Konus Konusmotor 500

[colstars]

Hi everyone,

I am a beginner in astronomy and I just bought a "Konus Konusmotor 500, 4.5" short tube equatorial reflector". Specs here: http://tinyurl.com/qzu6z

The only difference from the specs on that page is that the eyepieces I have are 20mm and 6mm.

What can I really see with it and from where do I start? Any hints/tips are appreciated. Also, is a barlow lens recommended?

Thanks.

[aurora]

Start with what you have, I would wait a little to buy any more eyepieces or a barlow. Take the time to learn to use the scope and then later decide what else you might need.

A great book to help start observing with a small scope is Turn Left at Orion.

Hardcover on Amazon

Previous Edition

[colstars]

aurora, thanks for the reply. That book looks interesting, I will order it. Any other tips?

[Arneb]

I'd say that with your 6 mm eyepiece, a Barlow should be unnecessary. A "fast" socpe like yours with a low f-ratio isn't the obvious choice for planetary observing and the associated high magnifications anyway.

Maybe a 12 or 10 mm eyepiece would fill the gap between the two you have. You will see a lot before you've exhaustes your current equipment

[aurora]

Did the scope come with a red dot finder? If not, a red dot or a Telrad is a great thing to have. What sort of finder scope does it have?

[Kaptain K]

Did the scope come with a red dot finder? If not, a red dot or a Telrad is a great thing to have. What sort of finder scope does it have?

According to the link, it does have a red dot finder.

[rob251]

Hello experts.
I just got one of these little scopes. could use alittle help seting it up. It says to set the latitude angle.. I know im at 42.867535,-76.747486. what i dont understand is how to set the angle.the I dont understand the scale and the silce scale moves on the mount. so do I level the mount straight up and down and rotate the scale to have 0 at the pointer, then tilt the scope to 42???? I would think thats how but I havent had a telescope since i was 12 ( now 43) I got this one because it was affordable, for me and my daughter who is 10.
and this kit came with a 10mm and 17mm EP, motor and the reddot finder( which I have to site next.
thanks for any help... now if would get above 0 outside I can get some real good daddy and me time in..... looking up

[aurora]

You probably want the pointer to point at 42.8 degrees, which is your latitude.

Then when the mount is level, the axis of the telescope would be pointed at the north star.

Did the scope come with directions? If not, there are places online that describe how to polar align a telescope.

[rob251]

I scanned the instruction that came with it. It sems like a nice telescope for the 89$ I spent. it was on clearance...I see they go for a lot more on the web.
Just the directions dont look to be for the first timer....... like me

· BALANCING THE TELESCOPE:
For telescopes with altazimuth mounting no balancing is necessary. Telescopes with equatorial mounting
must be correctly balanced to avoid problems in observation and the need to use motors. The polar axis must Bi be inclined to the same latitude angle where the telescope is being used.To find this latitude you can use a geographic atlas. The polar axis inclination is found by unscrewing the appropriate screw on the side of the mounting and aligning the indicator needle to the relative value on the latitude scale. When you have finished regulating this, strongly tighten the screw. Aftenhis, the telescope must be rotated on the unblocked polar axis. It will tend to fall either downwards or the counterbalance will fall. Move the counterbalance along the rod until the system is perfectly balanced. Now block the Right Ascension axis and unblock that of the Declination axis The telescope tube will tilt towards the front or the the back and the tube will have to be moved towards the inside of the mounting clamp so that the mounting is also balanced in this direction.

[ozark1]

I'd say that with your 6 mm eyepiece, a Barlow should be unnecessary. A "fast" socpe like yours with a low f-ratio isn't the obvious choice for planetary observing and the associated high magnifications anyway.

Maybe a 12 or 10 mm eyepiece would fill the gap between the two you have. You will see a lot before you've exhaustes your current equipment

I agree that the 6 mm negates the need for a Barlow. I am more concerned with the 20 mm and wider eyepieces. The scope is so short (f/4.4) that it will suffer from high levels of coma (streaking of stars outside the centre of the FOV). I would suggest that you don't buy anything longer than 20 mm.

The scope will be best suited to bright DSOs - Open clusters, M35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 45 are good at the moment, Globular Clusters M3, M5, M13, M92 and probably Bright nebulae M42, M17, M20.

It won't do galaxies (M81/82 will be about the limit).

For planets you are going to look for the rings on Saturn and Titan, Rhea, Dione, Iapetus (sometimes) and Tethys. Chances are the last four are going to be difficult. Jupiter will be the main two equatorial bands and the Galilean satellites.

Buy a book such as Star Watch or Turn Left at Orion. Look for objects suitable for binoculars.

[aurora]

· BALANCING THE TELESCOPE:
For telescopes with altazimuth mounting no balancing is necessary. Telescopes with equatorial mounting
must be correctly balanced to avoid problems in observation and the need to use motors.

Do you know whether you have an altaz mount, or an equitorial?

For the price you stated, I assume you do not have a motor.

You might not even have an equatorial mount, if so do not then you do not need to do polar alignment. And you don't have to worry about a setting for your latitude.

[rob251]

its says equitorial
and it came with a motor run by 9volt battery
heres same one on ebayhttp://cgi.ebay.com/KONUS-KONUSMOTOR-500-ELECTRONIC-TELESCOPE-114-MM_W0QQitemZ150086337889QQihZ005QQcategoryZ28181QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Tonight was first clear night here. so I got it out. I am sure I dont have it set right. as I had to loosen it all back up to swing it around so I could get to the moon and when I turned the motor on it did not track right....But...It was worth evey penny to see the look on my daughters face when she could see the mountians on the moon on her first look.... but it was freezing out ...so her inventive Dad set it up in the Kitchen....we have sky lights...nice indoor warm observatory. Nice time .....cant wait to have a clear moonless night .
I did print up an artical on set up from the net like you said. Im going to read it over a few more time to see if I get.
thanks for the help

[woldsweather]

its says equitorial
and it came with a motor run by 9volt battery
heres same one on ebayhttp://cgi.ebay.com/KONUS-KONUSMOTOR-500-ELECTRONIC-TELESCOPE-114-MM_W0QQitemZ150086337889QQihZ005QQcategoryZ28181QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Tonight was first clear night here. so I got it out. I am sure I dont have it set right. as I had to loosen it all back up to swing it around so I could get to the moon and when I turned the motor on it did not track right....But...It was worth evey penny to see the look on my daughters face when she could see the mountians on the moon on her first look.... but it was freezing out ...so her inventive Dad set it up in the Kitchen....we have sky lights...nice indoor warm observatory. Nice time .....cant wait to have a clear moonless night .
I did print up an artical on set up from the net like you said. Im going to read it over a few more time to see if I get.
thanks for the help

Are there any instructions anywhere as to how to set the Knonusmotor up out of the box? I'm not even 100% sure it came with a tripod though there are three pieces of metal each consisting of 3 pieces.

[Hornblower]

Are there any instructions anywhere as to how to set the Knonusmotor up out of the box? I'm not even 100% sure it came with a tripod though there are three pieces of metal each consisting of 3 pieces.

The OP was 12 years ago, and the only Konus product in the linked website today is a digital camera adaptor. I would recommend looking for an astronomy club in your area. You can show them the telescope and pick their brains about it. The setup is not always intuitively obvious to a beginner, and the instructions are often poorly written and drawn.