Robindonne

Considering he owns a 120ed, and on the hunt for a WOW, the biggest improvement in my opinion would be the 115 triplet. Door no.2

I'm so glad we were able to help Fedele choose from the 3 options

I would go for the rings. It gives you much more room to rotate the tube to a good position (your focuser!). Plus the holes and bolts through the tube are not really the best solution in my opinion. Are both options at the same costs? If the rings are more expensive you could look around here in some threads. Ive read a couple of times about rolled steel rings. Not as good looking as the aluminium ones, but who cares? They are quite affordable for large diameters, dont hurt your tube and give that option to rotate the tube to a good position. But you really need to get confirmation about the amount of flex in these rings. Maybe they are not the best option for astrophotography

I knew this question would turn in a sort of fight. And I’ve played with this question also sometimes. Maybe, like John already did, people like us, who own a sw120ed need to know why all these other mentioned scopes dont give that much of a Wow effect, like Fedele asks, compared to the 120ed.

it's nice to read our collective thoughts back in sentences. It's a psychological thing to always choose the middle one. and in this case I suspect that it will again, provided that 115 triplet uses the best glass of the three options. I'm only basing this on conjectures and read experiences. But there is a catch. There's a Tak in between that will throw all logical thinking upside down

Being at a location without my scope, sitting outside, my back facing the sun, seeing the partial eclipse taking place,mirrored in the black parts of my phonescreen.

When you can find the patience, just keep an eye open here and there(abs) for used ones. 35,- for a complete scope is not much but dont fall for the “too expensive in relation to” mistake. Some accessories are just worth the extra money, even if the accessories are more expensive than the scope.

If a budget is available i would go for a starlight focuser. Maybe the 2”? I think compared to a moonlite, it doesnt cost that much more, but a moonlight is actually nothing but an initial smooth crayford that cannot hold smoothness forever. Plus, if available, the starlight r&p is much more secure, wont slip etc.

sorry. Text was missing. But i prefer in the end the reddotfinder over a larger finderscope. Maybe it depends on the scope you will use it for. For me, sitting behind my eyepiece, and approximately 30 cm behind the point where the reddot or finderscope is attached, its easy to use the rdf from that distance and not get out of the chair

These good old times where you had to dial just 3 numbers to call someone

Indeed. But if the stolen value exceeds the rent, does it also exceeds the costs of the procedure. A lawyers hour equals an 8” dobson.

Pff indeed so many Dutchies here. Anyway van harte welkom From Ermelo

😍very nice. Thank god we fell for astronomy. Imagine getting hooked to fishing and showcasing our classic rods or hyperfast reels etc. Naah

A powersupply of 12v 5a will be fine as minimum. Some go a bit higher. 13,5 v and/or 8a.

I just googled your camera and it is capable. Binning 2x2 for example combines 4 pixels to 1. I think it should help you at least with the small pixel issue.

As an amateur to amateur: is binning an option for you?

I think it will work for very light setups ánd as in your case for portability. I dont think it will hold a longer scope or be usable with high magnifications. A vixen porta 2 is also not my choice for a manual alt az but if i were you i would keep them both if possible. When you return home from traveling your stuck with this tiny toy and sure going to miss the porta mount.

If possible i would upgrade. Dont have to tell you how much extras you receive with the pro. The overall build, speed, livestacking and powerouts etc. No need to have a goto. I assume you use the asiair build in goto?

No correct. I might have been thinking wrong all the time. I assumed when the mount would hang a bit to the left or right side of the polar scope but still polaraligned, it would have to correct much more during guiding. But i realise the 3 staralignment or platesolving does the initial correction thats needed for smooth guiding

Same here. Didnt know what to do with it. 3 devices with a camera sensor? I just want to look up and see more than with my binoculars. Dont need all of this. But it took me just a handful of months to realize all had a very well purpose. What helped me out a lot in the beginning when there is nobody around to advice you, was examining complete rigs from users. You can get a very good idea of whats needed and for what purpose by examing the setups and reading the profiles on Astrobin. It helped me getting a bit in the right direction in a “new to me” world. By reading a lot on forums like this you will see that even folks that are stargazing their whole life will develop different views on which scope is the best. In the end Aperture is mostly king or the tube has the be a combo of white and mint/pistachio green. It can be a costly hobby, but i have a sneaky suspicion that the longer you are in this hobby the more reasons your brain comes up with to justify again another big purchase. Again and again. Sometimes you really need that specific piece. And sometimes that scope in the classified section was also on that “to-buy before you die” list in the back of your head. Anyway, if planets is your main goal, i think you want to start with 7/8/9,25” Mak or sct. Long focallength and around 8” is a very common size, much used and for a good reason, not too heavy and still enough aperture. They do show up for sale, used, and wont hurt you when you have to sell it again if it isnt what you’re looking for in the end.

Nothing special. Just some short “how its made” clips and other goodlooking parts presented by a Japanese bodybuilder. To fill the cloudy minutes when you really have no idea what to do.

I was at the same point 2,5 years ago. Same budget, same questions, same everything. I bought a 6 months used set to start for 1400,- containing an heq5, c8, reducer, powermate, zwo 174mc, altair guidescope and gpcam (guidecam), polemaster and some eyepieces. Stupid i was i sold everything but the the scope and mount to realize not long after that i needed all that i sold😬. I dont think these sets come for sale these days for that money but to give you an idea of what to look for, it might come handy. The previous owner had sudden health issues but from what i remember he did both planetary and some deepsky imaging. so basically all the previous mentioned items are quit oke to start with serious visual and imaging astro fun. * i remember when searching back then for a scope, all models that were shown on various websites in their top 10 rankings were actually quit rubbish. Varying from a Bresser skylux to 80 mm newtonians😬. Not rubbish but only the right choice when you want to show the moon on birthdays.

Yep. Mine to. Ruin the label by pushing the allen key in that dent

Pff 🙏🏼 No starlink😅

This is one of the few rare threads where we all agree NOT to buy a piece of astrogear🙂