![]() ![]() Setting up and using the EQ-1 is pretty easy-just level the tripod, put the mount/scope together, balance the scope on both axes, and roughly line up the mount’s polar axis with Polaris. It lacks a polar scope, and the setting circles on it are so small that they’re almost entirely useless, but for visual astronomy it works just fine-don’t expect it to work well for astrophotography, however. The EQ-1 is more or less a simplified version of the larger German equatorial mounts used for large telescopes and/or astrophotography. Thanks to the universal dovetail plate and saddle design, you can theoretically swap any scope you want onto the EQ-1, and move the StarBlast II to any other (preferably more stable) mount you want. This is an improvement over the older and lower-quality EQ-1 mounts, which just have rings bolted directly to the top the StarBlast II itself used such a system until recently. The StarBlast II sits inside two felt-lined tube rings that bolt onto a Vixen-style dovetail plate, which in turn slots into a saddle on the EQ-1 mount head. The EQ-1 mount is basically the same as the mount supplied with most of the Celestron PowerSeeker telescopes, but the StarBlast is small and light enough to work on it quite well – and also has good enough optics that it’s worth talking about actually using it. There’s also a moon map bundled with the scope (Orion’s MoonMap 260), which is essentially just a gimmick, and a smartphone adapter that will allow you to take shots of the Moon if you so desire-though forget serious astrophotography that’s something for £1600 telescopes. The StarBlast II is supplied with a red dot sight, which is adequate for this telescope. You may want to purchase an additional 6mm “goldline” eyepiece (75x) as well as a Barlow or even shorter focal length eyepiece to get the most out of your StarBlast. The StarBlast II EQ comes with two eyepieces: a 25mm Sirius Plossl (18x) and a 10mm Sirius Plossl (45x). Orion doesn’t provide a collimation tool, but you can buy/make one or simply collimate it on a star-read our guide for more information on collimation. The scope also requires precise collimation (which it thankfully has easy-to-use, spring-loaded adjustments for, unlike some other 114mm equatorial scopes on the market). At f/4, there is some coma at the edge of the field of view with low-magnification eyepieces like the included 25mm Plossl, but even if you notice it, it shouldn’t hamper the image quality too much. The StarBlast is a 114mm (4.5”) f/4 Newtonian reflector. The StarBlast II EQ uses the same optical tube as Orion’s regular StarBlast Astro but it is supplied on Orion’s EQ-1 equatorial mount instead of a tabletop Dobsonian mount and comes with much better eyepieces. ![]()
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