Choosing My First Telescope - A Three-Way Battle!

[johninderby]

££££££££££££

https://www.365astronomy.com/optical-accessories-1/finder-,-guider-and-polarscopes/finderscopes-brackets/televue-starbeam-red-dot-finder-with-sct-base

[PeterC65]

2 minutes ago, johninderby said:

££££££££££££

https://www.365astronomy.com/optical-accessories-1/finder-,-guider-and-polarscopes/finderscopes-brackets/televue-starbeam-red-dot-finder-with-sct-base

OK. I'll bear this in mind for when I win the lottery!

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @kasabian21 and welcome to SGL. 

The SkyWatcher Skymax is very popular with SGL’ers. Though no ‘scope does all, an SCT or Maksutov will give you wonderful views of the Moon, planets and some DSO’s. Remember to add a dew shield as these are not included… (don’t ask why)!

Below is an image of my ETX105 c/w with dew shield attached on a small alt-az mount and photo/video tripod.

To get the best views, you need to allow them to acclimatise to the ambient temperature. I give me ‘re-modded’ ETX105 and Celestron C6/SCT a minimum of thirty minutes… (longer if I have driven to a star party that evening).

Though I am currently using manual alt-az mounts at the time of writing, my next astro-upgrade/purchase maybe the AZ-GTi mount as it seems to tick all the boxes.

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Philip R

[Stu1smartcookie]

3 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Remember to add a dew shield as these are not included… (don’t ask why)!

There must be someone out there that can patent a retractable dew shield for a Mak . Its a necessary item ... lets face it , you wouldnt buy a tv without a plug ( although i am old enough to remember when you did !!!!)

[RT65CB-SWL]

2 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

There must be someone out there that can patent a retractable dew shield for a Mak . Its a necessary item ... lets face it , you wouldnt buy a tv without a plug ( although i am old enough to remember when you did !!!!)

It would make sense, as a retractable dew shield is included with a Questar 3.5

[johninderby]

Or a collapsible dew shield a bit like those bellows on an old time camera.🤔

[Yubnub]

50 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Remember to add a dew shield as these are not included

Ah yes! good tip thank you

[Yubnub]

41 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Or a collapsible dew shield a bit like those bellows on an old time camera.🤔

oooh cool idea! you'd want it to be semi universal to cover other makes too....hmmmm

[Yubnub]

could integrate into the dust cover somehow 🤔

 

[Yubnub]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

££££££££££££

 

wow some serious kit out there....seems there is a solution for everything

[Yubnub]

Really sorry to kasabian21 for hijacking this thread... totally forgot it was yours ☺️

[SuburbanMak]

@Yubnub some great advice above on Mak 127 upgrades above. In order of usability impact over the course of a year I went: 

- Dewshield essential, unless you’re in Arizona or elsewhere very dry (if you’re saving money gaffer-taped foam roll mat will solve, ugly but works!) 

- Telrad/Rigel finder - the illuminated “gunsight” target circles at 4,2 & 0.5 degrees really help finding stuff. 
 
- 9x50 RACI finder - the Telrad gets you in the right area, the visual finder for final alignment & tracking down fainter things. GoTo is great but won’t land you spot on target every time, there’s still hunting to be done. 

- Baader Zoom eyepiece 8-24mm

- Something to get the max field  of view, I went for the Baader Hyperion 24mm 68 degree but a basic 32mm Plossl does the same job in this respect. 

- Uprated clamp to ADM clamp for AZGTI, improved stability way more than I was expecting. 

- Uprated Baader clamp for visual back. Feels a bit more secure when you start to get heavier eyepieces. 
 

- Takahashi Prism diagonal, just tightens up the star patterns a bit & slightly higher contrast than the (perfectly decent) supplied mirror diagonal. 
 

Edited February 3, 2022 by SuburbanMak

[SuburbanMak]

On 28/01/2022 at 14:19, johninderby said:

The stock RDF isn’t very good. There are much better ones available. Telrad is really only suitable for a bigger scope as it’s rather latge.

Au contraire - I think the Telrad looks splendid on a Mak 127, works a treat and I can pretend to be a spitfire pilot…

[bosun21]

I also have the Telrad fitted to my 127 and find it great to use. I just need to upgrade to a RACI finder as well 

 

 

[johninderby]

You mean the 127 mak mounted on the Telrad? 😁

[Yubnub]

1 hour ago, SuburbanMak said:

In order of usability impact over the course of a year I went:

Fantastic! thank you so much!

I'm convinced this is the right set up but I dont want to pull the rigger with FLO just yet as I'm curious to see what the classifieds here has to offer.... not been a member long enough so waiting it out...after all, there's no hurry.

[SuburbanMak]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

You mean the 127 mak mounted on the Telrad? 😁

Touché