Bought new telescope,happy but unhappy

[neversommer]

Hello dear space freaks :)

Well I hope this aint to bad for a newcomer but greet everyone but I have a question and was hoping for some help !

I bought 1 week ago over the crazy sales.com.au website a telescope with 117mm aperture size and 900mm focal length,the brand is unknown but the telescope was cheap for a 99AUD. Brand name is foco.
Well after a few days on friday I have received my 2nd telescope(first one was a standard one,years and years ago)now i have my first biig one :)

well I mounted everything togheter on friday and gave it a first shoot..I was able to see the craters of the moon up very close with 3 lenses with are a 20mm a 12.5mm and a 4mm and 2 erecting eyepieces of 1.5 times and 3 times...

Now very happy with the results of the moon it is very difficult to have the telescope in focus of the planet as moving the telescope is with my hand up and down or left and right and when i wanna fix it in place it is moving down a bit..adjusting the screws making it a bigger problem as it makes it now harder to move up or down..

Now on saturday I wanted to see the venus..but with the movement problem of the up or down it doesnt lock in correctly it makes it impossible with my hands to move the telescope always up or down and then when i tighten the screw it moves down a bit and then i loose venus out of sight making it very depressive for me to actually see the planet while I am battling with actually having the telescope setup for viewing the venus.

Any thing that anyone can help me with this?I just wanna view the venus..I had the venus with my 3x erecting eyepiece and the 12.5mm lens on and was able to see the whole venus but I am always loosing the planet out of sight when I am trying to lock in the Silver long thing the allows me to move the telescope upside down.

Please help!!! Or advise me.:eyepop:

Update

The link is here:

http://www.crazysales.com.au/index.php?productID=489#proName

Its that silver long thing in picture underneath the one from the 3 lenses.
If that helps..

[rmcpb]

Welcome to IIS Pascal :)

Now the nice bit is over we get onto the problem. Basically that mount is going to give you grief forever. I have never got good results from all the ones of that type I have played with. After saying that I have had "better" results when the scope is balanced so you can adjust it easily.

Find yourself a couple of small magnets and put them on the OTA (optical tube assembly) (the tube) one infront of and one behind the pivot point. Move them till the tube is balanced and stays in position with the screw on the silver rod only just working. You then should be able to adjust the up/down movement easily by hand but you will still have a wobbly mount.

Give it a go.

[neversommer]

Hello Rob

Thanks for your reply.

That with the magnets..what sort of magnets do you mean??And where do i have to put them?
I am kinda angry cause I could have spend 100 dollar more on a celestron powerseeker with 127mm but shorter focal length(if that matters)but with a smooth movement system.

Did i buy the wrong one?Is there another way to fix the problem?

Another question is that does the focal length matters of how far you can see?Meaning a longer one equal better or short equal less further?I know the aperture size matters....can I also buy other lenses that would fit my scope or not?If so where can i get those?

I just want to have the telescope focused on venus or jupiter,but its so hard with just the hand..

One big question..I am always standing when looking into the sky..meaning the tripod is set to high..Is it better for me to sit and have the tripod shorter next to my seat??
You guys would answer be that better .

I need some advice in that..cause my back is hurting after trying to focus to the venus for 40 minutes in standing.

Finding jupiter like this is so hard..I am almost crying that I should have spend 100 dollars more and I cant return the telescope :(

Please advice what I can do about that.

Thank you.

[Ian Robinson]

Lots of us started with similar sizes and types of telescopes .

All you need now is the clouds and rain to bugger off and you'll have heaps of fun - if you don't know how to check the balance of the telescope (tube) , put the heaviest eyepiece and barlow in the focusor and loosen that worthless ALTITUDE "micro" adjustment - if possible and the nob that tightens the yoke's grip on the tube so the tube can move up / down effortlessly , now let go of the tube but keep you hand near , which way does the tube want to swing (up or down ?) .

If it swings up - the centre of balance is too far towards the "bottom" end of the telescope and visa versa. This is easy fixed :
you can hang some sinkers in a lttle bag off the other end to move the centre of gravity nearer the yoke.
or
you can work out the (sinker method) the centre of gravity (balance point) and then unscrew the two yoke points and relocate them either further up or down the tube , will require drilling 4 holes probably - that will fix the problem permanently. Ditch the Micro waste of time gadget.

Stick to powers no more 50x the size in inches of the big mirror. More than that and you are spreading the light out too much and not gaining anything in resolving details (or the max magnification is 2x size in mm)http://starizona.com/acb/basics/equip_magnification.aspx

Still with magnifications not more than 150-200x (you know how to work that out ? based on the focal length , the barlow power and the eyepiece "size").
MAG (x power) = telescope focal length x barlow power / eyepiece size .

The 4mm eyepiece will be hard to focus - not much eye relief (set that one aside).
The max I'd use is the 12.5mm eyepiece and the 1.5x barlow === 108x which will give very respectable views of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, the moon and globulars and open clusters and nebulae.
Not much to see when looking at Venus no matter how big the scope.
The 12.5mm eyepiece and the 3x barlow will give you a very wobbly and faint === 216x and objects will move out of the field of very QUICK !!!


Probably worth while getting a small German Equatorial Mount , a EQ2 or similar for your telescope and ditching that Altitude-Azimuth YOKE style mount and that very wobblely looking tripod ASAP.
You can add a simple RA drive to the EQ2 which will make observing more productive and fun, and permit you to play with some prime focus and piggyback style astrophotography (don't expect too much there with a EQ2).

http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/images/products/main/EQ2MOUNT261.jpg
an EQ2 is pretty basic but also dirt cheap.

a better option for you will be http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/images/products/main/EQ3-2MOUNT261.jpg an EQ2-3 or perhaps if want more capability and GOTO and plenty of capacity , a LX75 or a CG5 (both the latter are overkill for your current telescope - but you'll probably upgrade to a bigger telescope in a year or two , and then all you will need to do is buy a dob or APO and tube rings to mount it). If you buy a dob , the you'll have the option of either the dob mount or the GEM on a tripod depending on what you want to view or do .... a good way to go at the start.

You will quickly find that this hobby can rapidly become very expensive and play havoc with the bank balance or credit card balance. Some of us have telescopes and mounts and eyepieces and cameras that are easily worth more than our cars are !!!

If you ask the guys here who live in your city they'll put you in the know as far as local astroclubs and when the next viewing parties are , well worth tagging along , most astronomers love letting people view through their telescope at these events and are more than willing give advise.

Steer clear of places like KMART , TANDY, DICKSMITH , CAMERAHOUSE , CRAZYSALES when buying telescopes , guys in those places know absolutely nothing about telescopes or astronomy .... better off looking up places like BINTEL , ASTRO-OPTICAL , YORK and badgering them with questions - no such thing as a dumb question , get hold of ASTRONOMY and SKY + TELESCOPE (the american version is better I think).

Standing or sitting ?
well I'm little short fat bugger and my overhanging gut when standing for while makes my back sore , so I prefer to sit , not aways possible if viewing stuff that are very high in the sky , when I was younger I always stood and only sat when manually guiding for long exposures at prime focus or doing long exposure wide fields (sometimes up to an hour or even more in one hit .... being very still and avoiding bumping the tripod or telescope or mount is the crucial) , easier if sitting on comfy camp or director's chair.

Lot to be said for tossing a beach sheet or picnic blanket or a ground sheet down with a pillow and observing the night sky wiith a nice pair of binos (hand held) too.... especially if it's a nice dark cloudless night.

[neversommer]

Oh my gosh this is so much information..

Well I have to drill wholes in my telescope..that kinda is bad :(
First of all is there a australian website which offers such tripod thingies which are also compatible with my unknown telescope?
Dick smith offers atm a celestron Power Seek 127mm Telescope with a smooth tracker,would have that be any better in quality?

I mean I am not fat but leaning on my telescope over the finderscope to actually kinda bring the planet in my crosshair is very difficult and then to lock it in...as it locks in a bit below for what I want it to be.Also I am having back problems with makes it a big unpleasent for me constantly trying to bring the telescope into position without it moving down all the time..I might try tonight sitting if the sky is clear but it wont as it looks like it.

The best bet is if someone is here in perth living who can come over and help me setting this thing up for me....

I have spend 120 aud for it I know i should have spend more but I just want to get it stable..
I mean to put those things on,I dont even know how to do such a thing :(

I am new to all this,and just want to see jupiter before its to late.

What sort of lenses are enough to see planets in enough size?I was very happy with the 1.5 erecting eyepiece on 12.5mm for the moon which is saw some great details.
I had clear sky those 2 days I was viewing and I have been having so far over 8 mosquite bites on me cause of me trying to focus on jupiter,but since it is such a small dot,with this telescope it is simply impossible.

I need someone to come over maybe or to have a look at it before saturn will hit our sky at the end of our month.

What is the best aussie magazine to buy for charts or for what I need cause I just wanna see some cool nebulas or something and what is the best setting for me to see all this in the sky???I am in the garden so got a nice allround view.

I just wanna get it right.

[Ian Robinson]

Sorry about that ....

Simplest fix - You might be able to get a "clamshell" style tube clamp set for your telescope - you can rotate and move the tube in these .

Or maybe make one from plastic straps (cable ties under tension) and then attach the pivots (liquid nails or Arildite , don't and pointy screws sticking through the clamp plates , defeating the purpose and scratching the tube) to some aluminium plate (which you can get bent to the right radius easy enough), line the tube side of the aluminium plate with contact felt to avoid scratching the tube. Would be cheap as chips to do and might get you out of trouble for a now.

Tripod , need it to be solid - cheapo scopes never ever have good tripods .
Here's a nice one http://www.astrobuysell.com/au/propview.php?view=1041- contact them , they are in WA . A good tripod is an lifelong investment.

If your tube is balanced properly when you point it it should be effortless and it should stay put until you touch it again to move to the next object.


Yes the bigger aperture scope would have been better. More aperture is always better.

[neversommer]

So the Celestron Power Seeker with 127mm aperture size from dick smith for 227aud would have been a better choice then i guess?
Its 10cm bigger in size but the control would have been so much better i think then the one i have now .

[Ian Robinson]

Yes. Though the tripod on it is probably still too wobblely. I think it can be motorised too which is a plus.

can see fainter objects, probably better build quality than your no-brand 4.5" in all aspects , better resolving power and near 2x the light gathering ability ..... http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/Science/Astronomy/Ast_Telescope.htm#telescope%20resol ving%20power: will give some more info .

If something goes wrong , Celestron is a good company to deal with and are more likely to help you solve the problem. Crazysales will likely evaporate after Xmas or will probably just fog you off and refuse to help you. (I might be wrong on that).

I'd contect Crazy and tell them you want to return the scope and get a refund , then buy the Celestron , that's what I'd do , return telling them it was a boaght as present or some such or it's not fit for use. There is a cool off period on all retail purchases here and they have to give your money back inside that period (no reason necessary) , no ifs, no buts . If they don't want to - threaten them with the Fair Trading Department in your state - that'll make them come round quick smart.

[neversommer]

I have contacted crazy sales now with wanting a refund,because they have wrongly informed on their website as this:

The metal tripod is featured with slow motion control rod for easy vertical micro adjustment.

There is no such slow motion control,only that metall long piece,which I think is a reason enough for me to return that product.

I really want that celestron now even more..now the question is since the focal length isnt that much better as it is shorter,does that matter?

I think I am gonna buy that celestron this week anyway..I am a bit worried for christmas that everything will get sold out shortly.

I just wanna enjoy my time watchin the sky..but i cant do that like that..

So the celestron is more then ok??

Since you know so much and help so much me which i appreciate...how far you I actually really see with that 127mm celestron??Like as in planets..
And where do i find a good star chart to see which is which start or nebula..??I am a newbie in this and dont just want to watch planets but also nebulas..and the light reflection in my place aint to bad either.

[Big Dave]

I had one of these last year, same model too. I tried fixing it; it seemed that I could not focus the eyepiece to the object as it would not rack in enough. I got a hack saw out and cut down the focusser shaft a little! - I ended up giving it to a 'pain in the butt' mate for christmas and got something else. I think it is a coat hanger now.

For a first telescope, in my view you can't beat a Dob unit. I think you get the best bang for you buck and it is simple to setup. Take a look at York or some other brand name dealer - even better look in the telescope trader forums here in IIS and you should get something better for less. I agree with Ian; expecially in this price range the bigger the better - and the more you will resolve. The Celestron you are talking about is not a bad unit for the price, but look second hand and you will get something better. If your interest increases, you will abandon this unit anyway!

I think people often get fustrated with a cheap telescope and give up the hobbie just as quick. Something to consider would be visiting a Astro club, not sure who is in WA but a google search should find. You will find all the people there will give you lots of advise, some conflicting but all valid. You need to really weigh it up.

As far as the star charts go, they are everwhere on the web (i.e. Heavens above or even Sky & Telescope Magazines website), but you should really trackdown a copy of the Sky & Telescope magazine and have a look. They also have a sky chart and observing suggestions.

Regards,
Dave

[Ian Robinson]

Wize ,

here are the specs :
SPECIFICATIONS:
OPTICAL DESIGN: Newtonian Reflector
APERTURE: 127 mm (5 in)
FOCAL LENGTH: 1000 mm (39.37 in)
FOCAL RATIO: 7.87
EYEPIECE 1: 20 mm (0.79 in)
MAGNIFICATION 1: 50 x
EYEPIECE 2: 4 mm (0.16 in)
MAGNIFICATION 2: 250 x
BARLOW LENS: 3 x
FINDERSCOPE: 5x24
MOUNT: German Equatorial
TRIPOD: Aluminum
ACCESSORY TRAY: No-Tool Tray w/ Eyepiece holder
CD ROM: The Sky Level 1
WEIGHT: 17 lb (7.71 kg)
LIMITING STELLAR MAGNITUDE: 13
RESOLUTION: 1.09 arc seconds
RESOLVING POWER: 0.91 arc seconds
PHOTOGRAPHIC RESOLUTION: 254 line/mm
LIGHT GATHERING POWER: 329 x
ANGULAR FIELD OF VIEW: 0.8 °
LINEAR FIELD OF VIEW (@1000 YDS): 43 ft (13.11 m)
OPTICAL COATINGS: Aluminum
SECONDARY MIRROR OBSTRUCTION: 1.6 in (40.64 mm)
SECONDARY MIRROR OBSTRUCTION BY AREA: 10 % SECONDARY MIRROR OBSTRUCTION BY DIAMETER: 32 %
OPTICAL TUBE LENGTH: 20 in (508 mm)
TELESCOPE WEIGHT: 17 lb (7.71 kg)
Warranty (years) 2 years
from

if it's the same scope as PowerSeeker 127 EQ - 21049 (http://yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Telescopes/byBrand/tabid/48/CategoryID/110/List/-1/catpageindex/4/catpagesize/10/Level/a/ProductID/19/Language/en-AU/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName% 2cProductName) , it's f no is about the same as your existing scope .
ie
Aperture: 114mm(4.5")
Focal Length: 900mm,f/8
Finderscope: 6X30
Metal Tripod with Slow Motion Control Rod for Easy Vertical Micro Adjustment
Maximum Height: 125cm

Finderscope on the scope you have bigger , but finderscopes are cheap and easy to upgrade and there are plenty of them for sale second hand up to 50mm aperture if you know where to look (there's a fellow in Las Vagis who sells that kind of stuff at very reasonable prices).
But the Celestron is bigger aperture (++) and equatorially mounted , has slow mos both axes , and you I think still get RA motor drives for it (part no 93522 ??? I think).

How far can you see with = infinity (well you can see galaxies with it , some anyway).

A CD that generates star charts comes with it ++ a good starter , print your own charts (as screen dumps to your wordprocessing program - if The Sky Level 1 wont print hardcopies - never used it personally - I use Guide V8 to do that.

At f/8 should be relatively coma free too.

Planets - I was able to view all the planets except pluto with my vernerable old Tasco 60mm Achromat , so no problem so long as you know where to point the scope.


Resolution will be slightly better too - more visible detail.

There are tips here at IIS on getting a reasonable polar alignment of GEMs , OK for visual observing .


Have fun - stacks to things to view this time of year.

[bmitchell82]

as everybody in this forum indicates we should run a Prime time TV add that follows something like RSPCA...

ISS SAYS NO TO DEPARTMENT STORE TELESCOPES...
with the voice over man talking... Every year thousands of dollars are worthessly expended on poor coat hangers and they end up being neglected, and outcast then it pans to the sobbing man in the corner.... all i wanted to do is look at the stars like Newton did, but i couldent.... sob sob :D.. ect ect :D

This is something that i beg of you, Dont get a GEM for a start get a Dobsonian learn the sky and what your looking at and then move into the Gem they are quite tricky to learn if your learning everything all at the same time! Plus the money in the optics is like savings in the bank! It pays dividends!

[Ian Robinson]

I remember that thread - maybe you lucked out on yours . should have been easy rectified by simply moving the main mirror a tad closer to the secondary rather than mutulating the focusor. There all metal and cheap 1.25 low profile helical focusors available too which would have probably been another cheap fix , or Vega 1 (1.25") R&P focusors too (lower profile that the stock focusor you had).

I recommend he ask to test it at the shop by pointing the assembled scope at a distant object (at least 1 mile away and attempting to focus it with its supplied eyepieces and also the barlow in place (both again)). If you can't get it to focus - moving the mirror cell closer can't be big deal if you are handy , or don't want to upgrade the focusor to a low profile helical or better qual r&p , else say no thanks and buy something else or walk out of the shop (leaving the scope there).

He's not got a real lot of time to place an order if buying mail / phone / internet order from interstate and want's something in hand before Xmas.

There's a couple specialist telescope shops in Perth aren't there ? York and that guy that also sells second hand stuff -(can't recall his company name now :help:).
The fellows at Astro-Optical (Sydney) are good and helpful. I got a super deal off them on my Vixen New Atlux .
I think you can also order directly from Tasco Australia too now ??

Ya get's what you pay for in telescopes - perfect costs lots of $.

[Ian Robinson]

This one's not GOTO , he'll still have to learn his way about the sky - the old fashioned way like I did many many many many many ..... many moons ago when I was a rascal. I can't comment on the setting circles (how good a guide they will be to him) on that GEM either , if he get into the ball park once he susses out the mysteries of manual setting circles reading and use in aiming telescopes that is , at low power and sees his target he'll be doing OK. Most us didn't bother mucking about reading the setting circle and "star hopped" about the sky in small increments to locate those faint fuzzies and faint stars. That's what I usually did , unless I knew the RA and Dec offset then I used the slow mos to pan to the object's neighbourhood and then referred to a good finder chart to get a fix and a lock.

Pitfalls with starter el-cheapo dobs too and no slow mos to help with tracking while viewing . But he might manage to get a 6" dob if he hunts about for about the same price. Not sure where in Australia though he'll score that (unless it's old stock).

[bmitchell82]

ahhh but it grounds you and your friends don't think your a twit when you can tell them whats up in the sky!

[Ian Robinson]

Spotted this (when I went looking) http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Telescopes/tabid/42/CategoryID/5/List/1/Level/a/ProductID/70/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost%2cP roductName .

comes with a 5 yr warrantee (not too shabby).
Specs
Barrel Diameter (mm) 50mm/31.7mm Eyepieces (fl mm) S20 and S10 (31.7mm) Finderscope 6x 30 Focal length (mm) 1200mm Focal Ratio f/8 Focus system Rack and Pinion Highest Practical Power 300x Limiting Magnitude 13 Motor Drive / Controller No Mount Type Dobsonian Objective lens (mm) 150mm (6") Optical Design Newtonian Shipping Weight / pc (grams) 18,000 Supplier Model Number SW580 Total Weight (grams) 18,000
(I am pretty amused that that they say "objective lens (mm) ?!?:rolleyes::rofl:= 150mm (doesn't inspire a lot of confidence for me)).

So he has another option as York have both scopes at pretty much the same price on their site , but NO star chart software with the 6" dob , and no slow mos. The dob has a 2" r&p , which will be better than a 1.25" r&p, and it is bigger by an 1" (which is always better) , but no barlow (which will limit him), and the base of the rocker box will be cheap stuff (particle board ? - bad news if it gets wet often on damp dewy grass unless it's kitchen or wet area grade MDF) ..... probably managed to confuse the poor guy even more now. Sorry.

[neversommer]

Well...uhm..that skywatcher ..I am not quite sure but that thing looks more like a cannon from the pirate ships then a telescope if you ask me..and yes i am getting confused..someone tells me to buy another scope and now i am getting a telescope and a plastic moving thing without slowmo and I am back at scratch..

I saw this 2 telescopes on ebay...one with a 150mm and one with a 203mm...

here;

The 150mm one;

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-150mm-x-1400-EQUATORIAN-EQ-ASTRONOMICAL-TELESCOPE_W0QQitemZ110320738168QQcm dZViewItemQQptZAU_Cameras_Telescope s_Binoculars?hash=item110320738168&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240% 3A1308 (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-150mm-x-1400-EQUATORIAN-EQ-ASTRONOMICAL-TELESCOPE_W0QQitemZ110320738168QQcm dZViewItemQQptZAU_Cameras_Telescope s_Binoculars?hash=item110320738168&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1% 7C240%3A1308)

and now the 203mm one.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Astronomical-203mm-Newtonian-Reflector-Telescope-Tripod_W0QQitemZ370127160111QQcmdZV iewItemQQptZAU_Cameras_Telescopes_B inoculars?hash=item370127160111&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240% 3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Astronomical-203mm-Newtonian-Reflector-Telescope-Tripod_W0QQitemZ370127160111QQcmdZV iewItemQQptZAU_Cameras_Telescopes_B inoculars?hash=item370127160111&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1% 7C240%3A1318)


I am not sure how good they are but sure they are bigger then the one in dick smith..

I will see what to do next but I wanted the 203mm few weeks back but lost the bid on it..even the 150mm would do a nice job I would say.

I am not the expert but..

What ya all think??

[Ian Robinson]

2nd one :

8" aperture !!! cf 5" and 6" ..... BETTER !!!! by a long shot
Better tripod (steel tubular legs would be better !!!).
Proper spider .
Looks like a better GEM but may be undersized a tad for this telescope.
Looks like it comes with a polar alignment scope (I'd check that .... very handly to have if you ever want to do long exposure astrophotography !!)
No mention of motor drive avail for RA axis (and Dec axis) , don't know what Brand the scope is .... I'd ask them about that and the brand and part numbers before paying.
Price is pretty cheap.
Plossyls as opposed to el-cheapo Huygens

Cons

I can't see a brand anywhere on the GEM or the OTA --- ?!?
VERY SHORT WARANTEE !!!! ONLY 90 DAYS , longer is better.
1.25" focusor not a 2" - easy fixed.
GEM undersized ? more important for astrophotography , providing you balance the scope very very carefully you'll get away with it for visual stuff. (Might be a SKY VIEW GEM ??? , looks like one or a clone http://www.telescope-service.com/mountspics/start/skyviewbig.jpg )

If you can't find out the brand and model of the GEM it is likely to be a real pain in the butt getting drive motors for the RA (and DEC) axis later unless the worm gear pitches are a common MEADE , CELESTRON , SKYWATCHER or VIXEN equivalent configeration. Been down that road with a couple of my older undriven GEMs (an old TASCO GEM).

Not keen on the finderscope size and alignment setup - a 50mm finder would be better - easy fixed by buying one later. Finderscopes with one set of alignment screws are guaranteed to drive you cazy trying to keep them aligned with the mainscope !!!


Kinda - f/4 , well my 10" is f/4.7 , I prefer faster Newts personnally ==> BUT you will see coma (star around outside out edge of field view will look funny - like mini comets without a corrector special lens - a coma corrector / field flattener will be needed to get the best out of the fast primary mirror - all fast Newts do this.
BUT Coma Correctors pretty much only made 2" OD , Coma Correctors are pricey (I know I have 3 of them - a Tele Vue Visual (tuneable top) , a Baader MFCC (photographic set), and a Lumicon CCFF attached to my Offaxis Guider. They each cost me more $300. BUT I REALLY HATE COMA AND CURVED FOCAL PLANES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Barlow lens supplied - easy fixed (can get these lots of places).

No astrochart software - as a freeby. Not a big deal (plenty of places to buy these.)

Not buying from anyone who knows anything about telescopes or astronomy if you buy it .... this would be a worry (to me and I wouldn't , but that's just me).

I'd query them by phone on the motor drive avails , and brand before bidding and check out prices by phone on "similar" scopes at
Astro Optical http://www.astro-optical.com.au/,
York Optical http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Telescopes/tabid/42/List/1/CategoryID/289/Level/a/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost,Pro ductName,
Tasco Australia http://www.telescopeshop.com.au/,
and BinTel (Binocular and Telescope Ship) http://www.bintel.com.au/

prior to bidding and keep my max bid under these prices.

[neversommer]

Well the one for 199 looks good but with the barlow lenses not included and to buy those and the shipping it will just cost me a lot of money..the shipping itself is 60 dollars and then the lenses not sure..can i buy just any barlow lense?

By the way i was sitting last night instead of standing and I adjusted the telescope a bit and did a bit on the screws on it and got it now a bit more stable,had a bit more stable view of the moon and wow i was impressed of how cool it looks..

About the return they stil havent contacted me yet of the return and I am sure they wont anytime soon.
A 203 mm sounds for sure good but the brand is again unknown,and the slow mo controller does not look to go to me..but i am a noob so I dont know..The 150mm sounds a bit better even from the brand ?

The specs:
Reflector, 1400mm focal length, f/9
150mm (6") concave main mirror, hard-coated
Black aluminium main tube
Use of standard 31.7mm (1.25") accessories for easy upgrade and ease of obtaining accs
EQ mount with declination circle, latitude scale and hour circle
12M visual magnitude, 0.93" resolving power, 25 brightness on PL6.5mm 56x
Max 420X magnification with supplied accessories
6x30 sighting scope
Rack and pinion focus system
Electric motor drive adaptable


Are not that bad???Or I just go with celestron because both brands are unknown..where do i get the service then from?

and to buy additonal lenses and barlow lenses...can i buy any and does that fit my telescope?Is that universal?

Thanks so much for your input you giving me good advice :)

[Ian Robinson]

Yes - a lots of places will be only to happy sell you a barlow lens and eyepieces (the range available is incredible !!!!) and post them to you. Check the 4 biggies (I gave links).

Gotta pester them by phone , they'll blow you off by email - remember that they have your money now and will not be happy about reversing the transaction .

The non-specialist stores might be a very big problem if you want something fixed even under warantee. Could involve shipping the scope or GEM back to somewhere like China to the manufacturer as the e-store owner knows absolutely nothing.

Gotta really do your homework before buying telescopes and GEMs etc ....

How much did the 8" f/4 EQ go for when you were outbid ? ..(something just under that is your guide max bid so long as it is under the prices of similar scopes from the specialist shops) .. it could be a very fine instrument and mount and more than adequate for your initial needs before you follow us old hands and diehards down the slippery slope into obsessions and perpetual brokeness and sleep deprevation.

[neversommer]

There is only one problem.They do not have a phone number to be contacted on only a email to be contacted on .Which is not good so they just might not respond to my email at all i believe...
Look I am gonna get myself either way a better one..the 2 ones from ebay are a no brand name and I dont wanna make that mistake again...Celestron you said is a good brand..it comes with software an ok tripod and so forth and erecting eyepiece if I can remember.
2 Year warranty sounds good 2..I mean its not a 150mm its not a 203mm ..its a 127..and for a few months it will do the job..If I wanna see further i just buy additional lenses right?
Heck I am new..I love space.I believe in aliens ..I love PLANETS and I love to see Saturn,Saturn Is my planet since I was a child..Yes I could spend more then 500 aud on a telescope I dont have money issues,but I wanna start with of good build quality..perfect lenses and good performance.

Once I wanna go further I will talk again..but all i want to see is our system.I dont mind buying the celestron and some nice extra lenses and filters...

We all started once small..I just wanna get a good quality product I can trust and have fun with,because I will spend christmas on my own.I just wanna discover the space :)

[Ian Robinson]

If you used Paypal lodge a formal complaint if you hear back from within 24hrs.

At the same time if you used a credit card - contact your issuing financial instution (bank, building society, credit union what have you) and tell them the product sold was misrepresented . unuseable and not fit for use and demand the transaction be reversed (give the seller 24hrs then hit them with the big iron crow bar via the card issuer - that's guaranteed to get their attention and your money back).

You have every right a full refund inside the cool off period and since teh product was not properly described and was defective on delivery

http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticleAsOnePage.aspx?id=103739

Don't just send it back to them without knowing they are reversing the transaction. You could wind up out of pocket for the scope , the shipping costs both ways , and without anything to show for it except a very red face and an empty pocket.

No contact phone number on the seller's site would have rang warning alarms very loud for me IMMEDIATELY - I wouldn't have gone there . Check the invoice that came with the telescope , the info should be there.

[neversommer]

I have used Bpay for this,not sure if there is something I can do..But what do you think of the rest for what I was stating about the celestron and the extra lenses Ian?Would that be going ok?

I just want a good feeling when I am buying the celestron thats all with then some extra lensesa and good quality.

[Ian Robinson]

Celestron will be OK. Big well known and respected brand.

The extra stuff will be easily bought and shipped with your new scope if you go that way with any specialist telescope shop or dealer. They can probably slip the extra eyepiece and the barlow you order into the box with the telescope and mount and tripod and this way keep the shipping cheap. I'd ask about that , the shop may so happy to get your sale they could throw them in cheap as an incentive to get the sale. Best to call them on the blower and talk it over with them so close to Xmas , as they'll be snowed under with emails I expect.

BPay is like electronic cash - I use it all the time when phone banking to pay bills. Contact who ever the savings account is with and ask for the transaction reversed as before if you don't hear back from the vendor inside 24 hrs,. from http://www.bpay.com.au/consumers/bpay/bpay_qa.aspx#qa146

[neversommer]

I check on that with those links you have been given me for the telescopes but their prices are a bit high for me if you ask me as similar telescope from celestron costs on that website almost 120aud more then in dick smith.

I dont have a credit card only a savings account...and the account is going over me..
so who do i need to get in touch with about this?

[Ian Robinson]

OK , so long as the scope isn't a return and has a defect - I'd risk DS. But I'd give them a chance to price match or beat the price at DS first, 120AUD is better in your wollet than a dealers' account , it could go towards those extras you want .
DS has a returns policy and shouldn't be an problem if it's got problems.


Your financial instution - ask at the counter perhaps. Take all your reciepts and printouts of all emails (between you and the vendor) with you. That's what the staff are there for.

These shonky traders really are cutting their own throats. Bad news about sellers travels fast.

[neversommer]

And what do you mean with DS? I mean it has no defect as we both know so i should go to bankwest which is the bank I am using and tell them my situation that I have received the item but it is not what has been described and I havent heard from them in return as they dont have an number to call only email and they dont wanna reply for returns ?

I have the receipt and everything.Would that be the best way of telling them what is going on ?
And need to know what you mean with DS :)

Cheers

[Ian Robinson]

Dick Smith = DS

Yes and Yes - I'd take the matter up with bankwest , in person since you really want this all sorted before Xmas. Bankwest has a lot more firepower than you do and their customer assistance people can and will contact the vendor , and if he's uncontactable by them or via his bank , his accounts will be killed and freezed and the transaction reversed is so far as you are concerned if they agree you've been diddled, it then becomes their problem recovering the money or they'll simply write it off (and claim on their insurance).

[neversommer]

Wow DS=Dick smith...Ah well I am at work atm and the work load is so heavy I am having problem concetrating and looking on all 3 monitors by th problems we are having oh gosh..I am IT support at western power...
My head is about to blow ...
Ok I will check with bankwest tomorrow at lunch time in person to see wether they can help me,the transaction wasnt to far off so hopefully should be good..Can bankwest just take the money out of their bank account and put it back into mine ?

Ian a few links for good lenses to buy?
They are universal right?

I went into DS on my lunch brake and something i dont understand it says the focal lenth is 1000mm which would be 100cm in length...but it isnt even that long..its shorten then mine and mine is 900mm..how does that work out?By the way..The quality is heaps better on the celestron one.
I hope to push DS with the price a bit..and if so wether i can spend that money into some lenses.

But good ones that are worth it.

[Ian Robinson]

They just reverse it electronically , to all intents and purposes you get your money back.

They then recover or write it off behind the scenes - no longer your problem by then.

see links and drill down there are stacks of eyepieces and barlows and whatnots. Ranging from cheap as chips to mortgage your wife-kids-mum-dad and home to buy types.
if you have a 2" focusor it will accept all 1.25" and 2" accessories.
If you have a 1.25" focusor - all 1.25" accessories fit.



That's because the light travels down to the parabolic main mirror gets reflected in a focused beam to the secondary (teh elliptical shaped flat mirror) and then out through the focusor . see picture .... that's why the tube is shorter than the 1000mm focal length. see picture attached

[neversommer]

Hi Ian
Well you gave me so much information its just awesome..
First of all wanna thank you for that.
So even though the actual length is smaller it does not mean i cant look further then with this one i allready have right? Its the aperture size which makes out the difference isnt it?

I will have a look at the lenses as well ..I didnt check but the size of the celestron for the lenses do you know what size I need so i can write it down for me?

That would be great.And tomorrow i will talk to bankwest about this..I am sure they can help me..So just tell them about that I didnt receive what was in the described it should be and that I cant contact them and they dont want to give any statement about this is that correct?

[Ian Robinson]

aperture is key . more is aways better.

something like a 10mm and maybe a 24mm or 30mm fl eyepiece + a nice 2x barlow will get you going pretty well and give you lots of scope - plossyls aren't a bad start . Eyepieces are one those things where can work out costing a real fortune. Some here think nothing of spending several hundred dollars on a single eyepiece !!! and they have thousands of dollars worth of them .



Sounds like a plan - stress not fit for purpose and deceptively advertised , and if the vendor fails to respond inside 24hrs , that you've done everything humanly possible to get satisfaction and a refund from the vendor to no avail.

Some vendors no longer want to know you once they've got your money , they think twice when their bank phones them for a please explain .

[neversommer]

Ok I have printed out all documents from the vendor such as:

-The order number with all details such as the item,the price,the mailing address the whole lot etc.
-The Bpay confirmation payment from my bank over internet banking
-The email I have send of yesterday about the return for a wrongly described product with the email details on it.
-The Email from them about the order on the way with details
-The email from them aboutr the order is in process and the date and time of it.


Funny enough that they have received my money on a sunday????

So that is all the detail and should be enough hopefully for bankwest to do something about that.

What do you reckon Ian?

[Ian Robinson]

No printed invoice in the box , or on the outside of it ? Check for it . That will help too .

Might be phone number on it.

[neversommer]

I have checked the box there is nothing there except my address details and from who its coming from but no telephone number what so ever.

But the details I have should be enough shouldnt it?

[Lyinxz]

Hi neversommer,

If i were you I would just throw the thing under your bed, save up maybe 400 or so and buy a nice 8" dob!!! :thumbsup:

And hey the best thing out of it, you learn something - you get what you pay for unfortently! :sadeyes:


Cheers,
Ash

[Ian Robinson]

It'll have to be . Strange they don't provide a phone number or return address on the invoice - sounds very very shady to me .

[neversommer]

Ok there is a EPost Parcel sticker on the side of the box it came but there is no invoice inside the only thing it says there is the address of the company which is a P.O Box address in Springvale Victoria,on the main side it says asia australia so meaning the telescope must have been deliver from china or something.

But there is no phone number to contact anyone only email.

Tomorrow I hope bankwest can help me..But giving up I will not and putting it under my bed..I paid for it and its my right to get what I paid for.

So yeah I decided to get the celestron this thursday in dick smith and will see wether I can push the price down a bit.

:)

Gonna watch the moon tonight though.

[Ian Robinson]

Wonder if Springvale Victoria PO will give the phone number of who ever owns the PO Box ???

[JethroB76]

Does this Celestron Powerseeker scope have a built in barlow (ie the Jones-Bird design) ? If so I'm not sure whether I'd be buying it..

[neversommer]

Well one thing is for sure it sounds to me like a small asian chinese company who paid someone to translate a website into english or something...

No real australian site would do such a thing.

Therefor I am doing my thing today and getting my celestron on thursday as the full moon is about to approach.

Also I am gonna look out for the sky and telescope magazine tomorrow if I can find it.

I am gonna check out what size of the lenses the celestron does take and buy them then accordingly on one of those sites you have suggested.

[Ian Robinson]

Dunno .... I doubt it , not at that price (4 more surfaces to grind and polish in the doublet = more work and effort) , will more likely require a drop in barlow.

Any owners out there got one and know for sure ?

[JethroB76]

I thought I read where he mentioned it was shorter than his current scope (900mm), even thought it has a 1000mm focal length.

[Ian Robinson]

That's simply because the secondary bends the right to send it out through the focusor . See the diagram I draw to explain it to him .

Get some graph paper and do a to scale diagram of that Newt's optical config given the mirror size, the secondary size , and the f no , if you need to see why or need more convincing.

[JethroB76]

Sounds like this scope to me:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27116

[Ian Robinson]

see http://www.astronomics.com/main/product.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/V900WQEPL7XJ9NXRLPXGXRBCR0/product_id/PS127\
http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?CatID=5&ProdID=501

http://www.celestron.com/c2/images/files/downloads/1199048843_powerseeker6070.pdf

[JethroB76]

The Celestron page lists an OTA 508mm long, which suggests an internal barlow to me.

[Ian Robinson]

No mention of a corrector in the focusor anywhere I've looked. The rack + pinion is not exactly LOW PROFILE EITHER that means the focal point is even further outside the tube ==> shorter tube for a given focal length .... do the calcs or a diagram .... look at figure 3.2 in the pdf from Celestron on these scope.

That's it for me , keep us posted Pascal .

[Octane]

Someone, please, help the newbie and steer him away from wasting his money on a Dick Smith wobbletronic.

Pascal: www.bintel.com.au or www.andrewscom.com.au

Go there, and buy a Dobsonian. You're a beginner, and that is all you need, for now, at least.

If you're still bent on buying a refractor, then, check out Andrews Communications; they sell Celestron refractors. Personally, if I was you, I'd be looking at the SkyWatcher refractors. They'd be perfect for a beginner at a bargain price.

You're seriously doing yourself a disservice by wasting your money on a Dick Smith telescope.

Regards,
Humayun

[Ian Robinson]

A dob has already been suggested.

He has seen Bintel, York, AOS sites, I usually don't go to Andrews so forgot them.

He doesn't have a lot of money and has already been stung.

Up to him now.

He could ask Andrew's if they still that preloved Guan Sheng GS-500, complete with SV1 mount/tripod, bonus RA drive, etc. -excellent$349.00
Looks like a good buy.

[neversommer]

What is this guan sheng 500 you are talking about ???

I had a look at andrews and the cool thing is they provide free shipping australia wide and saw this one here which I actually really like.

Skywatcher 130 x 900 EQ2
New low price!
$299.00 AUD

Freight free Australia-wide!

-or-

$349.00 AUD with single axis motor drive and hand controller
Freight free Australia-wide!
A very popular and good quality 130mm x 900mm Newtonian reflector on the stable EQ2 equatorial mount with adjustable height aluminium tripod legs.

Optional EQ2 single axis (RA) motor drive with hand controller is normally A$89.00 extra.


But it doesnt say what comes with it and what now...Thats a bit of a problem there is no option to see and ask about each single one .I dont know..But even this one seems nice for the price.


Skywatcher 150 x 1000P EQ3-2
Super low price!
$399.00 AUD

Freight free Australia-wide!
You save A$400 off competitor's website price as @ 07-12-08!
=Yes! HALF competitor's price=

-or-

$549.00 AUD with dual axis motor drives and hand controller
Freight free Australia-wide!

Excellent quality 150mm x 1000mm full focal length Parabolic (P) primary mirror Newtonian reflector on the world-famous EQ3-2 medium duty equatorial mount with adjustable height aluminium tripod legs.




Wouldnt that be good??But I have no clue what comes with it..and if someone can find me that guan sheng you talking about for 349..let me know.no clue what it is but sounds like a good deal


I just came across this one here..looks FANTASTIC!


http://www.andrewscom.com.au/images/products/telescopes/reflector/gs500.jpg
Guan Sheng GS-500 6" f/5
150mm x 750mm on SV1
equatorial mount with tripod
$499.00 AUD
Absolutely outstanding quality and value 150mm x 750mm parabolic mirror Newtonian reflector on the SkyView 1 high grade medium duty equatorial mount with adjustable height aluminium tripod.
Includesa6 x 30 finderscope andpremium GSO 6mm, 9mm, 15mm and 25mm Plossl eyepieces!



And you did mean this one here right?

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/images/products/telescopes/dobsonian/gs580.jpg
Guan Sheng GS-580 6" Limited
150mm x 1200mm

$349.00 AUD
First grade 6" (150mm x 1200mm) Dobsonian reflector with truly outstanding 1/12th surface wave primary and secondary BK7 mirrors.

Features a high grade 1.25" rack and pinion focuser.

Includes a 6 x 30 finderscope and GSO high-grade 9mm and 25mm 1.25" Plossl eyepieces!
What is good bout it? It is still hand movable..I want slo mo controller..Why would that be so much better??


The Skywatcher 150mm looks ways to indulging for me..especially the 1000mm over the 750 of the ghen sung one...But I dont know whats coming with it,if I would know that and pay another 150 on top of the DS one and with free shipping..I might could go for that one though...But I am not sure yet as there are no details provided..wether barlow or not ,if so which one and what lenses and how many..

Always a good question.


Ok ok I think on the telescopeshop.com.au they have the 150mm skywatcher for a price of 594 which is more expensive then andrews.Comes with 2 eyepieces .
Includes Super 25 and 10mm eyepieces.

and

Features F/5 ratio. 6x30 finderscope. equatorial mount with aluminium tripod.


How bout that??
The only thing I dont know is how to buy on the andrews website if I want it.

399..I discussed with my gf last night and I came to the decision to be paying a bit more then I want..But if the 150mm ones is good..let me know..And what lenses :)
And I might consider buying a more expensive one this week,they all have slow mo controller ey??they so small to see.

[JethroB76]

So the focuser is going to make up 1/2 metre in focal length?

Theres plenty of references to the powerseeker 127 having a dodgy in built barlow, on this site alone there are several threads from people unfortunate enough to have bought one/fortunate enough not to..that refer to in built barlow/correctors

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=34866&highlight=powerseeker

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=26396&highlight=powerseeker

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=15814&highlight=powerseeker

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16567&highlight=powerseeker

[neversommer]

Ok I fell in love with this one from andrews

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/images/products/telescopes/reflector/150x750peq3.jpg
Skywatcher 150 x 1000P EQ3-2
Super low price!
$399.00 AUD

Freight free Australia-wide!
You save A$400 off competitor's website price as @ 07-12-08!
=Yes! HALF competitor's price=

-or-

$549.00 AUD with dual axis motor drives and hand controller
Freight free Australia-wide!

Excellent quality 150mm x 1000mm full focal length Parabolic (P) primary mirror Newtonian reflector on the world-famous EQ3-2 medium duty equatorial mount with adjustable height aluminium tripod legs.

But i dont know what size the lens it has there are no details and on the other sites i cant find any clue wether is 1.25 or 2 as Ian Robinson mentioned.

The Guan Sheng one has a smaller focal lenght but plossl eyepiece lenses..They sound very high quality.

Those ones with the guan sheng

6mm, 9mm, 15mm and 25mm

I want to make today my choice..lets stay with andrews website for the moment.

I am willing to spend 400$ on a telescope..Which one? the 150mm skywatcher sounds very good.

What you guys think?

[bmitchell82]

I wrote a post in another thread, "Real cost of Astronomy" i think it was, and the point i made in there was pointed at people have information at their hands, if they do not want to heed the advice of people that have done it before let them get stung.

Listern to what we are saying. go with a dobsonian you will not be dissapointed once your competent at navigating your way around the sky get a GEM mount and there you go you hvae a very powerful telescope.

A 6" skywatcher is cheap, same with a 6" GSO. these are all fully mountable on a gem mount for later on! Make your choice but remember our advice.

GSO's from andrews
Guan Sheng GS-580 6" Limited
150mm x 1200mm

$349.00 AUD

SkyWatcher Dobsonian - SW580 (http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Telescopes/tabid/42/CategoryID/5/List/1/Level/a/ProductID/70/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost%2cP roductName)

is worth 325 landed to your door though York Optical.

your choice make it wisely

[neversommer]

Taking it like that..those dobsonian seem to be the same like I have to maunally move them around ? They dont look like a slow mo controll to have? How do they look like on the ground? Also they are quite expensive..
What is the difference and why do you recommend such a thing? Just cause I am new?
Those look weird and have limited movement capabilites.

Why not getting the skywatcher 150mm wouldnt that one do a good job? It usually costs a lot of money.

[Ian Robinson]

Go for it , 6" is always better than 5" in aperture.

- is a pretty basic GEM (the EQ3-2) , the optional dual axis drives will be very handy for tracking stuff and slewing about from one object to another , and if you decide to have a crack at piggy backing a camera or photographing objects (planets, stars, moon, fuzzys at prime focus) later, only thing is COMA at f5 (all fast newtonians and dobs have coma !!!! so you may want to upgrade the focusor later to a 2" low profile crayford and invest in a Baader MFCC or Tele Vue Paracorr Visual to eliminate coma and to flatten the focal plane (not a huge deal at now if you are just looking through it).

A 2" focusor will give you a lot more options than a 1.25" focusor - a low profile crayford focusor is much better than a not so low profile rack and pinion focusor which will beat most helical focusor (unless you want ULTRA LOW PROFILE in the focusor --- sometimes this is needed) ie a 2" focusor allows the use of a coma corrector lens (they are all 2" OD), gives better imaging capacity (less vignetting at prime focus) and you can use any eyepiece commercially available (the standards are 2" , 1.25" and 0.96" OD).
.... Andrews might change the focusor for you to a 2" crayford or a 2" rack and pinion if you ask them before shipping (for a reasonable price).

Important thing - It'll get ya started and it's cheap as chips too !!

You can always upgrade to a better GEM and tripod later - plenty of good GEMs thatll handle a 6" newt + camera and will be solid as a rock and are damb accurate when tracking stars and other objects and have lots of advanced features including GOTO (which is great for the lazy), though you start spending REAL money to get them.

Give Andrews a call and ask what comes with it (what eyepieces ? some nice 1.25" plossyls will be OK at this stage , a 2x barlow would be nice , you might want to add one or two extra eyepieces and a barlow if it doesn't have a barlow).

[bmitchell82]

Take a step back pascal look at things logically.

If the skywatcher is 350 and it includes
-mount
-eye peices
-OTA
-and accociated bits

and the Dobsinian costs 350

-has the dobsonian base essentially is wooden though offers great movement and easy to point and shoot so to speak,
-a selection of eye peices.

Where do you think the extra money has gone?

as we can all tell you here, the money has gone into the optics instead of getting a whole heap of stuff you have yet to learn and master.

Mastering the art of seeing is something that is beyond a investment as astronomy isn't just about looking at the moon or seeing a few dots in the sky. And let me tell you the advantage of knowing what your pointing at is invaluable. imagine your in the field, your family is out there, and your batterys die.? all is not lost if you know where your looking. just drive it manually.

Further more to that most of my optical viewing is done though a 20mm eye peice anything under 12mm you wont get to use often for reasons that are stated in many other posts. At 20mm you wont have to move the dob that much just a small bump to keep it rocked onto your target.

Gems are very fiddly and unless your dedicated to sticking it out or can put you off astronomy totally with all the set up and fiddling.

Decide apon these reasons
- Do you want to get out there and start looking
- Do you want to spend a minimum of 10 - 15 min setting up getting everything happy and then do the oppisite in the dark when your finished.
- Do you want to look at photography later
- Do you just want to look?

answering yes to a c d get a dob.
answering yes to b. go the gem.

[Ian Robinson]

Re dobs:
Yes , you have to manually push them about to keep objects in view (you'll get sick of that !!!), and they don't have slow motion controls.

Those cheap ,mass produced dobs don't permit you to rotate the tube to put the eyepiece in locations that make viewing more comfortable ... if you've a bad back that's a serious issue and will detract from your enjoyment seriously.

But they can be set up each night lightning fast - no polar alignment required.

BUT with a GEM , providing the tripod is leveled near enough, the angle of the dangle (corresponding to you latitude) is within cooee and you've pointed the polar axis in the general direction of the South Celestrial Pole - within cooee , for visual observing you'll be fine enough and you'll track well enough for visual observing , and the setting circles will help get you from one interesting object to another - if you bother using or even looking at them (more often it's easier to go to a low X eyepiece and star hop and not even refer to the setting circles or just look at the DEC reading to get into the right part of the sky)
*** accurate polar alignment and leveling is only necessary for photographic imaging via the telescope or piggy back style else you'll get field rotation , then it pays to be a perfectionist ***

You can motorise dobs - costs real money !!
You can put digital setting circles on them too - costs real money !!
Dobs are not so flash for astrophotography unless you add an equatorial platform under the base plate .... cost ya real money unless you make your own , and you will get field rotation in long exposures.
Most the el-cheapo small dobs have base plates made from particle board - the cheap stuff - bad news if they regularly get wet sitting on damp dewy grass - the stuff swells and disintegrates.
There doesn't seem to be a 6" or 8" dob cheaper than the Skywatcher 6" you've settled on (Meade , GSO, Bintel, AOS, other ?? , I think Celestron no longer make dobs) so nothing to be gained in your case - unless someone knows of a good 6 or 8" dobs being sold somewhere in Oz.

Many people buy a dob , and later buy a EQ mount and tripod and tuberings so they have the best of both worlds. A lot to be said for that approach.

Dob's aren't for everyone though.

Here's Skywatcher's site http://skywatchertelescopes.com.au/Home/tabid/445/List/0/CategoryID/1340/Level/a/Default.aspx?SortField=UnitCost%2cP roductName

Looks like the 6" f/5 newt you are interested in has had the GEM downgraded from an EQ4 to the EQ3-2 to lower the selling price.

Did the vendor email back ?

How'd you fair at the bank ?

You've had a really rugged start to your hobby .... cudos to you for sticking with it . It is worth it in the long run - you'll get a lifetime of enjoyment from your telescope , and if your gf likes looking through it too can have heaps of quality time together sharing the night sky - so long as she doesn't commander it .

[neversommer]

I think I wanna go for the skywatcher 150mm I will give andrews a call once I am on my lunch brake in 15 minutes and see is available.
you mentioned the x50 finderscope right?

Which lens?

Skywatcher 1.25" Plossl eyepiecesTypePrice $(AUD)6.3mm, 7.5mm and 10mm, 12.5mm, 17mm, 20mm, and 25mm$29.00 Each32mm and 40mm$39.00 Each
Skywatcher 1.25" Super Plossl eyepiecesTypePrice $(AUD)6.3mm, 7.5mm, 12.5mm, 17mm and 20mm focal lengths$49.00 Each



This one ok as finderscope ?

Finderscope, 9 x 50 with holder and block base


The updates on the telescope are cool with the camera and all that stuff...can do some good updates and they support then the 1.25 size which i know now.

The DOB just does not seem to attract me at all,but the skywatcher for that price is highly attractive,depending on the options to pay Ill do it today :)

[Ian Robinson]

yep , a 50mm finderscope is lots better.

at least 2 eyepieces , my choice if it were my money from those above would be : Super Plossl 6.3mm, 12.5mm, and 20mm ,
and a Plossyl 40mm.

If no barlow as standard kit , I'd ask for a 2x barlow (a shorty style if they have one) added too.

That'll give you 119x , 60x (these are good for planet viewing), 37.5x and 19x (great for wide field viewing - will blow you away as you view the Magellanic Clouds , the Milky Way and globulars !!!) , and with the barlow (best for planetary viewing 238x as your max power , you can probably got to 300x with the 6" under good seeing if you want to later with another shorter focal length eyepiece , a Vixen LV or a Orthoscope 5mm). Coma will be more obvious at lower X , unless you buy a coma corrector (later).

At higher X , you'll appreciate the EQ mount and RA drive !!!

[neversommer]

Ok I have spoken to bankwest and they cant do anything about that I have to go with consumer protection.

I have also spoken with andrews and they are sending me their bank details for a bank deposit on their account by today or tomorrow.
Also they have told me its coming with 2 lenses but no barlow as usually they end up in rubbish they told me with cheap scopes from up to 100aud.

The shipping is free as stated on their website but now the choice of the lenses remain..I will talk to them again about the lens you have recommended me or I send them an email about that which the ones you recommended me and see wether they can make a good price for it.

They were happy to talk to me and gave me a lot of information.

So I will let them know about the lenses and the barlow thing and the finderscope.

[Ian Robinson]

Bummer wrt the bank .... I'd be changing banks .

Still no response from the vendor .... they might come good if you are lucky , but I'd get onto consumer protection ASAP and get that moving and tell the vendor you're not happy and are doing so . Bombard them with urgent emails continuously over the next few days - to get their attention .

Did they say which eyepiece are in the kit (type and focal length) ?

I don't often use a barlow - I'm more into wide field low power and imaging.
Others are better placed to advise on a nice barlow - probably Vixen, Celestron or Meade (most common) unless you are OK with spending more money to an Apo type or one of those Tele Vue barlows (Powermates) .
Spoilt for choice on barlows as per eyepieces - stacks of the them out there (in all sizes).

I'm not saying YOU need any Tele Vue eyepieces - expensive , but see http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?ID=221 and http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?ID=131 is good info . (BTW I don't own any Tele Vue stuff either except a Paracorr.)

[neversommer]

I just spoke to them again for the list of the lenses you told me about and they will send me the email so I cant tell them what I want for my telescope.
He recommended me the 2x barlow lens from guan sheng. its 35 and good quality he said.
The others you recommended cost me 49 each piece..that quite a lot of money if I take all of them at once.

But I hope he might can give me a good price but one thing is for sure the telescope will be paid this week once I will receive the email with the details.

That telescope is very nice and the lenses look good as well :)
I think its an 20mm and a 6mm that it comes with as from the other websites..but let me check.


The eyepiece that come with the 150mm that one i want are those:

Includes Super 25 and 10mm eyepieces.

What you think?

[Ian Robinson]

Can always buy the oddsnsods later - no rush there, so long as you've at least 2 eyepieces and maybe a barlow to get started.

Can't comment the Guan Sheng 2x barlow - never used one of that brand.

[drahyrt]

Ok hi everyone,
just my input here, I JUST BOUGHT THIS EQUIPMENT!! about 2 weeks ago.
It is my first scope, I am a complete newb.

I LOVE IT. I have nothing to compare it to though, and I also am reasonbly happy with the GEM mount.

I read with much interest from Ian about getting the directions reasonably accurate NOT 100% for just viewing, thanks Ian.
It comes with a 10 and 25 eye pieces, and I find them to be very clear. The scope as well is great, have seen quite a number of exciting things, and so as a starter, I'm happy.

The biggest downfall that I was expecting was the GEM mount and navigating the sky, but as I see it, I am prepared for the odd hassle, and ultimately is very easy to track things if it is roughly aligned.

It is about expectations, if you want a dead simple mount then a dob probably is better, but if you are happy to accpet the downsides of the GEM, you also get the upsides like better tracking.... (don't shoot me if that ain't accurate!)

It is fairly easy to carry around assembled, and I carry it throught 2 doorways and out into a park to view each night, about 100m, and it is just do-able. I would struggle with bigger scopes as a quick and easy setup.

The view finder is basic but does find what I want, I found it pretty ordinary to get perfectly alligned, but I haven't tried very hard either.

I am not sure if I should leave it assembled or not.
I don't YET have a barlow (soon, very soon)

I did get a moon filter $9.

I see the GEM mount as a challenge, as part of my education, and it will make me learn the sky better..... well we will see! perhaps I am niave, but at least it is my intention.

So as a user, and a newb, I love it!

5 out of 5 stars from me.

(remember I can't compare it to any other scope, but hey it is REALLY good value for what it is in my opinion - or am I justifying my purchase because I need to know my money was well spent.......) blind leading the blind? (refering to my post only)

[neversommer]

Ok I just got an email from crazy sales yesterday night about they wanting to send me another unit of the telescope as they must have shipped out the other one,funny enough the way the person typed it does not seem to have a lot of english knowledge and I have sended them back it dont want a new telescope or at least not from them,it is to late and I have allready been in contact with consumer protection and have filled out all the details and I want to hear back from them within 6 hours if not I will have to take this problem further.

And of course they have not responded to me within 6 hours so I am gonna send the paperwork to consumer protection. I only want the money back and can send back the telescope.

Yes the eyepiece is the 10mm and the 25 so @ Ian which others should I get...I want at 2 extra eye pieces and the 2x barlow from Guan Sheng.

I will place the order today.


Ian i need your response for which lenses to get for what viewing..
you mentioned the magellan, and the other stuff..
Planet viewing and the cloud viewing as you mentioned in here from;

(great for wide field viewing - will blow you away as you view the Magellanic Clouds , the Milky Way and globulars !!!) , and with the barlow (best for planetary viewing 238x as your max power , you can probably got to 300x with the 6"

Which eye lenses do I need for that?

That would be all for the moment I reckon,I will let andrews know once I have received your response.


Thank you :)

[bmitchell82]

This is what i say and you have put it down to a T. I have the Dob even being 10" it fits along the rear seat of my Mazda MX-6 Coupe for those extended dark sky nights, and if i want to carry it its a simple thing of put my eye pieces in my bag, and grab ahold of the handles easy done and im out of here. 2 seconds to set up and away i go.

As for setting up my old blue on the GEM of course i can drag it in and out fully set up but you have to roughly polar align it so that you can get some form of tracking happening. but within that statement i have to move my telescope around as there are tree's and different points have different advantages. so there goes the polar alignment so the dob is so much better as i am basically using it as a dob just a little bit higher up.

In all i have had a fair bit of exp with 3 different mounts now GEM FORK and DOB. They all have their Pros, expertieces and Cons. Start off small you have a lifetime of hobbie ahead of you!

[neversommer]

Hey mitchell I know you seem to want the best for a new starter but as much as you are trying to help me,such a DOB is atm not in my sight..maybe later :)
But since the skywatcher is at a such a good price and free delivery,I simply cant resist to get such a thing with 150mm in aperture size and that quality.

Another question..Since you are living in perth and once I will receive my telescope would you mind maybe the share a bit of time and so we could catch up and you could show me a bit for an introduction?
I am living in Bullcreek if that rings a bell for you.

Let me know :) You could even have a look at the telescope i am having now if you want or have time.

Anything let me know.

[bmitchell82]

Always happy to help,

Yes i do know where Bull creek is though as i live in morley it might be a better thing to meet down at Curtin University just for a start. Im also trying to organize a trip out to a dark site to take our 12" meade out.

It wont be till after christmas at the moment, just too busy with all the christmassy things going on. But definately keep in contact with me.

The other thing that you will need to learn having a reflector is Collmination regardless if its a Dob or GEM and is required pretty much every time you use it to make sure everything is in line!. apart from your Barlow lens, you can go one of 3 ways, Get a laser collminator or a ceshire eye piece or combine them both but do get at least one they are about 50 dollars for the laser one and they themself must be checked for collmination. Collmination is a awful beast if you don't understand what your actually correcting :D.

I have made my own Laser colmination tool and brought the ceshire eye peice. So ill give you a good rundown on the proceedure if you want.:thumbsup:

[neversommer]

Yes I understand,christmas is a very busy time,but since I am not australian as I am european,my family is in europe and my gf will fly back home for 2 weeks so I will be spending christmans by myself which I am a bit upset about.

Nonetheless I was planning as well going out to the dark once but not sure when especially since I am getting that telescope even a reason more for me to discover new things.
If you have something once planned and you dont mind to take someone with you like me,I would love to too get some prof advice of how to look at stars and how to lign up my telescope correctly.

Whenever you have time you can let me know,as I am happy to get helped in my new hobby which is my 2nd expensive hobby.

To get out of perth is thankfully not that hard.

[Ian Robinson]

You'll have 10mm and 25mm fl occulars.

I forget the exact fl's you mentioned they had in GS SP and GS P ranges-
the 40mm fl will be great for very wide field low power viewing (starfields, LMC and SMC, Andromeda Gal, Milky Way, bright comets tails)

the other one would be the 5mm fl or there abouts (planets, moon, deep viewing globulars that are resolveable, splitting doubles, etc).

[Ian Robinson]

He he .... great excuse to go and spend a lot of time dangleling a fishing line in the local river or to go crabbing .... isn't the local river swarming with blue swimmer crabs and whiting at this time of year.

[neversommer]

Ok here it is :


6.3mm, 7.5mm and 10mm, 12.5mm, 17mm, 20mm, and 25mm$29.00 Each32mm and 40mm$39.00 Each


So I can take the 6.3mm and the 40mm and the 2x barlow and I should be good?

What is the difference between a plossl and a super plossl anyway?Quality?
Is the difference so big?Can I just go with the normal one?Or is the quality less good?

Should I grab some filters as well?

And no I dont go fishing..I dont have a boat or know enough people who has one,so I am really on my own,thx.

[bmitchell82]

okay this is where i will step in and put my 1 dollars worth in. unless they are chucking in 2 extra eye peices for nothing don't bother with the 6mm.. this is why.

They 2x barlow will make your 15mm 7.5 and your 25 a 12.5 all you will be doing by buying the 6mm is doubling up. By all means get the wide field, thats a smart buy.

Plus Pascal in perth it will be virtually pointless, the light pollution is horrendus! I have to drive to bakers hill to pick my son up and the difference in stars from perth to bakers hill is phenomenal!

[Ian Robinson]

sounds like a plan to me and will give you plenty of flexibility.

the super plossyl will likely have a wider field of view and will have extra glass in it , may have be better at compensating for optical problems too .... not terribly knowledgeable on this or into all the ins and outs and pros and cons of occulars.

Later , see how go first . Maybe a ND4+ (moon) filter if the moon is too bright for you through the scope , they're cheap as chips.

If there is lots of light pollution where you are going to be using it a Light Pollution Filter (1.25" from Celestron maybe) or a UHC-L 1.25" might be worth looking at , esp if you decide you want have a crack a faint fuzzys and maybe put a camera at the prime focus .... no rush on that.

Color filters - I've never bothered with them .
Check out this guide on filters from Lumicon as a guide , filters , again you are spoilt for choices (and can be cheap as chips to costing a few hundred each).
http://www.lumicon.com/astronomy-accessories.php?cid=1&cn=Filters



No boat here either - I'm a land lover from way back - doesn't stop me from going though and I still manage to catch big fish and regularly catch lots of fish. I usually do so by myself , but I'm well known amongst tbe local nigger fishos, the local snapper specialists and jewie specialists , being one myself . Great way of making friends by the way , always nice to have bit of a chin wag with the guy fishing on the bank or jetty or rock next to you between bites , heck you might want him to gaff your fish for you if you hook a whopper..

[Ian Robinson]

Good point , only get the 6mm if you want to max out your magnification with the barlow for viewing the moon , maybe Mars and splitting close doubles and triples. (it will become a 3mm with the barlow , but you'll need very good seeing condition (still clear skies) to benefit.

The better investment in my view would be a 1.25" LPF or UHC-L filter (costs about the $100 or there about I think = I use 2" bandcut filters which are more pricey) , you never regret getting a pollution filter (visually or photographically in my opinion).
LPF = light pollution filter (cuts down on sodium and mercury emission from lights , and on ionized oxygen emission in the atmosphere).

[neversommer]

That sounds good..My parents just sended me christmas money which just comes in handy...12" here I cooooooome, no just kidding.

How far away is that place?I am in perth since almost now 2 years so I dont know the place so well.But if you dont mind me taking there once with my telescope :) That would be fantastic,and I could bring my gf along too :)

But ok i will ask them wether they can throw in one piece at least.
Yesterday they but told me it would not be possible as their prices are allrdy low,so maybe I just go with the 40mm one ?and the barlow lens.
That should do for the moment then i guess ?

Will cost me then rougly 460aud in total by the looks of it.

[Ian Robinson]

:thumbsup:Not too bad , and you'll have stacks of fun using it .

I predict lots of long sleepless nights in the backyard exploring the sky , and a very tired guy at work. .....


I've done many all nighters .

Tip - the sky is darker and generally stiller between about 11pm and 2am in summer 3am in winter (also colder too BTW !!!). Most the mortals are off in sleepy land then.

[neversommer]

Ok so the 40mm would be worth getting and the barlow lens..and thats it right? i dont wanna worry for the LPF for now,100 aud is a bit to much for my liking for the moment.

as I mentioned I wanna see the clouds and the milky way(no clue but where to look at)and some of magellan and what now and of course the most important;PLANETS !!!!

So those 2 eyepieces which come with it with the 40mm and the barlow will make me all set yes?

[bmitchell82]

. Make sure you get a collmination tool, you must get one or you will find yourself getting one in a month or so. Collmination might be alright when you get it here.. it might not depending on how they treated the telescope though the mail.! Forget about all the gizmo's untill you have seen me, i have access to everything that your wanting to get and you can then see for yourself what you need and dont' need. Theres no need to rush getting everything either.! if you can hold out for 4 weeks you will understand what im talking about!

[Ian Robinson]

:thumbsup:

Collimation tools (don't need to spend a stack of $ to collimate a newtonian) ....
http://www.oarval.org/collimatE.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/primer.pdf

You can get pretty close just by eye.

This and similar will do better , http://www.parksoptical.com/product_info.php?cPath=129&products_id=583&pname=Newtonian%20Collimation%20Too l&osCsid=c7ce801ce4931cbae4f98e3157e1 f89c it's essentially just got a hole dead centre that you look through just like an eyepiece but garantees your eye is dead centre on the focusor else you see nothing.

If you become a perfectionist - I am with this , then a Cheshire or a laser is necessary. I've got both == $$$

[bmitchell82]

Ian, pascal is a "amature" I thought i did a good job by going it by eye. I was sadly mistaken. you ask about collmination to nearly anybody here and they will say it is a must. Its not about being a perfectionist, thats where you get into the cats eye systems and what not, a simple laser collminator or ceshire eye piece will ensure that your optics are correct, or you might as well look though a coke bottle.!

[Ian Robinson]

We're all amateurs here .

Pascal is a beginner , and there is no point making it all seem too hard to him , or getting him to think he needs to spend more money than necessary to get started .
He may be perfectly happy with the views he gets from a close but imperfectly collimated optical set in his 6" f5 for a long time, or just tweeking the collimation by eye every so often if he is moving the scope about a lot by hand and in the car. KISS.

Lasers as collimators for amateurs have been a relatively new development, amateurs with newtonians did quite OK for many decades without them and collimating by eye or with very basic (primitive) tools.

[neversommer]

relax guys its all good I love to be a beginner hehe,I just get my telescope,the eyepiece and the barlow and see how I go with that.

In a few months then maybe I will upgrade when i have a bit more experience with things.And then would be spending more money.

[bmitchell82]

yep a ceshire eye piece named after the ceshire astronomical group over in the UK many many moons ago. Collmination isn't hard its only hard if you don't know what your doing but what isn't.

Lasers as a collmination tool just like all advances in technology are to help people, they are great to get the tilt on your secondary spot on in a matter of a few minutes and the ceshire to align the primary. sure you don't need both straight away, but your advice to buy more budget eye pieces and doubling up for that matter wasn't a great call.

You look in the eye pieces section the golden advice given there was, its better to spend decent money on 1 eye piece instead of getting the same amount of moneys worth of budget eye pieces.

I don't mean to be rude but man. When i first asked the question of what telescope everybody said dob. okay well and said, you pick your wepon of choice, though theres big traps for newbies. one is buying a heap of budget junk that you will no doubt get rid of and buy what everybody told you to buy in the first place.

In my honest opinion $49 for a laser collinator is extreamly cheep. Why put Black and Gold oil in your 1/2 mill Porche???

This is the last im going to say as i cant be bothered anymore...

Brendan.:screwy:

[neversommer]

Wow..I kinda dont know now what to say?I mean..ok..well..I dont know..
Is this the one you talking about?

Collimation eyepiece, Cheshire design, Newtonian type$49.00


I dont know what that is but if you think I need it then ok I will get it but I would not have a clue of how to use it..How about i get it once I have all this stuff we meet and you can show me what I should do with such a thing?

Let me know.Even though you might not want to.

[Ian Robinson]

:thumbsup: and don't forget to enjoy it and maybe join a club in the new year.

:D

[Ian Robinson]

You can make your own Cheshire pretty easily and for next to nothing too , know folks who did so.

Or buy one of these (an ALine ..http://members.cox.net/rigelsys/telecoll.html .. for a start) they're cheap as chips by email.

[peter brown]

Hey Pascal
it would be nice to know a bit more about you ,in your public profile. Now what month is it? Ah yes December. Your english spelling is very good. Wish you well in your present endeavours

[Octane]

There is absolutely no excuse for laziness.

Do you know how to use Google? Yes? Use it.

This thread has gone on for 5 pages more than it should have.

[Ian Robinson]

Why so snappy .... ?:shrug:

If you aren't interested why read it ?

BTW : beginners have to start somewhere , maybe you've forgotten how it was for you as new beginner with telescopes , and to get the good oil from Google you've got to know the right key words to use and have some background knowhow so you can filter out all the useless crap that google spits out to find the gems of info you need. May not be such an easy job for someone who's not yet got sufficient backgound knowledge and is at bottom of that S shaped learning curve. Give the guy a break , and others who come here looking for help as beginners.

I was lucky all those years ago that 4 very nice people took me under their wing , Irene Towers, Alan Elliot , Mati Morel and the old chap who owned AOS back in the 1970s , I was able to ask all my dumb questions and get help from them , I'll be forever in their debt.

[Lyinxz]

lol i dont want to get invovled:whistle: .... but i completely agree with Octane. no harsh feelings i hope.

You guys shouls use IM (instant messaging). This converstation seems to be more of a one on one thing,that would be more suitable for IM. :)

[Octane]

Why read it? In case I learn something new. And, also, because I suffer from a mild case of traffic accident syndrome.

Beginners have to start somewhere, that's right. I help when and where I can. Admittedly, it isn't all too often where I can as my knowledge is severely lacking.

I remember when I bought my first telescope; I did plenty of research online and then made a decision based upon where I wanted to go with the hobby. This was about 3 years ago, prior to joining this forum.

As for knowing what to Google for, that's a non-issue, as all the information has been provided in the preceding posts (and is also available through the search tool on this site). How hard can it possibly be to Google "collimation tutorial" or "collimation guide", or even, in this case, "what is collimation"?

Anyway, there's absolutely no excuse for laziness.

[Ian Robinson]

Never heard of it .... effects what exactly ??? :shrug:

Yes I googled it .... can be anything from what I saw.:whistle:

Since he's settled on his scope now .... Bye .

[neversommer]

HI Octane I guess you should settle down a bit more..Ok yes I do could google what is is but I am working 8hours every day as IT Support in one of the biggest electricity company in WA,which is western power,now I could google everything and trust me prior to come here I googled maybe more then you do in a day,and I got to know a few things,but even though google might give you some answer,it did not for me.

I had an idea of sort of that aperture size is important and etc etc..but all these new information here can be BEST explained by someone who is actually been using it and telling their story of it,ok?

You can approach things from different angles.

Now I havent heard back from andrews..I hope I get a reply soon from them.

I listened to you guys advices,especially ian robinson helped me out a awesome bit and before I went to buy an DS telescope I am investing now almost 500AUD in a telescope which was not even planned,I mentioned before yes I am an amateur but money aint the problem but why spend 1000 or more on something when you have no clue of how to use it?

I am happy now and lets keep it that way.

[JethroB76]

Kinda right there, however if that had happened Pascal would have went ahead and got the recommended heap of crap Dick Smith scope

[neversommer]

That is right..of course IM could have been the option but i am at work from monday to friday from 8am till 5pm and I am doing as much research as I can.

Since I got so much information and got help of how to do things here,I am a bit upset that people getting into crossfire with each other of helping me out and It makes me feeling left uncomfortable,why?I went from a 120aud scope to a 239 from DS to now willing to spend almost 500 AUD on a descent scope that with some nice extras.This is a hobby not a battleground.
I am still waiting for confirmation to get my scope and I will repost once I have it..to stop this not necessary gun fight here and people complaining about to get to use IM..

I am thankful for the time and effort spend in this thread to help me getting a scope...other forums would have left off a lot earlier maybe..but we are people who are striving to have fun and enjoyment.

[Ian Robinson]

Pascal has benefitted from advise from more than one person - that has got to be better than just one person's biassed advise.
I would guess other newbie beginners will have also read the posts and benefited too , and some not newbies , we've not all been using telescopes for 30 or 40 years and built up a bit of knowhow and a stack of experience.

I am pleased that Pascal is pleased with his decision and hopes he has many nights and years of enjoyment with his new scope and he and his gf stick with this very rewarding (if expensive when you get really involved in it) hobby and he finds the time to keep coming here and to join a local club.:thumbsup:

Happy Xmas Pascal - hope things work out with the refund or consumer mob - keep us posted.

[drahyrt]

Just to bump this thread and create soem more friction...not.
But felt it was worth adding a comment,

Yes I have benefitted from this series of posts, verified newb... didn't know that long posts were a trouble for the server to cope with?

Thanks Ian for your advice to Pascal, I have benefitted.
:)

[brendo]

Hi Guys
I have inherited one of the Foco telescopes that this thread began on, and was wondering whether it is worth trying to build a dobsonian mount for the tube. I don't have the budget for a new scope (yet) but would love to use this for 6 months or so just to get into the groove while I build up the savings for a proper scope.
As the OP said, the mount is useless, and even the most minor focus adjustment will cause the target to vibrate uncontrollably for 15-20 seconds. Would a dobsonian mount made from a lazy susan and a plywood box be better than this? That way I can spend money I have now on eyepieces and enjoy this one for a while until I can afford the one I really want...
Thanks for your help!

[ColHut]

Seems reasonable to me. You don't even need the lazy susan bearings, just three teflon pads for the azimuth bearings. Certainly not really worth the cost of buying an EQ-2 or EQ-3 mount for it (Though maybe second hand or massively discounted or free :) ) - unless you really do want to allow the OTA to be all it can be I suppose. Good luck with it.:)

[brendo]

Long story short, I scraped together $250 for a skywatcher heritage 130. Can I just say holy crap. I knew it would be better. Just not how much better!!!