First Telescope advice please

[Jim Beaumont]

I have settled on the Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 SyncScan AZ Goto as my choice, to use a viewing scope with maybe some basic AP. I believe it gives me the flexability of nothing to big as to be arduous to get out in to the garden when wanted, gives me good viewing of planetry and some deeper objects at a reasonable price, with the advantage (i think) of the remote control ability.

Is their any users here that agree/disagree or can offer advice of extra's needed/would be good things to have given my budget is £800 and the scope is £500.

Or maybe offer a better alternative even?

Thanks in advance.

[johninderby]

The 127 on.the AZ-GTi mount is very popular. Can also be used in EQ mode with a small wedge and updated firmware so if you want to do a bit of AP.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi/sky-watcher-skymax-127-az-gti.html

Edited August 18, 2021 by johninderby

[Stu1smartcookie]

As John wrote , i would also favour the AZ-Gti ... even if you update the firmware to accommodate EQ mode , it still has the option to use it in AZ-Alt mode too ! 

Also , using the wedge allows a "better" set up for photography .

Another plus point is the Az- Gti has "dual encoders " which actually allow manual movement of the scope without losing the original positioning . IE at the press of a button the mount will slew the scope back to the target . A nice touch . 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Stu1smartcookie

[Girders]

This is a good choice of scope, but there advantages and disadvantages to the mount options (also consider the new Virtuoso tabletop dob option).  Those that use phones for control are great for using GoTo once things have been aligned but I find it really tricky to make fine adjustments in the scope movements using a phone. Much much easier when you have physical buttons you can press while keeping your eye looking down the eyepiece.  But the App is much easier for navigating to objects.

Whichever option you choose, you’ll want a dew shield and I also added a helical fine focuser as I’m not alone in finding the Skymax tricky to get perfect focus using the rotating knob.

[Tiny Clanger]

I can't comment on the mount, because I've only ever used simple alt/az , but the skymax 127 I do own and use . for planets and the Moon. The cool down time it needs is something to keep in mind, pop it outside to cool for at least half an hour, but it is portable (I have mine on an AZ5  and photo tripod, leave it assembled, and can carry it outside in one go , despite being a weedy girlie).

As soon as I bought mine and set it up, it became apparent that the stock diagonal was poor , lightweight, plasticy , and incapable of holding any but the lightest eyepiece securely. So my immediate upgrade was a better diagonal, I was lucky enough to get a skywatcher dielectric one second hand , and it works well. As well as the skywatcher diagonal, FLO's stella mira range has an effectively identical one for £10 less but both of those are out of stock like so much else , this looks like a good one in stock and still under £100 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/william-optics-125-dura-bright-dielectric-diagonal.html

The 127 definitely needs a dew shield , you can buy one or make one yourself very cheaply, and various thrifty ways to get fine focus control can be found,  from the peanut butter jar lid one ( do a search on here to find threads with photos ) to the one I use ... clip a clothes peg on to make a lever you can operate with a fingertip 🙂

I always suggest, hold back some of your budget, there will inevitably be something else you find you need or want once you have the 'scope up and running.  I suspect alternative power sources for mounts which theoretically work from AA cells are a common next purchase, and many folk feel they would benefit from different or better eyepieces .

Heather

[Zermelo]

56 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

the stock diagonal was poor

Heather, apart from being more sound mechanically, did you notice any improvement in the images with the replacement?

I'm thinking about whether to upgrade.

[Tiny Clanger]

31 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

Heather, apart from being more sound mechanically, did you notice any improvement in the images with the replacement?

I'm thinking about whether to upgrade.

Unfortunately, yes !

As I said, I bought a second hand di electric skywatcher , and as well as the far nicer mechanical aspect , it seemed much brighter when it had first light on the Moon ... but there was something on the mirror, a tangle of fluff  ?!   Except it wasn't a tangle of fluff at all, it was an eye floater 😞 . I'd not even noticed it with the stock diagonal, perhaps because I'd used it so little , but I do wonder if the greater precision of the better diagonal made the floater more clear and noticeable, just as it improved the clarity of my view of targets ! So an unfortunate side effect was finding I had eye floaters .

I think I read somewhere on here that the skywatcher (and presumably Stella M ) ones have a stop inside which limits the wide field use more than some other diagonals, but I've no idea if that's accurate, and I'm not using the mak for wide field so wasn't alarmed by it.

The original diagonal spent a while in my ST80 (which came with nothing beyond the tube itself) but has been replaced with a £10 Chinese one from Amazon which is quite a bit better physically, and not bad visually either, especially after I took it apart and flocked the inner triangular sides after reading about it on here ...

Heather

Edited August 18, 2021 by Tiny Clanger

[Aquavit]

I think you've made a good choice in your scope and mount combo. My first scope was the smaller 102 Mak but on a manual EQ mount which, in all honesty, I struggled to get to grips with and so ditched the EQ1 mount and fitted an AZ Pronto mount to the existing tripod which simplified things no end. As I only use the Mak for Lunar and planetary observation the manual mount with slo-mo controls is simple to use and makes for a quick set up. I get a little frustrated with the focus knob so I may try Heather's clothes peg upgrade.

I agree on the "nastiness" of the supplied plastic diagonal and have deliberated over swapping it out. interestingly today I did a comparison test with the included SW diagonal alongside a Williams Optics Erecting Prism and a Lacerta Star Diagonal - both cost around the £75 mark. I used the 102 Mak and an 80ED frac for the "test" and a variety of eyepieces ranging in FL from 32mm to 9mm  (see my signature). I was pointing at a chimney around 250 yards away and examining the pointing at various magnifications, weather was bright sunshine with occasional cloud. I can honestly say that the difference between the nasty plastic one and the other two was as near as imperceptible, maybe a tiny bit more light but very difficult to be sure of this. What is different though is the feel of them and that the more expensive diagonals have compression rings rather than two not so convincing screws, that alone for me is worth the upgrade. All this in preparation for some Lunar observation tonight.

You will definitely need a dew shield for your Mak, I also wrapped the body in a foam "insulation jacket" .

[Jim Beaumont]

Thank you all for all the feedback and recommendations. I think I will be taking the plunge into what has been described to me as 'cash blowing worthwhile adventure' very soon.

Again, many thanks.