Skywatcher Explorer-130M 130mm (5.1") f/900 Motorised Newtonian Reflector Telescope 10713

Bought this as my first telescope after spending weeks researching and reading reviews, and I wasn't disapointed with my selection. I found it fairly straight forward to assemble and it took a little practice to work out how to use the EQ2 mount. The views of Jupiter are excellent and everything I was expecting/hoping for with this telescope specs and now after I have got used to the EQ2 mount I am starting searching for deep sky objects. It was a little larger than I expected and not very portable due to the size and weight, but with a helper you could lug it over a short distance if needed. For now i'm sticking to my back garden or taking it in my car. The build looks to be of high qualifty and the supplied lenses are also very good. The mirrors came aligned so no callibration was needed but I did have to unscrew the red dot finder mount to shift it in a better position in order to align it accurately. If you are like me and just getting into or testing out this astromony hobby then I high recommend this, but without owning any other telescope I can't compare, however I feel I have got value for money and hope to enjoy many nights looking up at the stars and planets with this scope.

My first ever review but this product deserves one. I've been into astronomy since I was a small kid but never had any kind of scope before, this is my first. I got a bonus from work and thought 'why not?' After torture from friends ripping me, claiming I've only got it to look through neighbour's windows, I took the plunge. It can be daunting choosing your first scope and I got my decision down to three, the reviews on Amazon helped with the final decision. Let's get the boring stuff out the way first - I got next day delivery (estimated 8pm and came 7 hours early). It's very well priced and (ignore all the 'it's made in China so it's rubbish' reviews) it's very well made, a nice, light aluminium frame, steel fittings with a solid scope. I got a shock when opening the box, boxes, boxes and more boxes galore! Setting it up was easy, admittedly the instructions could have been written better but using good old-fashioned common sense never hurt anyone and I had it setup in about 20 minutes. There's a few dials/knobs you can turn, just start turning them to see what they do and that will teach you how to use the thing! The laser setup was easy and makes targeting child's play! Jupiter could be seen just after the sun went down (it's summer at the minute so that's not until about 9.30 - be prepared for late nights!). I had the 25mm eyepiece in to begin with but Jupiter was still pretty much a dot, albeit a bigger one. I'll be honest, I was disappointed. I decided to then put the 10mm in with the Barlow lens and I saw I much bigger disc with very faint bands on... Better! Then I noticed 3 tiny points of light circling, in a line and realised these were 3 of the main moons, what a buzz - my first view of a different planets moons! Ok, the image doesn't blow you away with quality, to counteract this I've purchased some extra eyepieces (4 & 6mm) to the ones provided. More money I didn't want to spend but although I'm only two days into my new hobby I've got to admit I'm hooked - this is addictive! Points you should be aware of, keep the scope on steady ground such as firm grass, I originally had it on my garden decking but it made the scope vibrate. In fact, everything made it vibrate, even using the focus dial. This was (a little) frustrating when focusing as you have to use the focus and let the 'shake' die down to see if your action on the dial worked, you get used to it though. Coincidentally on my first night, the ISS went past but it was travelling too fast for me to cope with, satellite viewing maybe too hard for this. On movement, I haven't set the motor up yet but to be honest I've had no need to and I quite like operating all the knobs and things. Be aware, because the earth spins you'll be turning 1-2 dials every 15-seconds or so, easily done while still looking through the eyepiece so not a hard task. All-in-all considering I'm only two days in I've fallen in love with this, I haven't had the clearest viewing yet but then I've only been in the back garden and that's got a street light directly over it! Looking forward to taking it into the countryside. If you're stuck on which telescope to buy in this aperture size and price range then look no further. Happy planet hunting! :)

Firstly, I bought this just 2 weeks ago (before Christmas 2013) and paid £167, and now, after Christmas, they've increased the price to £198! Anyway, here's the review. Delivery - The scope arrived within 5 days. It's a massive box and heavy too. Set-up - it took me about an hour and a half. The manual is like most manuals which come with equipment - not very clearly written, but clear enough to get by after fiddling around. The telescope - fantastic! The imagines are sharp, and there is just a lovely 'feel' when you look through the eye-piece. I've already used it a few times in just a fortnight, and have actually held open-evenings, inviting family and friends and impressed them with the views of Venus, Jupiter, it's moons, and of course our own moon. Magnification - like most beginners I was obsessed with magnification before I bought this, and now having actually used a telescope for the first time in my life, I've realised it's more about aperture, rather than magnification. Here's why - larger aperture means you can see fainter objects and see them sharper too. Larger magnification on the other hand, presents many problems: (1) the objects lose definition (2) your field of view shrinks, so the objects move out of view very quickly (3) the atmospheric pollution, air-currents, finger-on-eye-piece vibrations all get magnified too and make for a shakier image. So, what magnification can you realistically get with this baby? Well, the supplied eye-pieces give you x36 and x90. The Barlow lens can double this to x72 and x180. I found Jupiter best viewed with x90 - this showed me the bands, and the 4 moons. Using 180, the planet just became a big blog loosing definition. The Mount - I discovered I was actually using this mount completely wrong, until someone set it up for me properly. And then voila! I can now spin the telescope around the sky in the matter of seconds. Pointing to Jupiter one minute, and then swirling it to Polaris the next, and then to Orions belt.... The mounts feels very sturdy, and solid, and I must say it's a pleasure to use. Motorised drive - the ''M' in the '130M' means this scope comes with a battery operated drive, which will automatically track an object once it's the field of view. I have yet to use this, so cannot comment on it's performance. So, if you're interested in astronomy, and want a starter telescope, you won't go wrong with this one.

Previous issues with Amazon delivery had put me off purchasing this item for a while as i couldn't judge the delivery dates to ensure receipt of the item. I took the chance and I was not disappointed as the seller used a very prompt delivery service-effectively next day delivery ( though i had to request it be held until stated delivery date, (which was a very easy process). I received the product on requested date and eagerly opened all the boxes ( there are quite a few, though this ensures safe transit) and was surprised at how large the scope is. I am not very mechanical minded but will generally have a go at any self assembly. the instructions were a bit silly with a different models - EQ1 instructions at the front of the booklet but not very clear-maybe it was my enthusiasm to get started but - I stupidly went off of these for the first few pages until i realised my mistake and had to dismantle and start again with correct instructions for EQ2!! There are tutorials on you tube that you can watch BEFORE attempting assembly- unlike me! So i will probably disassemble and reassemble just to make sure it's together correctly before collimation ( see below) and subsequent use. Once i had assembled it i can honestly say that i am not disappointed so far with my product- it is in my opinion made of high quality components and very well put together. I have one small gripe and that is that this telescope needs to be collimated ( Both mirrors need to be aligned properly before you can use it) and after some research, the easiest way to do this is to purchase a lazer collimator ( for a further £22.99-cheapest on Amazon). So effectively i have not actually used my scope yet though i only have it a day- cannot honestly wait to get up and running and will add to my review once collimated and working correctly. Hopefully i will be able to post some great pics with the update!

I bought this telescope in the hope of starting astrophotography. After many failed attempts i have given up trying, its great to look through at nebulas and planets etc, but i really wanted to take pics with it. I can get shots of the moon ok but that is it. I had a look around the internet to see if i had done something wrong, and i have found out it cannot focus on stars with acamera attached so i am selling mine and will look for something more what i need. Don't get me wrong its an amazing scope just, it is not what i want it for.

I`m a first time buyer of this sort of equipment so everything is based on first impression. The first thing I noticed was how well packed the item was , 3 outer boxes containing the telescope and equipment. All encased in their own smaller boxes. Assembly instructions were adequate , although I was lucky and had a reference book which used this brand and model as an example for setting up reflecting scopes. I found the actual assembly process relatively easy. I strongly recommend reading the instructions through several times and familiarising yourself with the various knobs and dials. As far as operation goes I have found my progress slow. My simplest of concerns was how to move the telescope from right to left ( vice versa ) , I`m not talking about the RA or DEC adjustment. The instructions didnt state this but I found out that you must use the knob originally used for securing the mounting into the tripod. I was worried about this but in practice it works . As far as viewing is concerned the eyepiece and red dot sighting work well and are easy to set up. My first actual use gave me beautiful and jaw dropping close ups of the moon. All in all a well made piece of equipment , solid and so far reliable.

For a first scope, this is a good choice. As others have mentioned, the instructions get a little hazy on the important bits I.E how to set the RA to the polaris, but a simple YouTube video answered all me questions. So tricky for a total newbie but with some research, you can get up and running after a few goes. First time round I was able to get a nice view of Jupiter and 4 moons which I was impressed with, only to realise I could do with a filter to cut the brightness a bit. Taking a photo is going to be a challenge itself but that's just practice. The reason for not having a full star set was I was missing an M4 screw from one of the fine adjuster's and completely out of the hands of the supplier, Amazon were dreadful in getting this delivered. Apart from that, worth the money and if your willing to put in the effort of learning a whole new hobbie, you'll be completely satisfied with the results.

This is my first time dabbling with a telescope but I can say for the money it was well worth it. Took a bit of reading the instructions along with a review on stargazer.com to figure out how to use it to its potential but we got there. I have seen some people say it isnt good for photography but my daughter of 13 has some excellent quality pics of the moon taken with her mobile phone so find this unfounded criticism. My partner also last night got quite a good quality picture of saturn showing the rings also with her phone so again, not sure the problem there. If I had to give one negative it would be the motor that comes with it to track the stars or objects your looking at. Either Im not doing it correctly or the manual movement using the buttons is nowhere near fast enough to make it useful. After about 15 minutes of messing and fiddling I got frustrated and took it off and manually adjusted the aim of the telescope using the red dot which once I aligned the mirrors was spot in, making finding your target with any zoom lens really easy to do. Not much else to say other than if your thinking of buying a telescope and are not sure where to start, This would be an excellent purchase. As with the mount and lenses provided you can see enough to get you feeling amazed and looking for the next thing to buy to further your viewing pleasure. I know I have already purchased and additional lens that will allow me to view objects even further than I can at the moment, which is quite far indeed. Ill be getting a filter or 2 to see if I can find and see nebulae and I wouldnt be doing that unless the telescope I was using hadnt got me hooked enough to spend the money on additional items. Would 100% recommend this product

Après des semaines de recherche, j'ai choisi ce téléscope, et je ne regrette pas... Bom material, bonne qualité produit ! Je recommande

bonjour une fois le colis ouvert, nous trouvons uniquement une notice en anglais et en allemand. Pourtant c'est une obligation de fournir un produit avec une notice en français quand il est vendu en France. Vu l'appareil, c'est IMPOSSIBLE de le monter sans cette notice. TROP DE PIECES A ASSEMBLER J'attends avec impatience une notice en Français car le site skywatcher n'en fourni pas. Pour le moment je déconseille FORTEMENT CE PRODUIT