SkyWatcher AutoTracking Mak-127

[AlanPeach]

Hi There,

Looking for some advice.

Totally new to this and im trying to learn to help out my 10 year old daughter ( Who's Scope this is !! ) .

This has been bought 2nd hand for her Birthday.At the moment ive put it together on the mount and had a quick look through.But must admit only looked on our back garden about 11pm at night.There were no planets in our patch or NOT EVEN THE MOON gggrrrr.

But we focused on a star and i have to say i was a tad disapointed .

Am i expecting to much.

We are using some PC software called Stellarium to help find stars etc etc and know what we are likely to see.Our back garden looks at the South East part of the sky at night.

I havent attached the auto tracking remote bit yet does this help much at all .I understand this is so anything you want to look at constantly is always in view .It doesnt help with focus does it ?.

So to recap its on it mount -i havent attached auto traker yet.

Had one quick view thru it on the 11th June ( Her birthday ) but didnt see much .And we are viewing at the back of the house on our rear garden.

Is this a good starter scope and what sensible upgrades are worthwhile for this scope and why.

We have also bought her quite a few Astronomy books for if it takes of with her .

cheers for any help

And sorry for the post being long winded and take pity on me as i am totally totally new to this and havent got a clue.

P.s We live in Mansfield Nottingham .

Cheers

Georgia and Alan

Also Bought this about 3 months ago and trusted the guy !! ( What an idiot i know )

This has only come with 1 eye piece -wide angle 25mm

Also there is no power adapter for batteries or electric .

Should this have come with these and where can i get these accessories now please .

Theres a lesson here somewhere !!

Thanks

[BlueAstra]

I would first try it out in daylight. Try looking at a distant object (pylon, etc) and check you can focus. Check that all lens caps are removed (yes I have forgotton!). You should see an inverted image of the target in one axis. If you have a finderscope or red dot finder on the scope, now is the time to align it with the target. Leave the focus setting where it is until you try in the evening.

In the evening find a really bright star and point the scope at it. You will probably have to adjust the focus slightly. If you see a decent star image then you can try looking for other objects. If the focussed star image looks distorted, you may have to consider collimating the scope (lots of threads on that subject).

Once on a target, engaging the auto-tracker will help keep it in the field of view. I'm not familiar with the unit, but note that the stars, the planets and the moon track at different rates so it may not be successful at everything.

I got a decent mains/12V supply from Tesco for under £10 that comes with a range of tips for connection. Check you have the right one and it should power the scope.

Also check out the manufacturers site:

SKY-WATCHER TELESCOPE

[Space Cowboy]

No worries you've got a great scope there! I have the same one though its a GOTO so automaticaly locates objects whereas you have to manually locate and then the auto tracking system will keep the object in view without you having to constantly adjust the scope(you have to focus). Most stars will only look the same through a scope as with the naked eye bcos they are so far away. If you could look into the southwestern sky and locate Saturn you can see its rings and moons. Admittadly using only a 25mm eyepiece Saturn will be very small as this is only 60x maginification. A 10mm eyepiece would give you 150x mag (the skymax scope has a focal length of 1500 mm so 1500/10= 150) A 2x barlow lense is also useful as it doubles the mag of any eyepiece you use.

A 12v 1amp power adapter costs only a tenner off the net. My scope came with a battery pack though they do tend to run down after a while. Anyhow i've only had mine 2 weeks so i'm sure there are better qualified folk here to give you more advice. Finally make sure you read those Astonomy books!

[AlanPeach]

So at the moment the shopping list is :-

1.10 mm eye piece

2. power adapter

Can i ask which 10 mm eye piece to go for .And is the 2 x barlow lens replacing the front lens ?.

please be gentle im sort of on a very crash course in this.

Is this what we should be after for a 2 x barlow ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-Achro-Barlow-Lense_W0QQitemZ220430730024QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Telescopes?hash=item3352b20328&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1690%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Cheers

Alan & Georgia

[AlanPeach]

Just got a power adaptor

With settings 3,4.5,6,7.5,9,12

seeing as this scope takes 8 x 1.5v AA batteries for remote if you want to use that instead of power adapter.

Im guessing you set it on 12v yes ?.

Someone answer before i blow it up please

Cheers

Alan

[adamsp123]

Taken directly from website -Skymax 127 SupaTrak Auto (5" Maksutov

Power Requirement: 12v DC Power Supply (Tip Positive) or AA Batteries (not supplied

Yes 12V as are most - but important info is Tip positive

[Space Cowboy]

So at the moment the shopping list is :-

1.10 mm eye piece

2. power adapter

Can i ask which 10 mm eye piece to go for .And is the 2 x barlow lens replacing the front lens ?.

please be gentle im sort of on a very crash course in this.

Is this what we should be after for a 2 x barlow ?

2x Achro Barlow Lense on eBay, also, Telescopes, Binoculars Telescopes, Photography (end time 15-Jun-09 20:00:00 BST)

Cheers

Alan & Georgia

The barlow is like a hollow eyepiece which you drop your eyepiece inside. Personally i would not recommend using ebay. Check this site Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. 1.25" fitting eyepieces and barlows

The plossl eyepieces are good (i've been told though i'm a novice too).

[blackgerby]

Have a look here - Barlows

and here Eyepieces & Barlows

See here for SGL member discount scheme details - http://stargazerslounge.com/sponsor-announcements-offers/58539-sgl-member-discount.html

[Jakeyboi]

Hi

I'm also new to astronomy and also have a skywatcher 127 autofinder. I've always been fasinated with the stars and can find my way around the constellations comfortably. Managed to find saturn and was wondering what lens was best to use. I tried the 10mm eyepiece with and without the 2x barlow. This revealed the rings and I think a moon which I'm hoping can be verified. It was a small speck off of the bottom left of Saturn, it stayed with the planet the whole time I was observing it. I was hoping to see more detail am I asking to much of my telescope?if so what will I expect to see when observing deep space objects. Also condensation was a massive problem is there anyway to stop the lens from condensing and is it ok to wipe it with a dust cloth.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Jake

[Space Cowboy]

Hi

I'm also new to astronomy and also have a skywatcher 127 autofinder. I've always been fasinated with the stars and can find my way around the constellations comfortably. Managed to find saturn and was wondering what lens was best to use. I tried the 10mm eyepiece with and without the 2x barlow. This revealed the rings and I think a moon which I'm hoping can be verified. It was a small speck off of the bottom left of Saturn, it stayed with the planet the whole time I was observing it. I was hoping to see more detail am I asking to much of my telescope?if so what will I expect to see when observing deep space objects. Also condensation was a massive problem is there anyway to stop the lens from condensing and is it ok to wipe it with a dust cloth.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Jake

I've had my skymax for only a few weeks. First time i viewed Saturn i saw 2 moons! Saturn is now lower in the sky so has poorer viewing. I too have dew issues which obviously spoil the image. Check out my dew question thread..these guys are great! http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/81612-wet-behind-ears-dew.html#post1235773

[Whippy]

It's worth pointing out that 'slow' scopes like SCT's and Mak-Casses aren't so demanding on eyepieces as 'faster' scopes such as Newtonians, so you'd be able to buy cheaper eyepieces such as decent plossls and get good views. Although a decent Barlow works well in any scope .

Tony..

[Jakeyboi]

Thanks will check out that thread.