I need some help choosing a budget telescope.

[vlaiv]

36 minutes ago, Lotinsh said:

@Ricochet Hey, there are two versions of the telescope (90/900 one) there is the AZ mount for 200 and the EQ mount for 230, is it worth getting the EQ mount for 30 Eur more?

https://teleskopy.pl/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=1424&lunety=Teleskop Sky Watcher Synta R 90 900 AZ 3

https://teleskopy.pl/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=1304&lunety=Teleskop Sky Watcher Synta R 90 900 EQ 2

I had both of these mounts.

EQ2 was not very stable with larger 130mm F/7.9 Newtonian but it was usable. It is EQ type mount so you'll have to learn polar alignment to use it properly (not hard thing to do - you need to point it to Polaris / North pole - for visual it needs to be approximate).

It is a bit more awkward to use than AltAz mount in the way scope moves - but once you understand how it moves - you won't have problems pointing it and using it.

AZ3 is more stable, but it has a few issues that really annoyed me. I don't think it is suitable for long scopes.

- slow motion controls need to be "rewinded" after you use them - they are not continuous and have certain amount of back and forth. If you track the sky - you'll reach the limit and will need to unwind them in the opposite direction to be able to track

- mount has issues when observing near zenith - best place to observe since there is least atmosphere and light pollution there. Scope is nearly impossible to point straight up and longer the scope - more problems you'll have.

Out of the two - I'd go with EQ2 version although I prefer AltAz for simple observation.

[Lotinsh]

If I went for the reflector, what do I need for collimating?

For the mount I am thinking of maybe buying a small wooden portable table or something like that, so that shouldn't be a problem.

[vlaiv]

5 minutes ago, Lotinsh said:

If I went for the reflector, what do I need for collimating?

For the mount I am thinking of maybe buying a small wooden portable table or something like that, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I don't use anything for collimation of my dob - just a star.

Secondary stays in place very well and with open tube design it is very easy to align it properly. Primary you can adjust just by looking at the out of focus star pattern.

These images show how can you tell if telescope is out of collimation. Just make sure star is in the center of the field of view (best to use Polaris as it will not move) and use high power eyepiece. Do slight defocus and if rings are not concentric - you need to fix the collimation.

As soon as you move primary mirror - you'll see the change in star pattern - move so that you make circles concentric.

[Lotinsh]

Thank you, sounds difficult, I think I'm prob going to go for the 130P, it sounds good. Also, is it ok to buy cheap 2x/3x barrow lenses?

[happy-kat]

I use a heritage 130p with it on the floor and I sit on a garden chair. Sometimes I raise it up by placing the whole lot on an upturned bucket.

[happy-kat]

You can make a collimation cap from an old 35mm film canister.

[Lotinsh]

I don't have any film canisters, but knowing that I need just a chair is usefull, thanks.

[happy-kat]

Will you be observing from home or will you need to travel or walk somewhere every time you want to observe?

[Lotinsh]

I may observe sometimes from home, but due to living in middle of city, I'm going to drive out mostly to a nearby lake.

[happy-kat]

I was only thinking that if going by bicycle then the base does not fold flat.

[Spile]

A Dobsonian and a copy of Turn Left at Orion is a great choice.

I wouldn't get hung up or start panicking about collimation. You can order a collimation cap when you get your telescope. I made one from a lens cap and a shiny washer.

When you are ready, check out these...

 https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-guide-to-collimation

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi6UI5BvXm9lyZg5AG0X1g/videos

 

[Lotinsh]

@Spile Thanks, I might buy the book, hopefully it's not too expensive 

[Orange Smartie]

Just to chip in here regarding collimation - my heritage 150p came with a collimation cap included, so a 130p might do too.

Pete

[Spile]

21 hours ago, Lotinsh said:

hopefully it's not too expensive 

I paid £23 but it is worth it IMHO. Someone did find a used one on FB marketplace for a tenner, so you might get lucky 🙂

[Spile]

21 hours ago, Orange Smartie said:

heritage 150p came with a collimation cap included, so a 130p might do too

It does seem strange that the 200P classic does not come with one 😞

[Lotinsh]

So after all, I'm answering kinda late, but I found a 150p for 260 from Finland, so I ordered it, for people who are interested I'll post a follow up once I recieve it, about my expirience, thanks for tips tho!

Edited March 10, 2021 by Lotinsh

[dannybgoode]

8 hours ago, Lotinsh said:

So after all, I'm answering kinda late, but I found a 150p for 260 from Finland, so I ordered it, for people who are interested I'll post a follow up once I recieve it, about my expirience, thanks for tips tho!

The 150P is a great scope imo and often overlooked. Much more light gathering than a 130 whilst staying a very sensible size, unlike the 200 which is starting to get a bit cumbersome - especially to beginners. 

I've got many of my astronomy firsts with my 150P, it's never going to be sold

[Orange Smartie]

9 hours ago, Lotinsh said:

So after all, I'm answering kinda late, but I found a 150p for 260 from Finland, so I ordered it, for people who are interested I'll post a follow up once I recieve it, about my expirience, thanks for tips tho!

That's very exciting! You should be able to observe loads of stuff with that, but remember that what you see (and whether you can see it at all) will depend on multiple factors including light pollution, phase of the moon, how high the object is in the sky etc). I dont say this to discourage you, but to encourage you to pick your targets depending on where you are and how the conditions are on a given night - as recommended before, Turn Left at Orion is very helpful in making the choices of what to look at.

Best of luck, I look forward to hearing how you get on!

Pete

[Lotinsh]

Thanks, I'm currently looking for a book guide for sky, I wanted to buy left at orion, but it isn't in my local stores, might have to buy from amazon. Thanks for advice, I'm really excited!

[Orange Smartie]

You may well have seen this recommended elsewhere, but if not, you could also take a look at this list of objects that are visible from light-polluted skies:

https://las-astro.org.uk/docs/Loughton_List_v2_0.pdf

Thanks to @Tiny Clanger for drawing this to my attention.

[Lotinsh]

Thanks, this list looks really good, I might try to find them all once I get my telescope!

[Geoff Lister]

Most diagonals and Barlows come with dust caps at each end, and most OTAs also have a dust cap at the focuser. I turned one of these into a collimation cap by drilling a 1mm hole in its centre.

Geoff

[Lotinsh]

Hey, I wanted to know should I order a 2x or 3x barlow lens? I noticed that the 150p doesn't come with one and I've heard they're a big deal, if I should, can someone recommend me some decent cheap ones? Or is it better to stay without for now?

[Gfamily]

The advantage of a Barlow lens is that when used with an eyepiece it gives you the magnification twice or three times the 'power' with the same size eye lens (some eyepiece designs result in smaller and smaller eye lenses as the focal length decreases).

The downside is that the optics aren't necessarily optimised when a lens is used with one. Generally, the image will be okay, but it would usually be possible to get a better image with a decent equivalent eyepiece.

Another is that there is a temptation to use it to give too much magnification. 

I have a 2x Barlow that I use with my 32, 24 and 18mm eyepieces, so that I effectively have the use of 16, 12 and 9mm EPs as well.

I wouldn't use it with my 10mm eyepiece, as it would be too much for my f/12 scope.

There's a nice Celestron combined Barlow/t adapter that could be worth getting as you can also use it to attach a dSLR to your scope.

[Gfamily]

I've just looked back up the thread and seen that you're getting a Newtonian scope. So when I mentioned 'attaching a dSLR to your scope', a Barlow is very likely to be needed to be able to get it to focus. 

There are Newtonians that can be used with a SLR camera, but they need to be specially designed for it.