Must have !!

[nicnac]

well, i have chosen my telescope (explorer 200p EQ5) and now i would appreciate your views on "cant live without" accessories bare in mind i will not be imaging for a while so i dont require accessories in that field.

your combined experience, knowledge and advice is, as always, appreciated

[pvaz]

Well I'm a newby myself.

The 1st thing I bought was a few eyepieces and some filters that help bring out the detail in some objects. I would say thats a good point for you to start.

You can read this really good primers on the subject:

http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/80772-eyepieces-very-least-you-need.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/primers-tutorials/63184-primer-understanding-choosing-eyepieces.htm

http://stargazerslounge.com/primers-tutorials/38541-primer-planetary-filters-guide.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/primers-tutorials/84192-primer-understanding-choosing-filters-visual-use.html

I also bought a telrad finder that helps me a lot when I starhop. If you don't know it already, it's a zero magnification finder, that draws 3 circles and you can look at the sky through it, to find your way. Much better and easier then the 9x50 finderscope I used.

[kniclander]

personally, the best thing I bought was a correct image right angled 9x50 finderscope - I couldn't get to grip with the straight-thru reverse image one at all and it hurt my gregory

however, others swear by zero power red dot finders (I have never used one so I don't know)

either way, a better finder

[arad85]

I'd agree with the better finder. I use a telrad on my dob. Wouldn't be without it!!

You may also want to think about some other eyepieces - and something WARM to wear. Personally, I don't think you NEED filters to start with.

[John]

I agree with the finder advice - a good alternative to the Telrad is the Rigel Quickfinder. The scope you have bought is a relatively short focal ratio on (F/5) so a Cheshire collimation eyepiece will be needed to check and adjust the collimation. I'm not a great fan of the laser collimators myself although others use them successfully.

John

[iamjulian]

Best advice I could give is not to buy anything. Get your scope, then use your scope a handful of nights, then you will know what you need and won't waste your money on things you do not. Not everyone is the same. The only person who knows what is best for you, is you. And you will only know once you have used your scope a bit

[jgs001]

Congrats on the new scope... The only thing I can honestly say you need to have is lots of warm layers, a hat and some gloves that will still allow you to operate things... you really don't want to get cold, once you get cold it's a so and so to warm back up again.

As for the rest... iamjulian has made a great suggestion... try what you have out, get a feel for it all, then you'll know more about what it is you need.

[Chris Stacey]

When I bought my skywatcher 200 I was dying to buy things for it, and had absolutely no idea what I was buying or why I needed it....here's a good example - I bought an 8inch heater band lol...for an 8" dob, work that one out lol!!!

I'd get a new finder as has been suggested, and possibly a dew sheild for this time of year....other then that just get to know the night sky and you'll soon find out what you need as you go along.

[ashenlight]

Congrats on the new scope, nicnac you've made a great choice.

I would have to agree with kniclander and others and say that the most invaluable piece of equipment you can have is an accurately aligned finder. A red dot finder (one that doesn't magnify) or a finder that magnifies a selected area of sky is the thing you need to find your way around the sky. Without one, you'll get lost, trust me!

A good star map, one from a monthly astronomy magazine or one from amazon.com - there's plenty out there just have a browse

Then, as julian suggests, don't buy anything for a while. Work out what you like to observe. If it's the Moon, invest in a Moon filter. If you love looking at the planets, you might get alot of use out of a simple set of planetary filters. If you can't get enough of deep sky observing, you might find a light pollution reduction filter or a nebula filter (such as a UHC or a OIII) really helpful.

Just enjoy your scope, get used to how it moves, and take some time getting to know what you like before you invest

[acey]

Best advice I could give is not to buy anything. Get your scope, then use your scope a handful of nights, then you will know what you need and won't waste your money on things you do not.

Spot-on advice. Rather than "can't live without", concentrate first on what you've got, and learn to use it.

Some things I bought and have never needed:

A barlow

Various eyepieces

Numerous atlases

Another scope

Alternative finders when I got bored with the one I had (but which I went back to)

I could go on and on. The important thing is experience. You can't buy it, but you'll have a lot of fun acquiring it. You've made a great choice of scope - good luck with it.

[Wobbly Bob]

Congrates on your new scope and welcome to the world of astronomy. Now for a little tale, at a sky camp in the south of England, was a fellow new to astronomy who had a nice little newtonian which was hooked up to a laptop. After a few hours we were able to make the scope GOTO an object from the computer. Unfortunatly the scope did not center on an object, so we had to use the finder to slew the scope onto the object. Well the finder supplied was the most diabolical thing I have ever seen, so this chap struggled for the rest of the weekend. I suggested a Telrad or Rigel finder to him. A few weeks later he contacted me and said he had bught a Rigel and it was as if a cloud had been lifted from him. He could go right the object every time.

[AstroNerd]

A notepad and pen... (or something to document your findings).

The most important thing I do is making notes on everything. I refer back them often enough!

Plus, currently.. warm layers and cups of tea !

[PhillyDee]

Either a cheshire or a laser collimator. I recommend the laser. For ease of use, the Skywatcher LAser Collimator is great.

[crepitis]

Great choice of scope , Like some others have said, resist the temptation to buy without finding out what you really need (I have a cupboard at home full of unused "must have" accesories ) . when you do decide on what you want, then I would think a Telrad, or similiar, finder, good charts, a red light torch and a good collimation device , used in conjunction with Astro-babys Collimation guide (Astro Babys Guide to Collimation ) are items I cant do without , and a dark sky helps too.

[SteveP]

Nicnac

Congratulations on your new scope. I think you've made a very good purchase.

So what can't you live without at this stage? Based on my personal experience it's ....knowledge. My advice at this stage would be first and foremost to use the scope. Get used to setting it up, get to understand its own idiosyncrasies and start to find your way around the skies. This is where my other bit of advice might be helpful. Either get hold of a starchart as others have suggested or buy a good book. The one i'd recommend and widely used here is Turn Left at Orion by Guy Consalmagno (I think that's the correct spelling). It sets out what you can see throughout the there and how to find them without the benefit of GoTo

Other than that, let the money burn a hole in your pocket for the time being

Steve

[stev74]

Hi Nick,

Great choice of scope, glad I was able to help you with your decision to buy one.

As most people have said, spend a bit of time with the scope, it comes with 2 EP's and a barlow so out of the box you are ready to go. Keep reading on here and elsewhere and keep asking questions.

I always recommend astro-babys guides for collimation and polar aligning for beginners, they were a great help to me. You already have a link above.

Download stellarium - it's free and once you set the location to where you live you can start learning the sky. Great for cloudy nights or picking targets to look for - Stellarium

Don't forget the library (I had until I started a thread about books and got a reminder from other SGL'ers) you can order 'Turn Left At Orion' and others then buy the ones you find most helpful.

Ok thats the free stuff the first couple of things I bought were - a copy of Sky at Night mag and a cheap moon filter (under a tenner for both).

Then it got a bit more expensive - I'll just give you a list of the other things I've bought so far -

Rigel Quickfinder

Cheshire

Orion dew shield

Red light torch and red light headlamp

Badder solar filter paper

Upgraded EP's (see signature)

Aluminium flight case for storing the EP's

Sky & Telescopes Pocket Sky Atlas

Motor drives for the EQ mount

Protostar flocking paper (still to fit)

Mmm bigger list than I realised but I did get some of the gear second-hand in the 'for sale' section on here and on Astro buy and sell. Also remember the FLO discount scheme for SGL members and look out for Telescope House 10% bank holiday discounts (I've used both).

Oh and I already had a pair of bino's and a planisphere which are very helpful too!!

Basically take your time get some experience then look out for some bargains when you know what you are looking for!!

Cheers

[Astro_Baby]

I'd put a red light torch and a dewshield as the top priority.

Next would be a Cheshire to collimate it with.

The rest you can leave until you get some eyetime in and decide what you most want.

[Astro_Baby]

ps you can almost endlessly upgrade that set-up.

My own 200 on an HEQ5 has been upgraded with

Right Angle Finder

Baader Sky-Surfer V finder

Moonlite focuser

Flocking paper

Cooling fan (when I get round to finishing it off)

All interior surfaces not flocked o have been painted with blackboard paint to limit reflections.

The mount has had a GoTo upgrade

Strip down and rebuild to tune it

extra weights

Better Alt/Az knobs

Custom dovetail bar

Still to come

Rotating tube rings

That doesnt include the dewshield, eyepieces and hair dryer, power tanks and leads and loads more.

It takes time to assemble the kit and also you need to know what bits you can live with and what you cant live without - only time and experience can guide you on that so dont rush it.

[nicnac]

thanks guys

Ex Navy boy like me shouldnt be too fussed about a bit o chill but still, i am prepared.

[albedo0.39]

Hi Nicnac - there's some good advice here. Especially the "use it first and then wait to see what you need".

I'd advise a simple RDF and a good pocket sky atlas - like the Sky And Telescope one you can find on Amazon. It's brilliant

Good scope choice (but you knew that anyhow)

BTW - what money can't buy ? Patience, dark skies and a cure for lack of sleep !

[Trull]

Just a little thought - have a little thought over what you might like to see.

Start your season with a plan or two, try to fulfill them, and stay focussed!

[acey]

I'd put a red light torch and a dewshield as the top priority.

I'd second that. Dewshield made from a camping mat (about a fiver), red head-torch from Argos (another fiver).

Next would be a Cheshire to collimate it with.

With my eight-inch I didn't even attempt collimation until I'd owned the scope for months, maybe a year. Then I used a pierced film cannister (cost = £0). With this I could get it well enough collimated to see the discs of Jupiter's moons - and that was good enough for me.