Portable scope advice

[monkey_coral]

Dear all,

Just joined this forum. I bought my first telescope about 8 years ago (a 5" reflector), but since moving into my own flat it has been left stranded at my parents with little opportunity for an outing.

I am reaaly keen to take up the hobby again. As silly as it sounds I am always out on my balcony staring up to see what is visble at any given time.

As I will be an occasional stargazer the goto scopes have major appeal, but I am looking for a scope that is portable enough that could be set up quickly on my balcony, maybe just on a table top and hopefully something that I could take on a plane as hand luggage.

The obvious candidate from what I can see is the new Meade ETX80 backpack model, but I am concerned that I will be dissapointed with the images from the 80mm appature.

Is this concern justified?

Are any of the other scopes (Meade ETX90, celestron nexstar 4SE, or the Skywatcher BK MAK102 AZGT for example) truly portable enough to be setup on a whim, on the balcony, a table top or be whisked away somewhere on a plane?

Many thanks in advance

[nightfisher]

Mak 102;)

[monkey_coral]

Is that scope small enough to be considered hand luggage on a plane?

Can it operate off a table top?

[monkey_coral]

any other comments? The Meade ETX90 AT really catches my eye, but at around £150 more than the ETX80 I am a little put off.

[Ad Astra]

Hi Monkey Coral,

Yes, an ETX is small enough to fit in carry-on luggage (either the 80 or 90mm) as long as you stuff enough rolled up socks and T-shirts around it - it should be fine. I wouldn't put it in checked luggage, however.

If it really comes to that - everything is portable, it just depends upon your level of dedication. You can see my Ultimate Grab-n-Go setup by clicking <HERE>.

Dan

[monkey_coral]

Thanks for the advice. Although as far as the portability of your setup goes - I wouldn't even be able to get it in my flat!

[Ad Astra]

Thanks for the advice. Although as far as the portability of your setup goes - I wouldn't even be able to get it in my flat!

:D:D

As Mrs. Astra says: "The primary difference between men and boys is the size of their toys!"

Dan

[ollypenrice]

I'd incline towards a nice little semi apo doublet refractor on a small tripod. For about 200 pounds you could expect to pick up a TeleVue Pronto second hand, or there are all sorts of decent new scopes on the market. Eg the 70mm on here... A couple of good eyepiees and you're off.

Refractors from Ian King Imaging

In a small portable scope I look for a shortish focal length to get what only small scopes can give, a great wide field. I don't want to be spending a limited budget on electronics, it is the glass you look through.

Olly

[rowan46]

Do you you really need go to? you could get this at 3.4kg add a good tripod and you have serious apparture considering its so portable Maksutov - Skywatcher Skymax 127 OTA they are almost as simple to use as a refractor or theres the celestron c5 spotter twice the price admittedly not quite so rugged but 2lb lighter both have serious optics and will show more than a 70mm refractor you may be able to pick up either at a good price 2nd hand or if it really is a table top goto mount try this http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=merlin_tabletop

then put on any scope that takes your fancy

[Capricorn]

If the use is t be from a balcony then which direction is the view?

Most goto's require to start out due north and if you cannot see polaris then there could be initial aetup problems. Magnetic north is not accurate enough as it is about 5-6 degrees off.

The ETX80 is probably the best in specification for what you require but I doubt the performance would be adaquate. It is an f/5 achro and with a 5mm would give 80x and although a 4mm would give 100x I doubt it would give much of an image unless an eyepiece better then a normal plossl were used.

Either MAK would allow more magnification but they have a much narrower field of view, so seeing north is more critical.

If goto were not an issue then I would tend to agree with the idea of the semi apo on a reasonable light mount.

[monkey_coral]

The reason for the goto is more to due with my bad experience with the equitorial mount on my reflector. I could find objects fine, but the controllers to maintain an image inview was useless and frustrated me to the point of not using the scope. It was a cheapish scope, but I am wary of having a similar experience again.

You are quite right about the direction the balcony is facing - it does face south so I suppose calibration on the balcony will be iimpossible.

What sort of mount would would you recommned for the Skywatcher Skymax 127 OTA?