Modding my 150p

[andyboy1970]

I got my grubby little hands on a Skywatcher 150pfor nothing, it was a job lot which cost £100 and I re-cooped the money by selling the unwanted bits.

I wanted a lighter scope for my HEQ5 as I felt the 200p, ST80 and cameras was pushing the mount towards its limit with 13Kgs of counterweights.

 

First thing was to flock the tube and make a couple of tube baffles at the same time.

The mirror and spider were removed and tube flocked leaving a gap at the top and bottom end of the tube.

2 Baffles were cut to a diameter of 140mm with a circle cutter from a craft store.

 

The baffles were then flocked.

 

and then fitted at the top and bottom...

 

The improvement in contrast is fantastic and the very edges of the primary mirror is no longer used which is often the poorest part of the mirror.

 

I have also upgraded the focuser from a 1.25inch to a 2inch to allow the use of a coma corrector.

Cutting the tube was hard going but after an hour with a small metal cutting disc the hole was enlarged and the new focuser fitted and squared using a Laser collimator.

 

Test image of NGC2158 (next to M35) with the coma corrector.

Single 5 minute sub.

The edges are looking good, focusing last night was tricky as the sky was slightly foggy and the images through the batty mask were incredibly small.

FMHW was around 2.35

 

The telescope focal ratio is now 5.35 because of the baffles but I think they are worth having.

 

Why bother - I can't afford a decent (apature) refractor at the moment so this is a comprimise.

Edited December 11, 2013 by andyboy1970

[cosmic dave]

Looks good:D

[+RonC]

Good job and good result, what more can you wish for?