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Explorer 200p on a EQ5

johnkirkpatrick

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adamh

adamh

Posted
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I'm also interested in the 200P EQ5 combo.

SpookyKatt/Kathleen do you find it stable?

It seems that lots of people online won't consider any mount other than a HEQ5 or EQ6, neither of which I can afford.

Adam

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russ

russ

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The EQ5 and 200P is a good combo. Yes the damp down time with the EQ5 is a tad longer than the HEQ5 but it's perfectly exceptable for visual observing. I added the Autofocus motor focus to my 200P for planetary imaging, so i no longer needed to touch the scope to focus. And thus no vibrations at all.

What is a shame is Skywatcher used to offer a standard HEQ5 with the 200P for £549. This made more sense than the EQ5 as by the time you add dual drives to the EQ5 you were pretty close to the HEQ5/200P price. But they deleted that model. Now it's the Syntrek HEQ5/200P which comes in at a very hefty £795.

Russ

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russ

russ

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The 200P does well on everything, it has no real weakness as such. I still hanker after a refractor for doubles but other than that the newt is great.

It used to be said that an 8" scope could be a scope for life. It's a great balance of aperture and useability. I've just sold my 250PX dob to keep the 200P. There's very little, if anything to separate them on the planets. The 250 obviously gives brighter deepsky views but it's only a slightly better view, not a major leap.

Russ

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crepitis

crepitis

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I have a 200P on an EQ5, and find that for visual use it is perfectly acceptable, the tubular stainless steel tripod legs make a real difference to the stability of the setup.

I also use the EQ5 with my TAL 100RS refractor and with the 4" scope it is a marriage made in heaven.:p

I added dual motor drives, which I managed to get second hand for a reasonable price, and Im more than happy with the mount.

The 200P ota is very good, and is fairly lightweight, and easy to move around.

all in all I am more than happy with the scope/mount combination, and unless I fancied moving into imaging ( and losing what little hair I have left :headbang:) I dont think I would consider buying a bigger/heavier mount...unless the right deal came up.;)

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adamh

adamh

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...unless I fancied moving into imaging...

I'm not sure about John the OP, but this is my problem. I'm trying to find a scope & mount that can do almost everything without breaking the bank, and without sending me down a dead end.

This really feels like the right scope, but I'm not sure I can afford the mount that it seems to need (if trying imaging). Which then makes me think I should get a lighter scope.:headbang:

Adam

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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This combination works very well (Well, mine does!!). The mount is stable for visual work and vibrations damp within a second or so. Optically it is very good for both deep sky and planets.

Upside: You can upgrade the mount to just motor drive for around £90 (both axis) as and when you need to - saves a lot of "knob twiddling" to keep objects in view! I see no reason why you can't use it for photography IF you keep exposure times reasonably short, take lots of subs and let your software do the work! The assumption seems to be that you can ONLY do astrophotography with loads of expensive kit! Not so!!

Upgrade again to goto (£250?) if you wish.

Downside: The eyepieces and Barlow supplied are not the greatest! but you can use them. When you feel rich again you can upgrade I bought a 32mm 2" panaview and a 10mm celestron with a 2x TAL barlow and am very pleased with my setup now ( I still use the SW 20mm at the moment - waiting for SWMBO permissions!!)

Hope this helps.

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Rusty Strings

Rusty Strings

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I've had my 200p EQ5 for 3 years and I've been more than happy with it. Aperture fever has tried to grip me on occasions, but I shrug it off when I see yet another DSO and tell myself there are still many more that it is capable of showing so I don't see me upgrading any time soon. I will be honest and say that if I were to buy it again, I think I would get a dob as I have built a dob base which certainly makes for a quicker set up, but I can't say that the EQ5 is gathering dust, it still gets used when I can't be bothered to nudge and set up time isn't an issue.

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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I did a big review on the 200/HEQ5 some time ago back when you could still buy the HEQ5 with just basic motors.

I cant commnet on the EQ5 and its stability what I would say is the 200 is a scope capable of almost infinite upgrading so it would last some time. For me needing prtability the 200 is at the very limit of portability. Any bigger would just be a non starter.

Its a very capable bit of kit and possibly the best all rounder. It can do a great many things well. For planetary I find its outclassed by my humble TAL 100 but the TAL woukd be no match of the 200 on deep sky I suspect.

For all round capability the 200 has to be up there. Its also probably the largest refelector you could mount on any EQ mount without requiring a fully powered mount. Navigating anything much bigger than an 8" around the sky on a non-powred mount is a nightmare.

Bear in mind even the 200 is a very big beast by the time its put on an EQ mount.

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russ

russ

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I really must get myself one of those Tal 100's to go with my 200P. Keep seeing nothing but praise heaped on it.

Back on track, i don't think you'll regret the EQ5/200P. Would definitely budget for the dual drives though. So you will be looking at £450-500 depending what deal you can find.

One last thing, the 200P is a fast (f5) scope and really doesn't like dirt cheap eyepieces. The supplied eyepieces will get you going but certainly couldn't be considered long, medium or even medium/short term. They are like one of those silly tiny memory cards that come with a new camera. Enough capacity to get you going but something better will be needed asap. The good news is this needn't cost a fortune, especially with the good secondhand kit about.

Russ

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Glider

Glider

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I looked at buying the EQ5, then upgrade to motors, then upgrade to Goto as the money was available.

However; I don't think the basic tracking motors are compatible with eventually going to full Goto. The Goto upgrade includes another change of motors with faster slew.

This all added up in the end to over £500(new), doubtlessly less second hand but you'd need the stuff to come up on Buy and Sell at the right times in the right order.

I saw a HEQ5 Synscan Pro second hand for £500 and jumped, I've seen them since for as little as £400. Then I bought a second hand Explorer 200P for £150, so budget for £550.

I wouldn't change anything about it.

Just my experience.

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