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Living life on the Edge......

Stu

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Stu

Stu

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My apologies, couldn't resist. Another cheesy headline from me!

I picked up this very nice 8" Edge HD in the week, it really is in lovely condition. I've always fancied a look through one, potentially with the idea of using it as a grab and go for UK holidays to get a bit more aperture to dark sites.

It really is a compact scope, feels like a midget having just lifted the 18kg Vixen into the mount!

In a way I'm a little nervous about the results of comparing the two, although I know the purity of the Vixen view will take some beating, it should go a little deeper perhaps due to the extra aperture.

Will report back when I get a chance to try it out.

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Stu

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Stu

Stu

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That's one helluva setup you got there.

What is that mount you got?

Cheers,

Mark

Mark, it's an AZEQ6 on a Meade Giant Tripod (3" legs!), with a 16" pillar. I run it in AZ mode only as I just do visual.

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Stu

Stu

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Very nice Stu :smiley:

Are you going for 1 scope for each month of the year ? :p

Believe it or not John I'm trying to slim it down a bit!

8 now, 5 fracs, the SCT and two dobs! That's it, no more...... Am I sounding like Derek? ;)

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Mark at Beaufort

Mark at Beaufort

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Stu I will be interested how you find the 8" Edge compared to some of your other scopes. I looked through a Celestron 9.25" SCT a few SGL star parties ago and loved the view of Saturn. The Edge scope is a higher quality than the standard SCT so should be very good on Planets.

Are you really slimming down your collection :smiley:

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Stu

Stu

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Stu I will be interested how you find the 8" Edge compared to some of your other scopes. I looked through a Celestron 9.25" SCT a few SGL star parties ago and loved the view of Saturn. The Edge scope is a higher quality than the standard SCT so should be very good on Planets.

Are you really slimming down your collection :smiley:

Sounds promising :)

I considered a 925, but too much cash and too big really, I just wanted something quite portable, and this sits very nicely on the Giro-WR on the EQ6 tripod so fits the bill well.

Am I really slimming my collection down? Well technically yes I am! I think I used to have 11 or so. I've recently sold a TV85, Astrotech 106 triplet, 12" f6 Orion Optics and a Vixen 80M plus quite a few eyepieces. Trouble is, temptation keeps adding them back in! FC100 and the Edge for instance!

8 is ok isn't it? ;)

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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Looks great Stu. That would be the top end SCT then I take it ? Great looking scope  in that colour scheme. I'm sure it will give some stunning views although I'm guessing your going to need some sort of dew prevention ?

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Stu

Stu

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Looks great Stu. That would be the top end SCT then I take it ? Great looking scope in that colour scheme. I'm sure it will give some stunning views although I'm guessing your going to need some sort of dew prevention ?

It's the Edge HD which is supposed to have a nice flat field, it should give nice sharp stars right to the edge even in widefield eyepieces. Time will tell.

Dew wise, I've got an Astrozap shield which came with it, seems pretty good. I have dew heaters as well if needed, or perhaps just the hair dryer! :)

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Stu

Stu

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Now, I've seen that tripod, I have to have one (even though I don't need it yet!). Its the way my brain is wired...

Maybe build up to something like this?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/202583-REG/Meade_07018_Super_Giant_Field_Tripod.html

I'll have to check what my credit rating is :grin:

Cheers,

Mark

That's basically the same tripod, just without the pillar and with a big beefy fork mount instead of the AZEQ6. They are pretty solid, more like a portable pier really

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Piero

Piero

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Really nice telescope, and the vixen too!  :)

They both fit nicely on the AZ6.

Are you considering using it just for holidays as grab and go telescope, or do you also have some specific targets in mind?

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Stu

Stu

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Just been reading up on them: they weigh 50lbs(?)

In USA, they cost $750 (about £480)

But, in UK, they are £895...

I will do a bit more research!

Cheers,

Mark

I picked mine up used for a couple of hundred.

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Stu

Stu

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Really nice telescope, and the vixen too! :)

They both fit nicely on the AZ6.

Are you considering using it just for holidays as grab and go telescope, or do you also have some specific targets in mind?

Thanks Piero, yes, they are both lovely scopes, although I've yet to look through the Edge at night. In the daytime it looked very good, sharp and quite bright although less contrasty than a frac as you would expect.

I'll probably use it both at home and away. I go to my parents frequently and the skies are better there, but still not great. A bit of aperture for globs and small, brighter DSO's will be nice. It will also be convenient to take away with me, in the UK, though having to choose between the Tak and SCT may be tricky, both would be nice, widefield and higher power together.

I hope it will also be useful on planets and the moon. We will see about doubles too, not sure. When I had my 8" mak previously, it was a lovely scope but needed good seeing at f20, and cooling was always an issue. Hopefully the SCT will be a little easier in both respects.

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Stu

Stu

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Nice scope - one on my shortlist! It'll be very interesting to see how it performs with sub-arcsec doubles.....

Chris

Cheers Chris. It will be interesting to see how it does, when properly cooled of course!

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Piero

Piero

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Thanks Piero, yes, they are both lovely scopes, although I've yet to look through the Edge at night. On the daytime it looked very good, sharp and quite bright although less contrasty than a frac as you would expect.

I'll probably use it both at home and away. I go to my parents frequently and the skies are better there, but still not great. A bit of aperture for globs and small, brighter DSO's will be nice. It will also be convenient to take away with me, in the UK, though having to choose between the Tak and SCT may be tricky, both would be nice, widefield and higher power together.

I hope it will also be useful on planets and the moon. We will see about doubles too, not sure. When I had my 8" mak previously, it was a lovely scope but needed good seeing at f20, and cooling was always an issue. Hopefully the SCT will be a little easier in both respects.

Seems a good plan to me! :)

Can the Tak60 be mounted replacing the SCT finder when travelling? 

If so, you don't need to chose which one to take with you and you would get both wide field and high power..

I know it is doable for the TV60, as televue sells the attachment for a C8. Just an idea. :)

Looking forward to reading your considerations about this Edge. It seems a nice combo. 

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Stu

Stu

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Seems a good plan to me! :)

Can the Tak60 be mounted replacing the SCT finder when travelling?

If so, you don't need to chose which one to take with you and you would get both wide field and high power..

I know it is doable for the TV60, as televue sells the attachment for a C8. Just an idea. :)

Looking forward to reading your considerations about this Edge. It seems a nice combo.

I'm sure it's possible, but it's just as easy to mount them both on the Giro-WR, it has a clamp each side. As you say, it would make a nice combination :)

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I'm blown away by the capabilities of those WR's. I remember thinking at SGLX it doesn't look up to holding much due to it's compact size yet it was as if the scopes were floating on air. I had tried to get my hands on one a while back to replace my AZ3 but the smaller mini seems to come up more often on the used market. I settled for an AZ4 on steel tripod in the end. Can't fault the AZ4 though but would still be nice to have a compact twin view like the WR.

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