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duhawkz
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PostPosted: 23:42 - 12 Mar 2018    Post subject: Telescopes Reply with quote

Thinking about getting one, I have a static caravan on the coast and its a fair bit away from town so there isn't a lot of light pollution.

So what would be a good beginners set up. I'd like some thing easy to setup/use and possible something i might be able to hook my camera up to,

I saw the celestron astro fi and they look pretty cool, with the pointy clickly app thing and they seemed reasonably priced.

any advice/recommendations.
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thx1138
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PostPosted: 00:39 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Personally, I'd say make sure it's a schmidt-cassegarian type at least.
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Bikeless
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PostPosted: 00:53 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a Sjywatcher 200p with eq5 mount with synscan ,it's good for photography,you will need a good tracking mount for photography then spend ages aligning it all so it tracks right.
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Moo.
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PostPosted: 08:24 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Buy one that auto tracks the stars, otherwise you'll spend hours faffing, find it.. then loose it...
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 13:50 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

whats your budget
astronomy can quickly turn into an expensive hobby and can be very frustrating due to weather
also it depends on if you want to image or just view
Skywatcher are the sort of standard beginner / intermediate scopes to go for

hooking a camera up depends on your Camera
I use a modified Canon D600 and a dedicated astro cam for planetary imaging

get some software, Stellarium is a good starting point its a great help in finding targets
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temeluchus
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PostPosted: 16:57 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a big dobsonian mount reflector, cheapest way to get a big, easy to use telescope with a sturdy mounting.

such as:
www.uttings.co.uk/p113572-sky-watcher-skyliner-200p-classic-203mm-parabolic-dobsonian-telescope-10717

cheap kits with tripods are generally to be avoided because the tripods are very flimsy and that can be annoying when you are observig to have the image shake with every touch.

i’d suggest investing in a few decent eyepieces as well, say a 10mm and 32mm plossl.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 17:31 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are some good websites that decipher the 'Hooking up a Camera to a telescope' stuff.

It can be tricky unless you find shop people who know what you need to do. Basic camera shops do not know much about it.

The easiest thing to study and probably the most interesting as detail is good would be our moon.
Buy a Moon filter as the reflected light from a bright moon can strain your eyes.

There are as many books about it as there are stars in the night sky too. Smile
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 18:17 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

MCN wrote:
There are some good websites that decipher the 'Hooking up a Camera to a telescope' stuff.

It can be tricky unless you find shop people who know what you need to do. Basic camera shops do not know much about it.


hooking a camera up is pretty easy its normally just a T adapter that fits into the focuser tube
its using the camera, its best to use a remote trigger as trying to do it manually causes shaking

you can get software to control Nikon & Canon camera's that control the imaging via USB to a laptop
or the other option is an Astro cam but they start at £150 to thousands of pounds
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temeluchus
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PostPosted: 18:47 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

i bought a t adapter for my nikon off fleabay for a tenner.
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duhawkz
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PostPosted: 19:51 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

My budgets not going to be massive ~300 maybe but if could maximise that by buying second hand thats even better.

Space will be a factor in the decision , i'll probably keeping it at the caravan so I a massive dodsonian is probably out of the question.

Would something like this be a good beginners telescope.

https://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/telescopes-by-level/entry-level-computerised-telescopes/skymax-102-synscan-az-goto-maksutov-cassegrain.html

Or maybe a similar priced meade or celestion
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 21:10 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

if you are going to image you really need an equatorial mount to avoid star rotation
I'd suggest an EQ3 - 5 synscan with Goto as its a decent entry mount new they are between £400 - 600

start of with a small scope like the skywatcher star travel 80 or even better the 102
try this site for second hand gear https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

if your buying a skywatcher mount second hand there is a few things to watch out for


also another good site that has a for sale section is https://stargazerslounge.com/
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temeluchus
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PostPosted: 23:59 - 13 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

as oldpink says, best forget about camera work unless you want to fork out for a decent mount. All the less expensive but very sturdy mounts are altaZimuth which arent suitable for long exposures.


https://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/heritage-114p-virtuoso-telescope.html compact tracking dobson.


https://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-80-640-az-nano-telescope.html looks quite good, solid looking tripod and a decent refractor.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 01:34 - 14 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

oldpink wrote:
MCN wrote:
There are some good websites that decipher the 'Hooking up a Camera to a telescope' stuff.

It can be tricky unless you find shop people who know what you need to do. Basic camera shops do not know much about it.


hooking a camera up is pretty easy its normally just a T adapter that fits into the focuser tube
its using the camera, its best to use a remote trigger as trying to do it manually causes shaking

you can get software to control Nikon & Canon camera's that control the imaging via USB to a laptop
or the other option is an Astro cam but they start at £150 to thousands of pounds


I'm sure it can be simple.
But you need to know what you are buying.
I struggled with it. (As there are not a load of folk do this.)
The camera I used (Canon EOS 400D) would fit on the scope but there was no image as the focal length was not correct and it needed a spacer too.
The local camera shop was not much use as the cnut was not really interested in photographs and more excited about selling his shit. Smile

It may have been an issue with the set-up though.

I got better results using my effing Galaxy 6S pointed down the scope. Smile
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 14:24 - 14 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

MCN wrote:
I'm sure it can be simple.
But you need to know what you are buying.
I struggled with it. (As there are not a load of folk do this.)
The camera I used (Canon EOS 400D) would fit on the scope but there was no image as the focal length was not correct and it needed a spacer too.
The local camera shop was not much use as the cnut was not really interested in photographs and more excited about selling his shit. Smile

It may have been an issue with the set-up though.

I got better results using my effing Galaxy 6S pointed down the scope. Smile


I had a similar issue but in reverse
when I bought my scope it came with a 2" spacer connected to the focus tube
I spent hours looking at a blur that should have been the moon before I found out the spacer is not required when viewing
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MCN
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PostPosted: 16:53 - 14 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

oldpink wrote:
MCN wrote:
I'm sure it can be simple.
But you need to know what you are buying.
I struggled with it. (As there are not a load of folk do this.)
The camera I used (Canon EOS 400D) would fit on the scope but there was no image as the focal length was not correct and it needed a spacer too.
The local camera shop was not much use as the cnut was not really interested in photographs and more excited about selling his shit. Smile

It may have been an issue with the set-up though.

I got better results using my effing Galaxy 6S pointed down the scope. Smile


I had a similar issue but in reverse
when I bought my scope it came with a 2" spacer connected to the focus tube
I spent hours looking at a blur that should have been the moon before I found out the spacer is not required when viewing


Telescopes, Bikes and Fecking Wimin. Unfathomable creations.
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 14:27 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just sold my SW 200 and EQ5 pro setup to fund a new toy

I wanted a good Newtonian, the SW200 is a decent starter scope but I decided I wanted a fast imaging scope
so I just bought an Explore Scientific PN 210 Carbon that is F3.5 so ideal imaging tool and I also got the field flattener to match (that cost almost as much as a SW 200 on its own)
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temeluchus
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PostPosted: 15:40 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a few scopes going for sale if you are interested as I am leaving the country.

I have a Skywatcher Startravel 150 on a bader mount and a Celestron Evolution 8 self tracking doober.
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 16:02 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

this wasn't a planned purchase but some one I know mentioned he planned to sell his SW AZ EQ6 GT mount that was heavily modified
I joked that if he was selling the ES to give me a shout he said it was for sale so the deal was done

I had planned to upgrade my camera's first before I thought about a new scope but when this came up
I couldn't resist it and got it for a good price
this is the actual scope on the mount he sold
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Skudd
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PostPosted: 19:17 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

A little off topic, but, Binoculars! it may sound daft but how do you use them? I've been given some in the past and they always seem poor, yes I understand the magnifying bit, but the view ie double vision single vision or what? What should I see when looking through them or how should I see through them?
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Islander
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PostPosted: 19:52 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skudd wrote:
A little off topic, but, Binoculars! it may sound daft but how do you use them? I've been given some in the past and they always seem poor, yes I understand the magnifying bit, but the view ie double vision single vision or what? What should I see when looking through them or how should I see through them?


Binoculars are a good tool for visual astronomy. You use them much the same as you do for terrestrial observations. Set them up in daylight - you'll find that one eyepiece is adjustable, use the focus wheel to bring the other eyepiece to sharp focus and then adjust the eyepiece to bring that into sharp focus too.

To use them, set them up as above, then keep both eyes open and you should see everything normally. If you don't then the collimation might be off - that's not something that's easily fixed.

What you're looking for in astro binoculars is a large objective (you need to gather as much light as possible), and a low magnification - high magnification makes them hard to hold steady. I usually recommend 8 x 50 or 10 x 50 as a good starting point. The first number is the magnification, the second the objective lens diameter.

What binoculars do you have?
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 20:16 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

never been a fan of binoculars for observing even the moon
without some sort of support
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 20:19 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

something like this
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Islander
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PostPosted: 21:38 - 05 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

oldpink wrote:
never been a fan of binoculars for observing even the moon
without some sort of support


I just use my arms as a tripod - tuck my elbows in. If I need extra stability then I rest them on something solid. Thumbs Up
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Skudd
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PostPosted: 21:45 - 06 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Islander wrote:
What binoculars do you have?


Not sure what make they are as my Dad gave me them. It was just that they didn't seem to work the way you see others use them. I think it is just me, should you see two or a single view?

I was hoping to get a better pair, but didn't know how to use them correctly or what to get.
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oldpink
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PostPosted: 21:50 - 06 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

you should see a single image
push in or pull out the sides in till the two images merge into one then adjust the focus
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