John

12 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

.....set up and tear down time plays a part in any decision to observe.

I think that is a key point and, here in the UK at least, makes a big difference to how many sessions you get.

I keep my setups very simple and portable and observe just a few paces from where the scopes live. My scopes just take a couple of minutes to set up / tear down. This way I can have quite a lot of observing sessions even though some of those might be quite short due to the unpredictable weather.

Our garden is not large enough to house an observatory.

If I had complex scope setups and had to carry them someway to an observing site before connecting power sources, aligning mounts etc, etc then the number of sessions I have would be drastically reduced, possibly to the point where I would not actually have the desire to own a scope at all 

13 minutes ago, Carl Au said:

That is a very fair point as it goes. It is a very nice thing to browse through before you head out with your shopping list of targets. 

I tend to make things up as I go along .....

2 minutes ago, Carl Au said:

Tis the double star bible. 

Yes, it is well regarded and comprehensive but I think I prefer the presentation of double stars in Instellarium where you get an immediate indication of the aperture that might be needed without having to go to another section.

I'll dig the Cambridge Atlas out and give it another chance though, next time it's clear.

Hi and welcome to the forum !

Where in the world are you ?

Zhumell tends to be found in the USA / Canada mostly. Here in Europe the GSO made dobsonians (Zhumells are made by GSO) tend to be found under other brandings.

1 minute ago, Carl Au said:

The Cambridge double star atlas is brilliant, the last time I looked it was also really expensive.

I have a copy of that and it is very nicely produced but I've not really taken to it for some reason

Maybe I need to give it another chance.

Just now, John said:

Posted in error.

5 minutes ago, faulksy said:

orion optics dob. best spec you could afford idealy 1/10 wave mirror

this is bang on the money. or 10"

https://www.orionoptics.co.uk/VX/vx12-12l.html

That would be my thinking as well.

Versatile as well, the planets not being too well positioned over the next couple of years

Expanding the interest into the other wonders that the sky has to offer will prove more rewarding I reckon

I have some astro catalogues that date back to the late 1980's and it is interesting to look at what was available then and the prices. Astro equipment is generally a lot less expensive than it used to be and the choice far, far wider

I think adding the diagonal is the issue here. You really need to shorten the finder tube to allow for the light path that the diagonal uses up. If you can get that right then the eyepiece should be able to reach focus without the need for modifications.

1 minute ago, Dantooine said:

There maybe some more! I’ve ordered a 22mm T4. Had to be done, they were fighting in the case. 

Very nice !

I had one many years ago. My first "big" Tele Vue

11 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

I’ve just ordered another 😳

I did wonder when I saw your latest "for sale" advert

I think upgrades / improvements to aid finding things are the best way to go. Being able to increase the "repertoire" of targets will keep your interest as the seasons progress and such upgrades can simply include more research and practice which don't cost anything at all 

As well as finders (which you are already thinking about) star charts, software, apps and on-line resources are all worth exploring.

Ooops ! - I have just noticed that you have posted this in the imaging section so that answers my question !

I'm just a visual observer so I will duck out and let the imagers advise you

Are you primarily interested in imaging, visual observing, or both ?

Actually the build quality does vary between the refractor brands / price ranges.

If I had £5 for every time I have purchased my "Final Eyepiece" ......... I'd have enough to buy another eyepiece !

Just a further note of thanks to all who responded in this thread.

I have to confess that my filters are currently in their plastic cases, in an old wooden cigar box while I work out a more sophisticated solution

I will come up with something better in due course though, thanks to all the feedback

I had the Maxvision 24mm 68 degrees 1.25 inch eyepiece for a while and I used it in my 12 inch F/5.3 dobsonian. It was a pretty good wide field eyepiece. Later I got an Explore Scientific 24mm 68 and found no noticeable difference to the optical performance. The build quality and finish of the ES was a step up but optically the performance was the same.

If you don't want to go to 2 inch eyepieces at this stage these 24mm 68 degree field eyepieces will show you as much sky as a 1.25 inch format eyepiece can show and a bit more than the 25mm Tele Vue plossl can manage:

I don't have a TOE but I do have Pentax XW's and a Nagler 2mm-4mm zoom. When observing targets which benefit from high powers 4 mm seems to be my starting point with the DL and I'm often using 3.5mm, 3mm and even 2.5mm now and then. At 225x to 300x the scope seems quite comfortable. 

I have considered the Tak TOE's and, if I ever do go that way, I would actually want to own both the 4mm and the 3.3mm for sure and would be highly tempted by the 2.5mm to compete the set.

The moon will have been having quite an impact on the visibility of the Orion Nebula and other similar deep sky objects. For the best views of such targets, wait for a moonless night.

As said above, Mars is now receding rapidly. I was observing it at 300x last night and it still was only a small pink disk in the eyepiece with vague hints of the darker surface features.

The scope you have chosen is a good one though so no worries there. Deep sky objects will look much better with no moon around. Mars will be back at a better size again but not for a while I'm afraid - Autumn / Winter 2022.

Lots to keep you occupied until then though - have fun !

28 minutes ago, vineyard said:

Same scope (same pics) on eBay again now.

Yes - I reported another yesterday:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/370832-ebay-scam-scope/

Could be another half dozen on there by now !

Double stars where there is a significant brightness difference between the component stars are more difficult to split. The most extreme example is Sirius. The actual gap between Sirius A and Sirus B is currently about 11 arc seconds which is a touch more than the gap between Rigel and it's companion star  but the huge brightness difference (Sirius A is 10 magnitudes or 10,000x brighter than Sirius B ) is what makes the pair so hard to split.

Unequal brightness doubles with close separations are tough challenges for the seeing conditions, the optical instruments and the observer but satisfying when they are eventually split

23 minutes ago, Les Ewan said:

Glad you still have your old 60mm. My Prinz is long gone. I saw one on Ebay with the complete kit still boxed a couple of years ago I was very tempted but I really didn't have the space.

I got it setup last Summer and had a couple of sessions with it. It's wobbly on the alt-az mount and the .965 eyepieces seemed minute but the optics are really quite good

10 minutes ago, Les Ewan said:

Your actually right at least in my case.Mizar was the first telescopic double I resolved with my first proper telescope,which was a Prinz 60mm refractor( the type that were all the rage in the early 70's) the same evening I first saw Cor Caroli. Funny how early observations stick in the mind more than the more recent 'first see's with much better equipment. For example I cant ever remember my first view of say Epsilon 1 and 2 Lyrae, or Ras Algethi or even Albireo. It's strange then that I very seldom even glance either Mizar or Cor Caroli  these days,but I will rectify that next time I'm out.

My first one (with an old Tasco 60mm refractor) was Algieba (Gamma Leonis). I was really amazed when I saw those two golden yellow disks almost touching at 60x or so. One of those "blink in disbelief" moments 

I do still enjoy looking at that one and occasionally dust down the old Tasco to re-live my first sighting.

It has been clear again here since my last post but I think sometimes you have to draw a line and do something else. 

1 hour ago, John said:

Yep - I've now got that cloud that @Zermelo mentioned above

I found the 20mm that the ED120 had over the Tak 100 took Tegmine from "heavily notched" to "split". One of the reasons that I have held onto the ED120 despite obtaining the Tak 100 and the LZOS 130 - it's optics are superb and it is a very easy to handle and rugged near-5 inch refractor

 

 

Hey - it cleared, and I put the scope out again !

Scope got cool, put eyepiece in to look at Sirius. No Sirius. No clear sky ...... again !

Given up now for tonight - fed up with behaving like a yo-yo