Frustrated beginner!

grantspants (Grant) · #1 22-02-2010, 12:33 AM

Hi, this is my first post on here, and I'm absolutely brand new to Astronomy. Please forgive me if I ask some stupid questions because right now i'm pretty clueless

I have bought a second hand SAXON F1149EQ telescope and am struggling a bit with it, any advice would be gratefully received!

I know everyone recommends buying a Dob as the first telescope, but I don't really have the funds right now to buy one, so this will have to get me started.

I have assembled the telescope and got it set up outside as we speak, the sky is pretty clear at the moment here in south-east WA.

I have used the finderscope to locate a fairly bright star but when I look through the eyepiece, I can't see anything at all. I have the dust cap off the end and have tried various eyepieces but nothing.

Sorry to be so dumb sounding, but really need some basic advice to get me started.

Thank you for your time, and by the next time I post hopefully I will have learned somethings!

Cheers

leinad (Dan) · #2 22-02-2010, 01:07 AM

Small steps Grant.

When you say you dont see anything at all. If you move the scope around do you see any stars? Or are you saying you don't see any stars in the eyepiece when your finderscope is pointing at a bright star?

Do you see any stars out of focus when you rack the focuser all the way out or all the way in?

grantspants (Grant) · #3 22-02-2010, 01:16 AM

Thank you for the swift reply.

I don't actually see anything at all through the eyepiece when the finderscope is pointed at a bright star. When I move the scope slightly, still no stars come into view either in/out of focus.

If I didn't know better, I would say the cap was still on, but it isn't.

All I can see is blackness. I know I will have to learn how to align it all etc, but I just wanted to see if I could see anything before I go about learning all the intricacies.

I'm quite inquisitive, so finding it a bit frustrating.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Thanks again

astroron (Ron) · #4 22-02-2010, 01:31 AM

Grant, Take the scope out in the daytime and line the telescope up with an object a couple of hundred meters away.Then Line the finder scope up with the object in the eyepiece and not the other way round
You will probably find that things are upside down, that doesn't matter as there is no up and down when looking at astronomical objects.
At night use the lowest power magnification eyepiece Ie the one with the largest number (say 25mm) and gradualy as you get more experienced you can use higher power.
Start with the Moon and progress from there

Blue Skies (Jacquie) · #5 22-02-2010, 01:38 AM

Astroron has just beat me too it.

I was just going to state the obvious because sometime people don't realise....make sure you've taken the entire dust cap off so that the full aperture is exposed (I've seen it happen) and make sure the mirror is pointing to the sky. With a newtonian scope this means the eyepiece will be near the top of the tube.

At worst, can you take some pictures of how you're using it? It might give us a further clue as to why its not working. You should be able to see some stars even if you just point it at some random area in the sky.

grantspants (Grant) · #6 22-02-2010, 02:20 AM

thank you guys, it must be terribly painful advising someone like me, but think i've got it!
I've managed to focus in on some stars but still testing out the eyepieces. It seems the 20mm eyepiece works best to begin with.
Should I use the barlow I have or start without it?
The moon is nowhere to be seen tonight which is a shame, there is starting to be a bit of cloud cover.
I think the EQ mount is going to take a bit of getting used to!

Thanks very much folks

astroron (Ron) · #7 22-02-2010, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grantspants

thank you guys, it must be terribly painful advising someone like me, but think i've got it!
I've managed to focus in on some stars but still testing out the eyepieces. It seems the 20mm eyepiece works best to begin with.
>Should I use the barlow <I have or start without it?
The moon is nowhere to be seen tonight which is a shame, there is starting to be a bit of cloud cover.
I think the EQ mount is going to take a bit of getting used to!

Thanks very much folks

At night use the lowest power magnification eyepiece Ie the one with the largest number (say 25mm) and gradually as you get more experienced you can use higher power.

erick (Eric) · #8 22-02-2010, 09:40 AM

Yep, put that barlow away for the moment. It increases the magnification of eyepieces. As suggested, start during the day with the highest focal length eyepiece - 20mm? This is lowest magnification. Be careful not to point the scope (or finderscope) at the sun or a bright reflection of the sun. Try to get a very distant object - hill top, tree, Antenna etc. The position your focusser reaches to focus on that will not be too far away from where you focus on the Moon and stars.

This is much easier than the stars at night so you can get a good feel for how the telescope operates in the light of day with things easily seen through the eyepiece. You can also align the finderscope to your view through the telescope much more easily.

grantspants (Grant) · #9 22-02-2010, 09:38 PM

Thank you for the help guys, I'm getting a bit better now

Got the telescope out in the afternoon, the moon is visible so decided to focus on that. Gotta tell you, i'm pretty blown away by the detail I have seen. I can only imagine what the more expensive scopes could show.

In between working and looking after our baby son, i'm going to try and learn more bit by bit. It's pretty amazing our night sky.

Thanks again, and I may post again from time to time for a bit of advice if thats ok.

Take care

astroron (Ron) · #10 22-02-2010, 09:44 PM

Your welcome

Grant

any questions you need answered go right ahead and ask,there will always be someone on hand to help out

stephenb (Stephen) · #11 23-02-2010, 07:55 AM

Sounds like you've got over the first hurdle, good on you Grant

It can be a bit daunting at first. (and welcome

)

Stephen

mental4astro (Alexander) · #12 23-02-2010, 01:03 PM

Hi Grant,

You know you can make a dob mount for your 114! I've done it twice for 114 scopes, and just made one for an 8" scope. Inexpensive, quick and easy to make:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...1&d=1265541596 http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...1&d=1266067923

I started a thread on making the 114's mount in the DIY section:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=49203

The good thing about this mount arrangement is that you can still use the scope on its eq. mount, no problem. You have the ease of use of the dob mount, and when you need some tracking help, say with high power viewing of the planets, you can use the eq. mount. The setting circles on the eq. mount you can use to find stuff in the sky with once it is aligned.

Mental.

grantspants (Grant) · #13 24-02-2010, 02:58 AM

Thanks very much for that

I didn't know that could be done.
i'll have a good look

Cheers

Grant

Rick Parrott · #14 24-02-2010, 10:52 AM

Very glad I popped in here and read about turning a 114mm into a Dob! What a great idea! My 114mm sits doing nothing as our 6" gets far more use and has a much better mount. The 114 was our first 'scope, and making a Dob base would mean it would be easy to put in the car when we go camping and stuff!

And grantspants - keep on gazing - your efforts will be rewarded!

stephenb (Stephen) · #15 24-02-2010, 02:30 PM

Rick, as anyone here will tell you, the best scope is the one you use the most. Best of luck!

Regards,

Stephen