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A beginners question - when does the spending end.

stevetynant

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stevetynant

stevetynant

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I gave myself (and begged the wife) for a £300 budget to dip my toe into this new hobby which I'm really enjoying and already eyeing up further scopes in the future - but I just seem to keep on finding more things to buy. I've probably nearly doubled my original budget and theres still no end in sight

Skywatcher 200P Dob with the usual kit attachments

+ 2 x Barlow

+ Hyperion 8mm EP

+ 24mm Fine Tuning Ring

+ Skywatcher Panaview 32mm EP (on order)

+ Turn Left at Orion (book)

+ Carl Sagans Cosmos (DVD)

+ LED Torch and Back light

+ Black and decker tool case with a few cut up sponges to keep my kit in

6 Patio slabs, sand and chippings to get a nice viewing area in front of my house and off the grass

A small foldaway table

A Right angled finder scope or a red Dot finder - in the next week or so

Another foam filled case to put my gear in because the other one is filled up already

Star Trek the next generation box set (I might be stretching things here)

Have I missed anything out or do I need to see the bank manager yet?

When does it end? :D

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Carbon Brush

Carbon Brush

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The spending never stops.

I note you don't have a small grab n go scope...

Then you might want to take pics through the SW200 so you will think about an EQ driven mount.......

Then some filters......

Then some binoculars for the quick scan round the sky.....

Then a binoviewer to make full use of the SW200 light bucket....

Then the Sw200 won't be big enough and you will look at a 250 or 300...

Hello poverty!

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Trickystar1

Trickystar1

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It's ok I just spent a grand on a new telescope. My advice is to stick to the observing and forget taking pics. Your telescope is a very good dob. Good optics as well, it's like having another car or saving for a holiday. Sometimes I feel like a idiot when I spend so much money on this hobbie and I start to wonder why, then I realise why when I look through that £70 eye piece lol. Plus 10 years of spending lol

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pvaz

pvaz

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Not until you get satisfied with what you have... :D

Anyway you may be overdoing it a bit. Get the scope, red torch, telrad, a decent barlow and you should be ok. You can skeep TL@O using online free charts such as this:

Messier Maps

Caldwell Telrad Finder Charts

Carl Saigan's is on youtube so are a lot of other programs such as "The universe":

The Universe Season 1 Episode 1 Secrets of the Sun HD 1080p Part1 of 3 - YouTube

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stevetynant

stevetynant

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Thats great - thanks for the links Paulo - at the moment I'm quite new to this and am still amazed when I see Jupiter / Saturn / M42 but to keep my interest up now I've made all this investment I think I'll have to make a target list to tick off as many of the celestial objects as I can - these links look like a big help

Thanks once again

Steve

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Macavity

Macavity

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It's not a bad idea to make a list of (initial!) requirements. But, as John notes, it's not JUST the telescope. <G> The odd £30-50 here and there (inc. VAT and postage!) for "accessories" can eventually mount (no pun intended!) up too. In retrospect, I'd apportion as much as I could to the basic scope and mount. A fundamental "change of direction" can prove expensive, so "Future-proof" as much as possible? [iMO] the (mid-range) "Eyepiece Tango" is best avoided. <G> Get a few (couple of) of the best ones you can afford. :D

The perils of astro imaging have been mentioned. Idem the observatory or even the "Star Pad" - Flags, sand, cement - I now have more "expertise" than needed? LOL. I don't drive. I must have "taxied" (carried) the best part of a local DIY shop's-worth in odd bits of wood, screws, "electricals" etc. up this 600' hill too. Thankfully THAT's mostly over! I don't (cannot now) regret the expense / effort. It's been FUN and instructive - I think... :(

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John

John

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... at the moment I'm quite new to this and am still amazed when I see Jupiter / Saturn / M42 but to keep my interest up now I've made all this investment I think I'll have to make a target list to tick off as many of the celestial objects as I can......

After a while just seeing an object is not enough. You read about finer details that others are seeing in that object, eg: subtle features on planetary surfaces, faint moons, fainter stars within M42, supernovae in faint galaxies, etc, etc, the list is endless. You, quite naturally, desire to see these things with your own eyes so you try with your equipment, improve your techniques and sometimes succeed and sometimes not. The desire to see these things does not go away though so you look into what equipment enhancements will help you see them, and see them better, then you invest, you get deeper into the hobby ...... and the cycle starts again :D

I'm not an imager but I would not be at all surprised if the above process is a factor in that branch of the hobby too :(

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182570

182570

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I am toying with the idea of imaging, but I know if I go down that route it's gonna hurt.But I like the idea of having a permanent reminder of what I have been looking at(in colour too)Ialso as othjers have said think it's a good idea to have some sort of list to aim at,it's massively satisfying to tick off one of the list,and once you've found it,it's much easier to find the second time.

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Macavity

Macavity

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But I like the idea of having a permanent reminder of what I have been looking at...
You MIGHT consider "video astronomy" - The images are (frankly) not of "Hubble standard" - Even of "imager" standard, perhaps. But they reveal things I had previously thought "impossible" - And of those, you can have a permanent reminder... :(

I hope, within my remaining "three score and ten" (LOL) to have a personal record of the (visible) Messiers, the Caldwells, and (within geographical visibility limits) far more... :D

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