This was posted 1 year 3 months 25 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Sky-Watcher Classic 200P Dobsonian Telescope $623.08 ($607.50 with eBay Plus) @ Nofrills via eBay

770
BTSR22BTSR20

Original Coupon Deal

Spec:
1200mm f6

I am thinking of getting the 250P (10 inch) because size matters. And I already have GSO 8in newtonian on an eq mount

Classic 250p

Flextube 200p
For people who wants a collapsible tube
8 inch is a good beginner’s telescope. A dobson mount is simple. Plonk, level and view. (Need to adjust your scope of course)

There really isn’t any need to go to a flextube for less than 12 inch scope so I wont recommend spending extra for a collapsible tube. A 10 inch can still be transported in a hatchback or across the rear seats.

If you do get one, a laser collimator is essential, followed by a bahtinov mask

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    • +1

      Possibly. More likely the further up the Kardashev scale.

    • Unfortunately Andromeda galaxy barely rises above our horizon unlike in the northern hemisphere. You might accidentally aim at your earthly neighbour instead of the galactic one

  • +1

    How does this compare with a GS-680 8" f/6 (http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-10-guanshe…) - asking as someone who understands very little about the telescopes, but is keen to ramp up.

    • They are very similar

  • +2

    @lemmstar, I would join your local Astronomical Society. (I am a member of the Astronomical Society of Victoria https://asv.org.au and Mount Burnett Observatory https://mbo.org.au/)

    There, you would get access to a dark skies site as well as training.

    Here is a good site for sky maps of your local sky. Handy to use when trying to find what you are seeing in the night sky.

    https://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

  • +1

    Any recommendations on a 90 degree scope? The parallel scope is hard to use

  • Isn't $600 just the regular price of an 8" dobsonian? Wasn't it about $400 before covid.

  • I had the 250P, it was a beast for chasing faint fuzzies. Only thing I could fault, some issues with how smoothly the Dobsonian mount could be pushed, mostly fixed it with the milk bottle washer trick. Tube was great, really only limited by one's own Only sold it as my retinas began to play up, jumped into the EAA side of things instead. Pair the 250P with a high apparent field of view long eyepiece (something like the Celestron Ultima Edge 32mm I had as well) and go for a space walk…

    • Is the 250p good for seeing all the planets depending on eye piece? Newbie here. Cheers

  • Have the 10inch version with 10mm eyepiece can clearly see Saturn and it's cassini division under city sky's.

    Jupiter is also superb seeing the red spot and also seeing Jupiter's moon shadows transit past.

    Unfortunately Saturn's getting low on the horizon as is Jupiter might have to wait it out till next year to get the best results.

    As others stated need to go out to a dark site to really see it' shine where you get lost in the stars with a 34mm eyepiece and see plenty of satellite,s streaming thru while observing.

    As for nebula don't get your hopes up nothing like the images you see out there.

    • Yeah I was looking at the Orion Nebula last night, and tarantula nebula. They have great shapes but pretty much black and white. I think I detected slight blue-eyness in part of the Orion Nebula.

      • Where were you doing the viewing?

        • Regional, an hour north of Melbourne. Still get a fair bit of light pollution in the southern part of the sky here.

  • OP said mentioned, do I need to also buy a laser collimator and bahtinov mask? Seems like a lot of things to see Jupiter.

    • +1

      Won't need a Bahtinov but highly recommend a laser will need it to tune it up and align the mirrors as they can get bumped while transporting laser will also have to be collimated sometimes as they can get bumped in transit as well.

      Also the eyepieces that come with it will be pretty basic but good enough to see Jupiter lol eyepieces cost more then the scope to get decent viewing.

      As for finding objects plenty of apps out there to point you in the right direction something like Stellarium choose a planet or object point your phone or tab up to the sky and it will guide you in the right direction.

      • $600 is already stretching my budget for a telescope that sees some planets. What would be a decent collimator to buy?

        Also can i see Jupiter through the eyepiece fclearly if i live in the outskirts of Sydney? Or is it one of the cases where you need to be up in the desert / mountaintop.

        • Collimators are under $50 ($30-40)

          Jupiter is the easy to see without being in a dark sky.
          Don’t forget Saturn. The rings are spectacular

    • +1

      Laser collimator will be essential because you need to collimate it for good properly focus images.

      Collimating is easy enough to do. Will only take 10 min the first time you try to fig it out, then less than 5 min subsequently after you work it out. Check out some YouTube videos.

      Bahtinov mask will not be necessary for jupiter. Will be handy but not essential for focusing stars. When I will do is focus on stars with a bahtinov and everything in the sky will be in focus.

      It is only 2 things. That’s not a lot. You should see all the equipment needed for deep space objects.

      • Any recommendations on collimator? Looking at the svbony one on Amazon. Mine needs it bad, image is quite smudged and blurry.

        • They all look the same. I have the svbony one. Does its job

  • +1

    It seems this is an overkill to watch through the neighbour's windows…… :-)

    • +1

      Make sure you tell them you watch them with your 8” 😁

  • can we see south america given the earth is flat?

    • +1

      Only if there are no objects higher than you between your location and south America 😊

  • I have a similar telescope.

    For visual: moon, planets, clusters, bright nebula like orion will be awesome. I put it on a trolley so deploying/packing is quick.

    For photography: with a dslr you will need a barlow, or a flattener/reducer… else you will not get focus. Astrophotography cameras can get focus easy.

    If you want to continue this rabbit hole the next one is deep sky astrophotography. You will need a equatorial platform (DIY is cheap, buying prebuilt is not). You put your dobby on it and it will have limited tracking. Maybe 10-20 seconds per shot. Thats enough to photograph galaxies. I'm still looking where i can get a affordable platform (i suck at DIY).

    Accessories: collimator will make sure your dobby mirrors are aligned and can do it quickly (less than 5 mins)

    Bahtinov mask is just a focusing tool, so you dont have to do guesswork when focusing.

    USB to 12v cable, to power the fan at the bottom.

    Solar film filter, to look at the sun. You wont see those beautiful prominence (that's a different type of telescope), only a big bright round circle with spots. You'll also need a sun finder, you cant use that dobby finder else you'll burn your eyes.

    Also, although an 8 inch dobby is a great first scope… if you can get a 10 inch dobby, get that instead. You can capture more light.

    • +1

      The sky watcher classic does not have a fan to cool the mirror. The GSO made ones do. The usefulness of a fan depends on the climate/weather when viewing

  • Can someone rexommend a deep space telscope (Nebula etc), roughly under $500 aud. It would be my first scope so not needing JWST experience. Juat something to give me the wow factor.

    I've been super keen for years to start exploring the skies, on and off been researching scopes. But i want to finally do it!

    • Photos of nebulas are usually stacking of hundreds of frame of exposures.
      To visually see nebulas, you will need to have the widest telescope to let in as much light as possible, and a dark sky.

      You will need a 10inch at least.
      I recommend that you get something second hand

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