Skywatcher ST80 Mods & Tweaks

A couple of mods and tweaks to help you get the most out of your ST80 telescope.

[@zaugitude]

12 year old video but still relevant information. I appreciate the straightforward explanations.

[@rickmoore4776]

Thank you. it's June of 2024. I just blacked out my glass and ordered flocking material. will pick the grease up tomorrow :) oh, its for the Meade Adventure Scope 80 I got yesterday. its going on my Celestron OMNI 150XLT six inch newt. that's sitting on my AVX .took me many years to save, buy, sell, buy and put together this setup. the 80 will be used as a guide scope and probably for the moon, orion, etc, etc. :)

[@astronomyshed]

Good to know after all this time I'm still appreciated, thank you.

[@liam314]

Lenses 4:25 , Flocking 8:00 , Focuser 10:58 , Collimation 20:00

[@dionheap7786]

Bingo!

[@astrophotonics9470]

MasterClass +10

[@astronomyshed]

Thanks ;)

[@climbingarizona]

Very informative! I have the Orion version of the ST80 and replaced the focuser with a 2-speed Crayford - WOW what a difference. I think I learned more from your video than all the instructive info that came with the scope and other videos I've watched - Thanks!

[@cul8rxx]

Just a quick note to say how much I appreciate you taking the time and trouble to produce this (and other) videos. Your relaxed and friendly style makes me feel relaxed too. I have just taken delivery of my ST80 and assembled it this morning. This is my first scope and I admit that I was feeling anxious that I might have bought something that would little better than a toy but your video has put my mind at rest. Now waiting for clear skies. Many thanks.

[@astronomyshed]

The ST80 is a classic scope, yes it's budget end but it punches way above it's weight and when you advance it can be used as a guide scope for the bigger toys ;)

[@cul8rxx]

astronomyshed Yes, when I saw that you had one piggy back on a much larger scope it made the ST80 look so small! Made me laugh in fact.

[@sjpp71]

Excelent video, Sir. I was looking for a clear guide on how to collimate my (dyi) 90mm refractor. And you show how to properly use a Cheshire and laser collimator on a refractor. Great advice. Thank you.

[@Vic-pz5oh]

Great video astronomy shed.just after buying st80 for holidays.done your mod to the doublet with a Sharpie and it has definitely helped lower CA.next job will be to remove grease skywatcher use and get some white lithium grease.clear skies

[@Bass-guitarist]

Great vid and convinced me to get a used ST80 and mod it to your instructions! 👍

[@liam314]

Fantastic stuff! I noticed a massive reduction in chromatic aberration after just taking the lenses out and cleaning them! Guess they must have been slightly out of alignment. Thanks so much for helping me breathe new life into my 10 year old ST80. 🙏👍

[@wezil68s]

Love your video's! Always golden advice :) I bought a QHY8L thanks to your review, and have been very happy with it ever since. Thanks for all your time and effort.

[@PeeOrbital]

Excellent tips, many thanks for sharing!

[@aranbarrett9543]

Hi thanks for the video I have, done a cupple of the mods you recommended thanks for the advice and the upload, much appreciated, clear skies 😊

[@randalhardy7288]

Purchased an ST80 (used) recently and found that the focuser was quite loose. This video solved my problem so I carried out the rest of the tune-up steps. The scope cost me 80 AUD (less than £50) so it was already a bargain but now it's my best purchase ever. Many thanks.

[@zhgt]

Nice job sir! What I've also done with mine is replaced the knobs with some larger aluminium ones (a bit more precision when focusing and yes, I admit, much fancier :) ), shortened focuser-to-tube screws, and spray painted the draw-tube mat black.

[@AndyinMokum]

Season's Greetings from the ever cloudy Netherlands 🌧😢. Thank you for taking the time to make this video; it's pure gold. I've just made my first excursion into the world of refractor telescopes. I've treated myself to the Sky-Watcher Startravel 102T. I'm just waiting for First Light Optics to receive new stock. I intend to make all the upgrades you've suggested. The steps must be the same. Your advice is simply common sense and simple, I like that very much. At some point in the New Year, I'll upgrade to the focuser to the, dual- speed 2" Crayford focuser for Sky-Watcher refractors. I'm very much looking forward to using this scope for rich field astrophotography. I wish you a fantastic holiday season, clear skies and of course, please stay safe 🎄😀.

[@astronomyshed]

Merry Christmas to you too and thanks for the feedback.

[@Joe-jg5vs]

Lots of useful detailed information 👍🏻

[@astronomyshed]

@scoobynut Thanks, you will quickly fall in love with your ST80, they are an absolutely cracking little scope and why you rarely see them come up for sale second hand.

[@scoobynut]

Thankyou for this! I just bought anST80 to guide and the focuser was sticky and moving laterally too, which isn't much use when you're using an LVI Smartguider. I've seen several of your other videos (EQ6 alignment etc) and when I saw this one I knew it was going to help get me sorted, and true enough, in 15 minutes my focus movement is smooth but tight. You're an absolute star for doing these, Thankyou once again.

[@simonthorp8565]

Well done on this video! I did all recommendations and now have a diffraction limited ST80 - with residual chromatic aberration - as good as it can get!

[@chp2]

Excellent tutorial. Thanks!

[@hymanmj]

Thanks for the video. This and others have saved my bacon a few times! The ST80 rocks! I am getting some really good results from it. Thanks.

[@imanishay]

hi there what are the images of the moon like with this scope can you get close clear images

[@hymanmj]

+imanishay Yes you can get some *really* images of the moon. I primarily use it for Deep Sky Objects but the moon is of course an easy target. I have used it at prime focus but also with the camera connected to the top of my eyepiece (it has a screw thread under the eye cup). All the best.

[@stevenwarner9156]

Wow, very informative video, mate! Purchasing a used ST120 this weekend and have been looking for more information on getting the most out of a refractor, especially any collimation not involving the star diagonal. In preparation, I have bought a nice Williams erecting prism diagonal with fine tuning control, and a Baader Semi-Apo filter to combat some of the chromatic abberation which will be inevitable in an achromat with a 120 mm aperture and f5 focal ratio, plus it will help filter out some of the light pollution. But your tips here will definitely help me get the most out of my new 'scope. Had a Newtonian as a teenager but has been over 15 years since I last used a telescope and this will be my first refractor (wanted something much more portable with the ability for sharp, higher contrast views and able to give a wide field of view). Thanks for spending the time to make this video. You're a star. Er... No pun intended!

[@matthewelliman8173]

Good tips, I use one of these little gems for guiding and I didn't think to enhance it further. This will keep me busy over the weekend as you said :0) Im grateful.

[@eyevincast5440]

Thankyou so much for the vid. I have a 70mmx400mm mounted on my newtonian. Works great as a spotter. I never thought about blackening the edges of the optics. I ll try this asap and also like your method of collimating. I ve done everything else to my little refractor. From flocking, regreaseing and tightening up the focuser and remove that extra play. Thankyou. Love your vids very very helpful.

[@jamesprior1261]

Cool. I just bought one. I'm amazed how many tips you crammed into this video for such a simple scope. Thanks, I'll be doing those. One thing I have noticed is that the build quality and design has changed on the most recent ST80, compared to yours. The focuser end has a more rounded moulding design where it slots into the main tube. And shortcuts have been taken, for instance the finder-scope holder is made to hold the finder tightly by ramming a hot soldering iron several times along the inside corners of the holder, melting/deforming slightly to create a tight fit. It annoys me that manufacturers take this kind of plastic shortcut to save having to supply a decent thumbscrew to hold the finder!

[@jnojr]

I just wanted to say thanks for this video! I've learned a lot watching it, and have answers to some questions :-)

[@Visium1]

this guy is great! So straightforward!!

[@TheParachaz]

Well, I`m a lucky boy! as I have two of these scopes, given to me by a dear friend. They were in parts so I assembled them, using another site for guide...they got it wrong! I thought there was a really good reason for giving them to me, and that was they were just naff optics,then I watched your video and wow! they are great little scopes. will now use your tips to make them even better. subscribed.

[@astronomyshed]

They are a great little scope and for their money they punch way above their weight.

[@pickledlovesnovas]

great videos there mate. im very new to this hobby, collimating and modifying were words that scared me. no i feel i could do everything you have showed in your videos with my ED80. saving for an eq6 at the moment so will be watching your mount videos. keep up the good work. as ive said, great videos and in depth teachings. michael.

[@astronomyshed]

Glad you like them and thanks for the positive feedback

[@mikegallimore]

Great video as usual

[@astronomyshed]

Nothing to do with patronisation, it's to do with the fussiness of more experienced observers. A beginner will be blown away with the views they get from a scope like the ST80, a more fussy observer will see more faults, it's the way it is.

[@santimazo4037]

0:58 that drum drop

[@astronomyshed]

?

[@santimazo4037]

Sounds like a beat when you drop your telescope

[@astronomyshed]

@fastfrankee Many thanks for the feedback, it's always appreciated.

[@astronomyshed]

@caprigxl It all helps in stopping internal reflections, all the best scope optics, even high quality barlows have what are called 'blackened edges'

[@astronomyshed]

@pickledlovesnovas Glad you like them & thanks for the feedback, NEQ6 is the mutts nuts, I love mine to bits.

[@cervantesphantom]

From what I see in your video, teelscope design, including doublet cell is the same as ina Toya 70mm with 300mm focal lenght. Many of these short refractors, for example the one referred before (70/300), have internal baffling specifically designed to limit the effective aperture thus producing a higher focal ratio telescope in order to avoid excessive chromatic aberration. For example the 70/300 model in fact has an effective aperture of 38mm due to internal baffling in the main tube and in the focuser tube... I've found the same in 70/400 models. So a good point would be to check if the light cone is restricted or not. Given the short dimensions of the tube a 1:1 scale schematic can be drawn. Just consider a focal area diameter of 27mm and trace rays to the inner diameter of the objective. Verify the position of baffles and their internal diameters so as to properly draw them on the schematic. Rays should not be intercepted by any baffle or the initial focuser tube. www.astrobrasil.com/ecommerce_site/produto_14587_4527_TUBO-Telescopio-OTA-Objetiva-70mm-Distancia-Focal-300mm-TOYA

[@davidianmusic4869]

Good advice, thanks. Applying your advice to a Celstron Nexstar 80 and f11.25 80mm. Nearly identical except for focal length. Also found the optics pinched hard in both scopes, looking froward to the results. Happy skies.

[@astronomyshed]

You will definitely see the improvement.

[@paultyson5145]

Brilliant thanks

[@oFIREWIZARDo]

thanks for all the vids you've posted your a massive help! im a complete beginner and just ordered the st80 on the strength of your recommendation.Could you please recommend a good mount and web cam for the scope? thanks again and keep up the brilliant work

[@just-gaming213]

Get flocking at Wilkinson. £5 a roll. It's exactly the same material as the astro sites sell for 3x as much.

[@michaelstreeter3125]

2 questions: is there a name for 'blacking out the edge of the lens', as at 4:00, and why don't they do it at the factory? I don't see this on glasses/spectacles either!

[@astronomyshed]

Glasses/spectacles aren't likely to suffer from random reflections in dark night situations. Also see here www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center/application-notes/optics/edge-blackening/

[@astronomyshed]

@fastfrankee Well, there are several planets, a moon, hundreds of different open star clusters, over a hundred globular clusters, a few hundered different galaxies, a very large number of nebulas, so, you'd be at it a long time! Do a Google for AstroBin.

[@astronomyshed]

@MrJacKillis Thanks, glad it helped ;o)

[@astronomyshed]

@oFIREWIZARDo For the ST80, as a beginner, if you have a decent camera tripod it will work fine, the ST80 comes with a fitting for this, but for an astro tripod you really want an EQ 1 as minimum. The best place for such questions is the forum on my site at astronomyshed.

[@robbrady3096]

Have just started into astrophotography, I have a skywatcher star adventurer, at present using my Nikon camera with a 250mm lens. I have been looking at the st 80 mainly because it is light. Do you think this would be a reasonable scope to put on the sky adventurer

[@fatboy1271]

I can't get the front shield off... I'm afraid I'm going to break something.

[@attrezzopox]

Another strange noob question. I have an TS 65 you discussed in another video. It looks like there was a great deal of dust when manufacturing it and I was wanting to disassemble it in a clean box and get some of the dust out. I keep hearing that if you disassemble a refractor you've irrevocably ruined the refractor. That the collimation is super touchy and now that you've disturbed the lenses the collimation is out and only a few people on the planet can collimate an APO refractor. Is this true? Can I safely disassemble my refractor as you've displayed here?

[@astronomyshed]

Marcus G Take it apart, it will be fine.

[@Gentilseulement]

How much does it weight without the tripod? Does it compare well with the Orion 80mm shorttube?

[@MrKravmagadude]

Would be handy to tell us why you’re doing all this.

[@jordixjdx6432]

hi there, about removing lens from cell I´d like to know: do i need to mark lens to avoid rotation?, are there any spacers between lens to take care about ?

[@hex2redonealpha102]

I just did this today... There are three spacers on the biggest lens of the two, which is on the concave side of the lens. They wont move, as they are stuck on there. Just go around them when you clean the lens. No, you don´t need to mark any of the two lenses, as rotation makes no difference. But, you do have to pay close attention to the correct order and orientation of both lenses as stated in the video.

[@lilvipa1]

Hey noob question, i just got the st80 and cant quite open Up the outer tube, is there a technique? Thanks.

[@astronomyshed]

Nope, just like in the video with the philips screws.

[@Stringbean421]

It was nice of you to reply. However, an experienced observer can notice chromatic aberration on some of the more expensive toys too. With respect, you did say in your video that beginners wouldn't notice chromatic aberration and that to me is patronising. Not all beginners are the same. It depends on the individual observer. I certainly noticed chromatic aberration in cheap bins when starting the hobby. Anyway, thanks for your videos, very informative. Thanks.

[@Stringbean421]

Why are beginners always patronised?? A beginner can notice chromatic aberration just as much as an experienced person can.

[@TheStevecas9860]

Brilliant informative tutorial thank you !

[@just-gaming213]

Get flocking at Wilkinson. £5 a roll. It's exactly the same material as the astro sites sell for 3x as much.