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Yo! Please stop me if I'm making a BIG mistake!

Frankenstein

By Frankenstein
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Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Posted
Posted

Hi All!

About me: 1 wife, 3 kids, 2 scabby Jack Russells, 1 lizard, 1 guinea pig, overweight, bald and severe irritable bowel syndrome.

Ok, I'm going to dive straight in with a much needed advice. The first (and last) time I looked through a a scope was about 35 years ago. A mate invited me to his place to view through his new 3" reflector. He only did it to show off and he was too selfish to ever let me look again. A long time ago but I'll never forget seeing the rings of Saturn (tiny image) or the ridges of the craters on the moon.

I've always been interested in astronomy and I now want my kids to see the night sky sights through a scope.

I'm having to make a fast decision (tonight) before my wife changes her mind about my intended purchase - so not much time to fully investigate all options. My kids and I will be viewing the moon, Saturn, Jupiter etc and hopefully some star clusters and galaxies. I have a budget of £850. Here's my choices so far:

I want new items.

Skywatcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube AUTO.

Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit.

Something called a collimator tool (???).

Buying from First Light Optics (a chap called Steve was very helpful).

That's it! I obviously don't know what I'm talking about but you lot do. Please stop me if I'm doing it all wrong and advise me on a better/alternative kit/seller. I don't know how long I can hold out, the clock is ticking and she's starting asking questions!

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skye at night

skye at night

Posted
Posted

looks ok if big aperture views are what you want (sounds like it) and have children in mind and have somewhere to store it... be aware of the size!

maybe get a book or two, star atlas or planisphere or download free software like stellarium etc...

Steve

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barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted

If you were smitten with that view through the 3", then you will have a seizure of delight looking through a 10" reflector.

You will wonder why you waited so long.

Don't hesitate. do it.

By the way, I have a Jack Russell, love him to bits though it's a one sided affair. totally aloof.:)

Ron.

Wait though, more people will come in here, and you might get differing points of view. Everyone has a right to speak on SGL.;)

Whoops! too late, two have.

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Dimitris

Dimitris

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Posted
I have a budget of £850. Here's my choices so far:

I want new items.

Skywatcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube AUTO.

Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit.

Something called a collimator tool (???).

OK

I ll write fast, read faster. Telescope is OK (I should say fine) but big and heavyish. Good tool though, especially when you have dark skies

Second item I dont know. If, however, it is an eyepiece that projects the image on a laptop screen, stay clear, it is rubbish. Instead, buy a 2 inch wide angle eyepiece, you will love it

Third item, Definetly YES!!! Even better, a laser colimator tool. Your telescope is a Newtonian reflector and you have to have your optics collimated (in a straight line with eachother) to have a good image!

Ok now, move along and hope it is not already late

Regards

Dimitris

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BAZ Senior

BAZ Senior

Posted
Posted

Crack on and have a chat to Steve. On the sensible advice received from fellow members I have spent some hard earned cash on a 12" Flextube Dob. I can't wait for the cloud to go so I can use it.

PS. Is the amount of cloud that plagues you proportional to the amount of money spent, the size of the aperture, or some other factor, yet to be discovered?

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kniclander

kniclander

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my 2p's worth - don't get the eyepiece kit - better get one or two better e/ps than a boxful of mediocre ones. also the 250px will benefit from better e/ps (as it's f-ration is low).

get a cheshire collimator not a laser (there a lots of threads about problems with lasers) unless you can get a good one like a hotech. a cheshire is cheaper and better than a cheap laser.

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brantuk

brantuk

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Great choice of scope - you'll love the views - and because you're getting the auto model plan for a powerpack as well. You can get a reasonably cheap one from Maplins (the Skywatcher and Celestron etc are expensive for what they are at 2 or 3 times the price).

You'll get a pair of eypieces with the scope (10mm and 25mm) which aren't bad, so practise with them first till you know what you want. Better quality ep's are expensive - £80 upwards each - to get significantly better then the supplied ones. A reasonable 2x barlow will effectively double the number of ep's you have as a useful first alternative. Or a good 5 click stop zoom lens (e.g. meade, hyperion).

You'll deffo need the colimator - a laser one will take the pain out of "first time collimation". Then you should be good to go.

Stellarium or Skyviewcafe are great software for learning your way around the sky, and a good book like "Turn Left at Orion".

Finally - join a local astro group - most folk will be happy to help out and you'll get a go with lots of other types and sizes of scopes. And star parties make a great holiday for aspiring astronomy families :))

All the best.

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Tim

Tim

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Posted

Hello, a big welcome to SGL to you and your family.

That kit list looks great for a family scenario. The 250P is quite big, but I had a 300p and could handle it on my own, so shouldnt be a problem. Big nice 2" eyepieces are lovely, but the kids probably wont appreciate the difference, and they make nice treats for presents (to yourself) in the future.

The Hotech Laser collimating tool would be my choice, very very easy to use (much easier than a chesire eyepiece for instance) and will help you get the best out of your scope, especially when looking at planets.

There is a free program called Stellarium. It has the night sky around you all in a pretty, easy to understand package. I'd recommend that for your kids, and for you, it is really helpful in finding where the various targets are in the sky, and it can even help you find out which moon is which when looking at Saturn or Jupiter. My kids love it, and i'm sure yours will.

Heres the link:

Stellarium

Funny that you mention your first sighting of Saturn, many of us here were hooked by the very same thing :)

Stick around, you can learn a lot about the sky in the observing section, we can help you with your kit if needed, and when its cloudy, the imaging part of the forum serves to remind us what is up there ;)

Cheers

Tim

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sgazer

sgazer

Posted
Posted

hello and welcome,

have a look at these links, they explain a lot, but might add to the confusion! :)

Traditional Telescope Beginner Advice - McWiki

Astrophotography Equipment: Telescopes - McWiki

Basics of Astrophotography - McWiki

I think the main thing is not to expect glorious cloloured views of nebula and galaxies if using the scope visually, in fact the only things you'll see colour in are planets and some stars. Bare in mind that planets are small, take quite high magnification to see any detail and are not always visible. Saturn, Jupiter and possibly Mars are the only ones you are likely to see any markings. The moon is great to look at and plenty of detail can be seen. I would recommend a tracking mount with all of these otherwise they will slip out of the field of view very quickly.

Consider if you want to do imaging (see link above), this can reveal far more than the eye, can be done on your budget, but costs can quickly escalate.

Also, consider if you would like to learn the sky and find things by star hoping from bright known stars or have assistance from a computer ie. a GOTO system. Nice if you like technology and helps to find faint stuff.

For visual a large scope is best, for imaging, you can get away with a smaller scope and put more money into the mount.

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SteveP

SteveP

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Hi Frank

A warm welcome to SGL.

IMO, you've made a good choice with the scope. They are large and bulky. Have you seen one in the flesh?

I'd also reinforce the advice to get hold of Stellarium - very good and very cheap! That might suffice on its own but if you want something which recommends what to look at during the seasons, consider buying Turn Left at Orion.

Steve

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Flinthead

Flinthead

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Posted

Hi Franenstein, welcome to SGL. I'm sure you'll find lots of useful advice here.

As a newbie myself cant really comment on the kit except to say that most people seem happy with skywatcher kit. Certainly love mine even though I've only had it a week and used once only. Somebody mentioned the size of the beast if your using it with small children, and I was certainly surprised at the size of my explorer 200.

I have found the supplied eypieces adequate until I get round to upgrading so maybe dont rush into those just yet if budget is an issue, although I feel a moon filter might be useful.

We also have a Jack Russell, old, half blind, heart disease and cushings disease and still rules the roost with not so much as thank you! When she passes on I'll be able to afford loads of accessories!

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