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Hello from Carmarthenshire - scope advice

CSM

By CSM
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CSM

CSM

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I have a Skywatcher 130mm Reflector, 900mm with RA motor, plus a Skywatcher 80mm Refractor with RA motor and a Solar Filter. In order to do more serious astronomy I intend to buy an observatory and a bigger scope.

The scope will be an SCT since I want to be comfortable and able to sit. As far as the scope is concerned I had, after much searching and reading of reviews, etc., come down in favour of the Celestron NexStar 8 SE as being of sufficient aperture and portable. But after some consideration I am thinking that I can keep the 130mm for portability - to Star Parties - and have a the observatory scope as a 'permanent' fixture. I was also slightly concerned regarding the single fork design of the NexStar 8 as it seems to be at the limit regarding weight and stability. I have a webcam but don't envisage going into astrophotography - rather astrospectroscopy.

So am looking at the dual fork Celestron CPC and Meade LX90 ranges.

As far as the optics are concerned there seems to be little difference. Possibly Meade service not so good, but maybe a bit better at Goto precision and smoother focusing.

Now a question which my local society didn't seem to sure about. Namely, how effective are the GPS systems inside an observatory?

Thanks

Colin

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CSM

CSM

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Thanks guys and gals. Now some more questions, especially for those who have had experience of both Meade and Celestron. Which is best for smoothness and accuracy of focusing/goto precision? Or does it depend on whether you get a Friday-afternoon job or not? And is either of their GPS systems better than the other?

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CSM

CSM

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GPS not important - I know my position! - but stumbling around looking at the various options the Meade and Celestron GPS were the ones I was comparing. However, looking further there is a very good offer on the celestron c11-sgt xlt at the moment. Trouble is I can't at the moment find any reviews. How stable are they - the 8 and 9.25 maybe, but the 11?

Do the counterweights give problems of bumping against the tripod or is the software clever enough to avoid that?

Am a member of Swansea Astronomical Society.

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CSM

CSM

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Ok - have now found threads on this site and am probably more confused as people are very individual in their tastes and requirements. Yes - there are doubts about the mount but if not overloaded it doesn't seem a problem - but is accuracy as good? Also a bit concerned about the comment that the eyepiece can end up in awkward positions even with a diagonal as that is something I definitely do not want. I want to be able to sit on on a height adjustable stool - too old to stand still for any length of time and get a crick in the neck. Another query arising out of this is, what is the difference in height of the eyepiece when viewing near the horizon and at the zenith?

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faulksy

faulksy

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hi colin and welcome. the answer to your second question the cpc gps is perfectly acurate and find the focuser realy smoth a little bit of mirror shift sometimes but not bad, i have a revalations cryford as well which i tend to only need most of the time. i also imagine the meade will be just as good though

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