AHHHHH! I need help!

[petepan]

Hi Atticus808,<br />My 'scope is a Tasco 114 reflector, on a equatorial mount, they are so easy to put up (or assemble) it's not funny. Basically there is a clamp that holds the tube ( the 'scope it'self), undo the clamp, put the tube in, do up the clamp again, thats it, done. The tripod should be self explainitary. The finder-scope might already be attached to your 'scope, i'm not sure, but they can really only go on one way, personally, i prefer a 'Telrad' type finder, much easier to use, IMO.<br /><br />The slow motion controls just attach with a finger tightened screw. Other than that, not much i can tell you, thou you should get a little booklet or something with your 'scope anyway that will run you through all the basics.<br /><br />The only thing you really have to check is that the finder scope and eyepiece view both see the same thing, but this is best done in day time. If you have a good horizon view, find something easy to spot, like a telegraph pole, church spire, etc. Put in your largest eyepiece (EP), say 20mm and see if you can spot your object, try and centre the object in the middle of view then 'lock' the controls so the 'scope dosen't move, then look through the finder, are the cross hairs lined up with the object?, If not, adjust the finder so it is. After this, check your object is still in the centre of view in the EP. Once thats done, change EP to say a 10mm or 6mm and repeat the first step, adjust the 'scope so the object is re-centred again then check the finder again and if necessary, re-adjust the finder so the crosshairs are lined up again.<br /><br />If all goes well, you should be able to go out with confidence and point at a star (always use your 20mm EP to start) and find it in the field of view (FOV) first time.<br /><br />Cheers<br />

 

[formulaterp]

The Antares 1149 is very similar to the Celestron 114 EQ you are looking at. I doubt there would be any major differences between the 2 brands, so saving $100 may be a good incentive.<br /><br />I would however echo some of the other posters regarding their advice on buying the XT6. Compared to either the Celestron or the Antares, the XT6, due to its aperture, would have around a 78% greater light-gathering capability. In addition the Orion package includes Sirius Plossl eyepieces (I believe the others have Kellners).

 

[nevers]

Nevers - <font color="yellow">With the 114mm you will get more aperture and a wider field of view - and one that can be reduced with simple constuction paper and tape and get the same results as the f/11 90mm</font><br /><br />Eddie - <font color="yellow">Not correct. To stop down a reflector, you must make an aperture mask with a hole small enough to fit in between the secondary mirror holder and struts. For a 4.5" reflector, that hole will only be about 1.75" in diameter. There's no way a 1.75" aperture stopped-down reflector will give views comparable to a 3.5" full-aperture refractor.</font><br /><br />No, in part what I said was not "technically" accurate - but still mostly true. The f/8 114mm WILL give you a wider field of view and it CAN be reduced with a mask. The part that is not accuate is that the stopped-down f/8 will NOT give the same results as a f/11 90mm. The reason I mentioned the aperture mask is because I like to use one with my f/6 3.9" Refractor. It has very, very bad false-coloring. The mask helps take the coloring away thus giving me a better "true" view of the object I am looking at and not one that is distorted by the coloring. The reason I use an aperture mask on my f/4.5 16" Reflector is to change the f/ratio of the 'scope to f/18 and gives it the sharper images Eddie speaks of for the planets and moon.<br /><br />My question to you would be - Do you think this hobby will just be a passing fad or do you think it will catch you and hold your interest for quite some time? Maybe I should have asked other questions first before giving adivce. Have you ever looked through a telescope before? If not, you really owe it to yourself to compare more then just small 'scopes. The first 'scope I looked through was a 5" f/8 EQ Reflector. After a few months of using it by myself, I got invited to a Star Party and there somebody had an 8" SCT. Another person had a 85mm APO Refractor. Then somebody showed up with a 20" Dob and later a 28"

 

[atticus808]

i will certainly not make this a BIG hobby<br />it's just something i want to do for fun but not take serious<br />i won't be dedicated to it but i'm going to have fun<br />oh and i have looked through other telescopes at the odyssium in our City<br />but those were the huge expensive ones<br />and it was awhile ago<br />

 

[nevers]

Hi Atticus - <br /><br />In that case maybe you should take Eddies advise about the Refractor.

 

[atticus808]

but i think i'm going with the 114 EQ<br />like you said it would give a wider field of view<br />the collimation doesn't seem to difficult<br />and it's certainly cheaper<br />i think it's going to be my final decision <br /><br />would the chromatic aberration look as bad as this on the 90 EQ? http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/4e/180px-Cropped_Chromatic_aberration_with_cats_eye_effect.jpg<br /><br />and i can't find a picture with central obstruction<br /><br />and the spider veins or whatever<br />since the veins block off the light coming on the the primary mirror, how come the object you're viewing is still shown as a whole thing without the 4 lines?<br />and since terrestial objects appear upside down in reflectors, does it not matter with celestial because there is no upside down?

 

[nevers]

Hi Atticus -<br /><br />You've asked the right questions and taken your time in deciding on a 'scope - so - I think you've made a good choice. You didn't just take a stab in the dark and I'm sure we all would commend you for that! I think you will have fun with it and like you said, that's pretty much what we're all after anyway - fun.<br /><br />About the link and picture. Yes, it's something like that. But like Eddie said, it wouldn't be as bad in an f/11 Refractor as I'm used to seeing in my f/6 Refractor.<br /><br />About the Spider Veins. You know, I don't really know the answer. At first I thought it was Magick - a trick done with mirrors. I've always thought the reason is because of the slight curve of the Primary Mirror. Most of the light reflected back to the Secondary is coming from the outter portion of the Primary and not smack-dab in the middle of it. Sometimes however, with certain eyepieces I have seen the central obstuction of the secondary mirror and spider veins in the eyepiece. I'm not a techical genius - I just know from experience.<br /><br />As far as the "upside down" thingy - yep - you got it right. Keep us posted about your 'scope!

 

[nevers]

Hey Atticus - everybody was kind enough not to hammer me on something I said about the difference in the aperture between the 90mm & 114mm. I told you the difference was nearly 2". After a lecture in private I have seen the error of my ways. The difference is more like 1" - not 2". What I did was measure off 90mm and 140mm - not 90mm & 114mm. The f/8 will still give you a wider field of view and a little more light-gathering over the f/11, I'm certain about that! <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> Now I'm going to go stand in the corner...<br /><br />Eddie - see, what do I know? It's AHHHHH! and not ARGGG! Dang...

 

[atticus808]

I am picking up my scope tomorrow<br />the lady at store convinced me to get the Antares 114 instead of the Celestron 114 and save $100 for eye peices or something<br />and that Celestron has been struggling so she wouldn't know when i would get it if i were to order a Celestron one, and they've been bought out by (i forgot the name of the company)<br />she told me the telescopes are built at the same place with the same materials and they just pain it different and price it differently<br />so i'll update you guys when i set up the scope and use it (if i can soon enough since it's snowing here)<br />

 

[nevers]

Very cool...we can't wait to hear about it!

 

[atticus808]

oh yes<br />thank you everyone for helping me decide and giving me A LOT of information<br />thanks for your time and effort