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ldavey

By ldavey
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ldavey

ldavey

Posted
Posted

Just wanted to stop and say hi, and what a great lively forum this is, and also do the usual bugging, i hope you don't mind

Been wanting to get into astronomy for a long time, brought a telescope a few years ago but made the mistake of spending all my money on a piece of trash TASCO reflector scope which gives Rubbish images and broke before long so i have not ended up using tbh :)

I don't really have money spare but the temptation has been building up to buy another scope so i am going to anyway, i have little knowledge in finding stars and stuff but want to be able to see planets and some nebula etc, and hopefully take some images aswell in the future ( like most people here want too)

So i would like a little advice about this telescope i am looking at, i did a search on this forum and only found one thread about this scope, plus other searches on google have not really helped me much...

I have been looking at the CELESTRON NEXSTAR 130 SLT because it will help me get started quickly in finding the stars plus i can apparantly link it upto my laptop to control the scope... but what i really want to know is whats the build quality like ? ... and will it view enough objects out there to make the investment worth it ? .... i know that buying the 130 SLT that has this computer means i am paying for the privilege so they have to cut corners somewhere, but i don't want to end up with another piece of trash !!! £270 is alot to waste...

I don't mind comprimising a little to have the computer and be able to link to my laptop, but would like to here what you more experienced astronomy guys think about this scope ? will it make a good enough starter scope and take fairly decent photos ?

Thanks in advance, and will look forward in contributing to this forum when i get my scope and win best pic of the week award :lol:

Hope you all enjoyed your xmas and have a happy new year !

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ZOG

ZOG

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Hi Idavey, I have a Skywatcher 130 OTA on the SLT mount so apart from small differences it's the same scope. A couple of things to note are, alignment is best done with a 10mm eyepiece. I found that I was getting align fails if I used the 32mm, and the tripod isnt the steadiest in the world. I helped this by making a set of anti vibration pads from plastic ashtrays filled with silicon sealant and this did improve it. Once aligned the GOTO seems to work well enough to put the target in the FOV of the 32mm but it does need a little fine tuning to get it centred enough for higher power EP's. All in all I think you'll be happy with the scope and given the few chances to use it due to the recent weather :) you shouldnt get bored.

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ldavey

ldavey

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Cheers guys, i seen that review a while ago but never read it all, then when i decided to check out this scope in more detail i couldnt find it again :)

Sounds like the scope for me after reading something so positive, im up to the task of attempted mods later when i get more advanced...

one question, which u might not be able to answer, i have some barlows from my old tasco scope ... i know that Celestron was once apart of tasco... so maybe these barlows will work on the celestron ?

btw i found the website when browsing Steves shop...

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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welcome to SGL dave (can I call you that?) I imagine that's a great scope you've got your eye on, but if you ask my opinion, I would say for a beginner, learn the skies FIRST. Get a non-GOTO, and get the hang of Orion, Casseopeia, the bears etc., then you'll have a secure working knowledge and you can progress from there. Even with Goto, you need to know a little to get it aligned. Your money might be more wisely spent on this: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=s130pm or the 150mm version of it. The PM part means it has a parabolic mirror (better image, focus etc.) and a motor, which is essential for getting into astrophotography.

The 150mm version doesn't have a motor, but the bigger mirror will show you more, and upgrading won't cost the earth.

Do always bear in mind, that whatever scope you get, you'll need to keep some cash aside for new EPs, because the fallback of most telescopes is the poor eyepieces they are supplied with. I spent £85 on a Tasco, just like you, and then over double on top of that to make the thing worth the money!!

HTH

Andrew

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ldavey

ldavey

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Call me whatever you feel like lol

Davey is my surname, my first name is Leon.

I have had an idea, it was only the mount adjuster knob things that got busted on my old scope because it was complete Rubbish !... im wondering if maybe it is better to buy a new tripod instead and not waste that money.

astrophethean i think it might be the same scope you have got ! it is a TASCO LUMINOVA - says on it D= 114mm & F=900mm Reflector

Does this scope sound good enough to start with if i get it working ? - i know that Celestron was apart of Tasco for a while so it might be one of the good ones !

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AndyM

AndyM

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Call me whatever you feel like lol

Alright then, welcome Fred. :lol:

I tend to agree with Andrew about a non GOTO scope. I was recently in a similar situation and was thinking about a small GOTO but settled on a 8" reflector. Admittedly this was bigger than I intended and cost a little more but I think my money was better spent on this as the extra apeture shows so much more. It really doesn't take long to be able to roughly pick your way around the sky. Also if you want to do photography you should go consider the mount that comes with the scope - the heavier and steadier the better! As Andrew also said, keep some cash aside for all the other bits and pieces you'll want. :)

Andy.

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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Well, I would suggest to get a new mount, but upgrading everything at once usually works out cheaper. I was lucky to pick up an EQ5 with both motors for £130, but you will want to get an upgrade from 114mm, so I would suggest finding a 150mm newt on an EQ5 (or similar) on www.astrobuysell.com/uk

You may well find that in the region of £200, and later you can get an RA motor fitted for astrophotography (another £70+)

If you want to stick with the Tasco a little longer, do so. I have the Galaxsee 114mm/1000mm and I think I can safely say you'll get better views with yours because mine has a poor quality barlow stuck in the focusser. If you do stick with the Tasco, but want to upgrade later on, just buy the best mount you can afford, and later you can stick on a 6" or even 8"+ depending.

Remember you get what you pay for in astronomy, and you rarely lose out, because when you sell off kit, you get most of it back. If you don't, you must have got something out of it!

Andrew

P.S. sorry for long posts, but you should always consider all possibilities.

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