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New To Forum User in Light Polluted Area Looking at Beginner Refractors

Spacefreak1974

By Spacefreak1974
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Spacefreak1974

Spacefreak1974

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Alas I've seen the amazing unpolluted by light night sky in Northern Arizona while on a mission trip on the Navajo reservation, but I live in Indianapolis! I'm in the market for a telescope to get started and focusing on refractors 90MM+

I've done the whole "try astronomy with binoculars first before investing in a scope" thing for a while now and would like a beginner refractor with a good mount (pref EQ mount as i've heard they are preferred by most?).  

I was intrigued by the Levenhuk Strike 900 90MM Refractor with Equatorial mount that comes with a carrying bag as well as a filter set

Sometimes with bundles on any product you get something cheap, but this seems legit

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/refracting-telescopes/levenhukstrike900prorefractortelescope.cfm

The others i've looked at are the Orion AstroView 90 EQ

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Orion-AstroView-90mm-Equatorial-Refractor-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/10/p/9024.uts

I've also looked at the Celestron Astromaster 90 EQ

http://www.opticsplanet.com/reviews/reviews-celestron-astromaster-90-eq-refractor-telescope-21064.html

The Levenhuk has some of the items I would buy anyways and is less than the Orion but a little more than the Celestron

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ronin

ronin

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Odd news is they are likely to be the same scope, just sold under different brand names.

**If you get the Levenhuk then throw the solar filter away, Do not coinsider using it at all, get filter, get hammer, apply hammer to filter.

So as they are likely the same scope do you prefer the white or the black tube?

I see that the Levenhuk is advertised as:

"The telescope comes in a colorful box."

Sorry but these claims always cause me amusement.

There is a 90mm Celestron or Orion Astromaster (something like that) around that is a bit shorter but not f/5, about f/6.8 that may be worth thinking of. It will have CA but so will the one(s) indicated and it will be shorter.

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ronl

ronl

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Hi and welcome to S G L,

the AstroView 90 looks exactly the same as the Skywatcher Evo 90 which was

my first scope, a good scope and mount, the tripod is a little wobbly, but you can

live with it, it gives really good views and is very easy to set up, if you decide on

the AstroView I don't think you will be disappointed, but that is just my humble

opinion, good luck with your choice of scope, just enjoy the views.

Clear Sky's 

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Spacefreak1974

Spacefreak1974

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Thanks everyone. I had a 50MM Tasco when I was a kid. It had Haley's Comet stickers all over it! I know I want something more powerful than that, but even with that one I would spend hours looking at the craters on the moon! I cant afford a $4K Takahashi, but I do want something with a little oomph. I like the specifications of the Celestron Omni XLT refractors as well, but they are just a little more

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Spacefreak1974

Spacefreak1974

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Given that its manufactured by Synta I started looking at photos of the Orion Astroview 90 EQ and the Levenhuk Strike 900 90MM EQ and they are extremely similar. The mount appears identical, focuser seems identical as well as the optical tube. The Orion is 10mm longer focal length, but that could be simply because the housing that holds the objective lens could be longer??? Maybe they did that to delineate between the Orion given its so popular! They do appear that they were manufactured using the same production line though

http://www.levenhuk.com/catalogue/telescopes/levenhuk-strike-900-pro/#.VHSy5YvF_AQ

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Orion-AstroView-90mm-Equatorial-Refractor-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/10/p/9024.uts

Pertaining to making a decision the Levenhuk vs Orion Astroview the Levenhuk comes with the following that the Orion does not

-Lifetime Warranty (vs. 1-Yr for Orion)

-Bag (may be great to have given we have a small house and little kids - who like to get into stuff : )

-Set of filters

-$269 for the Levenhuk vs. $309.99 for the Orion

Is it really that simple of a decision? Have others purchased from the Hayneedle site telescopes.com? Experience? Do these folks know what they are talking about?

Jon

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Jim Steele

Jim Steele

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I asked Levenhuk's customer service and the response I received pertaining to the Levenhuk Strike 900 90MM Reffractor was, "This model is high-quality as it is manufactured by Synta under Levenhuk control"

I don't know much about the Levenhuk scopes but given they are made by Synta one would assume they are very similar to the Skywatcher/Celestron/Orion variants.

It sounds like a good deal to me, would make a nice grab and go frac. :)

Ps, welcome to sgl :)

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Lowjiber

Lowjiber

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Thanks everyone. I had a 50MM Tasco when I was a kid. It had Haley's Comet stickers all over it! I know I want something more powerful than that, but even with that one I would spend hours looking at the craters on the moon! I cant afford a $4K Takahashi, but I do want something with a little oomph. I like the specifications of the Celestron Omni XLT refractors as well, but they are just a little more

I have the 90mm Orion that I use for a travel scope... sort of a grab-n-go machine.  The tripod is very shaky, and I replaced mine with a wooden tripod for stability.  The focuser is "okay", but I put a GSO 2x Crayford on mine.

I also have an OMNI XLT 120mm on a CG-4 Eq mount.  Again, I put a 2x Crayford focuser in place of the rack-and-pinion one that comes with the scope.  The original focuser is good, I just like to have the two-speed (2x) option with these clunky hands.

Here's the deal regarding Light Pollution (LP)...

I live in Las Vegas, two miles from the famous "strip".  I know what I'm talking about when it comes to observing in an LP envrionment.

As strange as it may seem, aperture still rules in an LP environment.  The "trick" is to control the background light by adding more power... thus increasing contrast.

I refer you to a very good book by Rod Mollise entitled, "The Urban Astronmer's Guide".  Amazon carries it for around $23 US.  In it, he describes many tips and techinques to enable one to survive in an LP "jungle"... including the technique I described above.

I have two scopes that are legitimate weapons in the fight against LP... 10" Dob and ES AR152.  Now, I can (and do) go to the dark desert a lot.  However, using larger apertures and the techniques described in Mollise's book, I've found and documented over thirty Messier objects in my highly LP'ed backyard.

If I were starting out again, my first scope would be an 8" Dob.  It's a "Goldilocks Scope"... not too fast, not too slow.  It's just right, and brings sufficient aperture to the table to observe just about any reasonable target... even in a LP'ed environment.

Clear, Dark Skies

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Spacefreak1974

Spacefreak1974

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Thanks all. I may go with a 90mm to start and get my feet wet. The Explore scientific scopes look nice. Itb seems the ones branded as Bressler are about 30% less cost. Can someone explain in laymen's terms the basic apo, doublet and triplet types? Or is the Levenhuk Strike 900/Orion 90mm Astroview a Doublet? I know dumb noobie questions

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