[Mountain_Wanderer]

G’day all,

Long time between posts for me!

I believe the time has finally come for me to buy my first telescope! I have been eyeing off one for about 18 months now and feel now is the time to finally take the plunge.

Just hoping to get your advice on the telescope and accessories I’m looking to buy and whether they’re decent enough.

TELESCOPE:

The scope I’m looking to get is a Skywatcher 10 inch (SW880) solid tube dobsonian (white). Now I hear these scopes are pretty good so I’m not too worried about my choice. The cheapest scope I can see online is $775 at MyAstroShop. Is MyAstroShop an ok place to get this from? Has anyone dealt with these people before?

EYEPIECES:

The main question I have is about the eyepieces. I’m very new to this and I don’t quite understand it all. The scope comes with a 2 inch focuser, 1.25 inch adaptor, and 1.25 inch plossl 25 and 10 eyepieces. I have really no idea what that means. Perhaps someone could explain?

Are the eyepieces decent enough to start off with? Also, do these 2 eyepieces provide good sized fields of view? I dream of zooming close in on planets and DSO’s, however I’m aware of the limitations of manual tracking – particularly the difficulty in tracking objects at such close magnifications. So, do the magnifications I would have available provide a “close but not too close” perspective where I could adequately track planets but still at a reasonable magnification to see planet detail? What magnifications would I have available with these eyepieces?

FINDERSCOPE:

Next, I understand that the 9x50 finderscope that comes with the telescope is annoying to use because you have to look through it in the direction where the telescope points which is hard to do with your head. I am looking to replace this with a right angle finderscope. MyAstroShop has a Skywatcher 9x50 right angle finderscope with bracket for $145. Is 9x50 the best specifications for a finderscope or should I be looking for less magnification? Has anyone else used the Skywatcher finderscope? Is it good or are there better ones (hopefully cheaper ones) out there? Also, do you recon the store would consider replacing the standard finderscope with the right angle one for free?

COLLIMATOR:

Ok, I’d like to get a good quality collimator to help align my telescope mirrors every now and then. I’m looking towards getting a laser collimator because I can use it in the dark and it would hopefully be easy to use. I am planning to use the scope for visual only and so micro-precision collimation is not a high priority.

Does anyone have suggestions for a good quality laser collimator? I really have no idea what would be the best brand. So far I’ve come across online the following ones:

- U-Shop: Saxon CM02 laser collimator: $119
- Oz Scopes: Saxon CM02 laser collimator: $119
- Bintel: Orion laser mater deluxe collimator: $79
- Andrews Communication: Andrews laser collimator: $69
- MyAstroShop: Farpoint 1.25 and 2” combination laser collimator: $179
- MyAstroShop: HoTech 1.25” collimator: $149

Perhaps I’ve missed the best one out there? I wouldn’t want to spend over $150 but will if I have to. Any help would be great.

MOON FILTER LENS:

I want a decent moon filter to explore the moon. Out of interest, how close can you comfortably view the moon before it gets too difficult to manually track the moon? What magnification would be best?

To see the moon what is a good moon filter. They seem to range from $15 to $50. Is it good to spend more or is the quality just as good on a lower-priced version?

OBSERVING CHAIR:

I remember reading on IceInSpace some time ago that you can build your own chair for dobsonians? Or perhaps someone makes them and sells them? Are these home made chairs good or do they fall short of the mark?

There are a few observing chairs for sale online. The “stella observing chair” from Bintel for $179 looks interesting???

CAMERA ATTACHMENT:

I have a basic “point and shoot” Canon camera I want to stick on the eyepiece to take some happy snaps. Do the “universal camera attachments” (of which there are many out there) usually accommodate these types of cameras? What would be a good camera attachment to recommend?

OTHER ACCESSORIES:

I already have most of the other accessories usually recommended by people, being: planetarium, star charts, Astronomy 2011 book, red light etc so I should be covered for everything else. However if there are any other suggesting of stuff I should really get please feel free to let me know.


Really hope to hear your advice. This would be much much appreciated!

Cheers
Jowel