Dobsonian eyepieces

[Skygazerlass]

Hey everyone I'm new to all this again and I luckily came across someone from Edinburgh selling a 10 inch dob for £300 only used 4 times and I jumped at that price took 3 hours to get there and back but it was worth the trip lol. her new names big Betty 🤣 I'm looking for help on what eyepieces are best suited to these telescope because it's alot bigger than my first one when I was younger and it's mighty powerful lol my son is into Jupiter and Saturn has anyone any ideas on what filters to get aswell thanks for taking the time in reading this book lol clear skies everyone I've added a wee picture of Betty

Edited February 26, 2021 by Skygazerlass

[Stu1smartcookie]

Lovely scope ... i owned a bresser 250 , i now regret selling it  ! You bought yourself a bargain . I can't offer too much advice on EP's i'm afraid as its one of the areas that i have neglected . Therefore i will take advice too . 

[wulfrun]

Half-price bargain, well done! I'd start by replacing the 10mm eyepiece with something better (it's not very good). A budget would help you get better advice but something like the 8mm BST starguider is well thought of:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

I'd keep the 25mm for now and see how you get on. It's easy to rush out and buy a load of eyepieces and discover you don't use half of them. Ditto filters. Better to use it a while and see what you feel the need for, then buy appropriately. Keep a check on the classifieds too, often some great bargains pop up and most folk on here look after their gear. Your scope is what's known as a "fast" scope so it won't appreciate cheap eyepieces. Doesn't mean you need to break with bank though, with careful selection.

Oh and welcome to SGL - remember no question is too daft to be asked, you'll always get a friendly and useful answer.

[Skygazerlass]

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Lovely scope ... i owned a bresser 250 , i now regret selling it  ! You bought yourself a bargain . I can't offer too much advice on EP's i'm afraid as its one of the areas that i have neglected . Therefore i will take advice too . 

Thank you, yeah they are lifetime scopes sorry you had to let yours go hopefully I will have this beaut till the day I die lol, like me I neglected this side of the hobby not learning much about the eyepieces I tried watching some vides on YouTube but with them explaining the Focal lengts and all the adding and subtracting was making me all confused I'm 31 and have Dyscalculia and when I can't figure out simple things like this it's frustrating and I feel stupid but we all have our imperfections lol 

[Orange Smartie]

Everyone on this forum is so helpful, so you shouldn't be afraid to ask if you don't get something.

[Skygazerlass]

16 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

Half-price bargain, well done! I'd start by replacing the 10mm eyepiece with something better (it's not very good). A budget would help you get better advice but something like the 8mm BST starguider is well thought of:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

I'd keep the 25mm for now and see how you get on. It's easy to rush out and buy a load of eyepieces and discover you don't use half of them. Ditto filters. Better to use it a while and see what you feel the need for, then buy appropriately. Keep a check on the classifieds too, often some great bargains pop up and most folk on here look after their gear. Your scope is what's known as a "fast" scope so it won't appreciate cheap eyepieces. Doesn't mean you need to break with bank though, with careful selection.

Oh and welcome to SGL - remember no question is too daft to be asked, you'll always get a friendly and useful answer.

Hi thanks for your reply it wasn't half a bargain before the shipping prices went up I had my eye on this exact scope and the day I was about to put the money in the bank to buy it off first light optics I noticed the price has shot up I nearly hit the deck and was gutted then came across this one yesterday and I quickly messaged the guy my adrenaline was going like mad lol but I had to get it.

Right now my budget is 50 which is right on the mark for the eyepiece you recommend I'm willing to collect them up rather than all at once I just ordered the Cheshire collimator for it as the guy said it may need adjusted a little

Thank you I think I will feel right at home here as all my friends ain't into this stuff am like what how can you not you live your life in space not just planet earth how do you not find it interesting but my mum now that's a different story she believes the earth is flat and the amount of times I sit there clueless on how and why lol 

[Pixies]

Hi there.

have a look at this thread. The first post, mainly - as it goes on for several years!

 

[Saganite]

Congratulations, a great scope at a terrific price.👍

[Skygazerlass]

7 minutes ago, Pixies said:

Hi there.

have a look at this thread. The first post, mainly - as it goes on for several years!

 

Hey😊 thanks for your reply I will have a read at it with a cuppa later on 

[Skygazerlass]

14 minutes ago, Orange Smartie said:

Everyone on this forum is so helpful, so you shouldn't be afraid to ask if you don't get something.

Ty 😊

[Skygazerlass]

5 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Congratulations, a great scope at a terrific price.👍

Ty ☺️

[wulfrun]

1 hour ago, Skygazerlass said:

Right now my budget is 50 which is right on the mark for the eyepiece you recommend I'm willing to collect them up rather than all at once I just ordered the Cheshire collimator for it as the guy said it may need adjusted a little

When you get your cheshire, I can recommend this guide:

http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/

Don't be in a rush to fiddle. Take your time, check everything (twice!) first and don't adjust anything until you're certain it actually needs it. If it's only a fraction out, it's probably not worth bothering with adjustment.

[breakstuff]

Congrats, that's a great price for that scope, especially during a period when even second hand prices are sky high. 

I must admit, I'm a little jealous. 

 

[dave34]

Congrats on your great purchase, a big welcome to the lounge.

[Spile]

I have the 8" version of the same telescope so it would be interesting to see if/how your impressions differ. 

There is some great advice above and I would not be in a rush to upgrade anything until you have wrung the neck of what you have. After all we all have different priorities and learning is key to all of this. Having said all this, I would get a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

Enjoy!

[Stu1smartcookie]

2 minutes ago, Spile said:

I would get a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

The amateur astronomers bible 

[Skygazerlass]

19 hours ago, breakstuff said:

Congrats, that's a great price for that scope, especially during a period when even second hand prices are sky high. 

I must admit, I'm a little jealous. 

 

Thank you, that's why I grabbed it at 300 I thought yup am snatching that up lol the night before I had missed out on a Skywatcher 200p on a eq5 mount for £150  with filters and loads of eyepieces but I always wanted a dobsonian especially for my son to use aswell

Keep an eye out on Facebook market place that's where I found this beaut 

[Skygazerlass]

19 hours ago, dave34 said:

Congrats on your great purchase, a big welcome to the lounge.

Thank you Dave 😊

[Kon]

Nice purchase! I have its 8" brother/sister and it is an excellent piece of kit! I have bought the 8mm and 15 mm BST EPs. I have found the supplied 10mm a bit rubbish but the 25mm one is not bad at all. I personally use the 15mm more often for DSOs (galaxies and nebulas) due to the seeing conditions. You may want to invest on a RACI and a rigel/telrad. I would wait for filters until you decide what you want to see at night, it also depends in your light pollution. Some phone apps such as Setllarium or Skysafari are worth installing. Enjoy! SGL is a great place to ask questions, advise and recommendations on pieces of kit without breaking the bank.

[wookie1965]

As Above learn to enjoy your new purchase first when I got my first scope a 6" reflector I used the 25mm and the 10mm for over 6 months before upgrading. When I did I went for the BST Starguider eyepieces they have a great reputation on here and I was not disappointed, I have 3 now the 25mm,15mm and the 8mm all really very good eyepieces for £50 new but they do come up second hand from time to time. 

[kev100]

Hi there, and well done on the scope (I have the same one and it's fantastic!). However ... You do have to be very careful when it comes to choosing eyepieces for what is a 'fast scope', i.e. a scope with a focal ratio lower than, say, 5. Focal length divided by diameter equals focal ratio (and your is 4.7). As others have said, don't rush to buy eyepieces just yet, but, if you feel you must, then research 'eyepiece for fast scope' first, and check back here with what you find to see if it is actually suitable for a faster scope.

Ideally you'll want to end up with something in the lower, medium and high power ranges, giving magnifications of around 50-60x for lower power, around 100-120x for medium power, and 200-250x for high power. This works out at eyepiece focal lengths of 24-28mm, 14-17mm and 5-6mm respectively.

Field of view is another consideration (my personal preference is for a minimum of 82 degrees) ...

A good place to start is with Stellarium. Set up the oculars plug in with your scope details, and then try adding a range of different eyepieces to get an idea of how their magnifications and field of view compares.

On the subject of BST eyepieces. I know they're often recommended as a good step up from the stock items, and they definitely are, but, I personally have found them unsuitable for a fast scope, particularly the longer focal length ones. I have, and use, a 5mm BST as my maximum power eyepiece, and it's perfect. However, when I've looked through the 18mm once I've found the field curvature not to my liking. I know coma is a factor of the scope, but I prefer better corrected eyepieces (and a wider field of view). Although much more expensive than the BSTs, the Explore Scientific 68 degree range are, in my opinion, much better than the BSTs, and the 82 degree range is better still.

Kev

Edited February 27, 2021 by kev100

[Skygazerlass]

2 hours ago, Kon said:

Nice purchase! I have its 8" brother/sister and it is an excellent piece of kit! I have bought the 8mm and 15 mm BST EPs. I have found the supplied 10mm a bit rubbish but the 25mm one is not bad at all. I personally use the 15mm more often for DSOs (galaxies and nebulas) due to the seeing conditions. You may want to invest on a RACI and a rigel/telrad. I would wait for filters until you decide what you want to see at night, it also depends in your light pollution. Some phone apps such as Setllarium or Skysafari are worth installing. Enjoy! SGL is a great place to ask questions, advise and recommendations on pieces of kit without breaking the bank.

Hi and thanks for the advice last night I managed to get a good glimpse of the moon even chapped my neighbours door and invited him in to have a look and he said that's it am biting with the bug now I have to go get myself one n I mentioned first light optics to him so he's going to have a browse Today.

The eyepieces that came with the scope are alright and will help me get used to the scope before upgrading them I'm going to look out for groups near me but I've noticed there's isn't many people up my way interested in astronomy hopefully if up traveling around my area with my scope I can get more people into the hobby

My son really wants to see Jupiter and Saturn he knows it's not going to be like in the pictures close up but he said that's okay as long as he can lay his eyes on it he will be happy😆 bless him

 

 

 

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

8 minutes ago, Skygazerlass said:

My son really wants to see Jupiter and Saturn

Both planets are visiting the morning sky at present and are very low to the eastern horizon ... but later in the year they will be visible in the evening. I still marvel that we can see a gray fuzzy patch of light which is millions of light years away . Fantastic , and all a bit overwhelming in my opinion  

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Skygazerlass & son + 'big Betty' ...welcome to SGL. 

Depending on you budget I will suggest these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html or even these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html. If you have more to spend then I would suggest these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-68-degree-eyepiece.html

If you want to take the leap and go for a zoom e/p, then maybe this.... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html

For filters I would start off with a variable polarising filter and a neodymium. Both are available in 1.25" or 2" format. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Philip R

[faulksy]

very very good budget ep is skywatcher nivana range. very close to televue naglers probably 95% as good

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/ovl-nirvana-es-uwa-82-ultrawide-eyepieces.html