Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

At last ...

darkly

By darkly
in Welcome

Recommended Posts

darkly

darkly

Posted
Posted

well Hello.

Finally after years of reading, wondering and general dithering my lovely wife finally gave me the push I needed and bought me a skywatcher 200P EQ5 for christmas and it has already exceeded my expectations, opened the boxes and spent two hours just looking at the parts, they're gorgeous. :)

Finally got it assembled early evening and thought I'd look at the one bright star (wasn't dark), Jupiter and three of its moons OMG, since then I've seen Orion nebula, mars and several other objects, still finding my way, using 'turn left at Orion' and stellarium, I'm just about to splash out on a Cheshire colimator and Celestron Eyeopener Eyepiece and filter kit as this seems to be a good way of opening up my possibilities in one go rather than messing about and dithering again. Is this kit good, it seems appropiate for someone at my level and I'd rather do a one stop shop. :)

I'm wanting to start looking for more DSO's, is there anything I should bear in mind or might require, I'm saving the motorised upgrade for when I feel I'm ready to appreciate it, more than happy learning to navigate manually, indeed I'm finding that half of the fun, I get a lot of satisfaction when I finally find things. :mad:

I'm definately hooked now. :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 36
  • Created
  • Last Reply
barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted

Nice one. It seems you have got off to a good start, and well pleased with your observations so far.

That is a fine scope you chose for yourself, and you have done your homework. It's nice that you seem to be taking measured steps in your progress, and that is great. This new found pastime has a habit of eating up money pretty quickly, but you had better keep that a secret from your good lady:D.

This a great forum, and you are very welcome. If you do need any help, just fire away, there are hundreds here very willing to provide assistance with any help you might need.

Ron.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rusty Strings

Rusty Strings

Posted
Posted

Hi Darkly, welcome to SGL

You have a great scope there, I know, I have one too. Excellent all rounder that does DSO's and planets a treat. Can't argue with your other purchases either, the cheshire will be invaluable and the mount motor upgrade you will want after you've ben fumbling for the slow motion knobs in the dark.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

Posted
Posted

It IS good kit. The Sky-Watcher 200 is a well regarded scope (as is most of Sky-Watchers stuff). The EQ5 is as good a mount in its class as any.

The two together are a great combination.

Opnions on the eye-opener kit are divided. Some people think its best to get a single better quality EP than a batch of average ones. Personally I found the eyeopener kit a good entree myself but I'd also look at the Revelation kit as well which has had some good reviews. If noting else the eyeopener kit gave me enough experience to know where I would spend the cash on better eyepieces in respect of what was going to be important to me.

A Cheshire is a good simple way to collimate and you will need it sooner or later with any reflector.

The scope/mount combination you have can be almost endlessly upgraded with a range of extras as and when you feel the need. Motors, GoTo, more rigid dovertail, more elegant finder scope, cooling fan, focuser etc - all can be upgraded towards better and better performance.

For DSOs a wider angle EP is best. A lot of DSO folk would opt for a 32mm EP and a 13-15mm EP in a scope of your size. You'll find the Celestron 32mm with the Eyeopener kit is a very much better EP than the 25mm supplied with the scope.

I moved on from the eyeopener kit quite quick because once I had had some eyetimes in and knew what EP sizes I wanted better quality again. My firts more up0market EP was a 38mm Panaview which has a great view though technically its too big an EP for a 200. I enjoy the views and a few poeple who have used it on my scope also have enjoyed its huge field of view and the vast amount of glass in it which is like putting your head into a lake of stars.

You'll find the 200 a great bit of kit and some people consider it and the EQ5 and the HEQ5 combination to be a sweet spot for EQ mounted reflectors. Much bigger and the cost and bulk goes up a lot, smaller and the views arent as good.

Wishing you dark skies for 2010

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hello again and thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Barkis, that's the very reason I want to progress at my pace and enjoy each and every upgrade to the max without being greedy and non appreciative - if yuo catch my drift.

Rusty Strings, I think the collimator is a must but, I'm willing to wait for GoTo, I want to understand and enjoy the basics first.

And hello Astro Baby, I never expected to get a reply from you, I've been reading your website for a while (excellent by the way), it taught me loads as a beginner and the 200P tutorials are the best, I intend to strip my EQ5 at some point soon but would never have attempted it if you hadn't given me the idea.

First thing tomorrow I'm going to order up the Revelation eyepiece kit, did a bit of digging and you're right, it will probably suit me better, I have a spread sheet on my PC with all the mag calcs and I think I'll get slightly more from this kit with the 200P.

I really want to start with a kit because it will give me the flexibility to experiment with the scope and get a real idea of what it is capable of with out bursting the bank.

The 38mm Panaview really intrigues me though, will the standard focusser handle it? I'm just thinking what the Pleaides will look like ... Also for some reason I have a fascination with globular clusters which are on my to do list asap.

I'm going to have to watch the £££s as the customisation options are a real temptation but, as I said before, I intend to enjoy each upgrade to the full rather than spoil it all.

I've already got permission frommy better half to build a small roll off roof observatory in the garden this summer which shouldn't be too much of a problem - can't wait!

Talitha, Yup, I intend to be finding things for myself for a good while yet, I plan on playing with the messier catalogue a bit.

And finally, Starjumper and Matt C, thanks for the welcome guys, it's well appreciated.

Anyway, I promise not to be so long winded in the future but felt I had to thank you all for being so friendly right from the off.

Here's wishing you all all the best for the year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hello again and thanks once again to you all for the warm welcome.

Well, I've just ordered the Revelation eyepiece and filter kit. :)

Can't wait to try them out ... trouble is it's going to be a week or two yet as I'm working away from home, just off Norway, I was in Bergen yesterday and would you believe its colder and there's more snow than in the UK - strange how all the roads are open though :)

And the pavements are clear :mad: how do they do it ???

Anyway, I hope the skies clear a bit for the rest of you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

Posted
Posted

As a relative newbie to telescopes (read that as complete newbie given the time i have had behind the EP in the last 2 yrs), i have to say that the EP/Filter kits are a fantasic way of opening up the skies to newbies (who lets face it) dont know a excellent,good or bad EP if it beat them up in a dark alley.

With my 1st scope (90EQ) i got 10mm and 20mm Nagler (hope i got that right) EPs and they were GREAT. A couple of months later i set my heart on a EP kit. I went for the Celestron EP/Filter kit cuz a guy i know works in the main Celestron Dealer store here in Dublin (also a frequent guest on S@N). Well to say i was IMPRESSED with my new Celestron Plossl EPs is an understatement. They knocked my socks off compared to the Nagler EPs that came with the scope. VAST improvement.

Fastforward 2 yrs and i now have a scope with larger apeture (SkyWatcher Heritage 130P) and the Celestrons are providing me with views i never thought i'd see due to being stuck with only being able to own a small refractor before now.

I am now for the 1st time ever........using a 6mm EP and a 2x Barlow which came in the EP kit. My old scope just could not handle the magnification of them. I KNOW the scope is the major factor in the better views BUT the Celestron Plossl's perform very very nicely with it............................

So there really is something to be said about the use/value of these EP/Filter kits. As stated above..............they really hold their value. There are always people looking to buy them second hand. You may lose £30-40 (if that much) selling secondhand.

Personally, I know i have no plans to sell mine in the near or distant future. They work for me and i envision yrs and yrs of happy observing with them.

I just know you will love your Revelations when they arrive. If i am not wrong, i seem to remember S@N magazine reviewing EP/Filter kits a few months ago and i THINK the Revelation EP kit came top of tha class.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hello everyone.

Well, what can I say, I splashed out for the Revelation eyepiece set and the 38mm Panaview!

Thing is, Astro baby mentioned these items as a suggestion and when I sat down and looked at the specs, she's bang on right, this gives me a complete spread across the usable magnifications of my scope, can't argue with good advice, I can now experiment from high mag planetary and moon to small DSO's right up to large DSO's :) Thanks.

I've got a couple of weeks until I get home to try them (can't wait) but at least they will be there waiting for me and the way I figured is that I would buy them anyway so why waste precious viewing time at home ...

Thanks again everyone for the good advice and good wishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Doc, I'll give it a go, I bet that you have found all of these, It's a daunting list but I said I fancied learning to use my scope without GoTo and if I only manage a fraction of these it will be well worth it, I've seen a few that were already on my 'to visit' list so I'll give it a shot.

From what LukeSkywatcher said I reckon I'm in for a bit of a surprise when I get home to try out my new optic kit, I thought the 200P was good with the supplied optics ... (all excited...:))

The 200P seems to be quite popular with the forum members (Scott) so it looks like a safe bet I'm going to enjoy the views.

I've finished my spending spree for the time being and just want to use the new optics, I bought a Cheshire with the optics so first job when I get home is to check the collimnation so that I can get the best 'jaw drop' effect when I try the optics.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mdstuart

mdstuart

Posted
Posted

So nice to have a new excited member....

I hope you really enjoy your viewing.

One tip...keep a log..its great to go back over what you ahve seen and your thoughts.

As a galaxy hunter a range of eyepieces does sound the right way to go. Some larger diffuse galaxies are better at low power but small galaxies are sometimes not visible at low power but appear when you get to about 9mm or below.

Enjoy yourself...and Docs lists!

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks, can't wait to get home and try out the new eyepieces, another week or so (fingers crossed).

I don't intend spending any more £££'s for the time being, with docs lists I'll have plenty of targets to play with the eyepieces and, come summer I intend to build a bit of an observatory.

As I mentioned before I plan to see some globular clusters - I don't know where the fascination came from but they're up there on my list so thanmks for the advice

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flinthead

Flinthead

Posted
Posted

Hi Darkly,

Glad to see that you're pleased with your kit, I am also a newbie and although I dont have a scope yet, I am currently waiting for a late delivery from santa of a Skywatcher 200, so I am especialy pleased that other people who own one are pleased with them. Will watch your progress with interest, in the meantime have to make good with bins, but have been able to ID Orion Neb and Andromeda Galaxy with just bins in spite or poor conditions.

I agree totally with your attidude to upgrading to goto, would rather learn my way round manually to start with.

Oh by the way well done Astro Baby on a great website!

Clear skies to you all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
darkly

darkly

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Flinthead, you're going to love it !!!

I took the boxes out to my garage to open and unpack, an hour later I was still stood with my mouth open looking at the bits :) the EQ5 is a work of art on its own.

When you get it set up you should pick something good and spoil yourself, my 200P's first light was Jupiter and its moons - unforgettable.

I've been following astro baby's advice re lens's, getting a cheshire etc, (best form of flattery - copying) she has been spot on every time.

I think a good few peeps here agree with learning to use the gear first before upgrading to GoTo and anyway, the learning curve will always stand you in good stead later, you'll know your way around the sky and your scope rather than pressing a button a few times and getting bored because you have no comprehension of what work it is saving you - at least that's the way I see it :)

Let me know how you get on, all the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.