hello all, noob needs help

[ozzimadman]

hi all i found the noob section ok hehe

i am looking at getting into the hobby and after some info

i have found out that bigger is better so i am looking at getting a

BKP2001HEQ5

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?id=64&class1=1&class2=104

is this going to be any good for a total noob (as i am one :P )

i am wanting the motor drive as later on i want to get into taking some happy snaps of the stars :)

thanks all and again hello and thanks for your time :hi:

[casstony]

I'd suggest you keep it simple at first and get a dobsonian mounted reflector - much easier for a newbie to understand than an equatorial mounted scope. 8" and 10" dobs are easy to find second hand if you want to keep the initial outlay small too. Welcome to IIS :)

[erick]

Hi crazyozzi :D. 200mm of aperture - a good start. Got a price yet? How do you plan to take your happy snaps? That will have an impact on telescope choice.

[ozzimadman]

i have contacted the astroguy in perth he seems to be the cheaper

http://www.theastroguy.com.au/telescopes_reflectors.html

his package is listed at $1100 but he says he can do it at a better price than that and upgrading it to the Skywatcher pro mount he says it will be better for photography later down the track

i was looking at the 8" dob motor driven for $899 but for the small amount more i was told the eq5 mount would be better

but hey thats why i'm here getting as much advice as posible

as for the happy snaps no idea have been looking at

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140377182291&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT on ebay
are they any good? or should i be looking for a DSLR but that will be later down the track

one other thing i've been told is that i can connect my laptop to the eq5 mount and will work on a prog called stellarium i have d/l it but not installed it yet

thanks

[hulloleeds]

I definitely wouldn't buy a camera that has no brand information supplied.

[mental4astro]

Hi ozzimadman,

Welcome to IIS!

Since you are new to astronomy and looking for your first scope, I really, really, really suggest that you first go to a local star party. I realise that Bunbury is not a stone's throw from Perth, but the trip up to hook up with a local jaunt will prove invaluble. This way you will get to see what the scopes look like, how big they are, how they assemble and the ease of assembly, and all the bells and whistles that are available.

The first star party WILL leave you starry eyed ( no pun intended ), so a second will ground you some more and leave you a little wiser on how to best spend your money.

Mental.

[Newbie79]

HE ozzi,

I am by no way an expert and am relatively new to the hobby also but here are my two cents.

As has been suggested I would start of with a dobsonian. (My first scope was a 10' skywatcher Dob) These are very simple to use and give great views. You dont need power or a battery pack to run them, you can be set up in minutes, quick to pack up, and they have the added benefit of forcing you to learn your way around the sky.

Later on you can look at getting an equatorial mount (I have just mounted my scope of a Skywatcher EQ6).

The benefits I found in doing it this way was that I wasn't trying to learn everything at once. Having the dob for quite some time I had a good understanding of where things in the sky are etc etc.

I wasnt trying to learn this at the same time as trying to learn about how to set the Mount up, polar alignment, drift alignment, tracking etc etc etc.

I figured that the stars were always going to be there and so i would take my time and learn bit by bit.

Just some of my thoughts

Matt

[barx1963]

Agree with Matt, an EQ mount even if not hooked up to a lappy, is a steep, steep learning curve, you will see more, learn more and work out if this hobby is for you using a moderate sized dob. 8" is sufficient to see hundreds of objects and will be much cheaper.
Star party is also a very good idea.
The photography learning curve is even steeper again, and very expen$$ive, so be really sure before venturing into it. I wouldn't touch that camera with a barge pole, if they were any good, the experts on this site would be using them instead of spending thousands on dedicated CCD and modded DSLRs!;) Get one and you've probably spent a couple of hundred that would be better spent on quality eyepieces for a dob.

[ozzimadman]

hey all thaks for all the help i have made a choice and i went and picked up my first telescope today YAY :rofl:

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?id=156&class1=1&class2=106

for those that didn't click on the link lol

its a autotracking 8" collapsible Dobsonian (hey had to get somthing electronic lol)

now just gota work out how to use it :confused2:

i have contacted my local astronomy club and they have a night out planed for this friday

so fingers crossed i hope to be looking up and seeing somthing cool soon:D

[mental4astro]

:mad2::mad2::mad2::eyepop::eyepop:: eyepop:

Look out everyone! New scope just bought! Rearrange your viewing plans for the weekend! Clouds and rain until mid next week!

That is the rule: New Scope = clouds and rain for a week. For longer if it is hotted up too.

Onya on the new scope ozzi!

Does it make you coffee too with all those gizzmos on it? :lol:

I wish mine would, :sadeyes:.

[barx1963]

Well done, haven't seen one of the autotracking jobs in action so would be interested to hear a beginners perspective on them.
Don't wait til Friday, just get out and start using! Then think of questions to ask when you get to the night.

[hulloleeds]

I think people have been buying scopes to maintain the cloud cover here in brisbane for about a month, now.

I just bought some stuff for my scope so that's the next week or two covered.

[ozzimadman]

hey all have taken my pride and joy out a few times and the images are great

the motors are a different story the clutch slips on the tube motor (up down motion) with no way of ajusting as i can see hand has a large amount of play and the auto tracking just dont work

book says set the local latitude to what i have done then it should folow the object in the sky when the auto tracking is turned on

nothing hapends the lighted up button flashes but wont follow the object

dissapointed seem the cost of the autotracking item is twice the price of a standard dob :(

[mental4astro]

Hi ozzi,

Have you spoken to who you bought the scope from? If it's new, then you have recourse.