A cheap 2nd scope?

[spacegalaxy]

Hello! I am a space enthusiast, who has a very simple 70mm f/10 refractor with a alt-az mount. I believe I have seen everything what this scope can see neatly. It can't show me much in the light polluted skies of my cities. I am looking for a cheap telescope upgrade around 160$, which will be my second and more serious telescope, I will like a dobsonian or a eq telescope. Suggestions? Also it needs to have free international shipping, because I live in India.

(P.S. Sorry for my bad English, I am not perfect in this language!)

[Realtimedoctor]

. I'd suggest getting a skywatcher 130p, it's good for visual and astrophotography. Also the lightweight means you'd not need a Hefty EQ mount for it. 

If you just want to do visual, you could look for a similar scope on a dobsonian mount. 

In the end it depends what your goals are? Do you just want to do visual or delve into astrophotography? With a budget of $160, it would be very difficult to get any decent set-up 

[spacegalaxy]

3 hours ago, Realtimedoctor said:

. I'd suggest getting a skywatcher 130p, it's good for visual and astrophotography. Also the lightweight means you'd not need a Hefty EQ mount for it. 

If you just want to do visual, you could look for a similar scope on a dobsonian mount. 

In the end it depends what your goals are? Do you just want to do visual or delve into astrophotography? With a budget of $160, it would be very difficult to get any decent set-up 

I searched for it, and it seems to have a good impression on many people, problem is it exceeds my budget (160$) way too much, so I can't buy it

I do want visual, with some simple smartphone shots

Anyway, is there a good scope considering buying in this price range?

I could buy an OTA only, and make a mount on my own. I have made a mount for my 70mm f/10. I already own a diagonal, 5x24 finderscope, 4mm, 10mm, 20mm Kellner eyepieces

[Realtimedoctor]

Unfortunately, there isn't much you'd able to find that many telescopes in that range, which will give you anything good visually. If you already have a 700mm FL scope, and you want something longer best would be maybe try a Barlow, x2 or x3. 

These will double or triple your FL and give you more bang for your buck from your 70mm refractor. 

If so intend to get something new, probably look on the second hand market for a long focal length reflectors. 

Cheers, 

Nish 

[Franklin]

Prior to the  1970's-80's, in the UK at least, and the arrival of the revolutionary Celestron C8 and Vixen Polaris series of mounts, telescope setups for amateurs were not really mass produced and not really available so cheaply as they are today. Not only was it common for amateur astronomers to build their own mounts and telescopes but grinding their own mirrors was so popular that mirror making kits were readily available. I'm not suggesting you attempt to grind your own mirror but you could easily build the whole scope and mount, if you could source a second hand primary and flat mirror. A very economical way of obtaining a decent quality 6"/8"  Newtonian/Dobsonian.

[Toltec]

13 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Prior to the  1970's-80's, in the UK at least, and the arrival of the revolutionary Celestron C8 and Vixen Polaris series of mounts, telescope setups for amateurs were not really mass produced and not really available so cheaply as they are today. Not only was it common for amateur astronomers to build their own mounts and telescopes but grinding their own mirrors was so popular that mirror making kits were readily available. I'm not suggesting you attempt to grind your own mirror but you could easily build the whole scope and mount, if you could source a second hand primary and flat mirror. A very economical way of obtaining a decent quality 6"/8"  Newtonian/Dobsonian.

That takes me back, exactly what I did in the early 80's, buy not grind that is, almost everything else was home made. There are still mirror sets available if you check ebay.

[Franklin]

7 minutes ago, Toltec said:

, buy not grind that is

Ditto, couldn't afford David Hinds mirrors, got mine from Henry Wildey. It was a 6"f/8 and when I got a ready made scope I dismantled my homemade and gave the optics away to the local astro society.

[spacegalaxy]

Okay, many people recommended grinding/ getting a mirror and build the tube and dobsonian mount, so I found this, is it any good?

Link: https://tejraj.com/telescope-making-kit-indian.html (This is the local company in India, and I got my first telescope from them) 1st or 2nd product

I also saw it has a long focus, and I won't get wide-field views, so I searched for a focal reducer, and fund one, is it any good? Link: https://tejraj.com/focal-reducer.html (1st product)

And is the Sky-watcher Heritage 100p dobsonian good for DSO's (Better than my 70mm refractor?) Link: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html

Edited January 29, 2022 by spacegalaxy
Spelling

[spacegalaxy]

11 hours ago, Franklin said:

if you could source a second hand primary and flat mirror

Umm, where can I get a second hand primary and secondary?

[Roy Challen]

On 28/01/2022 at 05:14, spacegalaxy said:

Hello! I am a space enthusiast, who has a very simple 70mm f/10 refractor with a alt-az mount. I believe I have seen everything what this scope can see neatly. It can't show me much in the light polluted skies of my cities. I am looking for a cheap telescope upgrade around 160$, which will be my second and more serious telescope, I will like a dobsonian or a eq telescope. Suggestions? Also it needs to have free international shipping, because I live in India.

(P.S. Sorry for my bad English, I am not perfect in this language!)

With your budget, finding something that represents a step up will be difficult, but not impossible.

I don't know how easily available astro equipment is in India, but I would look out for a second hand TAL 1. It's a pretty good Russian reflector, on a reasonable EQ mount. They are easily available here in the UK for well under £100. I got one for free - £0!

If you decide to go this route try to find one with the later 1.25" focuser so that you can use modern eyepieces, otherwise you'll be limited to what they come with originally. They're not bad at all, but are a different size.

The downside is that the setup is heavy, so I doubt anyone would post from abroad.

[Peter_D]

Why don't you try contacting local astronomical societies and clubs? Members could have spare kit that they would be willing to give to you. Another option would asking at a university or school if they have a telescope that is not being used. Give it a try! Good luck.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Peter_D

[cajen2]

The SW 100p that you mention is a great little scope (I bought one for my daughter) and gives you a bit of headroom to buy a better eyepiece or two. The question is whether it's a substantial improvement over what you already have. 

Is there a good second-hand market there in India? If so, the 130p or 150p would be much better if you could find one.

[spacegalaxy]

6 hours ago, Peter_D said:

Why don't you try contacting local astronomical societies and clubs? Members could have spare kit that they would be willing to give to you. Another option would asking at a university or school if they have a telescope that is not being used. Give it a try! Good luck.

Thanks Peter for the suggestion, I went on google and found a local club near me, seems like they have lots of dobs, but they were temporarily closed, I will try once it opens! (Also my school doesn't have a telescope😦)

Edited January 29, 2022 by spacegalaxy

[spacegalaxy]

4 hours ago, cajen2 said:

The SW 100p that you mention is a great little scope (I bought one for my daughter) and gives you a bit of headroom to buy a better eyepiece or two. The question is whether it's a substantial improvement over what you already have. 

Is there a good second-hand market there in India? If so, the 130p or 150p would be much better if you could find one.

Second hand telescope that is a dob is rare here, even having a good reflector here is rare, but do you think a 114mm Zhumell dobsonian is good?

https://www.telescopesplus.com/products/zhumell-z114-portable-altazimuth-reflector-telescope

Edited January 29, 2022 by spacegalaxy

[spacegalaxy]

8 hours ago, Roy Challen said:

With your budget, finding something that represents a step up will be difficult, but not impossible.

I don't know how easily available astro equipment is in India, but I would look out for a second hand TAL 1. It's a pretty good Russian reflector, on a reasonable EQ mount. They are easily available here in the UK for well under £100. I got one for free - £0!

If you decide to go this route try to find one with the later 1.25" focuser so that you can use modern eyepieces, otherwise you'll be limited to what they come with originally. They're not bad at all, but are a different size.

The downside is that the setup is heavy, so I doubt anyone would post from abroad.

I think the problem is I will have to buy from abroad but other than that, how big is the mirror and the focal ratio?

Edited January 29, 2022 by spacegalaxy

[cajen2]

2 hours ago, spacegalaxy said:

Second hand telescope that is a dob is rare here, even having a good reflector here is rare, but do you think a 114mm Zhumell dobsonian is good?

https://www.telescopesplus.com/products/zhumell-z114-portable-altazimuth-reflector-telescope

Yes, Zhumell are fine. And 114mm is generally better than 100. Does it have a parabolic mirror?

[Roy Challen]

3 hours ago, spacegalaxy said:

I think the problem is I will have to buy from abroad but other than that, how big is the mirror and the focal ratio?

110mm aperture, 800mm f/l, so approx f/7.3

[spacegalaxy]

18 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Yes, Zhumell are fine. And 114mm is generally better than 100. Does it have a parabolic mirror?

Yes, it has a parabolic mirror, but I a discord server if it is good, and they said it was a barlowed Newtonian, but If I check on another forum it is only a Newtonian so, I am really confused! 

[spacegalaxy]

18 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Yes, Zhumell are fine. And 114mm is generally better than 100. Does it have a parabolic mirror?

I found that it has extra shipping charges, so I am looking at the Z100 or skywatcher heritage 100p from FLO, so is it good?

[cajen2]

I bought the 100p for my daughter and it's good for what it is - a small aperture reflector. It has a decent parabolic mirror and with a couple of decent eyepieces is a good scope. Whether it'll be a massive improvement over what you have, I can't tell.

[Cornelius Varley]

17 hours ago, Roy Challen said:

110mm aperture, 800mm f/l, so approx f/7.3

The telescope in the link has an aperture of 114mm and a focal length of 450mm.

[cajen2]

9 minutes ago, spacegalaxy said:

Yes, it has a parabolic mirror, but I a discord server if it is good, and they said it was a barlowed Newtonian, but If I check on another forum it is only a Newtonian so, I am really confused! 

Yes, it's a Newtonian (refers to the arrangement of mirrors). "Barlowed" just means they sell it with a Barlow lens (common with cheaper scopes). This doubles the magnification of the eyepiece.

[Cornelius Varley]

1 minute ago, cajen2 said:

Yes, it's a Newtonian (refers to the arrangement of mirrors). "Barlowed" just means they sell it with a Barlow lens (common with cheaper scopes). This doubles the magnification of the eyepiece.

I don't think so. A "barlowed reflector" is another term for a Jones-Bird telescope. 

[spacegalaxy]

2 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Yes, it's a Newtonian (refers to the arrangement of mirrors). "Barlowed" just means they sell it with a Barlow lens (common with cheaper scopes). This doubles the magnification of the eyepiece.

I meant bird-jones but bird-jones are different from these cheap reflector

[spacegalaxy]

In the end both designs are different