Skywatcher Heritage 5 inch Dobsonian telescope

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Hi everyone,

I'm a beginner on a budget and am looking to get my first telescope.

My search has taken me to the Skywatcher Heritage 5 inch Dobsonian telescope.

It's cheap, compact and should be easy to use.

Can I please get your thoughts on it if you have managed to use/own one?

The aperature is 5 inches which I feel is the minimum I'd need to see the main deep sky objects at a decent level of detail. Is that true? Can 5 inches get a decent view of the wonders of the deep sky?

Any other comments are welcome?

Scope is currently for sale at OzScopes for $269. How long do the OzScopes sales usually last?

Thanks.

[Monstar]

I've got this and it's a great little scope. If you haven't used a scope before the views of the moon are terrific, Jupiter with bands and moons, Saturn and it's rings, Messiers and other DSOs notching up. It performs brilliantly for its size, just be realistic and remember it is only 5 and a bit inches.

Generally we'll put together apart from the focusser being a bit sloppy. This can be easily fixed with plumbers tape but this has to be replaced around every 3-4 sessions. The provided eyepieces are OK until you can better.

Also remember that it is low and you'll need a platform for it (unless you want to sit on the ground). On my balcony or in the garden is fine as you can use a table but you'll have to rethink this before going to a dark site. I use a stool for it and have also been looking at maybe adapting the cats scratching pole which has a wide base and top, I don't know how the cat will take that though.

But I personally love the scope and would definitely recommend it if you can't get an 8" or bigger.

Edit: you can also pick it up with one hand, take it outside and be ready for viewing in a minute!
Are you sure you can't get it cheaper, I only paid $240 for mine a couple of months ago by looking around.

[astro744]

You will have to shroud the upper half of tube or use at a very dark site.

If you are on a budget may I suggest you save a bit longer for a 6" f8 Dobsonian or better still an 8" f6 Dob. It will last you a lifetime.

My first telescope was a 6" f5.5 EQ which I still have and use as a wide rich field Dob. An 8" has nearly twice the light gathering capability as a 6". I wouldn't go less than 6" in a Newtonian reflector. A good quality 4" refractor would be an alternative but the low cost short versions do exhibit significant chromatic aberration which bother some people and not others.

[Steffen]

I agree. For just $30 more you get a 6" GSO Dob from Andrews, another $150 gets you an 8" Dob.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Monstar]

I agree and for a further $180 you could get a 10", for anther $150 you can get a 12".

[MrB]

Another vote for waiting a little longer and saving the small exta pennies for an 8 or 10"er.
I think Andrews offer free shipping within Australia too, at least they used to.

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Nice advice, fellas. The thing is, I could always spend that little bit more, and again and again and I'll end up blowing my budget. My dream is to get a 12 inch collapsible dob with goto but I don't have a lazy $1000+ to spare. if I keep waiting, like I have been the last few yearsm then I'll never get a scope!

Anyway, the attraction of this little 5 inch collapsible dob is that I can take it places, along with my kid, dog and all the other crap you pack in a car for a holiday. Plus it's cheapish and seems to do a decent job for the bogan amateur.

here are a few specs I pulled off the OzScopes website:

Specifications
Diameter: 130mm
Focal Length: 650
F/Ratio: f/5

Includes:
- Red Dot Finder
- 2 interchangeable eyepieces (25mm and 10mm)

Features of the SkyWatcher Heritage 5" Dobsonian Telescope
- Small, Table Top Collapsible Dobsonian
- Extremely portable: Tube collapses to only 14.5" long. Total weight less than 7kg
- Collapsible truss-tube design, no disassembling and collimation required between uses
- Aluminized paraboloidal mirrors, providing sharp and detailed images
- Enough light gathering power to provide outstanding resolution and bright image
- Great all-around astronomical viewing performance
- 5 years Skywatcher limited warranty


Are any of the above parts/accessories dodgy or do they look decent?

Would I need to buy anything else immediately to make it all work properly? Light shroud is one thing I will need to make. What about the finderscope? Is it ok? Is an F5 focal ratio ok?

Monstar, where did you get your scope from for the lower price?

[OzStarGazer]

It is a very nice little scope. I don't think I have read a single negative review of it yet.
I have just bought another scope (a refractor) in addition to the SW Heritage 130p mainly because I would like to attach my DSLR camera and the problem with that dob and its focusser it that it is difficult to attach a camera and focus it because the focusser is not very stable with something as heavy as a DSLR camera attached... Plus you have to "rotate" the focusser. I would also like to get closer to the moon.
But you can take nice shots in afocal mode too.
Apart from that it is very nice (the finderscope is decent too) and you can travel with it, as you said. For a big dob not even two hands are enough. You will need a trolley as big dobs are very heavy!
PS: I bought mine from Ozscopes too and paid $245, but it was a Christmas sale.
PPS: Oh, you won't be able to use it for the sun because of its collapsible structure, even with a solar filter.

[Monstar]

Mountain-Wanderer I'm pretty sure mine was from ozscopes too (can't really remember where I got it though :confused2:) as I've got a voucher from them here you might be able to try. It's just on a leaflet from oz-hut which i think is just an umbrella company for others including oz-scopes.

It just reads:

Coupon code: 5OFFOZ
$5 off all orders for all stores

[Mountain_Wanderer]

thanks mate.

hey is it worth getting a collimator too? If this scope goes out of wack then I'll need to adjust it somehow.

[astro744]

I still say 6" f8 and you wont need a collimator as you can do it by eye at f8 reasonably accurately. Also 1200mm focal length will give you 120x with a 10mm eyepiece meaning you can get a good image size for planets and you wont be spending money on a Barlow or shorter focal length eyepieces too soon.

Even if you go with the one you've mentioned you can still do a pretty good collimation by eye and you can save yourself the extra money. I collimated my 6" f5.5 for many years with a simple film canister and by eye. For critical fine tuning I used a bright star and tweaked the primary knobs until I got concentric rings. I have a laser collimator now but hardly use it as I prefer the star method.

However if you are after something smaller and more portable for travel then either the one you mentioned (since a couple of users say its OK) or consider a short refractor but note anything with a short focal length will need short focal length eyepieces to show planets at a good image scale. Short telescopes do excel at low power wide field viewing if that is what you are after.

[dannat]

you can make your own collimator from a plastic cylinder (such as old film canister -which are harder to find)
other thing you can do is place a wanted Ad for a used 3-5mm plossl -unscrew the ep & remove the glass -makes a great little sight tube

you could always get a bigger scope but if you're looking to start out the 5" is quick, easy & small -it will hopefully get you hooked

[Monstar]

My Heritage came well collimated and stayed that way until the missus knocked it with the vacuum and put the secondary slightly off which meant I had to do it for the first time. I used a film can and it was easy enough. The primary has got nice big knobs and having a short tube makes it easy too as you can adjust the primary without moving from the eyepeice. I haven't had to re-do it since.

And just to reiterate it is a good scope but as others have said if you can get a bigger aperture go for that.

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Can anyone give me an idea as to how well you can see the main deep sky objects compared to say an 8 inch aperature. I know there is a difference, but is 5 inches still pretty decent?

What do galaxies look like in a 5 inch aperature? Any detail?

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Oh, and another question - do the eyepieces provided give enough magnification or perhaps I should get a further eyepiece or Barlow?

[astro744]

I would consider the 130mm, f5 with 650mm focal length to be what is called a 'Rich Field Telescope' (RFT). This type of telescope excels in low power wide field viewing of star fields such as can be found in the Sagittarius or Carina regions.

This telescope will perform best with a quality wide field (say 65-70 deg) low power (approx 20-25mm) eyepiece.

[Mountain_Wanderer]

One other question, what sort of detail can you see of mars, Jupiter and Saturn? Good colour? Features?

[Monstar]

Hi MW,

Firstly you asked about DSOs. Well yes you can see them but they live up to the name Faint Fuzzies. I had no idea what to expect, much the same as you. What I found of help is sketches as photos have always been played with and the camera sensor can hold more light than the human eye. Have a look at the sketches on here and google some images with something like "DSO sketches seen with small telescope". When I looked at these sketches I found that I had already seen some (M3 and M13 if my memory is correct) but thought they were some kind of whispy cloud.

Now planets. Well Mars. Is not all that, but I found this is common through reading here and elsewhere. Most of the time for me it is just very bright, although you can see some brownish tinged areas.

Jupiter is great, easy to spot with its four main moons. I see reddish brown, and whitish bands.

Saturn is fantastic. The first thing you notice is the gap between the planet and the rings. The more you watch the better it looks. I don't really notice much of the planet but am sure with averted vision I can see a black line of the Cassini unless it is my mind saying I can see it. Also something I take to be a moon.

As for EPs I wouldnt buy a barlow if you're going to use it with the stock EPs, but you are going to want more power for the planets. I bought a 6mm plossl (I think, thats for another post lol). I've read about eye relief problems with shorter focal length plossl eyepieces but I'm good with the 6mm.

[LightningNZ]

I love this scope. I don't own one but wish I did. I used one of the very first models to enter NZ (through Darrell Ramsey). The scope is fantastic, you could see some of the pink in the Lagoon Nebula and pink and blue of the Trifid. Within reason, it is an excellent scope. It is frankly impossible to beat the portability of a collapsible 5" F/5 dob.

Yes and good 6" or 8" scope will show you closer views. Brightness is limited by the exit pupil size though so talk of "seeing more" is really about getting more resolution and image detail in fainter objects, or resolution and magnification on planets.

Remember that if you are just starting out with a first scope that having a wider field of view makes finding your way around the sky a zillion times easier. That's why we recommend beginners start with binoculars.

You already like the sound of it and several people here have said it's great. Just do yourself a favour and buy one at a good price. I'm sure it'll have good resale value if and when you decide to buy a bigger scope.

cheers,
Cam

[OzStarGazer]

A tiny additional detail.... We are all impressed by pics of DSOs, but you won't see them like that through any scope. They are the results of frames taken over several hours and then stacked in a program like RegiStax.

[dannat]

for planets with that scope you will want about 100x -which equates to 6mm ep, you could get a cheep plossl or something like a tmb clone planetary 6mm

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Nice. So there is some decent colour in planets?

[Monstar]

Let us know when you've bought it. It would be great to see how you get on, and how what you see compares with what I and others see.

[dannat]

good price on a unit http://www.binostore.com/en/telescopes/dobson/skywatcher-dobson-130/?reffr=FRGL&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=catalog&ifrom=AU&utm_campaign=Froogle-AU&gclid=CjkKEQjw5qmdBRCn--70gPSo074BEiQAJCe7zVa7wnbIVc5JY4s-stIJlg-QNvTmnUEcR-8AaCOinGjw_wcB

nb i have never bought from this store- just found on gogle

[OzStarGazer]

But it is based in Italy (so shipping costs would be very high)... And no real contact details on the "contact us" page (although there is an address at the bottom of all pages so you could always use that). I would be at least a bit cautious and ask around if somebody has ever bought from them and what their experience was...

[astro744]

There is a video that shows the operation of the telescope at http://www.opticscentral.com.au/skywatcher-5-table-top-dobsonian-telescope.html#.U6t2KpSSy5I

This telescope is certainly portable but a table is required for comfortable use. However if the table to is too large then operating the telescope to other parts of the sky in azimuth (horizontal plane) becomes cumbersome as you would have to shift the telescope to the edge of the table each time.

The other thing I noticed is that the telescope has helical focuser. If you have all eyepieces close to being parfocal then this is fine but if you have significant difference of field stop position between eyepieces then you may need an extension tube or rotate in and out a lot (slow) to reach focus. Not sure what the travel of the focuser is. The focuser is 1.25" only and unlikely to be able to be changed to 2".

I also noticed a rather thick single spider arm. This will give you two very bright diffraction spikes on bright stars and extended objects like bright planets such as Jupiter.

I still think this telescope is a rich field telescope and best suited for low power sweeping of the sky at 26x with the supplied 25mm eyepiece. A better quality and wider apparent field eyepiece will deliver a more pleasing view but try the supplied eyepiece first as it will still deliver a nice view.

As for seeing full colour; planets yes, easy. Nebula no; not enough aperture.

[Monstar]

Hey Astro,

you're spot on about having to use a table and having to move the scope to get a comfortable viewing angle. As I said earlier, this is no problem for me at home as I have a small round table that my wife bought for use on our smallish balconies, I also have a stool that's good to sit it on. But it's a bit awkward when at another sight. I've heard of people using what they call "short camping stool" to sit on and have the scope on the floor. I'm only 5'10" tall and would find this uncomfortable after about five seconds. I'm going to make a table/stool for mine based on my cats scratching pole with a wide base and top.

The helical focusser is bad but I haven't used anything else yet so it seems OK to me. I can only think they made that one for it's light weight which would be why it doesn't accept 2" EPs as well. It has around 30mm travel on single thread from memory but has come nowhere near to totally unscrewing.

As for the single spider arm I can detect no type of aberrations caused by it. The only time I have seen any noticeable spikes was when the secondary mirror it holds it was knocked out of collimation.

[astro744]

I think I'm warming to the idea of having such a telescope for low power viewing as it looks like a fun telescope that can be taken camping as it doesn't take up too much room.

I mentioned two diffraction spikes but this would be seen as one single long spike across the field and only visible with very bright objects. Perhaps the thick circular design of the spider arm rather than a thin narrow arm spreads the light a little reducing the appearance of the spike.

The telescope reminds me of the Edmund Scientifics Astroscan (now Astroscan Plus version) which can even be hand held for low power viewing. See http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Monstar, do you use a light shroud?

[Monstar]

I haven't got a light shroud but want one and would advise you to get one too. If you look on the web you can find how to make one out of stuff like cardboard, neoprene, rubber sheeting/mat. I will be making one just haven't got round to it yet.

[Mountain_Wanderer]

Cool.

Hey what exactly is the 6mm eyepiece you got? Can you send me a link to it?

[Monstar]

I just got a 6mm plossl eyepeice from Australian Geographic for $39.

Andrews has a 6.3mm Sywatcher plossl for $29, they also have (generic???) plossls for $19 but not a 6mm. They have GSOs for $29 bucks too but no 6mm. I think they only put what they have in stock on their site and it changes quite often:

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

I used AG as I had a few bucks in my paypal and I don't think Andrews take paypal.

Just have a look around.

[Rob_K]

Just a note of caution about buying eyepieces for this scope. I have the scope, purchased on special from Australian Geographic a couple of years ago. It was supposed to come with plossls but on getting it home I found a couple of Huygens in the box. No biggie (hey, it was on special!) so some time later I purchased two eyepieces from Andrews. One was a 6mm plossl and the other a GSO SuperView 15mm Wide View 4-element eyepiece. The latter doesn't reach focus in the scope unfortunately, not enough in-focus to make it worse. Just something to watch out for.

That aside, it's a great little scope, very portable and nice widefield views.

Cheers -

[ClaireBaire]

Hi Mountain Wanderer :hi:

I have the Skywatcher Heritage 130 dob myself. It was my first telescope purchased almost 4 months ago (I am a raw beginner). It is indeed cheap, compact and extremely easy to use. Light as a feather at only 6.2kgs. No tools or having to put it together except for the red dot finder, which is not too difficult anyway. I had fun learning lots of general astro stuff with my "Dobby" and it is a very cheap way to see if you want to continue with the hobby.

However, I was not able to find deep space objects but I feel that a more experienced star gazer (one who knows the sky better than I) would be able to find quite a few! I have since bought myself an 8" Skywatcher Synscan, to make it easier to find objects, and it does :eyepop: (current winter clouds permitting :mad2:)

A 5" Newtonian, I believe is the minimum aperture anyone should start with. Just be aware, you cannot buy heavy eyepieces to use with it. It is just too lightweight; you would have to tighten up the tension knob too much to stop the tube from falling downward that nudging it becomes difficult. The maximum weight in ep's it handles is about 200g (that I have found) and you will have to change the tube's balance each time you change from light to heavier ep's. The ep's that came with it weigh only about 50g each.

I hope I haven't put you off. If I had not bought this little scope I would not have bought one at all.

Btw I bought mine from Australian Geographic online (with free delivery!) at the same price Ozscopes are offering. You can get it from there if the sale at Ozscopes ends - check out their delivery costs.

Just read your other comments, I think you might be happy with this scope being so portable etc. And you can get lightweight plossls which are quite cheap!

Good Luck with whatever you do,
Clear Skies.
Claire.