Celestron C9.25 SGT XLT setting up...

[GeorgeH]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of buying a Celestron C8 or C9.25 SGT XLT as my first scope and wondered what your collective view is on setting it up and general use.

Will it be relatively straight forward...or will it drive me nuts ?

Do these suffer from dew formation ?

Its either that or a SW 200 / 250 PDS...I think

Decisions...decisions...

[malc-c]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of buying a Celestron C8 or C9.25 SGT XLT as my first scope and wondered what your collective view is on setting it up and general use.

Will it be relatively straight forward...or will it drive me nuts ?

Depends on what patience level you as a person has. The setting up of an EQ mount, or Fork mount has been well documented, including any goto operations, you simply need to sit down with a coffee and read through the forums or browse the net for reviews

Do these suffer from dew formation ?

All scopes suffer from dew - but there are ways to prevent it, such as heaters and shields

Its either that or a SW 200 / 250 PDS...I think

Decisions...decisions...

The decision has to be only one you can make, and it depends on what you want to get out of the hobby, and where you see yourself further down the line, what budget you have and goals to achieve

[MarkSix]

You will definately need a dewshield and maybe also heater stripes with this. Setting up is no problem.

[umadog]

I recommend against that for a first scope for the following reasons:

- It's relatively heavy and requires a relatively complicated set up procedure. Emphasis on relative: It's not difficult, or even particularly long. It's just that there are more simple possibilities out there. You want your first scope to be quick and easy. Even those of us who have a more complicated scope like supplement it with a more simple one. So why not buy the simple scope first and see what your needs are? You'll want it anyway.

- That scope is fairly expensive. It doesn't make sense to spend that much cash on your first scope since you don't really know what your needs are until you've actually accumulated a few hours under the stars. You can buy the same aperture for a fraction of that cost if you get a Dobsonian. If you're worried about finding stuff, you can get a "push-to" Dob with an object locator. An 8" Dob is so light than you can pick up the scope and mount in one go and just carry it around. Convenient, good views, and cheap. No electronics to fail in a Dob.

- The Celestron looks under-mounted and will ultimately need a beefier mount.

- Yes, it will be a dew-magnet. You will at least need a dew-shield, which can be home-made. But you will probably also need a heater and a controller for that heater. It's quite feasible to keep the dew under control but it's an extra bother. Naturally, other designs can have dew problems too, it's just that scopes with a large corrector over the front will tend to be the most dew-prone.

- A Newtonian will provide a much wider field of view as it is capable of lower powers. That will give you nicer views of open clusters.

- SCTs require quite a long cool-down period as the design makes is very susceptible to tube-currents. Newtonians also need to be cooled down, but the effects of a warm mirror are less severe and you cam get observing right away at lower powers. With a fan you can be doing planetary observing at higher powers within half an hour to an hour. Depends on temperature differences, etc.

- Both Newtonians and SCTs can provide good views of planets. Sometimes you read that SCTs will produce better planetary views because they're longer focal length. That's not true. Optical quality, collimation, absence of tube-currents and even aperture are more important.

[GeorgeH]

Thanks Umadog for your advice, some good info there that I was not aware of...or more likely 'blind' to...

I'm still building up in my head 'what I think I want' so watch this space...and only 1 month till Santa

[umadog]

Good luck! Shoot us more questions if you have them. I'll give you one more tip: if you get into the hobby, your first scope won't be your last. If you don't get into it, you'll probably sell the scope. For those reasons, don't sweat the purchase too much. Also, for those reasons it makes sense to go for a more simple and less expensive option the first time around. Get something you know you'll use and and you know you can easily cart to darker skies. Spend time under the sky and learn how to see. Keep money in reserve for eyepieces, books, filters, and petrol.