Sky-Watcher Star Discovery P150 6" f/5 Reflector SynScan WiFi Goto Telescope

Note: Now with integrated WiFi (dongle no longer required) for wireless control using a smartphone or tablet, via free SynScan App for iOS or Android.

BBC Sky at Night magazine rating

 4.5 out of 5 stars!

"..we can certainly recommend the Star Discovery 150i for those bitten by the astro bug!.."  - BBC Sky at Night magazine   

This versatile Newtonian reflecting telescope provides both beginners and more experienced amateur astronomers plenty of light and high stability for a very modest price. It collects so much light with its generous 150mm diameter that distant DSOs such as the Ring Nebula in Lyra or the Dumbbell Nebula become beautifully visible and globular clusters, such as M13, resolve into a multitude of individual stars at their edges. Planetary observing provides rich detail in images of Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mars.

The f5 focal ratio means this reflector falls into the class of 'fast' Newtonian telescopes. This telescope is therefore particularly suitable for astrophotography. The light gathering capacity of the 150 is 460 times greater than that of the naked eye alone (with a 7mm fully dilated pupil).

The advantages in a nutshell:

• relatively high light gathering power thanks to 150mm aperture
• resistant to vibration and wind due to compact design
• diffraction limited parabolic primary mirror
• high-contrast image due to thin secondary mirror spider vanes
• portable and quickly assembled
• exposure times for astrophotography can due to the short focal length

The Star Discovery mount with SynScan™ WIFI module (now integrated into the mount - dongle no longer required) generates its own WLAN. This makes it wirelessly controllable with your Android, iOS smartphone or tablet. All you have to do is install the free SynScan app on your mobile device.

Control via the SynScan app has many advantages - It is wireless, particularly intuitive with its touch screen and graphical user interface and offers other options, such as the astronomical highlights for the current night, identification of astronomical objects, etc.

The initialization required before observing is also very straightforward and uses GPS data from your mobile device. After performing the simple alignment procedure, you are then immediately ready to start exploring the universe. The SynScan app allows fully computerized GoTo control of the mount and automatically slews your telescope to any object you select from the extensive database of over 10,000 objects.

Additional features

• Freedom-Find™ Double Encoder Technology - you can move the mount by hand, after freeing the clutches, without losing the computer control's orientation. Fast slewing by hand is quieter and saves on battery life.
• and speaking of quiet - the mount operates with very little noise, so your neighbours will be happy.
• you can connect any telescope, up to five kilos in weight, that has a Vixen standard prism rail.
• the mount has a battery compartment. You can also connect a power adapter (12V, centre contact positive). We recommend using a 'Powertank' (see 'Recommended Accessories').
• low weight - altazimuth single-arm mounts are very lightweight due to their design and are therefore particularly suitable for mobile use.

What's in the box

• Sky-Watcher P150i Parabolic Newtonian OTA
• Star Discovery AZ Go-To Alt-Azimuth Go-To Mount with Dual-Axis Tracking
• Stainless Steel Tripod with Accessory Tray
• Eyepieces (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm
• Red Dot Finder
• Synscan Wi-Fi Adaptor Module (now integrated into the mount, dongle no longer required)
• 45mm Sky-Watcher/Vixen type dovetail saddle

SPECIFICATIONS

• Magnifications (with eyepieces supplied): x30 & x75 
• Highest Practical Power (Potential): x300
• Diameter of Primary Mirror: 150mm
• Telescope Focal Length: 750mm (f/5)
• Eyepieces Supplied (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm
• Parabolic Set Primary Mirror
• Red Dot Finder
• 1.25" Rack & Pinion Focuser
• Star Discovery AZ Go-To  Alt-Azimuth Go-To Mount with Dual-Axis Tracking
• Freedom-Find Dual Encoder Technology
• Synscan Wi-Fi Adaptor Module (now integrated into the mount, dongle no longer required)
• Controller: Free SynScan App for iOS and Android mobile device or Synscan Hand Controller (available separately)
• SynScan App Database: Total 10,000+ Objects. Deep Sky Objects: 10759, including Messier, NGC, IC, Caldwell Catalogues, Named DSOs, Named Stars: 305, Double Stars: 55, Solar system objects: 7 planets, Sun , Moon. (Unlimited objects when working with a 3rd party planetarium software).
• SynScan App Alignment Method: Brightest Star Alignment, North-Level Alignment
• SynScan App's Other Features:  Tonight's Best Sky Tour, Point and Go with a mobile device, Identification of Celestial Objects, Remote control over Internet, User defined objects, Pointing Accuracy Enhancement (PAE)
• 45mm Sky-Watcher/Vixen type dovetail saddle
• Interface: SynScan Hand Control Port, DSLR Shutter Release Port (optional cables available separately)
• Connectivity:  ASCOM platform for Windows PC, Mobile planetarium App for iOS and Android ( SkySafari Plus/Pro, more are coming).
• Power Requirement: 12v DC 1Amp Power Supply (Tip Positive) or 8 x AA Batteries (not supplied)
• Sky-Watcher 7Ah or 17Ah Power Tank Recommended
• Stainless Steel Tripod with Accessory Tray
• 33% more Light Gathering than 130mm

REVIEW

BBC Sky at Night magazine
by Paul Money

Read original article here

Our rating

 4.5

The Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi comes in two boxes and is straightforward to assemble, allowing you to be up and running in 10 to 15 minutes. The tube assembly is in one box while the tripod, single-arm mount, spreader tray and a box with the eyepieces, finder and bubble level is in the second. It’s best to assemble the mount onto the tripod first and then to attach the telescope, before completing it with the red dot finder.

The mount is powered either by eight AA batteries installed in the side of the mount, or via a 12V power tank plugged into the power port. We used the system for several hours with batteries on three occasions and had no trouble, proving this is an easy system to set up, which can be taken anywhere.

The red dot finder is a zero-magnification, no-nonsense piece of kit that can be used during the alignment process, but once it is aligned with the main telescope you’ll find it’s hardly needed at all. Two eyepieces are supplied, of 25mm and 10mm focal length – the usual combination at this price level.

As the 6-inch primary mirror is a 150mm-diameter parabola and the scope’s focal length is 750mm, the 25mm eyepiece gives a magnification of 30x, while the 10mm gives a magnification of 75x. These are good choices for this system, giving nice views of deep-sky targets and the Moon. If you add a 2x Barlow lens (not supplied) you can get reasonable views of the brighter planets as well.

Once the Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi telescope was switched on we connected it to our smartphone and the SynScan app (iOS and Android versions available) and then we set the telescope to level and pointed it north using the bubble level and compass.

We performed a one-star alignment on Aldebaran (alpha (α) Tauri) and found most of our targets somewhere in the field of view of the 25mm eyepiece. A more accurate alignment – using either 2 or 3 stars – greatly improved the pointing accuracy and placed most targets close to the centre of the view.

The field of view quality with the 25mm eyepiece showed Rigel (Beta (β) Orionis) as sharp across 70% of the view, so we selected the colourful double star Albireo (Beta (β) Cygni) and were rewarded with a pin-sharp view of the golden and blue pair, nicely separated. We found that by swapping to the 10mm eyepiece, we had an even better view, with a stronger contrast of colours on display. Meanwhile, the galaxy pair of M81 and M82 filled the centre view of the 25mm eyepiece and just fitted in the view of the 10mm eyepiece.

Sky-Watcher Star Discovery P150i Wi-Fi telescope

The Pleiades star cluster sparkled in the 25mm eyepiece and the Double Cluster in Perseus particularly impressed us – not just because of the views of its members, but because of the subtle views of the orange stars scattered between them. The Orion Nebula was stunning, with a higher magnification revealing the Trapezium Cluster at its core.

When it came to Solar System objects, only Mars and the Moon were easily available at the time of the review, but by adding a 2x Barlow lens to the 10mm eyepiece we could make out albedo features and a polar cap on the Red Planet. We were also pleased to discover that you can spend a long time exploring the detail of the Moon’s features with this system.

Although the Star Discovery 150i is not meant for astrophotography, we added our own smartphone holder and used our iPhone XR and the 25mm eyepiece to image the Moon, the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula, adding to our enjoyment of this telescope. We can certainly recommend the Star Discovery 150i for those bitten by the astro bug!

One of the first things you notice about this Star Discovery telescope is that there is no hand-controller – although the mount does have a port for connecting one. You don’t need a separate controller with this scope because it is operated with an app, connected via the inbuilt Wi-Fi network. To use it we turned on the power and the mount automatically generated a Wi-Fi network, allowing us to connect our smartphone and later our tablet. Once connected, you download the SynScan or SynScan Pro app (we used the Pro version) and run it.

There are plenty of observing options in the app, including alignment routines, and Solar System and deep-sky targets. The SynScan app (right) may not look fancy, but it certainly did the job and allowed us to slew to a wide range of targets with ease.

For those who like to use the popular SkySafari app for Go-To control on iOS devices, the good news is that you now don’t need to have two devices: by choosing ‘SkyWatcher SynScanLink’ in the telescope settings menu, you’ll be able to connect to SkySafari easily and control the mount through that app.

Sky-Watcher Star Discovery P150i outstanding features

Single-arm Go-To altaz mount

The single-arm mount is solid and well made, fitting neatly into the tripod base and held in place with three knobs. The mount has a Vixen-style saddle for attaching the telescope and a good retaining knob for securing the tube firmly in place.

Optics

The Star Discovery 150i is a Newtonian telescope design, with a 150mm parabolic primary mirror and a secondary mirror attached at the front via a spider vane. The ‘short’ focal length of 750mm gives a focal ratio of f/5 that works well for both planetary and deep-sky viewing.

Tripod

The tripod is sturdy with telescopic aluminium legs that can be easily extended – though they spread quite wide at full extension and may be a trip hazard in the dark. The spreader tray can hold both 2-inch and 1.25-inch eyepieces, although only the latter can be accommodated in the telescope’s focuser.

Ports and battery compartment

The mount incorporates an on/off switch and ports for an external 12V power pack, a camera and an optional SynScan handset, although this shouldn’t be needed with the Wi-Fi control. There’s also a compartment for eight

AA batteries, giving a more portable power option.

Focuser and finder

The red dot finder is useful for the initial alignment phase of operation; the focuser is a standard rack and pinion style that takes 1.25-inch eyepieces. Two of these are provided, of 25mm and 10mm, giving magnifications of 30x and 75x, which are suitable choices for the size of telescope.

SUPPORT DOCUMENTS  

Manuals:
User manual:
https://inter-static.skywatcher.com/downloads/stardiscovery2iinstructions.pdf

SynScan app manual:
https://inter-static.skywatcher.com/downloads/synscan_app_manual_en_20230525.pdf

About Sky-Watcher

Sky-Watcher was launched in 1999 featuring a modest line of Newtonian and refractor optical tubes, with distribution in Europe and Asia. In 2000, Sky-Watcher released their first series of Dobsonian telescopes, and two years later answered the rising popularity of digital SLRs with their first version of the famed German Equatorial Mount, the EQ6. Today, with a full product line that includes Dobsonians, APO refractors, EQ mounts, and photography products, Sky-Watcher has grown into the most popular telescope brand worldwide.