Paz

If it was for night time only I'd go for a dobsonian of up to 12", but if it was for solar as well then maybe a refractor up to 120mm. In either case I'd get the biggest thing I could easily handle up to those aperture limits and downsize over time as I got older.

You may end up going through a number of scopes but that can be fun in itself and doesn't have to be expensive if you stick to second hand and don't buy things on impulse. Regarding the wide variety of experiences being able to see targets such as E and F on the trapezium, I can say that over time I've got used to reading reports by other SGLers and I know how much more or less other individuals usually see compared to me. This is handy for knowing what is and isn't a good target to try for. The variation as has been said is down to many things, I know that for me I often can't see as much as is shared in observation posts for an accumulation of different reasons.

The light pollution map says my area is sqm 20.22 and bortle 5. I don't have a sky meter but I know that NELM is usually around 4.5 give or take a bit, which is not as good as the map suggests.

I've got a C8 which is the same type but a bit smaller. On doubles it will resolve well due to the aperture but star images are a bit softer than I've seen in refractors, newtonians, and maksutovs.

I got a second hand VX14 after a lot of waiting for one to come up. Second hand means less cost and that quality control issues have already been dealt with. A 12" will be possible to set up single handed (I can set up and take down my 14" my myself, it takes a bit of strength but it is doable). If cost is an issue the 12L would be better to avoid a paracorr but using eyepieces with smaller fields of view would also mitigate coma. My VX is f4.6 and I much prefer it with a paracorr in, but other users may have other perspectives. Regarding equipment the only other things I would mention to get going are a finder set up (I would vote for a telrad and a 9*50 raci finde) and something for collimating, but a collimating cap would do and wouldn't cost much. The solid tubes have a set up advantage in that you can have everything set up on the tube and lift the whole thing out ready to go. My quick set up is tube, base, eyepiece case and that's it.

Here's my grab and go set up in action from this evening. An ST80, Baader MkIV Zoom, 2.5x Powermate, and WO RACI diagonal.

I've come across this old thread whilst researching binoviewers, I have to say this is full of really informative posts.

Very nice scope and I like the storage solution - thoughtfully kept in the middle of the room so it's easy to walk around it when having to do those non astronomy things we have to do from time to time.

There's a business opportunity for an app developer! ?

That would be a good arsenal to have! I've found 12mm to 8mm with the vx14 to be a sweet spot where the seeing often maxes out so it's good to be able to make the most of it with a focal length that is just right.

I've made one last addition to my heavy set, a 10mm Delos as I found over time I was missing something at that focal length for the VX14. The problem is it would not fit in my case in the same way as the others and the out of place problem isn't easy for my eyepiece-case-ocd to handle!

Thanks John for the time that you have put into these reviews they have been very interesting and helpful to read.

I have a Delos set that had planned gaps at 10mm and 14mm. Over time I never felt like I was missing anything at 14mm but I quite often found that 8mm was too much but 12mm was not enough. I have therefore filled the 10mm gap and still feel no need of a 14mm for observing but having only one missing from a set is making me twitch!

Just wanted to say this is a great post, I read it a few years ago and it was very helpful, reading it again now and having got more experience it is spot on.

Really exciting thread, looking forward to observing feedback.

That's a nice looking scope and a lot of aperture for the weight.

I've one of these and the line across small bright objects is normal. I use this diagonal the majority of the time as I prefer the correct image orientation. If I want the best view I switch to a mirror diagonal or a Tak prism diagonal but then I have the confusion of a flipped image. The WO diagonal is a good one, the line is not a quality issue. On the moon and on fainter stars I don't notice it, it is only noticeable on planets and brighter stars.

I've got both of these and I agree the tak looks/feels a bit flimsy, but the views are good.

Welcome to SGL, that is certainly a fine first post!

Looks very impressive!

Well done, that looks great. I bought a second hand eq platform and saved a lot in doing so but yours has cost half what I got mine for.

Here's mine...

I've only been doing this for a few years and the weather has always been mostly poor in that time so I don't have any better experiences to compare it to. 6 weeks with no opportunities does happen now and again. Two weeks with no opportunities happens often. I keep everything ready to go on an opportunistic basis because it's easy to miss a chance if you were not expecting it. I probably have too much stuff and need to thin things out a bit but this is a long term interest for me and I do feel I'm getting my monies worth over the long term.

I agree it varies a lot. I usually don't go over 100x with the ST120 in practice but it can go a lot higher. I remember winning views in my ST80 at 160x on one occasion. The maksutov is usually used up to 190x at night and up to 127x for solar white light, but can go higher. The vx14 can do 230x pretty much any time and 307x most of the time. I've got the facility to go to 525x but that is very rarely used. The brighter and more contrasty the target and the higher it is in the sky make a big difference to what is possible. I also do the same as others have referred to where you deliberately up the magnification past the ideal aesthetic viewing magnification level as some details can be more easily unpicked or star separations more accurately measured. I've never heard of a word to describe this but I think of it as technical observing if that makes any sense.

I've rehoused my light set up from a small toolbox into the same kind of padded case as my heavy set up. Everything now has its own place so I can change things without needing any lights and everything is incubated and protected out into the field. Apologies for the little space left in the corner, that will be filled with a Barlow of some sort in due course for use with my microguide eyepiece for measuring things where a focal length shorter than 12.5 mm is useful. I haven't yet settled on what to go for. Here's the heavy set up for comparison. This has not changed for some time and I wouldn't be surprised if it never changes.