My Scope arrived! (couple of wee questions)

[Geo]

Well my Telescope finally arrived yesterday! I promptly assembled it and then checked the weather forecast...Heavy Rain and cloud all week. Just last week it was clear skies for the whole damn week. Bah! Looks like it will have to rest in the corner of my room until the weather permits. It is exciting knowing you are all ready to go...

After MUCH deliberation I eventually went for the 10" Skywatcher 250 px. I must say I was a bit shocked at the size of the thing, it's like having a small rocket in my room . I think it just about fits in my friend's car so fingers crossed I'll be able to take it to some Darksky sights. I'm gonna have a go at alligning the finderscope and attaching my telrad finder tomorrow. Should I be placing the telrad beside the viewer or beside the finderscope or does it matter?

Another thing is the "Direct SLR camera connection". Does this mean I just remove the 1.25 viewing lens and the camera slots in? Or do I have to buy something else? It's all a bit vague, in fact there is nothing in the manual about it.

Anyway here's a wee pic... fitting it should rest next to "Starry Night Over The Rhone"

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[msinclairinork]

That's a nice bit of kit you got your self their Geo!

That's the general rule as far as weather goes i'm afraid.

The Telrad can go anywhere you feel is going to be the most comfortable for you.

As for mounting the DSLR; if you don't already have one you will need a 'T mount adapter' & 'T ring connection'. 2" is suitable and recomended for your scope.

see: Adaptors - William Optics 2 inch prime Focus Camera Adaptor and the T ring is at the bottom of the page.

Hope you get your first light soon,

Good luck,

Michael

[ollypenrice]

I like Starry Night Over the Rhone but what's that orgy of light pollution doing next to it???!!!

You have an excellent telescope there, one that will reveal a great deal. However, since it is a Dob there would be little point, I thnk, in attaching a DSLR because it cannot track the sky photographically. For that you would need a German Equatorial Mount. What you have is a simply brilliant visual scope. I would get onto Stellarium and start planning some observing sessions, printing off some charts on paper and planning your first night's observing.

Enjoy.

Olly

[rory]

nice one. hope for clear skies soon eh.

thats a monster..lol

[alowen]

Hi Geo, nice looking scope there. Im suffering from the new scope weather curse too. I was advised to place the telrad as close to the front of the scope as possible for ease of use, it works great there for me.

HTH

Al

[Geo]

I'lm careful to face her away from the lightshow madness of Times Square, she'd probably die of shock if she seen that!

Ahh so this isn't great for photography? Damn. I think I'll give it a go anyway since I'm not doing much else with the camera at the moment. Just had a look at the forecast and the clouds are supposed to clear a little tonight around 1AM. Fingers crossed! I'll be moving the scope into the kitchen (directly facing South) for my first go at observing. The huge window in there opens right out for some excellent views of the nightsky.

It's gonna be a long day waiting.

Thanks for your advice guys and gals, without it I wouldn't have gotten half as far as this.Even though I am still a wee bit overwhelmed by it all, I know I can come here and receive the best of help. .

[Damo636]

Hi Gio, congrats on a lovely scope. I think the best position for the Telrad is in between the focuser and the finder scope if it fits. I didn't have enough space on the 200p so had to place it the other side of the finder scope. It's still ok there but would be just that little bit more comfortable to use if it was next to the focuser. If you have reasonably dark skies you will find that you will rarely use the finder scope when you have the Telrad.

[dmahon]

If you wanted to add a DSLR, then I believe you just need the T-ring and forget the 2" adapter, as this will screw directly to your focuser (the "Direct SLR camera connection" - if you unscrew the 1.25" adapter it exposes a T-thread).

As Olly says, you will not be able to take long exposure photography as your mount doesn't track celestial movement - but you will be able to take shots of bright objects like the moon.

[junior]

Just had a look at the forecast and the clouds are supposed to clear a little tonight around 1AM. Fingers crossed! I'll be moving the scope into the kitchen (directly facing South) for my first go at observing. The huge window in there opens right out for some excellent views of the nightsky.

It would be best to take the scope outside to allow it cool down, other wise you will see the heat distortion given off by the house and by the warm scope.

It will give you a much clearer image and one that doesnt seem to be bobbing about it.

Im new to all this to so welcome and I hope my advice is correct and helpful.

[Orion_the_Hunter]

Hi, nice 'scope. You're gonna love using it!

[great_bear]

It would be best to take the scope outside to allow it cool down, other wise you will see the heat distortion given off by the house and by the warm scope.

Yes indeed. Geo - it's an interesting exercise to point a scope out of a household window - but only to prove that it doesn't work very well

High magnification images of (e.g.) the moon will wobble all other the place and be completely unwatchable in most cases. Contrast that with having the scope outside, and allowing a while for the mirror to adjust to the outdoor temperature: Nice, rock-steady images on a good night

you will need a 'T mount adapter'

Sky-Watcher Newtonians usually don't need one. The T-thread is typically built into the focusser so the only thing that's needed for direct connection is the T-Ring that's specific to one's choice of camera - although (as mentioned above) there's a lot more involved in doing good-quality astro imaging than just doing that...

[Astro Imp]

Hi Geo,

Nice scope, shame about the weather.

Before I permantly fixed my Telrad I did a temporary job by taping the base to the tube with two pieces of masking tape. If you take this completely round the tube it is quite secure enough to allow you to try out different positions, before committing yourself.

HTH

Enjoy.

[Adz]

Before I permantly fixed my Telrad I did a temporary job by taping the base to the tube with two pieces of masking tape. If you take this completely round the tube it is quite secure enough to allow you to try out different positions, before committing yourself.

That is a fantastic tip I shall be trying it thanks!

Congrats on the scope purchase, they are great. I am eagerly awaiting the size down from yours as I own a small car.

SLR photography is possible on the moon and you can capture very wide images of the planets, but they wont have any detail but I have still had a good and they serve as a nice record of where these objects were in the sky at what time of year etc.

Make you you write up a first light report if possible

[msinclairinork]

Sky-Watcher Newtonians usually don't need one. The T-thread is typically built into the focusser so the only thing that's needed for direct connection is the T-Ring that's specific to one's choice of camera - although (as mentioned above) there's a lot more involved in doing good-quality astro imaging than just doing that...

My apologies for that one Geo!

Michael

[tipftop]

hi geo

oooooh your gonna love your scope when you get it m8,unbelievable sights,and the telrad just makes it so much easier.

clear skies and njoy!!!!

dave

[Geo]

There seemed to be some stars visible tonight so I thought I'd have a go at alligning the finderscope...

I pointed it out the kitchen window and lined it up with the brightest star i could see. Everytime i looked torugh the eyepiece I couldn't see anything at all. When i went back to the finder it had gone out of place slightly, it seems really difficult to line it up aswell as it bobbles about a bit. I'm not sure I'm using the tension system properly. I have a little washer with ball bearings in it and I think it may have something to do with the tension system but I've no idea. The telescope is lovely but the manual provided is awful! It just says "and here's the tension system, don't set it too tight!"

I'm hoping the bobbling about has something to do with me being inside? I'll need to take it outback and try. So basically I can't even line the finderscope up and have no idea if the tension is set properly. God help me if I can't even get this right. :<

[EssexMigrant]

Hi Geo,

I can't comment on your tension problem, but I can on setting up your finder. As I'm sure many other friends on here will say; set up your finder scope in daytime, on a fixed object such as a distant church spire, telegraph pole or such like. The trouble with stars is, the damn things move!!!

Good luck and eventually clear skies

Max

[spaceboy]

Congrats on the scope GEO. It is suprising how big these scopes are. The wife has an estate car and the day I picked my 250PX up I was shocked to find I had to lay the back seats down to get the OTA in the back.

[stolenfeather]

I have a 10" Skywatcher myself so ,.. may I say, GREAT choice of equipment (cough, cough).

My Telrad is right beside my other viewfinder but like it has been said above, you can place it anywhere you find comfy. In the end,.. it's there for you.

As for the rain? I think it was cloudy a full three weeks after I first received my telescope two years ago. It's just the way it is,...

Isabelle

[Geo]

Managed to find a suitable tension and also fit the telrad in a comfortable position. I was focusing on streetlamp pretty far away. I ended up removing the viewfinder entirely and just using the telrad. There was a moment of drama when i loosened the screws too much and i heard the back of the finderscope sliding down the tube towards the primary mirror! I think I managed to move it down in time and if it hit the primary then it was only slightly. I have had a check and there's no visible damage. However there are a couple of scratches running down the inside of the tube where the thing has slid down a bit . This shouldn't be an issue right?

I also managed to focus on a star earlier but it was as if I could see the target lines of the primary mirror and it looked way out of kilter. Another £40 on a laser collimator just now. This is an expensive hobby!

I've still not really "seen" anything, I'll have to be patient.

[stolenfeather]

Oh my,.. Maybe you've fallen on a bad night for viewing. When I first took out my Sky-watcher, it was perfectly collimated. I guess I was lucky.

Isabelle

[solarwallace]

Hi Geo. I've just received my SW Flextube 250 (yesterday). It was cloudy (of course) so after assembling it I checked the alignment. It was way out of alignment.

Remember when you're altering anything up the secondary mirror end of things (near the eyepiece tube) to put your scope horizontal. That way if you drop anything it falls down onto the tube not down into the tube towards your primary mirror. Makes things a bit more awkward but it just means you have to align on your knees instead of stood up

Collimation isn't difficult but it takes a bit of practice - still takes me a while to line up a secondary. Once you've got the secondary aligned, the primary's easy.

Keep reporting back and let us all know how you're getting on. Anything can be solved on here and it's all worth it and eventually part of the fun.

Regards

Steve

[spaceboy]

Managed to find a suitable tension and also fit the telrad in a comfortable position. I was focusing on streetlamp pretty far away. I ended up removing the viewfinder entirely and just using the telrad. There was a moment of drama when i loosened the screws too much and i heard the back of the finderscope sliding down the tube towards the primary mirror! I think I managed to move it down in time and if it hit the primary then it was only slightly. I have had a check and there's no visible damage. However there are a couple of scratches running down the inside of the tube where the thing has slid down a bit . This shouldn't be an issue right?

I also managed to focus on a star earlier but it was as if I could see the target lines of the primary mirror and it looked way out of kilter. Another £40 on a laser collimator just now. This is an expensive hobby!

I've still not really "seen" anything, I'll have to be patient.

Sounds like you had a lucky escape Geo http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/135687-arrggh-what-have-i-done.html others have not been so lucky.

[Ad Astra]

Awesome scope, Geo!

Take your time and enjoy it - you are going to have a blast with this over the summer, and over the years as well!

If you haven't already done so, hook up with the local club and make some friends. Loads of people there who would love to give you a hand and help you learn the ropes.

Looking forward to a first light report, pal!!!

Dan

[swamp thing]

Hi Geo

Congratulations on the new scope.

10" is a great size grab n go. Yet big enough to keep you amused for a few years.

Regards Steve