Upgrade EP's or new OTA...?

[stan26]

Hi folks, I have the Star travel ST102 refractor which is serving me well for widefield obs and the odd bit of DSO photography, but is showing its limits when observing the moon/planets, which is fine and accepted being a fast achro afterall. I have given myself the idea of having a dedicated lunar/planet scope and after a fair bit of research have kinda got my heart set on a TAL100RS after reading all the reviews/comments. But before I spend out £200 + on a 2nd OTA would I be wise to consider upgrading the standard skywatcher 10mm/25mm EP's to somthing like baader hyperions and maybe a baader fringe killer to boost the little 102 frac upto 100-150x mag, or would i be better off sticking with the original slower "F" less fussy refractor idea and getting some cheaper (i.e vixen npl/GSO) eyepieces...?

Thanks

Stan.

[Merlin66]

The ST102 has limitations, as you now know... good little scope but....

The problem is the cost of the upgrade path...new OTA...new eyepieces....

Unfortunately the realities of life.

Good quality eyepieces will obvious work on the ST102 but will not give you the "boost" I think you are looking for.

[nightfisher]

the tal 100rs up grade would be a good one, but might take some getting hold of, have you considered a skymax127 maksutov, very good planet lunar scope

[pvaz]

Another vote for the mak. The TAL will improve CA but probably still show some and in regards to aperture you'll be limited to a theoretical max mag of 200x, same as you are now.

I would try to get hold of a mak or SCT with 5" or ideally 6" (for 300x max mag, which is about the same seeing conditions allow on good nights).

[nicnac]

a decent barlow, barlows effectively increase focal length and X-cel LX EPs are making waves at the minute, them supplied EPs you have (we all get) really are garbage, they do but only just.

get yourself one better quality EP and see where you want to go from there

[Moonshane]

other than the photography side, aperture will always win and I feel a jump to 8" would be good from what you have. on this basis an 8" dobsonian would be a great buy. it would be excellent on planets and lunar and also show a lot more detail in the fainter stuff. just a thought, although I should stress that I am completely dobsessed myself and solely visual.

you could get a used 8" dob for about £200.

[stan26]

Ok, thanks guy's all comments taken on board. The eyepiece I had in mind was the baader hyperion zoom. As much as I would love a full set of individual top quality EP's, it just ain't gona happen (untill i win the lotto), so I though the hyper zoom would be a great investment, one for life that can be use with all future scopes etc.

I have considered the MAK route, but the cooling time may cause me a problem as often in the past iv got home from work, the kids are in bed, so I'v gone straight through the house grabbing the 102 as I go and straight out into the garden for almost instant observing, and I like the idea of that with my limited free time lifestyle.

Also refractors just do it for me. Since a young age I have been messing with binoculars, spotting scopes, SLR lense's inc L series glass and my other hobby have included using some of the finest rifle scopes available, I'v got a certain apreciation for good crisp contrasty optics. The problmem is now I have kids/house/food/nappies....I have little spare cash.

The Dob is the most sensible suggestion. It comes already on a mount so I can be imaging at the same time as observing. The others would require use of the same mount (in my budget)

Hmm....

[damnut]

Hi Stan26,

ANy upgrade from the standard issue will serve you well as you progress through scopes. For mid range I particularly like the BST ed's these are good at around £35, I use them both in my st120 and 10" LX.

I have a hyperion which is a great ep, but for the price the bsts are great.

Apperture will get you in the end, but i love my st120 for my grab&go I accept its shortcomings in terms of a bit of colour but hey I am not putting another £1000 to get an apo of similar size, that i will worry about getting sand & dog slobber on!..

Cheers