MIRROSKY SP127 early review

I’m not affiliated with Spectrum Optics in any way. I paid full price for this scope and I’m just sharing my own experience. This is the first telescope I’ve actually owned and used. I’m not the best with technology and I usually figure things out the hard way by just trying stuff. I bought the MirroSky SP127 because I wanted a telescope with plate-solving GoTo. I learn better when something is already working and I can watch what it’s doing, then build on that. I also picked up a few decent eyepieces so I wouldn’t be sitting there wishing I had something better. Packaging was fine. Nothing special, but nothing was damaged or missing. Assembly was straightforward — no special tools and no guessing about what went where. Getting the app set up was simple. You plug in the supplied USB-C cable for camera power and the other USB-C that has a camera icon on it, and you’re connected. I used both the 8 AA batteries and the 120V power supply that came with it. Connecting to the app was easy. You just select the MirroSky WiFi network, enter the password (I guessed 12345678 and got it first try), and you’re in. The app is easy to navigate and pretty straightforward. There are a few settings and features I’d like to see added, but overall I like it. The first night I aligned on a tree that was far away, but looking back I think the target was still too close. Later I tried Andromeda. The imaging side found it, took pictures, and live-stacked them, but I couldn’t see anything through the eyepiece. I tried a few other targets and it was the same story — the smart scope was finding things, but the Mak wasn’t even close. The second night I used the Moon as an alignment target. Even in the evening while it was still light out, the scope found the Moon. That impressed me because my Seestars usually struggle with it. Once it was aligned I went inside for dinner and got the kids to bed. When I came back out it was still on the Moon. I spent a while playing with different eyepieces and focusing, and I tweaked the alignment a bit more. After about 45 minutes I was happy with the Moon and told it to go to Saturn. It went straight there without hunting around. Saturn was a little off-center, but it was fine. With a 15mm and a 2x Barlow I could see the planet, the space between the rings and the planet, and three moons. Then I went back to the Moon for a bit. Tonight I set it up in a different spot, ate dinner, got the kids to bed, and then went outside. I opened the app, clicked the Moon, and it went straight to it. Under three minutes from powering on to looking through the eyepiece. After that I went to Saturn again. Tomorrow morning I’m planning to try Jupiter and the Orion Nebula. I’m still learning as I go and I’m going to make mistakes, but overall I’m enjoying the scope and the fact that I can actually find and see things in the sky.

I am only posting this because there is nothing online about this scope. I will post pictures of the astrophotography later