Jump to content

Help in choosing a telescope....

andyr

Recommended Posts

andyr

andyr

Posted
Posted

Hi guys

Hope you can help me out, I'm looking to buy my first telescope after my wife got me a SkyWatcher Heritage 76 minidob for Christmas.

I'm currently stuck between a choice of 3 telescopes...

  • SkyWatcher Explorer 130P
  • SkyWatcher Explorer 150P
  • SkyWatcher Explorer 150PL

My budget's around the £200 mark and have now read quite a few conflicting reviews about all 3. I was going to go for the 130P SupaTrak but have since found out that I'd have to buy the DC supply for the mount, this would have put me over my budget.

I have reservations over the standard 130P as I've heard some bad things about the EQ2 mount.

This then brings me to the 150P / PL, it has the EQ3-2 mount which appears to be far superior to the EQ2, but which version is best. I read somewhere (can't find the article now) that the 150PL is best for planetary and lunar viewing, whereas the 150P is better for deep space and general viewing.

I'd probably use my scope for both general and planetary work so I'm not 100% which is best, I see FLO have both for £219, which is just on the upper limit of my budget (with some minor grief from my other half).

Also I read on here and in a few other places that the 150P would likely need collimating before every use, whereas the 150PL would be more forgiving on cheap lenses and likely only ever need collimating once.

Any help or advice anyone can give me will be greatly appreciated at this point as I think I'm going mad reading conflicting reviews now..... :)

Thanks

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kniclander

kniclander

Posted
Posted

the 150p is a shorter focal length than the pl. Shorter focal length scopes require more accurate collimation (ie in the pl, the mirrors can be quite a bit out of alignment and it won't make any difference to what you see. In the P (which is F5 I think) if it's a little bit out the view will suffer. I had a 150pl which I collimated very rarely. The other thing with the PL is when/if you do collimate it, you don't need to be so accurate as with the F5 (which I think is F8). tbh if you want good planetary views, get the pl. The magnification will be 60% higher with the same eyepieces as the P. If you get the 150 dobsonian (ie just like yours, only bigger) you don't have to worry about a mount or power supply etc etc.

ps defo the 150 not the 130 if you can afford it - the difference in aperture is big enough to make a difference (IMHO)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pvaz

pvaz

Posted
Posted

In your case I would definitely recommend the dob. As kniclander said the mount is simple to use, doesn't require power supply, setup time is virtually none (just put it on the floor, remove the caps and point) and it's still within your budget.

It also comes with a 2" focuser in case you want a low power nice wide field EP later on. The 150p on EQ3-2 does have a 2" focuser too (the pl doesn't) but comes with the strictness of a faster scope on EPs and collimation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyr

andyr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Kniclander and Paulo for you comments and advice :), think I've got it narrowed down now to the 150P or the 150PL.

Both great scopes, 150PL is easier to collimate (will need doing less often too), easier on cheaper lenses, greater magnification on lower powered lenses. 150P is shorter, thus taking up less space, has the Crayford 2"/1.25" focuser giving me a wider choice of possible eyepieces, probably better for more general use......

I liked the idea of the DOB, but wanted something a little more precise if I'm honest, and I've been swatting up on EQ's for the last week, reaserching all the quick wins / short cuts.

Decisions decisions....;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
solarwallace

solarwallace

Posted
Posted

Well I'm pretty new to this but here's my 2 cents so please correct me if I'm wrong.

I've got a Skywatcher 130 Heritage and a 150 Explorer.

Seems an odd combination I know but I have the Heritage cos there's no way we can fit the 150 in our camper and I'm not going to dark skies and not taking a telescope!

I really feel that the EQ3-2 mount is worth it's weight in gold. Maybe it's just cos it's a baby dob but I'm not getting on with the dob mount. You just don't have the precision at high mags. In fact, if it wasn't a present I'd have sold it and bought the 130 goto I saw on ebay - but I'm not quite sure how to tell my wife that I want to do that since she bought me it for chrimbo.

Anway, to get to the point. You don't have to collimate the 150p every time you use it. Just don't bang it about and it will be fine. Plus collimation isn't so bad as long as you take your time and if you're struggling just ask peeps on here and we'll all help. I'm still going through the silly question stage (well feels like it) and this is the place to be :)

I've had some fine views with my Explorer 150p. Tonight I saw Mars polar cap and V shaped markings. Mars zooms across the view at 300x so you need a good mount to follow it. I'm not sure I could have done that on my Heritage. Perhaps others will have some usefull thoughts on this?

Anyway, good luck with whatever you got for.

All the best

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted
...I liked the idea of the DOB, but wanted something a little more precise if I'm honest, and I've been swatting up on EQ's for the last week, reaserching all the quick wins / short cuts.....

I understand where you are coming from and, if you have an interest in imaging, an EQ mount is the way to go. Personally (not wanting to image) I would go for the dobsonian mounted scope, I've tried a number of equatorially mounted scopes over the years and simply can't get on with the contortions needed to get to the eyepiece and finder as the scope is pointing at different parts of the sky. If I'm comfortable at the eyepiece I relax and see more, even if I do have to track objects manually though gentle nudges of the scope.

Also I'd prefer the F/8 scope (the PL) which is the one you get with the dobsonian, because of it's tolerance of low cost eyepieces and small collimation errors and it's small secondary mirror which enhances contrast. I am though slightly doubtful that the EQ3-2 mount is really up to handling a 6" F/8 optical tube assembly because of a force called moment arm which is greater the longer (not heavier) that the tube assembly is and increases the incidence of vibrations.

Thats just my viewpoint - others will differ no doubt :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
solarwallace

solarwallace

Posted
Posted
I am though slightly doubtful that the EQ3-2 mount is really up to handling a 6" F/8 optical tube assembly because of a force called moment arm which is greater the longer (not heavier) that the tube assembly is and increases the incidence of vibrations.

You could be right about the vibrations. I can't touch my Explorer 150p whilst viewing. Don't know if most scope/mounts are like that. Guess it's the aluiminium mount. V. flexible.

The vibrations do dampen down very quickly though for me so I don't find it a problem.

Contortions with the mouint are a problem. You have to loosen the tube if you're really changing angle in a radical way. It's just a personal preference I guess.

I would think with a bigger dob it's easier to nudge and track stuff?

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyr

andyr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well I think after much reading, plenty of advice and soul-searching I'm going to take the plunge and buy a 150P from FLO...

Thanks for the invaluable advice guys, really appreciate it....:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyr

andyr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Well I think after much reading, plenty of advice and soul-searching I'm going to take the plunge and buy a 150P from FLO...

Thanks for the invaluable advice guys, really appreciate it....:)

I've done it.... all ordered, just have to wait for it to arrive now, can't wait... :D

Thanks again for all the advice....;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted
I've done it.... all ordered, just have to wait for it to arrive now, can't wait... :D

Thanks again for all the advice....:)

Well done ;)

It's so easy to get caught up in "paralysis by analysis" as the choice is wide and can be confusing.

Now you can use Stellarium to start planning your forthcoming observing sessions :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyr

andyr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Well done ;)

It's so easy to get caught up in "paralysis by analysis" as the choice is wide and can be confusing.

Now you can use Stellarium to start planning your forthcoming observing sessions :D

Funny you should mention that John, I installed Stellarium earlier and already have had a play around with it.... :D

I know what you mean about 'paralysis by analysis', I think I was driving my wife mad talking about different scopes and the pro's and con's of them all.... :)

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyr

andyr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
The 150p is a very good scope and I feel a bit more of an all rounder than the 150pl.

The eyepieces are ok to get you started but the ota is worthy of an eyepiece upgrade....

Exactly what I was thinking, plus with the Crayford focuser I've got the flexibility of either 1.25" or 2" EP's... :)

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.