripod is far too big for your balcony, and the mount & tripod are too big and heavy to carry downstairs when you want to go to a remote site.

The mount is an equatorial Synscan. Have you any idea how difficult it would be to align that properly on a balcony? And BTW, if you select objects from a list and GoTo them, half the time the scope will slew to point at the building.

FYI, an EQ-5 tripod fully extended stands on a triangle 120cm a side, or about 110 cm from base to apex.

Edited December 31, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff
Tripod size.

[Tiny Clanger]

6 hours ago, MBErdogan said:

I think I have found the perfect one: https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/sky-watcher-skymax-150-pro-eq5-synscantm-telescope.html 

I bought a skywatcher mak around 6 weeks ago . Not the 150, but the 127mm.

It is short, and you view from the back, so would be a better choice for use in the small space on the balcony than any newtonian.

Here's a recent thread where someone else asked about using a telescope on a balcony

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/368830-beginner-equipment-advice/?tab=comments#comment-4007999

On that thread I posted the distance from the centre of my tripod (which is an old photographic one) to the eyepiece of my 127 mak. I'm sorry, I don't know the distance between the feet of a skywatcher tripod when it is extended , if no-one on here can help I'd suggest you email the dealer you hope to buy from.

 

The 150 mak is going to be big (in diameter) and heavy. You are moving between your mother and father's homes (I assume therefore that you are a teenager) so need to be able to transport the telescope you buy between homes. The 150 is over 6kg (without a mount or tripod) and another thread on here described it as 'a big lump' ! The 127 is 3.4kg , the 102 is just 1.9kg  This is not just a matter of making the smaller instruments easier to transport, it also means you do not need such sturdy, heavy mounts for them .

See some photos of the  127 maks here http://www.waloszek.de/astro_sw_mak127_e.php

and the 102 here http://www.waloszek.de/astro_sw_mak102_e.php

Both those pages have lots of information, and photos taken through the telescopes too. Either of those two maks would be easy to use on your balcony, easy to pack away and transport between homes. I'd suggest you go for one of these smaller maks .

Now I'm asking you a question : why are you always suggesting EQ mounts ? They might not be the best choice for you. If you say why you choose them, we can see if we think you are right !

Heather

[Tiny Clanger]

5 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

FYI, an EQ-5 tripod fully extended stands on a triangle 120cm a side, or about 110 cm from base to apex.

Oops, I missed that detail from Geoff , that helps you see the problem

Mark out an equilateral triangle with sides of 120 cm on your balcony and see if there is any chance to stand behind it and move around it without tripping up .

Heather

[wobblewing]

I just bought a skywatcher heritage 150p and it's been great so far.   I do want to add more lenses now though. Have been looking at the BST range. 

It is a collapsible dobsonian which could be ideal for that balcony sitting on that table. It is very portable too.

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by wobblewing

[MBErdogan]

Will the skywatcher skymax 150 on an EQ5 really too big for the balcony? What do you think of the skywatcher skymax 150 on the skytee II mount?

[Tiny Clanger]

8 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

Will the skywatcher skymax 150 on an EQ5 really too big for the balcony? What do you think of the skywatcher skymax 150 on the skytee II mount?

I ask again, why are you so keen on an EQ mount ?

Do you understand the differences between EQ and alt/az ?

[KP82]

18 minutes ago, MBErdogan said:

Will the skywatcher skymax 150 on an EQ5 really too big for the balcony? What do you think of the skywatcher skymax 150 on the skytee II mount?

Both the EQ5 and Skytee 2 use the SW 1.75" steel leg tripod which is too big for your balcony as explained by @Cosmic Geoff.

IMHO a small tabletop dob could be a good option for you. For example this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

[John]

12 minutes ago, KP82 said:

Both the EQ5 and Skytee 2 use the SW 1.75" steel leg tripod which is too big for your balcony as explained by @Cosmic Geoff.

IMHO a small tabletop dob could be a good option for you. For example this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

That's why I suggested a pillar mount for the Skytee II - smaller footprint.

 

 

[Tiny Clanger]

2 hours ago, wobblewing said:

I just bought a skywatcher heritage 150p and it's been great so far.   I do want to add more lenses now though. Have been looking at the BST range. 

It is a collapsible dobsonian which could be ideal for that balcony sitting on that table. It is very portable too.

 

I love my 150 heritage, but the OP specifically asked about seeing planets , and the  dob (750mm focal length, but good aperture) is not ideal for planets. Looking to add to my available tools an affordable 'scope for planetary and lunar viewing I bought a 127 mak . It has a focal length of 1500mm and a smaller aperture, but that's fine as planets are comparatively bright.

As the OP is in a town with many streetlights , DSOs are probably not going to be a likely target anyway, so a 'scope which is good for what they may see despite the light pollution , the Moon & planets, seems a better choice to me.

However, given that they have thrown out various random ideas with an equally random price range (£300 telescope,  £700 telescope, £1000 telescope ) without seeming to have done much research themselves about them makes me wonder how young they are and serious they are. I don't think I'll be contributing here after this post .

Heather

 

 

[gilesco]

10 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

I don't think I'll be contributing here after this post .

I kind of thought that, didn't think advice was being taken, etc..  might be mistaken, but trolling came to mind.

Call me out if necessary.