DS-2114 Meade ; Blurry Saturn

[Cassini12]

<p>Hi all,</p><p>&nbsp; So I have my two scopes, 60mm meade, DS-2114 Meade 4.5" (130mm or 114mm i forget) anyways, the $35 60mm shows&nbsp; me a small saturn but I can tell it is saturn atleast, and I try in my 4.5" and it shows a bigger(not much lol) but blurrier version of Saturn for some reason. </p><p>I have tried leaving it outside 1-2hours prior to use, I have purchased a "laser collimator" and I am prety sure it worked because I couldnt even see the moon after trying to collimate it without the laser. So now the moon and other stars are crisp (i think). And yet, Saturn even in the 25mm eyepeice is still Blurry and cannot be made out. </p><p>Can anyone please explain? I have tried 2-3 diffrent eye-peices and they are all the same so i dont get it. </p><p>Also, when trying to "center" objects with the Autostar feature, for some reason lately it only slews manually for me on the "MAX" Setting.. which isnt very helpful as it is to fast for smaller objects such as Saturn. Any ideas? Thanks All</p><p>-Cassini</p>

 

[TahaSiddiqui]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi all,&nbsp; So I have my two scopes, 60mm meade, DS-2114 Meade 4.5" (130mm or 114mm i forget) anyways, the $35 60mm shows&nbsp; me a small saturn but I can tell it is saturn atleast, and I try in my 4.5" and it shows a bigger(not much lol) but blurrier version of Saturn for some reason. I have tried leaving it outside 1-2hours prior to use, I have purchased a "laser collimator" and I am prety sure it worked because I couldnt even see the moon after trying to collimate it without the laser. So now the moon and other stars are crisp (i think). And yet, Saturn even in the 25mm eyepeice is still Blurry and cannot be made out. Can anyone please explain? I have tried 2-3 diffrent eye-peices and they are all the same so i dont get it. Also, when trying to "center" objects with the Autostar feature, for some reason lately it only slews manually for me on the "MAX" Setting.. which isnt very helpful as it is to fast for smaller objects such as Saturn. Any ideas? Thanks All-Cassini <br />Posted by Cassini12</DIV></p><p>Well about the autostar problem, I'd recommend going to a nearby astronomy shop and asking them. For the Saturn problem, I would have to say that your telescope must be out of collimation (even if you used the laser)&nbsp;since it can't just be Saturn. Maybe the moon and&nbsp;stars seem to be crisp but maybe you can see it with alot more detail and you just don't know (especially because stars really dont have detail just shape wise). I just saw Saturn with my 4.5" (which is 114mm btw&nbsp;XD) at 200X it seemed pretty clear, obviously not as clear as it would with around 100X though. </p><p>Hope I helped? lol.<br /></p>

 

[Cassini12]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Well about the autostar problem, I'd recommend going to a nearby astronomy shop and asking them. For the Saturn problem, I would have to say that your telescope must be out of collimation (even if you used the laser)&nbsp;since it can't just be Saturn. Maybe the moon and&nbsp;stars seem to be crisp but maybe you can see it with alot more detail and you just don't know (especially because stars really dont have detail just shape wise). I just saw Saturn with my 4.5" (which is 114mm btw&nbsp;XD) at 200X it seemed pretty clear, obviously not as clear as it would with around 100X though. Hope I helped? lol. <br />Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV></p><p>Unfortunetly, there is ZERO astronomy shops in my area. I am still searching the web trying to find one, but I dont think I will. Massachusetts must not be a popular astronomy state lol.</p><p>as far as my collimation, I got that laser collimator which i am sending back to them this week as the "bullsesye" is broken and does not stay were it is supposed to, and for some reaon I manually make sure the "secondary" mirror is centered on my primary mirror (I MAKE THE RED DOT CENTERED ON PRIMARY BY MOVING THE SECONDARY). then, when i am moving the primary mirror I never see a "red dot" that i should align with the bullsseye, I get more of a HUGE red light shining on it that I a thinking it is not right, I should see a red dot, Not a large red light.&nbsp; At this point, collimation is ruining this hobby for me..it just sucks.. and I have built motorcylces from the ground up, I just cant get this to work.</p>

 

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Unfortunetly, there is ZERO astronomy shops in my area. I am still searching the web trying to find one, but I dont think I will. Massachusetts must not be a popular astronomy state lol.as far as my collimation, I got that laser collimator which i am sending back to them this week as the "bullsesye" is broken and does not stay were it is supposed to, and for some reaon I manually make sure the "secondary" mirror is centered on my primary mirror (I MAKE THE RED DOT CENTERED ON PRIMARY BY MOVING THE SECONDARY). then, when i am moving the primary mirror I never see a "red dot" that i should align with the bullsseye, I get more of a HUGE red light shining on it that I a thinking it is not right, I should see a red dot, Not a large red light.&nbsp; At this point, collimation is ruining this hobby for me..it just sucks.. and I have built motorcylces from the ground up, I just cant get this to work. <br /> Posted by Cassini12</DIV></p><p>This is why I always recommend that beginners should stay away from these cheap GOTO telescopes, because there are a lot of things that can go wrong that could put you off the hobby. &nbsp;Some people like tinkering with telescopes, other people, like myself, hate it, and just want things to be simple and work right from the get-go. &nbsp;One thing that may be complicating your collimation is that your particular scope is one of those notorious "short-tube" reflectors, the kind that have a built-in barlow lens in the eyepiece assembly to increase it's focal ratio. &nbsp;This could be interfering with the performance of the laser collimator or any other device you use to align the mirrors. &nbsp;Such scopes can use a very short focal ratio mirror, usually F/3 or F/4, which is then amplified by the barlow lens into an F/8 optical system. &nbsp;It makes for a nice short tube assembly, but this convenience comes at a great price. &nbsp;These scopes have a reputation for poor optics and cheap electronics that are not reliable. &nbsp;If I were you, I'd consider returning it and trading it in for a simple 6" F/8 dobsonian, or an 8" F/6 dobsonian. &nbsp;For the ultimate in simplicity, you could get a 90mm F/11 refractor on an alt-azimuth mount for about the same amount of money. &nbsp;It won't be great for viewing dim nebula and faint fuzzies, but it will give you razor-sharp views of the moon and planets.....and the best part of all is, they are maintenance-free. &nbsp;No collimation required.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Cassini12]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>This is why I always recommend that beginners should stay away from these cheap GOTO telescopes, because there are a lot of things that can go wrong that could put you off the hobby. &nbsp;Some people like tinkering with telescopes, other people, like myself, hate it, and just want things to be simple and work right from the get-go. &nbsp;One thing that may be complicating your collimation is that your particular scope is one of those notorious "short-tube" reflectors, the kind that have a built-in barlow lens in the eyepiece assembly to increase it's focal ratio. &nbsp;This could be interfering with the performance of the laser collimator or any other device you use to align the mirrors. &nbsp;Such scopes can use a very short focal ratio mirror, usually F/3 or F/4, which is then amplified by the barlow lens into an F/8 optical system. &nbsp;It makes for a nice short tube assembly, but this convenience comes at a great price. &nbsp;These scopes have a reputation for poor optics and cheap electronics that are not reliable. &nbsp;If I were you, I'd consider returning it and trading it in for a simple 6" F/8 dobsonian, or an 8" F/6 dobsonian. &nbsp;For the ultimate in simplicity, you could get a 90mm F/11 refractor on an alt-azimuth mount for about the same amount of money. &nbsp;It won't be great for viewing dim nebula and faint fuzzies, but it will give you razor-sharp views of the moon and planets.....and the best part of all is, they are maintenance-free. &nbsp;No collimation required. <br />Posted by crazyeddie</DIV></p><p>Well I appreciate the recommendations but I am stuck with the one I have for now and I have to learn how to use it /maintain it. In a little bit I will buy a brand new scope, I have my eyes on the $2800.00 Celestron 11" CPC with GPS. I like the duel forks, and the celestron quality, But that will take some time to save for. But I wont rush it, becasue the way I see it is. Once i do get the 11" I should be able to see everything I want nebulas,galaxys,planets and I wont have to worry about the scope not being powerful enough. <br /></p>