Scope advice

[nicnac]

the skymax 102mm will sit all nice like on the horizon 8115 mount, its threaded for it. the 127 mak is the next size up but its too heavy and not threaded.

[Ollienttm]

Where are in you in the country? I have a mount that came with my SW 130p and a motor(never used) and I have upgraded my mount to goto recently. If you are close enough to collect you can have it for free. It was used when I bought it but I did not have the patience to learn how to cope/deal with an EQ mount, still have instructions and all that so if it is any good to you(so you can buy a tube without mount and will need dovetail rings for fixing) then you can have it gratis. If not then no worries, just a thought while it is cluttering up my dining room

Edited to say, not sure which mount I am sure one of the experienced guys will know....maybe a EQ 2?

[Shane]

Thanks Ollienttm that's very kind of you.

But I have now need of it now I just bought my first telescope.

I have gone for the skymax 127 Altaz Goto from FLO, with 32mm Plossl & moon filter. £399 all in.

As Astro_baby said I can worry about the other stuff later.

Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.

Most appreciated

Cheers

Shane

[Shane]

Hello

I thought you guys would like an update so here it is, scope came Friday and although initially I thought I had been sent the wrong scope because the colour scheme is the black diamond type instead of the black line as shown in pictures of the AZ Goto and it came with a 2x barlow and a moon filter which are also not mentioned, anyway here's a picture.

But it turns out that that's the way they are shipping now, and at this point I must say Steve from FLO was excellent thoughout the whole transaction.

All in all I am very pleased with the scope and it is perfect for the flat, I haven't seen much yet apart from the trees over the road as the skys have been pretty bad since we purchased the scope, but it's easy to bypass the alignment, once you have put your current location, time zone and time it asks you if you would like to perform the alignment, just press 2 for no and you can then use the directional buttons on the controller to move the scope around and you don't have to bother with the Goto bit, which is pointless in the flat anyway, but I can't wait to try it out properly.

Thanks again for the help guys.

Shane

[Stardust]

the skymax 102mm will sit all nice like on the horizon 8115 mount, its threaded for it. the 127 mak is the next size up but its too heavy and not threaded.

My 127 is threaded and sits ok on a manfrotto tripod.

[Ogri]

Congrats on the 'scope Shane, I hope you have lots of great nights with it.

[BazMark]

Hi Shane,

Congrats on your purchase. You won't be disappointed. Once you figure out the GoTo it is useful when viewing with high magnification as objects very quickly move out of the field of view otherwise. However, with the GoTo operating the scope will track the objects for you saving you from keep adjusting the scope as the object moves accross the Field of View (FOV). You don't need to align it north, Just start with the stand level and the scope horizontal, input the necessary data and align with two bright stars in your viewable sky (preferably as far apart as possible). You will need to know the name of the stars but that is part of the fun.

As you say though, you don't need to use the GoTo. I've used it both ways depending on how quick I want to get started or what I'm viewing. When I want to view Venus for example, there are no other stars available to align with.

[vlebo]

It's also compact enough to transport to a dark site and set it up there where you will be able to use the Goto and get a much greater range of viewing.

[ollypenrice]

Lots of nice oberving to come!

Olly

[thesatanbug]

Nice. You can phone home with that.

[Shane]

Cool, thanks guys certainly looking forward to some top views, still dodgy skys here though, but i've now ordered a skywatcher powertank, and some plossls (10 & 26) from FLO along with a dew shield and a 45 degree thingy so I can look at the local wildlife ;-)

And grabbed a case from amazon to put the EPs and stuff in.

Very pleased with the scope thanks again for all the advice, it's amazing this thing is awesome, when you look down the end you can see all the small hairs on your face that are not visible with the naked eye (bad skys gotta keep amused somehow), and I'm sure my misses has shaved her face since looking into the abyss lol.

Looking forward to seeing some real stars and stuff powertank will make me mobile

I did buy this one from maplins (19.99, in sale) along with a car power adaptor (11.99, not in sale, (had to buy this as the 12v car adaptor that comes with this powertank has a negative tip, although it is the perfect size for the MAK 127, you would have to cut the wires & solder on some ball connectors so you could switch from - to +)).

But, I got home and opened the powertank & it was filthy, all scrapes on the bottom, the light didn't work and for an extra £18 iv'e now got the proper one (Thanks again to Steve from FLO, nice fella with the patience of a saint .

I know there's a difference on the 17A compared to 7A but I can live with that, as long as I get a few hours I'll be happy.

Cheers

Shane

[CGolder]

I recently purchased the mak 127 on GOTO and I love it. I also have the 150p dob and find the view very comparable. So much so I am thinking of selling my 150p. The mak has the advantage of the GOTO which has a habit of showing me things I never thought of looking for.

If you don't have a power tank I would recommend adding one to your list of items

From my garden I can not see north as my house is in the way and I have some trees. I do the same alignment every night, Arcturus followed by Vega and then away I go.

I would feel no issue with moving the scope to a dark spot which is another great +.

Thanks,

Colin