Guest fittriman Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Hello all, am a new member and this is my first post. I am looking to buy my first telescope and would appreciate some useful advice. I have sort of identified a Celestron Nexstar 130SLT as a possible purchase. Reviews were good and the price is within my range (up to £400). Can anyone give me an impartial review on this scope or maybe offer a better alternative. I am bursting to buy but appreciate that a little advice and some patience can point me very much in the right direction. Many thanks in advance for any replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Hi Andy and welcome to EMS I'm just off to bed and a bit tired right now so I'll drop by in the morning with a fresh head and a few comments. So this post is just to say hi and welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) Hi Andy, Warm welcome to EMS. Whilst Kim is sleeping!... The best bang for buck for a starter is a dobsonian, the skywatcher 200 is widely used and loved. This is a decent sized scope and can be found for C£280 http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html This leaves you some budget for a couple of decent eyepieces!!. A couple of books that will help guide you round the sky are 'turn left at orion' and 'sky & telescope pocket star atlas'.. and when you have ten minutes download a planetarium program, lots out there but try stellarium, its great and free to be found here ;-- http://www.stellarium.org/ Before parting with hard earned cash, it may be useful for you to come along to one of our meets and have a look at what kit others have and may be suitable for you. Edited May 7, 2014 by Tweedledum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hi Andy welcome aboard. As above come to a meet and have a look through some of the scopes, this will give you a better idea of what's available. You get a lot more for your money if your prepared to have a go finding things on your own instead of a goto. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 best advice there, come to a meet and take a look at others scopes first, then decide what you like Welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hi Andy, welcome to EMS :-) I agree with the above advice, you'll know more with having a go/play :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Welcome Andy. Agree with the above, hang fire until you've had a chance to look though a few scopes - it's surprising what can influence your final choice. I did that before buying a "pre-loved" Celestron Nexstar - I just used bino's until I was ready to buy. A lot also depends on whether you want a go-to scope or not. Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heavensabove Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hello Andy. Welcome to the forum. I joined earlier this year and, like you, was looking for advice on buying a telescope. I have been to a dark site meeting and looked through many scopes AND I still haven't made up my mind. It really is a minefield so I would also say, take your time and make sure that you get one that you will be satisfied with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 i had a skywatcher 130p synscan as my first scope, it wasn`t goto and goto is where most of the money is in these mounts, so for the same budget it is worth maybe not getting goto at the moment, it`s great if you have lovely clear skies but if like the rest of us it`s light polluted then you won`t see as much as something with a bigger mirror Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 welcome to the forum by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Hi and welcome to EMS. You have to decide which path to take first before you can make a choice. Do you wish to be a visual observer ( no photography), if so this is then split up into two parts: i) Manual so you find the stars and objects with no help from a computer ii) Go-To where a computer finds the stars and objects. Or do you want to photograph as well as look at the objects in this case you need whats called a EQ Mount, this has a motor built in that tracks the exact motion of the skies hence you can do photography with this type of mount. These mounts also normally have Go-To built in as well. Hope this helps a little Edited May 8, 2014 by Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Well - refreshed after a good sleep I've found a great review of the 130SLT for you: http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/im/cel130SLT.html The Skywatcher equivalent is well worth checking out too cos it's a tad cheaper - but do look for the differences and ask here if you're not sure what any of the specs mean. I've used both and by and large they are both good starter scopes which will show most of the brighter dso's. As Rob says - you get more electronics and less aperture in this price bracket (with newtonians larger apertures gather more light and allow deeper views into space). My personal view is that I would go for a 150 (6") or 200 (8") for a first scope. Generally - my advice would be try before you buy. Get along to one of our observing sessions and ask as many questions as you can - our members are all very friendly and welcoming and pleased to help a newbie and let you look through the eyepiece. Choosing a scope is a lot of options and choices as Doc points out - and you can soon become overloaded and confused. But with a look through a few scopes you'll soon start to make sense of it all and get you on the right track. If there's no meetings for a while, you'd be very welcome to pop over for a chat and a cuppa and a look at my scopes if you like - I'm just the other side of the M1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fittriman Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Morning all, many thanks for the advice. Will have a look at the meeting page and see if I can come along to one or maybe more. Will update you all very shortly. Thanks once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fittriman Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi Kim, would very much like to take you up on your offer of a cuppa and a chat. Please let me know when would be a good time. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fondofchips Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi Andy & welcome to EMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fittriman Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi Harry thanks for the welcome. I see we are local to each other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi Andy - I've sent you a pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest devil74 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Andy and welcome to EMS. I just noticed this scope on ABS (astrobuysell) would be a cracking buy. http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=81241 Just Google the scope and you'll see how good/popular these are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fittriman Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Damien, yes have looked at this telescope more than once and it certainly looks this business. It's a shame the guy is so far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now