hi, advice needed from a newbie.

[paul101]

hi all, i am new to astronomy and need a little advice. My son wanted a telescope for xmas so i got him the skywatcher skyhawk 114 on an EQ1 mount.

i set it up no problems, read some books to prepare myself to help him when it came to the time to use it. Well now i find i myself have been bitten by the bug, we both have had so much fun with it. we got a ccd web cam from ebay for £8 and have got some really good pictures of the moon, Saturn and Jupiter.

i downloaded and learnt how to use registax (very clever software). i have also seemed to have mastered the setting up of an equatorial mount. i have modded the mount by removing the thick greased parts and changed it for a nice silicon grease and have taken up some slop in the system. (i have quite a bit of technical knowledge as i am an aircraft engineer in the airforce).

i have used this site for some collimation advice and this has made a huge difference to the optical quality. as we now have the bug i fancy an upgrade.

i have a digital SLR with a T adapter and have used it with the telescope, i have a few nice shots but realize i will need a tracking tripod to get the most out of it.

i have a couple of scopes in mind for an upgrade. i realize this is a massive learning curve but i love a challenge. for now i dont have loads of spare cash for this year but next year i will be able to make a larger contribution.

what i want from an upgrade is the following: a wide FOV scope for using with my SLR at prime focus mainly on DSO's not so much for planets at the moment. also with the web cam. also easy to transport as i work away from home.i can use this year to learn the sky more and develop my astro photography skills.

i am amazed at what i have already learnt with my son since xmas, we now know our back garden sky very well. so far i have in mind: the startravel 102 on the synscan goto mount. or the skymax 127 mak on the tracking only mount. i was even maybe considering the ST80 due to its size and cost with a tracking mount.

i do realise these are not top end scopes but this is just to get us on our way on a small budget. Thanks again. when i find out how i will post some of my pics so far.

[Orion_the_Hunter]

Hi Paul

For imaging DSOs you will need an EQ mount like the one you have, but a much sturdier one. Of the 2 scopes you have mentioned, the ST102 would be ok but the 127 has a long focal length and therefore a narrow field of view.*

Also, the goto and auto mounts mentioned are AZ mounts and are not good for long exposure photography needed for DSOs.

What kind of budget will you have?

Here is a link to the EQ5 mount, the minimum I would use for a ST102. The EQ5 is £215

Skywatcher - Skywatcher EQ5 Deluxe

And the ST102 ota is £153

Startravel - Skywatcher Startravel 102T OTA

I may be wrong as I am not an imager, but hope this helps,

Ed

[paul101]

thanks orion for your advice.

not sure on the budget yet but probably £300-400. i was hoping not to spend to much on an expensive mount at this point as i would have to add the dual axis motors to the mount you suggested.

next year i will have alot more money to spent on a good heavy duty mount such as a CG-5 goto. so dont really want to have to sell the one i buy now next year. if i get a smaller mount it will always come in handy for traveling with etc.

i Know its a fine line, just feel a year of the learning curve and practice with modest equipment will pay dividends buy the time i can get a better set up.

thanks for the reply, everyone seems so helpful here its nice to see

[paul101]

was just thinking maybe a bigger reflector might be the best route, was looking at some of the skywatcher reflectors with the 2 speed cray-ford focuser s, this would be good for prime focus with a DSLR.

Does anyone have any experience imaging through these scopes?

would need a good sturdy mount tho i assume, any ideas?

[x6gas]

I'm a noob too (so this comes with a health warning) but having read around this on here and elsewhere the CG-5 or EQ5 mounts are, I think, considered to be the bear minimum required for DSO astrophotography.

If I were you, I'd give serious consideration to upgrading your mount now if you can. Then you can sell your existing mount and get the absolute max out of your current OTA and when funds allow upgrade your scope (in terms of being able to handle the weight my CG-5 is good for Newts up to 10" aperture...)

If funds mean that buying new is not an option then maybe keep your money in your pocket for now and keep an eye out for a second hand mount.

I've been very pleased with my CG-5 right out of the box (not that I have much recent experience to compare it to) and with a bit of work to de-burr and re-grease them I think they are really acceptable - especially now they come on a very sturdy 2" steel tripod...

Just my 2p!

[x6gas]

Sorry, I see that the CG-5 is actually equivalent to the Skywatcher EQ5 PRO (I hadn't realized this)...

Anyway, FLO currently have them on offer:

Celestron CG-5 GT GOTO

Although admittedly that still over the upper limit of your budget. Incidentally, I've found the GOTO to be great and it has helped me relearn the heavens (with Stellarium) much more quickly... and the autoguider port might come in handy one day too!

[paul101]

glad to hear you rate the CG-5, i only live 8 miles from rothervalleyoptics and saw one in there and it looked quite beefy!

I think it may well be good advice to get a good mount first. Then upgrade scope after.

thanks for that.

even tho our scope is small we are still enjoying it!

would be nice to have a small scope to use at work, i work nights for half my shift and its for 12 hours, when we get the odd few hours when its quiet would be nice to have a cheap scope to use.

any recommendations? ive heard the heritage 130p is not bad.