36 replies to this topic

[Brendan:)]

hi I am looking for a cheap but powerful telescope and stumbled upon a Celestron power seeker 127 eq.

I dont know if i should buy it or not 

 

 

 

please provide information telling me if I should buy it and if not then please tell me good alternatives

[RichA]

It's got five inches of aperture, so if the optics are reasonable and it is collimated correctly (optics aligned right) then it should be good for 200x on planets which is plenty to see them with.  Also, it is capable of showing brighter objects like galaxies and nebula provided the area you are in is not too urban, or light polluted.  

[rob1986]

No. If you must get a power seeker, then either the 80az, 80 eq, or the 114 eq.

All three are known optical performers.

But be warned, the axcessories are worse than junk. The ota alone though is worth the asking price.

Edited by rob1986, 08 January 2023 - 05:43 PM.

[Supernova74]

I would personally turn the word (powerful) into something useful.first of all I’m unaware of your location have you seen Facebook market place as it’s riddled with preowned celestron power seeker! reflectors which for me would be alarming.the reason being thay are pieces of optical junk so hence why no one wants them.the issue is with most mass produced telescopes some are poor,some are good and some are excellent.if I recall Ed ting has an channel on utube and if my memory serves me correctly describes the celestron 127 power seeker in being one of the worse scopes celestron ever produced which is a shame really as well known reputable manufacturers of optical instruments simply should know better as thay have been literally manufacturing telescopes for decades now.

[Alex___B]

No. If you must get a power seeker, then either the 80az, 80 eq, or the 114 eq.

All three are known optical performers.

But be warned, the axcessories are worse than junk. The ota alone though is worth the asking price.

Agree with each word. 127 is one of this Bird-Jones models. Don't buy it.
114eq is pretty good as scope, but be ready to invest in new eyepieces, finder and mount.

[rob1986]

Agree with each word. 127 is one of this Bird-Jones models. Don't buy it.
114eq is pretty good as scope, but be ready to invest in new eyepieces, finder and mount.

Tube rings are standard vixen/synta though.

The above is also true for the 80 eq. Anyone knows if the powerseeker altaz is up to a ST80?

[hlee]

Here is Ed Ting's review of the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ:

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=IXfR7YTF5a4

 

Telescopic Watch review:

 

https://telescopicwa...lescope-review/

[Another_Dave]

My opinion? Avoid.

 

I recommend to you this telescope review site. Their reviews are (brutally) honest. If you buy a telescope that they recommend, or especially one that gets their Editor's Choice designation, then you will be happy with it for a long time.

 

https://telescopicwa...copes-rankings/

[Jehujones]

hi I am looking for a cheap but powerful telescope and stumbled upon a Celestron power seeker 127 eq.

I dont know if i should buy it or not 

 

 

 

please provide information telling me if I should buy it and if not then please tell me good alternatives

  good for you for asking first 

[Echolight]

Don’t believe the numbers. Or the pictures of what you’ll see in adds or on the box.

 

I almost always suggest a refractor. Something like a Celestron Omni XLT AZ 102. They are the most trouble free, automatic, can’t miss, and for people like me, “idiot-proof” scope you can get. Closed tube so no dust or spiders to get inside. No tedious collimation procedures. Basically no muss no fuss. Point and look.

 

Of course if ya got the dough, maybe the Celestron Starsense Explorer DX102 might appeal to you. Basically the same scope with a cell phone app that helps you find stuff.

 

I’m more old school, low tech, averse to gadgets. So I just use a jumbo laminated planisphere.

[star acres]

Telescopes with circular, not parabolic,  reflectors suffer when asked to see detail. They smear stars. Hopefully there will be less powerseekers sold in the future. 

[Echolight]

Circular..Spherical

[Pitu]

DON,T BUY !!!

 #1. Hard to setup EQ mount if you are beginner and you don't see Polaris from your palace of observing.

#2.  Any time you have to Collimate you have to take out the focuser to take of the corrector lance.

#3. Mount shake like crazy hard to focus.

If you looking for visual powerful telescope my suggestion is min 6"-10" Dobsonian.

Cheers

[Dave Mitsky]

See this thread.

 

https://www.cloudyni...rd-jones-scope/

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Save your $$$ my friend. This little gem is a great starter scope:

 

 https://www.amazon.c...a4-dc28e6d374b3.

 

If the 130mm is too much then step down to the 100mm 

Edited by sevenofnine, 08 January 2023 - 09:09 PM.

[star acres]

I second the Zhumell. Nice specs. Simple. Comfy. No frills. 

[Dave Mitsky]

Or you could save a bit more and get a 6" (150mm) Dob.

https://www.skywatch...er-classic-150p

[rob1986]

For disclosure, I did get an eq80 which I have been mostly happy with the OTA. Most critical replacements were the diagonal, after which the set up was usable if you were very patient and sighted along the tube with a very long fl EP, and the mount, which rendered the set up stable enough to even aim the 1cm OD finder.

As an alternative, buying a decent 30x6 finder and replacing the legs with wood should make the set up barely stable enough to use. But be warned, the RA shaft is not well machined, and the spur presses on the worm which makes RA jumpy. There is a fix if you know someone with a lathe.

[rrpallechio]

See this video: https://www.youtube....h?v=IXfR7YTF5a4

[Echolight]

See this video: https://www.youtube....h?v=IXfR7YTF5a4

Maybe the OP already saw that, and took Ed’s advice at the 00:58 mark to troll cloudynights for personal amusement.

 

Maybe Brendan:) is Ed! 

Edited by Echolight, 09 January 2023 - 01:47 AM.

[dmgriff]

hi I am looking for a cheap but powerful telescope and stumbled upon a Celestron power seeker 127 eq.

I dont know if i should buy it or not 

 

 

 

please provide information telling me if I should buy it and if not then please tell me good alternatives

As mentioned stay away from the bird-jones starter scopes!

 

You will be better off with a regular newtonian design.

 

A 6in f/8 or a 4.5in f/8 newt. The 4.5in f/8 spherical newtonians are usually available used cheap. No false color. Decent images of luna, planets, large dso, doubles. The eq1/eq2 usually included are not rocket science. Set your latitude and point north. Or set the latitude to 90 degrees and use as alt/az.

 

Replace the oem eps with some inexpensive plossls, expanse, barlow, etc. Keep the tripod low in height, add a tracking box motor. Chair or stool.

 

Good viewing,

 

Dave

Edited by dmgriff, 09 January 2023 - 10:17 AM.

[Paul Sweeney]

Don't buy anything until you have some idea what's what. Find your local club abd go out with them. Look at different scopes and try them out. See which type you like. Then start looking for one.

"Cheap" new scopes usually means frustration. They advertise "650x" magnification, and you can crank the power up that high, but the image will be so poor that you cannot make out what you are looking at. Normally, the diameter of the optic is the maximum magnification under normal conditions. Under good conditions, and with good optics, you can double that. Powerful scopes are normally not cheap telescopes.

But you can find good quality scopes for low prices on the used market. There is also a good chance that some club member will have a scope that they no longer use that you can get for a fair price.

[star acres]

Some of these remedy posts are confusing. The asker is looking for a simple answer, not a high level discussion. Do we agree, no? 

[NeroStar]

Do NOT buy that scope. You will likely be severely disappointed. Youre only a few dollars away from a much better scope (like the AWB OneSky) with a similar aperture and better components/performance. As a general rule of thumb, if a scope is in mass production, is available at Walmart and the large print tagline on the box is its magnification and 'free' accessories, it's a stinker.

Edited by NeroStar, 09 January 2023 - 06:50 PM.

[vtornado]

If the physcial length optical tube of a suspect reflector is roughly half of the stated focal length it is one of the pseudo-bird jones scopes.  It is not a good scope.  stay away.

 

AWB one sky is highly recommended.

Edited by vtornado, 09 January 2023 - 02:56 PM.