iPeace

What am I doing here? I already own a TV-60...must resist!

A big Mak to stick on my AZ8.

Nothing wrong with comfy slippers.

Good post, will follow with interest. My Mak is only a 102 and I often ponder getting a bigger one. It's only seen limited use - clouds - but has given me some nice lunar views over 200x. Factor in a dew shield and some cooling time and/or cool storage. No big deal. The 102 comes with a very short dovetail; I have removed it and use a longer one on a couple of tube rings. No balance issues to speak of. Works great on my range of alt-az mounts. Haven't tried the Pleiades with it. Suggest a simulation with Stellarium or similar.

Well done, great shot!

PM sent.

An Ercole Mini should do splendidly. Carries the lump of a fully-loaded built-like-a-tank TV-85 on a good photo tripod without a counterweight: Or, for even more stability and smoothness, use a counterweight and stick it on a heavier tripod: So it's as portable as you need it to be, but gets it done with panache in less mobile situations. As long as the payload is reasonable, I recommend it over the full-sized Ercole as it is even smoother on the azimuth axis. Nothing wrong with the full-sized Ercole, mind you, it's just bigger and heavier - because it has to be, in order to support larger payloads - and so it requires more of a push to get moving.

Interesting and thought-provoking. The "minimalist" approach has its appeal for saving space, weight (perhaps) and money (perhaps). It can reduce faff-in-the-dark time (perhaps). It can increase peace of mind regarding whether you're using the right eyepiece at any given time (perhaps). Unless I've overlooked something, you haven't explicitly stated the goal(s) to be achieved. This gives anyone so inclined the space to deploy one's own assumptions - which may well be the point. If you observe mainly from a single fixed location - say, your own home - and are something of a connoisseur and have no real financial incentive to do otherwise, you may as well have a custom made green-velvet-lined oak chest full of the finest eyepieces available for your enjoyment during your stay on this planet. It's not everyone who can truly appreciate the very-very-very best view you can get. I certainly can't, but if you can, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to settle for less (within your own means, of course). Should you find yourself really not caring a white dwarf which eyepiece you're using because they basically all show you (personally) the same views, well, that's another form of enlightenment, I suppose. And worthy, at that. So if you feel like you've done the eyepiece thing and just want to get on with it, well...but wait - I believe the eyepiece thing has never really held you back when it comes to quality observing. All right, I'll just say it. What you propose sounds like AC/DC announcing plans to only use acoustic guitars from now on. Very nice ones. It's just nuts.

Oh dear.

This one. P.S. Saturn is just above and to the right of the eyepiece.

See how far you can go with it. The Year Long 60mm Telescope Challenge

Thanks again Peter.

With grateful thanks to Peter for an excellent job of packaging and shipping, I am ready for an O-III shootout between Lumicon and Astronomik. I have read accounts of this one being used as a "do it all" filter, so it should be interesting. If so, it will be a prime candidate for my airline travel kit.

It's from my TV-85, an original TeleVue job. Mr. Nagler had the tapped holes in the dew shield conveniently drilled at exactly the same distance. Knowing him, that's no coincidence. I did need to use a pair of rubber washers as spacers between bracket and dew shield to keep the screws from protruding too far through the dew shield, preventing smooth operation. The rubber also protects the finish on the dew shield. The finder bracket is offered separately by TeleVue. http://agenaastro.com/televue-quick-release-finder-base-qrb-1002.html

No, it won't take a camera. But small scopes don't get much better than the TV-60. It goes everywhere and gives great views day and night. So glad I finally got one.