Good evening from an old bloke who’s looking to buy his first scope

[Naglerman]

20 hours ago, huddo said:

Hi all, just wanted to post my first post. Signed up a couple of days ago that was when I was a young whippersnapper of a 59 year old. Moving on to tonight and I’m a 60 year old. Really lean to buy my scope but am not 100% sure what I’m going to go for but am favouring a 150mm Newtonian on a EQ3-2 mount. Want to do planets, moon and a bit of DSO hunting. Hopefully I’m on the right lines. Clear skies all.

Many Happy returns from over the border. 
I’ll leave it to those that know better with regard to scope advice. Good luck..
Clear skies and enjoy!

[RT65CB-SWL]

3 hours ago, 200pman said:

Putt it on a water butt.it brings the focusser to eye level.

@200pman means a water butt base/stand. It will give you an extra few inches/cms of height.

[200pman]

Putt it on a water butt.it brings the focusser to eye level.

About 10 inches.

[bomberbaz]

17 minutes ago, 200pman said:

Putt it on a water butt.it brings the focusser to eye level.

About 10 inches.

Neat looking setup, very impressive.

Care to explain what they all do for curiosity sake!

[200pman]

Manual controls .for alt/az.i wouldnt go back to how it was before.

Edited February 3, 2022 by 200pman

[Spile]

I would echo the recommendations to get a Dobsonian…

https://astro.catshill.com/why-did-i-choose-a-dobsonian/

This is my “review“ of the 8”

https://astro.catshill.com/skywatcher-200p-review/

[huddo]

Just WOW, so much brilliant advice and so many warm welcomes. I like it here already.

Judging from some of the comments I may have to rethink/adjust my telescope choice (may even save some money into the bargain) Happy days.

I’ve made contact with a local ish Astronomical society and hope to get over to them soon.

thank again and clear skies to you all.

[Greg B]

Welcome from a fellow new member. I started with a 90mm Skywatcher refractor which was a decent scope. They can be bought second hand for less than a hundred quid. Whatever you decide it is definitely worth scanning eBay/marketplace/astrobuysell etc for your chosen scope. There seem to be a lot of underused lockdown purchases around!

[bomberbaz]

On 01/02/2022 at 20:52, 200pman said:

Manual controls .for alt/az.i wouldnt go back to how it was before.

Interesting. Are they something you put together yourself or did you buy a kit?

[200pman]

Put it together myself.

But there are kits in the USA but they are expensive.mine was made with what i could scrounge or find in my garage.

[Kimboman]

Hi nice topic ,I started out in this hobby or pastime some 60 plus years ago and have mostly been a visual observer apart from the good old film days with my Zenith camera which I still possess.

My first scope was a 70mm Tasco refractor then I upgraded to a Fullerscope 6 inch newtonium which is still in service .

After many years of being a magpie I have accumulated A 6 inch Celestron 6 se goto which I love,I also have a Sky watcher127 0n goto which is brilliant the I have a Celestron 102GT refractor which is f9.8 which is also great' but a tad long.

I have a Meade ETX 90 ota once again a great little scope and have a skywatcher st80 nice and portable and have recently obtained a Skywather 80 edpro brilliant small scope and various sizes of binoculars.

So you can see the sky is the limit on choice of scope I use all of this tackle when Skys allow all have their good and bad points but all are well portable . I have now made an observing chair which I should have had from day one makes observing so much better  so you can see the choice is vast luckily I have good dry storage space

[Rusted]

Those who advocate larger reflectors [than 6"] to beginners, might pause to think how many 8" refractors are in regular, amateur use.

If a refractor usually tops out at 6" aperture, then a Newtonian, of the same size, is surely just as valid?

I wonder how many here could actually tell the difference if they were brought to the eyepieces of the two types of 6" scopes in the dark?

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Rusted said:

Those who advocate larger reflectors [than 6"] to beginners, might pause to think how many 8" refractors are in regular, amateur use.

If a refractor usually tops out at 6" aperture, then a Newtonian, of the same size, is surely just as valid?

I wonder how many here could actually tell the difference if they were brought to the eyepieces of the two types of 6" scopes in the dark?

I don’t think I would agree with that. An 8” refractor is a very different proposition to an 8” Dobsonian. It will be much heavier due to the heavier lens and thicker tube, plus mounting it would be a serious challenge. Something like an 8” Orion Optics VX8 Dobsonian is quite light and easily handled due to its aluminium tube. Even the Skywatcher 8”Dobsonian is very manageable.

That said, a 6” f8 Dobsonian is a very capable scope and will show you plenty. A Skywatcher 150p is that bit lighter than a 200p (15kg vs 23.5kg from what I can see online) so whilst it is the same length as a 200p it will be easier to move around. The eyepiece height is much more convenient than, say, the Heritage 150p and as suggested, with a water butt stand would be a comfortable height to view at.

There is also the Bresser 6” f8 which worth a look. Biggest challenge currently is likely to be finding stock anywhere.

[Rusted]

Thanks Stu. My post questioned the difference between the two, 6" instruments, in purely visual terms.
Assuming both were placed side by side with the eyepieces at the same angle.

I am the owner of assorted refractors up to a classical 7" F/12 as well as a 10" f/8 Newtonian.
So I know the severe problems of mounting these long and heavy instruments equatorially.
Of course neither instrument would be chosen as a "starter" telescope today.
Though they might well have been considered much more normal in the past.
The modern amateur astronomer is highly mobile and demands both compactness and lightness.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Rusted
typo

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire  🙂

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.