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FirstScope 114 EQ Compact

malc c

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malc c

malc c

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Hi all, my first post so be gentile with me :rolleyes:

Years ago (OMG thinking about it, almost 20 !) I used to be actively interested in astronomy and purchased a Vixen 4" refractor with driven RA - cost me almost a grand back then, but well worth it. However did the usual grown up things like get marrid, had kids and took out a mortgage... and for one reason or another sold the scope (which I now regret).

However now the kids are growing up I've thought about getting another scope, but I'm on a lot tighter budget than I was back when I bought the Vixen. I've seen the Celestron FirstScope 114 EQ Compact for £95 on several web sites (like David Hinds - good to see him still going :wink: ) which fits the budget and would allow me to do the odd bit of casual observing. However part of me feels that whilst Celestron had a good reputation for making quality scopes (remember been blown away looking at Saturn through a mates C8) the FirstScope 114 EQ Compact is very cheap, and I wondered if anyone has already got one and can comment on how it performs.

My main concern is the G. E mount - it looks like the bouncy ones that Tasco used to fit on the 11TR, which were very sloppy and let the tube bounce too much. - I do like the mount used on the C6-N (CG-4) and having a 6" scope will gather more light than the 4.5", but the £250 price tag of the C6-N is stretching the limited budget I have. This then brings in a new dilemma.. for £250 I could also get the NexStar 114 SLT with the go-to computer... which given my poor knowledge of the night sky would make finding things a lot easier (no more fumbling with a red torch and skyatlas 2000 :D ) but it looks to be the same tube as the 114 EQ, but on the computerised mount.

The other thing I noticed is that David hinds is also offering the 114 EQ Compact with a driven RA for £119.00. However there are no details of what drive this is and if its DC or just a 240v asyncro motor ? - so again if anyone can shed some light on these drives it would be welcome, as if its the Motor Drive (#93515) listed in the manual for the 114 EQ compact then it would be a better option as these retail for around £70 !

Another question (sorry!) - A friend had a large observatory scope in his garden (20 years ago) and this was fully computer controlled with CCD camera etc, how easy would it be to hook up either the C6-N or the 114 EQ to a PC so I could do all my observing from the comfort of my living room ?.

Comments please...

Regards

Malcolm

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Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

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Welcome back to the obsession hobby Malcolm. I'm sure that Mr hinds will be along shortly to sort you out and point you in the right direction.

Regarding the computer control from in the warm bit, I'm on with that at the moment. My problem Re. answering your questions directly, is that I have no knowledge of things Celestron except for owning an 80mm f/5 baby 'scope for widefield stuff.

Hang about here and you'll get all the help that you need, but the downside is you'll end up spending more dosh as you get back into it. (You knew that, right?)

Hace fun while we spend your money for you. :rolleyes:

Captain Chaos

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malc c

malc c

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Thanks for the (only) reply so far :rolleyes:

I think it goes without saying the it matters not what hobby you get into, it always ends up costing far more than you first thought.. and I dare say astronomy is the same.

I think I'll have to make a visit to one of the "local" stockests and actually see what these scopes look like.. its always hard based on the images shown on web sites

Malcolm

www.micro-heli.co.uk

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SteelRat

SteelRat

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Hi Malc.

Sorry, can't help with the remote scope idea (armchair in the livingroom type observing) sounds nice but am pretty sure a ccd up to the job'd be pretty costly - someone else here probly knows.

Have read in posts here that it is best at this budget to go for aperture over goto any time so a 6" newtonian'd probly be a better buy than one of the SLT scopes. Motor drive could be fitted at a later time as budget allows.

Celestron and Skywatcher both do good 6" newts - Skywatcher have sneaked an f8 version in there too - newts at the same price. S@N rated the Skywatcher mount a little better than the Celestron for some reason (heh, an I'd thought they were the same - doh!) but you can get a free pair of binoculars with the Celestron at the mo.

Have you not considered a dobsonian? 8" reflector for only £279 - stretching the budget further I know, but just a thought.

Hope you find something nice soon.

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malc c

malc c

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Thanks for your input.

My current circumstances dictate that £280 is outside the budget, £250 is pushing it.. but I would rather have something that gives good results, rather than waste £100 on something that would dissapoint me. There is also a storage issue with going to bigger scopes like a Dob. Going for apature over the goto system really points to the C6-N as the better bet ??

Malc

www.micro-heli.co.uk

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malc c

malc c

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Well what do ya know.. I was walking past the Cash Converor shop and noticed a scope in the window... it was a Celestron FirstScope 114 EQ Compact !

Looked a lot different in reality than in the pictures - quite small actually. The item was new and up for £110 - £15 more expensive than David Hinds Optics and other leading retailers.. and there was no offer of the free binoculars either !!

Well I think I'll try and save up for the C6-N as I think I would be dissapointed with the 114 EQ Compact

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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I did some mental arithmetic as I was driving to work in the snow this morning. If my maximum pupillary dilation is 5mm, and I buy a 100mm scope, that gives me 400 times the light gathering ability of my unaided eye. That works out to, approximately 6.5 magnitudes. So, if I'm at a dark sky site where I can see down to mag 6, the scope lets me see down to mag 12.5. That should cover a huge amount of the objects in any amateur catalog. Certainly, I should be able to see all the Messier objects.

Now, if I double the size of the scope, I get only about 1.5 mag more, and if I go to a 16" scope, I get only about 3 magnitudes more out of it. That would add some objects, sure, but it would take me a long time to run out of stuff to see at 12.5 mag with my 100mm scope.

So, if you're looking at a 114mm reflector, the most important consideration is the quality of your optics, because you will never run out of stuff to see with a good 4.5" scope. The difference between a 4.5" scope and a 6" scope is less than a magnitude. The only advantage my C6N has over my 114mm scopes is in quality of the optics, and even so, one of those 4.5s wasn't too bad.

If budget is a major consideration, you can still have a highly enjoyable experience with a small scope, and not have to be embarrassed about bringing it to a star party or public night.

Can anyone fault my math? Remember, I did this in my head in a snowstorm.

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malc c

malc c

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I get your drift... and as I live in the light polluted south east of England I guess that any difference of magnitude gained by going for a 6" over an 4.5" would be basically lost !

So based on your post, would you say the optics in the Celestron scope are good, or do they all come out of the same factory in the far east but with different names on ?

Malc

www.micro-heli.co.uk

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MartinB

MartinB

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OK Malc, this is what you should get - no arguments now :wink: A Tal1 reflector. No you can't operate it remotely (get some woolly jumpers from a bring and buy. You can't really fit a motor to it (use the slo mo). What you will get are blistering optics, a rock solid mount and some superb views. There are only a few people on the forum who have actually used one of these and they will all agree with me :D Well they'd better :rolleyes:

Here it is http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=tal1

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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My offering:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ev102eq32

a 4" refractor on an EQ3/2 which you can add (decent) motors to when you can afford to do so:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dualmotoreq32

Much better mount than the EQ114 and the refractor design means you dont have to mess around with collimation. It's within your budget and upgradeable.

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Johnny Hormone

Johnny Hormone

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as a new chap to this "sport", I have been through the exact same dilema as you are in, and my choice in the end (partly made for me by the missus buying it) was a Skywatcher 130PM. I wanted to keep sub 200 notes, and quite simply the images produced by Geppetto with this scope, and the kind words he and a few others had to say about it clinched the deal.

check out the pics for yourself, I am sure he wont mind me promoting his pics :rolleyes:

"clicky"

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Stardust

Stardust

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My first thought on reading this was a TAL1 and see it's already mentioned. The TAL1M has an RA motor fitted. I don't own one but my friend has a couple and I think a dozen people have bought one on his recomendation over the years, they have all been pleased as punch. I was suprised just how good the image was. Are you anywhere near Dover? you could come and have a look one night.

DAve

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malc c

malc c

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Thanks guys for all your input.

Im going to start saving to increase the budget, and then spend a day in one of the retailers that stock both Skwather and Celestron scopes befor parting with the cash. It will take me some time, but I think its the best thing to do in order to get something that will last and give me some excellent results

Malc

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Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

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Almost forgot - buy some 10 X 50 or so Bins, sometimes good 'uns at Lidl for cheap, to get you going. I was looking at the moon / saturn thing last night in mine and I could see that Saturn was not round and good moon detail. When not full the moon is great in Bins. Depending on your sky you can also see DSO things with them. I've seem M31 and I think NGC7000 among the dimmer ones. M13 is quite easy and the double cluster. Oh and they do widefield stuff better than a 'scope.

Captain Chaos

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FLO

FLO

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Not much to add to this thread other than to caution against short-tube Newtonians that promise long-tube performance. When a Newtonian's tube-length is half its quoted focal length it is because there is a doubler/correcter/whatever (essentially a barlow) built into the focuser. It's this doubler that is the telescopes Achilles heel.

In the case of the Firstscope 114Q, there is a longer tube version without the doubler:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=c114eq

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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Not much to add to this thread other than to caution against short-tube Newtonians that promise long-tube performance. When a Newtonian's tube-length is half its quoted focal length it is because there is a doubler/correcter/whatever (essentially a barlow) built into the focuser. It's this doubler that is the telescopes Achilles heel.

In the case of the Firstscope 114Q, there is a longer tube version without the doubler:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=c114eq

Can you pop that doubler out, and just have a short fl scope?

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