Trikeflyer

Looking to get a spotting scope for astronomy use on holiday in a dark sky area. I have several telescopes but want something ultra light weight to travel with. Budget around £300 any recommendations please? Steve

Fellow stargazing members, I’m Looking for a spotting scope for Astro recommendation. Reason is travel use and wanting to keep things very light weight. Will be in extremely dark skies on this trip. Steve

I haven’t used with the Sky-Watcher tripod but I did look at this as a option previously - I got put off because you will need an adapter plate to attach the mount to the tripod as it will not fit directly. That adapter plate might be more than just getting the Ioptron tripod? Not sure if they even exist commercially but an engineering shop could probably make one as a one off? Hope that helps Steve

You’re right everyone will have an opinion. For me based on your requirements it would seem that a Schmidt cassesgrain would be a good all round option scope. Probably 10 inch would mean you wouldn’t have to replace it. The Brand and exact model will be driven by your budget. If you are getting into Astro photography then you will need an eq Mount like the one you mention above. If you’re not set on Astro photography I’d probably consider a goto altaz Mount as way easier set up for visual. Hope that provides some direction even if it serves only to allow you to dismiss the option.

Very sad, my sincere condolences to his family. He was an icon in our Astro community and he and his fantastic products will be missed.

Oh damn I should have stayed 🙄🤨. Hope you all had a good time and it was great to meet you all. Well at least I took the clouds with me and my ‘new’ scope😂

It’s about 2.5 hours for me. Aiming to get there by about 4 when the skies start to clear 😂 Steve

Be good to see you next year. Hope you can make it. It’s been a long time since that mini star party with Nick and Shaun in Walton on Trent.

I’m packed too but not arriving until afternoon. First time I’ve been to this one. Looking forward to meeting you all. See you tomorrow. steve

I have this scope but ended up taking it off the Mount and buying a new Mount as the scope is great but the Mount is poor for goto. I always struggled with it. A couple of thing to check - do you have the latest firmware - a while back there was an issue with gps clocks and timing. Other things are make sure it’s level and pointing north before you start. Take a look at Mike Weasners site on the web - he is an expert on this scope. Hope that helps steve

Looking forward to meeting you all.

I’ve got pitch 7. Looking forward to meeting everyone. It’s my first time here. Wishing us clear skies 😀.

I’ve just booked fri and sat night In Oaks field - not sure of my pitch number as booked online but I told them I’m with swag so hopefully near the action.

Glad you got chance to get the yard cannon out Paul.

Nice - I love binoviewing too. Hope you enjoy these. Had to do a double take here. Noticed the book - the unauthorised history of Mi5 - thought at first it was the unauthorised history of M15 and thought blimey that’s a thick book for one messier object - someone must have researched it thoroughly 😳😂 Then realised it was MI5 🙈 Steve

My Daughters boyfriend competes internationally in the downhill mountain biking championships. It’s a good balance for you as you say leaves the cash reserves a bit tight. Flying is the same - not cheap but fun. Thanks for sharing and I must say the lake district for dark skies must be amazing Steve

Good thread. Sorry to hear that you’ve reached this stage. Like many have said, interest seems to wax and wane like the moon but I always come back feeling refreshed and ready for another session. Hope that feeling never goes away. Weather is a pain here for sure, it gets in the way of significant Astro events that don’t come round that often and you build up your hopes of seeing something, only to be frustrated by the weather. What other hobbies do people have? Apart from Astronomy, I’m into fountain pens, scale modelling, cycling - a bit but not much and recreational flying light aeroplanes. My mojo for all these things comes and goes and I think that is normal from what I hear others saying. Hope the OP either sticks with it or finds a new passion. Steve

I’m thinking I might like one of these 8inch CC so looking forward to the reviews. Steve

Not all opticians use those machines - called phoropters - I am an optician and I use the traditional trial frame approach - God forbid anyone who comes to me thinks that we are torturing their eyes! Glad your optician sorted out the bifocal problem for you though. Steve

Thanks for sharing that. Yes I might have to push the boat out and get one! Steve

I’ve always fancied one of these. Never used one but if I was looking for a first one, I’d definitely have one of these https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p5506_TS-Concenter-2--colimation-eyepiece-for-Newtonian-Telescopes.html Steve

Weirdly I’ve recently sold some Astro stuff and clearing out had made me feel better. I’m down to the essentials in eyepieces. I still have a couple of rarely used scopes like my Meade etx 125 but although they are optically perfect, they’re a bit beat up and when I consider selling I think they won’t fetch much money and so it’s better to keep them. I’m not saying buying new gear is not good for the soul, however at the same time, minimising can be just as satisfying.

I have the Altair one. Can’t fault it. Great views, easy to use, as has been said - easy to use the back plate as a finder. Haven’t used the others so can’t compare but I can say that the Altair one does give great views. Steve

Most scopes come with an attachment called a dovetail which attaches the scope to the mount. They are fairly universal. You might be able to pick up a used combination for your budget. If you had the manual mount it would be within your budget new - I think? Steve

Based on your questions and answers, you have the basic pros and cons. The mak will be good on the moon and planets. I have a Meade etc 125 mak and find it poor for deep sky except globular clusters. As you say, no collimating required. The trouble I find is that the field of view is narrow, making it more difficult to find objects and due to the long f ratio, at higher magnification, the images can be very dark due to the small exit pupil these scopes produce. My personal view on this is to consider an achromatic refractor for your budget - either 100mm or 120mm. I think these will be better all round on deep sky nebula and clusters (galaxies are harder but with the apertures you are looking at, galaxies are harder full stop), moon and planets. They combine good field of view, no collimating, quick to cool down, easy to use and set up. I have mak, reflector and refractor scopes and if I had to lose them all except 1, I’d keep the refractor as an all round tool. Basic Photography is possible with a refractor. Consider the following options https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-120-ota.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-102l-1000-refractor-ota.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-127l-1200-refractor-ota.html Then you have to consider the mount if you live in light polluted skies, I think goto makes sense, you will find more stuff, faster once you are set up. if you live in dark skies then maybe a manual mount can be ok. I prefer goto but there are many who don’t and this is personal choice. I think it can be frustrating searching for stuff and just not finding it when you’re a beginner. Also if The scope is mainly for visual use, I’d suggest avoiding equatorial mounts and going for alt az mounts. Here are some possibilities, bot goto and manual - just make sure that the weight limit of the mount is ok for the scope you choose - if the scope is a couple of hundred grams over, this won’t really affect the performance. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/sky-watcher-star-discovery-wifi-az-goto-mount-tripod.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount.html Just my thoughts. Good luck.