Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

[starscy]

Any opinions about this telescope? Although rather small it might be a good idea for a grab and go telescope. From its photo it looks like it is made mostly of plastic and wood? Is the focuser satisfactory? Does it regularly need collimation? What is the maximum field of view possible with this telescope?

[LukeSkywatcher]

I LOVE this scope. The optical tube i THINK is made of plastic covered metal. The Dob base is made of wood. The focuser is different to what i am used to but it works fine. I have only had to collimate mine once (when it arrived). Not sure of max FOV. Here is a very good review of it and what it can do.

The Sky Watcher Heritage 130 FlexTube Dobsonian telescope Telescope Reviews UK

Or here is a video review on youtube:

[hev]

Is the skywatcher 130p dob hard to collimate? I'm thinking this may be the one for me but I'm a total newbie and want to make sure I've got something I can cope with!

[Chris H]

No it is easy to collimate, especially as it only has a short tube you can easily look through a colli cap or cheshire eye piece whilst making adjustments to the primary mirror.

Have a read of Astro baby's guide to collimation (just google Astro baby) and have a fiddle with the scope you'll soon get the hang of it.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Collimation is so easy on this scope (if it even needs if after shipping). I made a simple colli cap from a dust cap i had and i have collimation down to about 95% perfect after a few mins. I found that my collimation problem was not with the primary but with the secondary spider leg which had been knocked out of alignment in transit. A couple of turns with an allen key and it was 95% spot on. I'm not a perfectionist so 95% will do me.

I have not needed to collimate since the scope arrived in mid-december. Collimation sounds DAMN scarey when you read about it but read about it a couple of times before you dop it and it really is such a simple thing. You will wonder what the hell you were worried about. Do it once and you can do it time and time again if needed.

The SW Heritage is only a 5" mirror.....................it really does not need collimating more then once every 6 mo0nths perhaps. It all depends if you chuck it in the back of the car and drive to a dark sky location.......................then it may need doing more often.

But as it is...................its a pretty damn robust scope.

[hev]

Thanks for that! I'm a bit scared about the first collimation but will take your advice and read up and visit the website.

[stevenlouth]

I just did my first attempt at webcam astronomy with my FlexTube, using a Philips SPC900. At first the image would not focus, even with a barlow lens. The focuser reached its limit and I was left frustrated. Then a few minutes later I had a brain wave. By moving the focus mirror a couple of centimetres towards the main mirror I was able to focus the moon perfectly. This adjustment is easy with the FlexTube due to its extending design; I just untightened the thumb screws and collapsed the telescope a little from full extent.

If you are thinking of getting a FlexTube and you want to do imaging, then go for it. Its unique ability to alter the focal length without major modification allows it to focus a webcam easily, and at a bargain price. As long as you have a laptop already, this must be one of the most cost effective ways of astro imaging. Telescope + webcam + adaptor = £150 approx.

This iamge was taken with VLounge capture software at low resolution and is unedited. I am excited at the possibilities yet to be explored with higher resolutions, longer exposure times, and frame stacking.

[stevenlouth]

Here we have another of my Moon images taken with the Heritage FlexTube and SPC900 webcam. The video clip was taken on 12th April 2011, when the seeing conditions were near perfect (image created from video using Registax 5).

[tms48]

I really like my heritage is so easy to transport and set up, collimation was no problem once I looked at Astro Babys site. I change the supplied 10mm eyepiece to a better 9mm and made a shroud as I have lots of light pollution at home. I also made a small 3 legged table to use if I go to darker sky locations. So no hesitatation in reccomending it.

[Cjg]

Think your pics of the moon are amazing, considering that is a starterscope, very impressive. May I ask where you learnt to use the camera?

Thanks

[derekm]

This sounds like a decent little grab & go.

Out of interest and ignoring the low price, how much of it is plastic and is any of it "cheap & nasty"?

[stevenlouth]

I think the webcam was so easy to use, there was no learning curve to speak of. I just plugged it in and spent some time fiddling with the camera settings in SharpCap capture software.

As to the Heritage Flextube itself, I do not have another scope to compare it with, so I cannot comment on how "cheap and nasty" it might be. It feels solid and dependable to me. In particular, the metal rods that extend outwards from the tube lock firmly into place at full extension. I cannot say for certain what it is made of, but my guess is a fibre glass tube, wood laminate mount and chunky plastic fittings. The pivot is adjustable so as to allow for heavier eyepieces & barlows, and the easy portability is a great bonus. I once read somewhere that "your best telescope is the one you use the most". I imagine that I shall continue using this very convenient scope long after upgrading to a more powerful and expensive model. So in that sense, it is more than worth the money.

Sure, the Flextube has limitations (short focal length), but for virgin star-gazers, it must be the one to buy.

[Lux1]

I have the flexitube mounted on a goto/tracking mount.

I am able to observe Saturn at 300x and normally see a few moons. The shadow of the ring on the planet is visible as well as the dark band below( for a reflector) the ring.

I am able to nip of for coffee and the planet is still in the field of view.

Jupiter is very impressive, I have observed several cloud bands and the Great Red Spot. The moons are easy to see.

Get yourself a decent barlow lens and a good high power eyepiece and you will be amazed at how far across the Solar System this scope can see.

Off course, you have to train you eyes to notice subtle detail, this takes time, - but your brain stores tiny details like a photograph and when you next look they are easier to notice. (The fainter moons of Saturn are a good example, -for a long time I could only see Titan.)

To sum my opinion up, it's a good low-cost telescope, very portable and has a respectable 5" mirror.