You getting bored yet?

[bcfcciderhead]

You may have seen my threads on the equipment section about me asking what scope to buy, and have now come down to 2 scopes and the play off final is here!....

I have (in telescope terms) a cheap budget but as this is new to me dont want to go mad, to start with what do i wish to see, planets of course, the rings of saturn, moons of jupiter, craters of the moon, and if possible with my short list (and budget) nebula and some of those stuning star clusters, so now its over to you guys in the know......in the final with have "Celestron Astromaster 114eq or 130eq" and (which is winning with me) "Skywatcher Explorer 130". Amazon have the Celestron from £116 for the 130eq (£130 with motor drive) and the 114eq for £97.

Scopes'n'skies have the Skywatcher for £140 and comes with a few extras worth £20.

So its over to you to help me make up my mind:icon_confused:

[MarkF]

I think the simple answer is the biggest aperture you can afford, so the 130, its easy to go mad, but just as easy to not start off with the right kit and be put off easily. The 130 is by all accounts a good choice to start with, I started with a 114 and always wished I had gone for a 150. But at that time a 150 was around the 600 quid mark. Oh and it depends how dark the skies are where you are too, I am sure you have been through this, but the old adage, the scope you use most is the best one to have.

[FarSide]

After doing a stupid amount of research lately, pouring over websites, forumes and other such places being in much the same position as you, i opted for a refractor which was a 5" EQ3 Evostar 120. I have however heard great things about the Skywatcher Explorer 130 with its good sized apature and many people hold it in high regard. If i was going to buy a cost effective reflector the Explorer would be it.

[John]

I think the advice to go for as much aperture as you can get is sound (but keep away from those e.bay junk scopes !). More aperture = more wow !.

I've posted before that I'm not keen on the Astromaster range so I won't bore you with that again !.

The Skywatcher 130mm is well recommended by both reviewers and owners on SGL so it's a "no brainer" in my view

[bcfcciderhead]

Thanks to this site and the very helpful people on here my understanding of telescopes has got better and the Skywatcher with its bigger aperture would be the better one and after a bit of research looks like the best value for money and the reviews have been good, so i guess its winning at the moment, thanks for the help so far guys!

[Moonshane]

one thing you don't seem to have considered is buying used? if you join in on a few threads and start a few of your own, you'll soon pass the 50 mark required to see the for sale section on here.

it's a great place to buy from. I agree with the more aperture rules rule generally so the 130mm for me (unless you can get the same in the 150mm used) and probably the SW but the performance will be almost identical I suspect. I'm a dob lover but I won't be tempted to mention anything else as I know you've been thinking about this a while.

good luck!

[gedmac]

have a look here too Reflectors and welcome

[marcdearn]

I would get the Astromaster with the motor drive....just my 2p worth

[Space Oddity6]

Fellow 130 owner here! You remind me a lot of myself back in June when I was deciding which first scope to buy. I was deliberating between the 130 and Astromaster and obviously got the 130 and honestly haven't looked back since. It's was pretty well priced at £150 off uk-telescopes.co.uk and fairly easy for a complete noob like I was to put together. I kept it inside for a few days to get used to it, viewing Venus out of the window. It is, however all about being outside and I've been really pleased with its results. I've seen Saturn, Jupiter with Moons, Red Giant stars, DSO's, you name it.

One qualm I would have with it would be the Red Dot finder thing I've got with it. A few times I've aligned with Jupiter only for it not to be in the Field of View. I look about to Jupes, find it and the Red Dot is centimetres out. I'd also say that it is quite heavy, I'm pretty lucky as I only have to carry it about 30 yards into a field so if you don't have to go far then it's ok.

And that's about it, hope you enjoy astronomy whatever scope you decide on but that's my case for the 130!

P.S. unfortunate about the football team (I presume BCFCin your username=Birmingham FC) it's all about the Mighty Wolves I'm afraid.

[bcfcciderhead]

Thanks Space oddity that reply is going to cost me £140 lol but thats the kinda of reply i was after, nice to hear you can see all those.

Also heared the same about the red dot finder, but i guess it could be upgraded if need be, as for the weight much the same as you not far to go so thats not an issue.

P.S the footie team gets worse its Bristol City FC

[BazMark]

I never had a problem with the red dot finder that came with my 1145PM. Only niggle was it had to be set up each time I used the scope as it could only be removed from the scope by unscrewing it and when you put it back on the scope it might not be exactly where it was when I took it off. However, the first thing I would do when I took it out was to find the brightest object in the sky, find and centre it in the scope using a low power eyepiece, and then align the RDF using the adjustment wheels on it. This would take 1-2minutes at the most. Then the RDF would be spot on for that session. It would then only require small adjustments the next time I put it on the scope.

I now have a different scope with an optical finder, which I must say I prefer. However, it fits on a shoe with stop and a thumb screw to secure it and as long as I don't knock it when I remove it, it stays aligned.

[BazMark]

Another note.

It's worth checking the 'Supplier Review' section of this forum before deciding who to buy from as at least one supplier you mention has given grief to many of us on here me included.

[Perryellis]

Hello Cider. I am in the exact same boat and after much surfing,reading reviews and scoping these forums I have decided to go for the SW150p dobsonian.

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

Just a little more expensive but a bigger aperture and by all accounts a very good starter scope. I actually narrowed my search down to the exact same 2 scopes that you mentioned until the 150p was pointed out to me.

Good luck whichever you chose

[LukeSkywatcher]

Just going on what you mentioned..................i would go for the Skywatcher Explorer 130. I am new to scopes and stuff but time and time again i see posts by people in the know saying that the SW 130 is a FINE starting scope.

Beyond this i cant help. It is entirely up to you with regards to whether you want a DOB or a Newt on an EQ mount.

Biggest bang for buck (apeture) will be a reflector. Refractors apeture tend to be more expensive then reflectors because the lens are made of glass.

Without knowing your exact budget it is hard to advise. But knowing the prices of scopes........................i think you can easily afford a DOB of 150mm.

If not then the SW Explorer 130.

[bcfcciderhead]

Well a big thank you to all those who helped me pick a scope.

After, what turned out to be an easy choice in the end, i went for a Skywatcher Explorer 130P seen one on ebay which came with a moon filter and camera adapter for £120 this including p+p.

So once again thanks alot and i will let you know how i get on with it.

[BazMark]

I think I was looking at the same one the other evening. Looks like a bargain. If I'd have been after a complete kit I'd have gone for that myself.

I've been looking for a 130P OTA only, with the fitting for the GoTo mount. As I already have a GoTo mount with my 127 Mak I don't want another. I like the pin sharp clarity of the Mak for the Moon and planets but I'd prefer the wide field view of the f5 130P for stars and DSOs. So I'll continue my search.

I hope you have many enjoyable hours with your new scope.

Mark

[Earl]

Just to throw a spanner in the works.

You will out grow a 130 pretty quick if you get into things.

A pare of binos in the same price range will have far more uses and also great for beginning astronomy.