New setup advice needed

[Dave1]

So back in 2010-2011 I got my first telescope. Which was a Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2. I had it for awhile, needed the money, so I sold it, as I thought it was to big and too bulky. As I could not leave it permanently set-up. My favourite time of year for viewing the night sky is winter, I should really get out all year round and learn more of the night sky.

But I have the bug still, for now I have been making do with my eyes, and bino's. Had lovely views of the moon this week. I have been deliberating over what to get. I was leaning towards a goto thinking it would probably get more use. This time it has to be a refractor,  I wish I could afford a decent ED APO or even a triplet, but I can't. I know fast F ratios can suffer with CA. I also know aperture is king, well not if you have rubbish optics.. So I have limited funds, and I know a long focal length refractor is going to be heavy and not a goto, but have good definition and contrast for viewing planets and binary stars etc, but not so good for DSO unless I buy an suitable eye piece?

You may be thinking why am I telling you all this, this is my first post here in a long time, and I have been researching, and I wanted to share what I know, so that if you guys see any error in my thinking you can point it out.

Now I have been looking at secondhand market for telescopes and tripods. I have come to the conclusion that one telescope I am considering is the Bresser AR-127L( not found one secondhand ). I can buy that directly from Bresser for £247.20p. I know with this telescope I have to have a sturdy tripod like an EQ5 or equivalent. I have found this tripod for sale http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=100988. The tripod is a heavy duty tripod designed for a Tal 100 refractor, what do you guys think?

Would be thankful for your input.

[dweller25]

As you are looking for an achromat I would look around for a 100 F/10 refractor plus mount - the Bresser 127L is a nice scope but it has a 1200mm focal length (the same as your 150PL) and needs a sturdy mount.....

[xtreemchaos]

hi mate i have the ar127l its a great scope but big,its great for planets, doubles, and close up dsos, eq5 is min for scope. if you need to know more PM me .clear skys. charl

[Dave1]

Thanks dweller, I am well aware of the 1200mm focal length, and the use of a sturdy mount, like mentioned in the OP. 

I will use the telescope for mainly viewing planets, the moon, and some DSO. So the long focal length is not an concern of mine, nor is having a wide FOV. The only thing that concerns me, is the weight and shape, although at least the Bresser has a handle. Is it not possible to leave the scope set up in the garden covered with a decent weather proof cover? Or is that not a good idea?

Thanks xtreemchaos. Will be in contact.

[Steve Ward]

A refractor to match the 150 newt you had before is going to be bigger , bulkier and much more expensive  ,  especially if you want to eliminate CA  ... ( something that you don't get with

a newt to start with ).

[happy-kat]

If you found your last setup big and bulky why get another eq mount.

Have you thought about an Az4 tripod?

What about a MAK/SCT keeping the bulk down.

[Dave1]

I would probably prefer an AZ mount. It was the EQ mount that annoyed me the most about the old set up, sometimes I just did not want to polar align the mount. But I am older and more patient. I have looked at the Skywatcher AZ4 and it is out of my budget at the moment. I have not been able to find an secondhand AZ4.  

[nightfisher]

second hand AZ 4`s get snapped up, but they do crop up, usually about £100 ish with tripod, very good mounts

just a thought, the Altair astro 150 f6 newt would be a nice scope on this mount and with 900 focal length not bad on dso and pretty good on Luna and planets

[Dave1]

Thanks for the help I have just checked the maximum recommended weight for the AZ4 mount by Skywatcher, it is 8kg. I would actually need an AZ5 mount, which has a 13kg weight limit.

[Dave1]

To behonest I think now, if I can strike a deal, I am just going to get that mount . I will get a new Tal 100RS. As that gets very good reviews, and the mount in the link is made by Tal for the Tal 100, even if it is an old Tal mount. The mount itself also gets good reviews. So it seems a bit of a no brainer. Until today I did not know about the Tal 100. I have used Russian optics before in other applications, they are usually brilliant.

[Dave1]

Right guys it looks like the mount I was after isn't going to happen. Do you think a Vixen Porta ii mount would be good at high magnification on a Tal 100RS or AR-127L?

[Live_Steam_Mad]

Does it have to be a refractor? How about a C6? It only weighs 4.5Kg and is only 16" long, and the quality should be pretty good at high magnifications. If you get an Achromat of F6 then the CA will be a problem (well it would be for me), the whole FOV view at 200x with Jupiter in it is purple colored according to Ed Ting, if I remember right, with a 6" F8 Achromat.

Regards,

Alistair G.