Complementing scopes or just one scope ??

[spaceboy]

I have often read it said that two scopes complement each other but have always though that a single largest aperture I can manage by myself scope is going to bring everything you need to the table. At a recent star party I found that isn't the case at all and that while aperture shows you those things that smaller scopes can't, it come at the cost of a smaller FOV.

It then comes to the choice of two scopes that each bring their benefits to the table with out it becoming unrealistic to transport with tents and everything else packed in to the back of an average sized car.

My current choice to partner my 12" dob for faint and fuzzies resulted in a ST120 on AZ4 for DSO's that simply don't fit in to the FOV of the dob. The advantage of the ST120 is that it can also be used for solar observing.

BUT I could sell the 12" dob which currently gives me a maximum FOV of 1.53° in my 28mm ep and get a 10" dob that offers me 1.91° and tape some solar film across the back of the aperture mask for solar observing. This now means I am back to the one scope that does it all albeit at the cost of some aperture.

Do you have a 2 scope setup and why ?

[John]

I used to have a 4" ED F/6.5 refractor paired with a 10" F/4.8 newtonian and that seemed to cover a wide range of observing activities. I've since moved to a 12" F/5.3 dob and added a 4.7" ED refractor to the 4" ED for a little more "ooomph" when observing. I have to say though that, with the exception of double star observing (which the ED120 excells at) and very wide field observing (which the ED102 is great for) the 12" dob does everything else better so gets the most use of the 3.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just two??

Multiple scopes can cover a lot more ground than a single scope ever could. Moving from 12" to 10" loses a lot of light (the 12" captures 44% more light, equivalent to 0.4 magnitude deeper). I used my C8 much more than teh little APM 80mm, until I got into H-alpha viewing, for which I simply need a refractor.

[Alien 13]

I think most people have a scope and binos, low magnification and wide field can show things that are impossibe to see with large aperatures if I was forced into just one it would be the binos.

Alan

[ronin]

Two, just two?     

And you seem to be seriouysly thinking of going to ONE! :wub:

Have 4 at present, and that is because I gave a friend one of mine otherwise it would be 5.

It's the sun isn't it, you have been out in it too long.

Go in, cool down, you'll get over these strange thoughts. :D

It is easy to realise you have a reflector.

Reflector people have reflector A, sell reflector A to buy reflector B, thus maintaining 1 scope.

Refractor people have refractor A, buy refractor B to keep refractor A company, then look for refractor C because it seems like a good idea.

[spaceboy]

the 12" dob does everything else better so gets the most use of the 3.

Out of curiosity can you fit the Rosetta nebula in the FOV John? I know the 31mm Nag has some FOV advantage over my 28mm but even so I'm betting it's go to be a squeeze.

[spaceboy]

Two, just two?     

And you seem to be seriouysly thinking of going to ONE! :wub:

Have 4 at present, and that is because I gave a friend one of mine otherwise it would be 5.

It's the sun isn't it, you have been out in it too long.

Go in, cool down, you'll get over these strange thoughts. :D

Don't be daft..... just one for star parties, I still want the 4 for at home

[DirkSteele]

Um...Two?  Technically I now have seven.  Yes there is some overlap and if I could bring myself to sell, at least one should go, but they give me real flexibility, especially when travelling.  Flying into the middle Africa with minimal luggage allowance, the baby Tak 60 comes along.  Trips closer to home or where only large airlines are used (such Oman a couple of years ago) the APM 105 is the scope of choice.  The big guns, the 180mm triplet and my C11 are mostly home use and star-parties in the UK where they fit in the car.  Also a question of how long do I have?  Do I want to lug out a big one if I have an hour before bed, or a short gap in the clouds is forecast?  Better to grab a small one and be observing in under a minute...plus there is the cool down issues with larger scopes which is also something to consider for the quick looks.

If I could only have two, would be the APM 180mm for home and star parties and probably my Tak 76 for travel (mine splits in two so is ultra portable).  But it is nice to have options.

[xtreemchaos]

i have 3 AR127L for planets and doubles a ED80 for snaps and widefeild and 200p for everything else,i do have a few more scopes but there for just in case.

[brantuk]

I have two scopes that complement each other very well. I can use the solar scope in the day and dob at night. Could be doing astronomy 24hrs per day when it's not cloudy and I'm on "stay awake" drugs lol

(As for the other 7 - well they just satisfy my "what do you fancy looking at or imaging tonight" mood.)

[Macavity]

Even in retrospect, I feel my first purchase of an f/500mm ST102 and an f/1250mm MAK90 was a

good idea. Enabled me to get a good idea of relative virtues of a (maximum) diversity of scopes?

Whereas there are (in some sense) "Do It All" scopes. I find, particularly for my VIDEO Astronomy,

I am ever seeking new focal lengths! But such scopes need not be the most expensive despite?

I now have a focal range of f=2.1mm to f=1800mm. Clearly, not all are telescopes, but...

[Davesellars]

Just two scopes for me:   An 8" SCT with a focal reducer gives me f10 for real planetary stuff and f6.3 for DSO observations.  My 2nd scope is a Skywatcher 80ED which for me is the perfect compliment to the SCT - for real widefield views I pop in a 36mm 72 degree EP which gives me 4.32 degrees FOV and the scope is truly portable and holds its own surprisingly well on planets with such good optics and nights of good seeing at 120x.   I think if I bought more scopes one would become redundant although I have a hankering for a 5" refractor...  

[recceranger]

Two for me - 150 MAK Pro for planets, lunar and tight DSO's. 80ED Pro for Wide Field etc. The detail on Lunar using the MAK is fantastic and it's not to shabby on Globulars!

However, you simply can't beat a good quality Frac when it comes to pin point clarity. They are just so blumming expensive! Though I would love a decent 4.7 to 6" APO!

[Moonshane]

I used to have a three scope rule until I got into solar. I still have the three dobs plus three fracs.

16" f4 dob for star parties along with (now I am into solar) a 120mm ed for white light and a 100mm PSTAL

12" f4 dob which is my main home based observing scope

6" f11 dob when I fancy a double star / planetary only session on a driven mount

Finally I also have a 80mm F6 ed/apo which I have used for general observing, white light solar and is mainly intended as a small wide field scope for the camper van when away with the family - effectively a big monocular.

[Stu]

I'm at seven currently, but may have a change around.

16" Sumerian Canopus for dark sky trips and star parties

10" f6.3 Orion Optics for home and local club use, planetary and bright DSOs

6" Vixen Atlux ED for home planetary, lunar and doubles mainly

SW 120ED for home white light solar and quick observing sessions, planetary and doubles

Takahashi FC-100 - Solar Ha with the Quark, plus grab and go use at home or within the UK on hols. Nice wide field views but also very capable at high mags.

Takahashi FC-76 - grab and go travel scope for abroad and quick sessions at home, nice for Ha solar too

Takahashi FS-60C - Tiny travel scope when there is no room for anything else, nice for white light and Ha solar too.

[Peter Drew]

Don't get me started!  

[Stu]

Don't get me started!

Please do Peter

[scarp15]

Currently two and a pair of binoculars. 

14" F4.6 Dob for dark sky trips

8" F6 Dob for home use, star parties (with camping kit n' family) trips to visit family / friends etc 

15x70 Binoculars for home, camping and dark sky trips

The combination means that I get out and participate much more than if I just had the one option.

I would like a small refractor on my wish list, TV 76 or 85 would be nice.

[nicks90]

i have 3 - well 2 - no 3.

12" dob which is my most used scope.

130mm F5 newt on an AZ mount for the caravan

70mm F5 frac  as a mega finder on my dob. But it also doubles up as a super widefield scope.

if i could fit the dob in the caravan, i wouldnt bother with the 130. I can live without the fov and enjoy the additional light gathering capabilities of the dob. However I do own a 38mm 70deg panaview giving 1.77deg fov. I know the exit pupil is too large and therefore i lose some of the total light in to my eyeball, but it still gives great widefield views if I fancy that sort of thing.

[laser_jock99]

The other approach you could take is to have a range of scopes of the same type.

Thus I own four similar Newtonian scopes- a GSO 6" F4, GSO 8" F4, GSO 10" F4 and GSO 12" F4.

The logic being that I can use the same (expensive) 0.7x focal reducer/coma corrector, 1.0x coma correctors & 2x ED Barlow on all four scopes.

I can therefore get large range of focal lengths and F ratios ranging from 420mm F2.9 to 2400mm F8  

420mm F2.9

600mm F4

1200mm F8

560mm F2.9

800mm F4

1600mm F8

700mm F2.9

1000mm F4

2000mm F8

840mm F2.9

1200mm F4

2400mm F8

In addition I'm also looking at a 1.4x coma corrector to open up another range of possible focal lengths, so sixteen telescopes for the price of four!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have a C8 with 70mm F/5 scope as giant finder, an APM 80mm F/6 triplet serving as wide field scope and H-alpha scope with the Solar Spectrum filter, a Coronado SolarMax-II H-alpha scope for grab and go H-alpha viewing (also from work), a pair of Helios Apollo 15x70HD bins, and older pair of Bresser 10x50 bins (one of their earlier higher-end ones), and the kids have a 4.5" F/4.3 mini-Dob. I hope to add an ES AR127 F/6.5 scope to put the Solar Spectrum filter on a 5" scope for REAL detail shots, and I hope to get a travel Dobson later.

[John]

Out of curiosity can you fit the Rosetta nebula in the FOV John? I know the 31mm Nag has some FOV advantage over my 28mm but even so I'm betting it's go to be a squeeze.

With the 12" F/5.3 dob the Nagler 31 gives a true field of 1.6 degrees. I believe the Roseatte Nebula is around 1.6 degrees by 1.8 degrees in apparent diameter, depending on how dark the skies are so it's tight to say the least.

I can see both sides of the Veil Nebula with my ED102mm F/6.5 refractor and the 31mm Nagler. The field with the 21mm Ethos in the same scope is just a wee bit tight for this.  With the 21mm Ethos in the 12" dob and the O-III filter the East or West portion of the Veil straddles the whole of the 1.3 degree field of view

I ought to have added to my original reply that I don't do solar observation beyond the very occasional bit of white light. If I was into H-Alpha observing I'd need another scope or the Quark eyepiece to use with my ED102 refractor.

[swamp thing]

I hope these people with multiple scopes are'nt the ones that try and talk people out of getting large scopes with the "if it doesn't get used its a waste" line.......

If you have a large number of scopes they will gather dust too........

My policy. Observe with buddies. That way you get to look through loads of different scopes and have a good laugh doing it too.

[barkis]

After seeing what a 20" Obsession can deliver, I would be quite satisfied If I could afford  just that one.

You can eyeball most of the targets of interest as an Imager. No need to go to expensive Imaging purchased  .

I know it's cumbersome, but It wouldn't bother me. I'd build an adequate housing for it in My back garden.

Or better still, make my tandem Obsy's into one biggie.

Ron.

[estwing]

One Dob one Frac at the moment...