FIRST LIGHT
Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi Wi-Fi Dobsonian
This crowd-pleaser offers simple setup, sharp views and smartphone control
VITAL STATS
• Price £419
• Optics 150mm (6-inch) Newtonian, parabolic primary mirror
• Focal length 750mm, f/5
• Mount Tabletop Dobsonian
• Extras Red dot finder, 25mm and 10mm 1.25-inch eyepieces, SynScan app, dovetail bar, collimation cap, manual
• Weight 8.8kg
• Supplier: Optical Vision Ltd
• Email: info@opticalvision.co.uk
• www.opticalvision.co.uk
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi Wi-Fi Dobsonian telescope is an enhanced Go-To version of the popular Sky-Watcher Heritage-150P FlexTube Dobsonian. The tabletop, single-fork Dobsonian design has additional pods installed that contain the control electronics and drive motors for the altitude and azimuth axes, allowing a huge range of celestial objects to be located, tracked and observed using Go-To technology.
The mount arrived beautifully packaged with a full-colour-printed inner box to enhance its presentation. The mount has a smart black and white appearance, while the telescope has a metallic black gloss finish with a contrasting green dovetail bar. The optical tube incorporates Sky-Watcher’s tried and tested FlexTube construction, which allows the telescope to contract in length for easy storage and transport.
This feature places the telescope firmly in the portable category, so it could easily be taken to a dark-sky location. The mount can be powered internally by eight AA batteries or by an external 12V power tank.
Assembly was ridiculously quick and only required the loosening of the dovetail bar clamp, sliding the telescope upwards to allow the removal of some safety packaging, extending the FlexTube stays and sliding the red dot finder onto its shoe. Collimating the telescope with the supplied collimation cap was very straightforward.
Phone home
The control panel on the mount incorporates a port for a conventional Sky-Watcher SynScan wired hand controller, but the hand controller is not included. Instead, the innovative Go-To system has built in Wi-Fi, allowing connection to a smartphone running the free SynScan App (available from the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android). This comprehensive app gives access to all the mount’s setup and control features using an intuitive graphical user interface. Using the iOS Pro version on our iPhone SE 2020, we enjoyed flawless operation throughout the review period, although the lack of any tactile feel to the virtual direction keys made it easy for our fingers to slip off the control area.
Targets acquired
The SynScan app stores various catalogues including NGC, IC, Messier, Caldwell (Patrick Moore), Named Deep Sky Objects, Named Stars, Double Stars and Solar System objects (the planets, Sun, Moon and comets), giving Go-To access to over 10,000 targets. In addition to controlling the Go-To functions, the app provides a useful database of information about each object in the catalogues, including visibility times, to help you plan observing sessions in advance. There is also a rather handy ‘tonight’s best’ list for if you haven’t already planned your session.
Although the mount’s main operation is via Go-To, it also utilises Sky-Watcher’s ‘Freedom Find’ function. This feature allows you to unlock the azimuth and altitude clutches then rotate and tilt the telescope by hand to search for celestial objects manually, without the app losing track of where the telescope is pointing. This useful facility makes use of two auxiliary encoders that update the app on where the mount is currently pointing, so that when the clutches are re-engaged, the telescope doesn’t have to be re-aligned to continue Go-To operation.
The planets Jupiter and Mars were well-placed during the review period, with Mars’s red disc, and Jupiter’s bands and gorgeous pin-prick moons clearly visible through the eyepiece. We also enjoyed excellent views of the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters, the Andromeda Galaxy, Dumbbell, Ring and Orion nebulae, double stars Albireo and the Double Double, and some wonderful detail on the Moon. After each slew, the Go-To system successfully placed each object well within the 25mm eyepiece’s field of view.
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi was a lot of fun to use, and beginners and youngsters would particularly appreciate its presentation, compact size, easy-to-set-up design and its control via a smartphone. Being able to manually locate objects without losing the electronic alignment is a real bonus, and the 150mm aperture allows observations of a wide range of objects.
Tabletop design
Sky-Watcher’s tabletop Dobsonian designs breaks the mould, bringing the solid and reliable Dobsonian mounting method within the reach of those desiring a smaller, more manageable telescope.
The tabletop design reduces the size and weight of the mount although it does, of course, assume that a suitable table is also available. However, if you don’t want to use it on a table, the mount also incorporates a standard 3/8-inch tripod bush in its base so the mount and telescope can be installed on a suitable tripod instead.
The conversion to Go-To adds the icing on the cake and the Virtuoso’s Go-To system, using a free app compatible with the most popular smartphones, brings the Dobsonian concept right up to date. The ease of locating objects using this intuitive feature made it an absolute pleasure to use, and its quiet operation meant that it was also very neighbour-friendly. The SynScan app uses your smartphone’s GPS to collect your location and time, calculating the correct pointing angles following a simple alignment process at the start of each observing session.
KIT TO ADD
1. 1.75-inch stainless steel tripod
2. SynScan handset and cable
3. 17Ah 12V power tank
VERDICT
