what are the differences (i sound stupid)

[Brunty12345]

hello i might sound stupid but what does the new skywatcher explorer 130M they have on the FLO site actually do is it remotely controlled instead of using your bare hands??

[Brunty12345]

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130M that 1

[Whippy]

What it has is a motor which drives the scope in the Right Ascension. Assuming you have half decent polar alignment (as all EQ mounts should have), the motor drives the mount around at the same rate as objects move across the sky (the sidereal rate) and it enables you to be able to look at your chosen object without you having to track the object by hand.

HTH

Tony..

[Brunty12345]

thank you what would you suggest for a beginner the 130M or just the standard 130? im guessing the 130M though lol

[Brunty12345]

130P, 130M or just the standard 130 what would you say is the best for a beginner?

[insomnia]

130p as you dont really need a motor for learning the sky. Motors are handy for astrophotography, not so important for just visual work, ie looking at the moon and planets and star hopping.

[Brunty12345]

im going to order a telescope tomrz so i was just making sure id get the right choice lol

[johnh]

Hello Adam, if you want to have a go at simple webcam imaging of the moon in the future then the motorised one will be best, but if this is not on the cards yet then the manual one will get you around the sky you just have to move it with flexible controls.

John.

[Whippy]

130p as you dont really need a motor for learning the sky. Motors are handy for astrophotography, not so important for just visual work, ie looking at the moon and planets and star hopping.

It's not essential but personally, knowing that you haven't got to track the mount, it's one less thing to think about when you're at the eyepiece.

Tony..

[FLO]

For regular observing you will find you manage perfectly well without a motor ... until you use a scope that has one!

A motor allows you to change eyepieces, read a chart, make notes and sketches, take a break while clouds pass, put the kettle on, visit the loo, whatever, confident in the knowledge that when you return to the eyepiece the object will (assuming you have correctly polar-aligned the mount) still be in the field-of-view.

(If you choose the 130p, you can always add a motor later).

HTH

[vegas]

Anyone know why Skywatcher stopped doing the 130PM? Seems a shame as that's what I'm using (though to be fair I never did put on the motor drive).

[FLO]

They dropped the motor about two-weeks ago and lowered its price by about £15. Not sure why, perhaps its net cost actually increased so they decided to take the motor off rather than raise the retail price.

[Brunty12345]

I'm gonna get the 130P and I'll add the motor later on and thanks for the advice john, what have you been doing lately? Had any nice sights? i wont be doing any photography yet so the motor won't really be a needed mod at the moment, and when I order it tomrz I'll get a moon filter aswell. Thanks everyone for the advice

[johnh]

Glad you are getting your scope Adam and the Moon is making its appearance. So when your scope arrives the Moon should be on show and that will not disappoint a new astronomer and hopefully you will be bitten by the bug that got to us all here.

Cloudy John.

[pvaz]

Indeed the moon is great. If you can spend a bit more buy a neutral density filter for the moon. And it will come on the same package without extra postage.

Thats one of the few pieces of gear anyone haves and will always be useful. Or else you'll need sunglasses to look at the moon.

[Brunty12345]

Thanks john I'm excited allready haha I hope I have clear skies for when it arrives that would put the grinch's grin on my face lol

[Ghost66]

i got the 130pm find the motor handy when it's cold so can keep my hands in my pockets .

[Brunty12345]

I would buy the neutral density 1 it's just I only have the £180 :/ I could always buy it next week though lol I go college and get £30 ema weekly

[Brunty12345]

If it was me with a motor I'd probably forget that iv turned it on then I'd let go of it and bob myself becuz it's moviing on it's own haha

[Ghost66]

got mine off ebay got some extra bits with it

[Brunty12345]

How much it that cost ya?

[Brunty12345]

Did that*

[Ghost66]

about £80 i think. had a 3xbarlow 3 books and for some reason a watch in the pack

[Brunty12345]

That's a great deal, 3x barlows are like 30-60 maybe more dependes what make it is really and lol the watch haha could be worth something and I bet the motors are quite a bit on there own.

[Brunty12345]

Big delay on the telescope being ordered my money wasn't in and need to wait till like next week