SW ST-120T - User's Opinions?

[Ian McCallum]

I thought I'd start a fresh topic on this OTA,  the Sky-Watcher Startravel 120T. 

It's purely for visual observering,  probably wide field, some lunar and less so on the planets. I'm not too bothered about CA, to be honest. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/skywatcher-startravel-120t-ota.html

I'm still looking for my first refractor and I can't justify the more exotic and expensive models, so I'm looking at the above. 

Those who've used or owned one, what's your experiences with it - both good and bad? 🤔

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

12 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

I thought I'd start a fresh topic on this OTA,  the Sky-Watcher Startravel 120T. 

It's purely for visual observering,  probably wide field, some lunar and less so on the planets. I'm not too bothered about CA, to be honest. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/skywatcher-startravel-120t-ota.html

I'm still looking for my first refractor and I can't justify the more exotic and expensive models, so I'm looking at the above. 

Those who've used or owned one, what's your experiences with it - both good and bad? 🤔

The ST120 is an absolutely fine wide field telescope. Mine was equipped with a 2" diagonal & Baader semi apo filter plus a 9x50 RACI finder/ red dot sight. Some people replace the focuser or add a motor, but then you may as well consider a 102mm ED refractor. There is an 8"(?) dobsonian in your avatar. I wonder if the ST120 would really compliment the dob?

Also the ST120 is not actually very travel friendly. With accessories and an eyepiece it weighs around 6kg. The primary reason I sold mine was because I felt it was on the limit of useability on an AZ5 mount and even after swapping to a 1.25" diagonal and plastic red dot, too heavy for the AZGTI. Assuming you don't have a mount, you really need to consider mounting requirements & the extra cost involved.

Bear in mind prices have increased drastically this last year. I paid £215 new. At £299 I don't think I'd bother. They regularly come up for sale used so worth a punt if you can get one for less than £200. 

 

[Ian McCallum]

10 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The ST120 is an absolutely fine wide field telescope. Mine was equipped with a 2" diagonal & Baader semi apo filter plus a 9x50 RACI finder/ red dot sight. Some people replace the focuser or add a motor, but then you may as well consider a 102mm ED refractor. There is an 8"(?) dobsonian in your avatar. I wonder if the ST120 would really compliment the dob?

Also the ST120 is not actually very travel friendly. With accessories and an eyepiece it weighs around 6kg. The primary reason I sold mine was because I felt it was on the limit of useability on an AZ5 mount and even after swapping to a 1.25" diagonal and plastic red dot, too heavy for the AZGTI. Assuming you don't have a mount, you really need to consider mounting requirements & the extra cost involved.

Bear in mind prices have increased drastically this last year. I paid £215 new. At £299 I don't think I'd bother. They regularly come up for sale used so worth a punt if you can get one for less than £200. 

 

The price increase is eye-watering, but it's the same everywhere in life, these days...  I'm still planning to use that old Meade EQ-1B mount and tripod.  It came with a 4.5" reflector, which weighs 4.55kg or over 7.5lbs - that's the OTA and rings, etc.

Yes, I already own a SW 200P.

[Carbon Brush]

I think if you are entering 'refractorland' and want to use your old mount, you ought to be looking at ST80 or ST012 sort of size/weight.
Presumably you want a quick and easy setup, or easy to transport scope. That is the only advantage.
Be prepared to say 'oh dear' when you compare the light gathering on wide field, and the planetary views the SW200 will give.
Just my two pennorth having owned newts of that size, an ST80 and an ST102.
With the caveat that I thought my ST102 gave really good views for the £££ spent. It was 2nd hand, about £100 on altaz a long time ago.

If you want good lunar and planetary with less CA then a longer frac will help. But then the mount will show its limits.
Alternatively consider a MAK. For example there was a 102 MAK on this site a week ago.
The short tube MAK won't twist your mount in a gentle breeze and it hopefully will be OK with the weight.
For purely visual, you might decide your EQ mount is a bit of a faff, and alt az more appealing.

HTH,

David.

[Barry Fitz-Gerald]

If you do go for one you may need to factor in the cost a replacement dual speed focuser, because the one that comes with it is quite rubbish.

I fitted the SW Crayford to mine, and it is not a straight swap, the collar on the Crayford is a couple of mm's too wide and needed a bit of attention with an abrasive wheel on a drill to get it to fit the OTA.  Did not have a problem with a TS Dual Focuser however, that fit very well, but for some reason it stopped working after I dropped it on the floor.

Overall, the ST120 is a good grab and go telescope, but it is a wide field low power sweeper - and if you accept its limitations it is a super bit of kit.  Moon and planets are not targets for this telescope but on the brighter DSO's it performs very well, and the CA to me is not bothersome at all.  Some advise a Baader 495nm Longpass filter to counter the CA on Solar System objects for instance, but this makes everything looks like its smeared in mustard, so I do not bother with it, preferring the unfiltered view. I sometimes use it along side a Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro, and on Solar System the 80mm is noticeably sharper (no surprise there) but on DSO's the ST120's extra 40mm  gives it a bit of an edge.

It is quite chunky as has already been stated, so needs a reasonable mount, a heavy duty photographic tripod like the Fotomate VT-680-222R just about manages to cope with the OTA and 1.25 diagonals and smaller EP's but if I use 2 inch accessories I mount it on a Sky Tee2.

With a Baader white light filter and a Baader Solar Continuum Filter it gives very pleasing Solar Views indeed.

So, overall a good little telescope, but with the recent price increases and the prospect of having to shell out extra for a Crayford which is really a must, it might be worth exploring other possibilities in the Achro/small Apo range.

 

 

 

 

 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

The mount seals it. The ST120 would be a nightmare to use on that light weight eq mount. Also the refractor won't show you anything the the dob won't do.

Refractors are nice instruments but not for everyone. They do cut through light pollution well, stars are pinpoints without diffraction spikes and contrast is excellent. With the goto eq mount the observing position is comfortable and adjustable to suit the user. The differences between my f7 ED scope and the ST120 are an *almost* lack of chromatic abberation. 99% of the time I don't see it and I can up the magnification on for instance; planets, lunar, globulars and split tight double stars, revealing detail and colour without degrading the view or straining my eyes. Aperture is king, however in light polluted skies I found it makes little difference as DSO viewing is quite limited anyway, hence the refractor choice. I've sacrificed aperture for easy storage, portability, goto and accurate tracking at high power. Observing is very relaxed without manually tracking or star hopping. Acquiring an object is relatively quick. I can sit and read about an object, pop the kitchen or whatever and the object is still in the eyepiece when I look.

I sold an 8" dob and a 6" mounted reflector once I had my £495 102ED. However again, I had to upgrade from my AZGTI mount, so a pre-owned Celestron AVX goto eq was bought because I simply cannot afford a high load alt az goto mount. Though observing with my combination is a joy. The whole package is rock steady. £1100 well spent on the scope and mount. I'm not particularly rich so that price was a combination if my own cash and selling unneeded gear.

 

[callisto]

27 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The mount seals it. The ST120 would be a nightmare to use on that light weight eq mount.

Yeah, you would need a more stable mount...my 127mm is pushing it on my Vixen GP but I'm only using it for visual 

[Ian McCallum]

I see FLO does all-in-one packages, like the ST102 with mount and tripod.  I'm not really bothered with the tripod and mount, but more the OTA - because it's the only way to get the OTA, at the moment.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/sky-watcher-starquest-102r-f49-achromatic-refractor-telescope.html

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

6 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

I see FLO does all-in-one packages, like the ST102 with mount and tripod.  I'm not really bothered with the tripod and mount, but more the OTA - because it's the only way to get the OTA, at the moment.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/sky-watcher-starquest-102r-f49-achromatic-refractor-telescope.html

Save your money and wait for a used ota. You already have a fantastic instrument in the 8" dob. These f5 refractors come up for sale regularly. Consider posting a wanted ad. 

Edited October 31, 2021 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Ian McCallum]

55 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Save your money and wait for a used ota. You already have a fantastic instrument in the 8" dob. These f5 refractors come up for sale regularly. Consider posting a wanted ad. 

I suppose the takeaway from this is, if I want a semi decent reflector - that needs to be fitted to a decent mount and tripod.  The other thing is that I'd need to spend more more on a 4" APO or similar, to get views comparable or approaching that of my 8" Dob. 

Would those be fair statements?🤔

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

22 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

I suppose the takeaway from this is, if I want a semi decent reflector - that needs to be fitted to a decent mount and tripod.  The other thing is that I'd need to spend more more on a 4" APO or similar, to get views comparable or approaching that of my 8" Dob. 

Would those be fair statements?🤔

The mount is an often overlooked expenditure and is also usually the biggest let down when purchasing a package. Every telescope needs a stable platform to function optimally. Something dobson mounts excel at.

In general use a 4" ed refractor will never beat an 8" reflector, purely because of all that extra aperture, however as described above there are plenty of benefits.

[Ian McCallum]

Thanks for everyone's input, I do listen. 👍  I don't want to just out and buy something, just for the sake of it - I prefer to do my research first.

[banjaxed]

I have a ST120 mounted on an AZ5 and stainless steel tripod which I find to be quite stable but having fitted a motor focuser it keeps the shakes at bay. I also have an 8” Dob which gets about the same amount of use and have no intention of selling either.

[Guest]

I have an ST 120 mm. I find that it gives great bright widefield views. Surprisingly good with viewing the moon. I used a Seymour solar filter for observing the sun. Observing Jupiter comes with violet fringing. But my example gives reasonable views of Saturn. Because Saturn is not as bright as Jupiter.

[Stu]

Chaps, just a gentle reminder to all to keep sales to the for sale section. Thanks

[banjaxed]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

Chaps, just a gentle reminder to all to keep sales to the for sale section. Thanks

Am I missing something Stu ? Can’t see anything for sale in this thread.

[Stu]

6 minutes ago, banjaxed said:

Am I missing something Stu ? Can’t see anything for sale in this thread.

Because I have hidden various posts and comments 👍

[banjaxed]

1 minute ago, Stu said:

Because I have hidden various posts and comments 👍

I must not have seen those posts, thank you for the clarification 👌