a bit of advice please

[sparkly]

hi all

i am new to stargazing after weeks of looking at telescopes and reading reviews i am still confused,

for me i need a portable telescope with a goto mount i think this will educate me in where objects are plus i will be able to transport my scope without to much trouble.

so my short list is under 300 pound-

sk 127 supertrak

sk 102 synscan

Celestron NexStar 90 SLT

meade etx

i would like the meade but the sk 127 supertrak seems to be very popular.

for a first scope i think it needs to be hassle free, reliable and fairly robust i dont expect my first scope to do everything and i am very tempted to get a refractor or a scope more for planets and then move onto other scopes later.

tips, advice, info, guidance anything realy as i am all confused and will be ordering my first scope this weekend.

[Capricorn]

The Supatrack is not a goto, it will not locate an object, you locate the object and the scope, if set up correctly, will track it as the earth rotates.

The remaining 3 are goto I believe: SW 102 synscan, Celestron NexStar 90 SLT, meade etx.

The slight disadvantage of the 90 SLT if it is the one I think it is, is that it is a Mak and these have a narrow field of view.

I see that there is a 102 Mak as well, I had assumed the 102 refractor.

I say disadvantage as to align these scope it is necessary that the alignment stars appear in the view of the scope. If narrow then alignment can be a pain in the rear.

If the 102 you are refering to is the refractor then the view is fairly wide. So alignment easier.

The ETX is an 80mm short refractor. I have a Meade and the alignment is pretty straight forward. Just as long as you know which direction North is (Polaris).

People will berate Meades but mine is 12 years old and going fine, and if you search for faults on Skywatcher and Celestrons there are a lot over the last 12 months. Equally someone's Autostar ceased on them last week.

Both the refractors will show some CA on bright objects. Do not expect large magnification for either refractors, aim at the mid area, say 100-120x maximum. The Maks will give more magnification owning to their design.

As I know the Meades I would opt for the ETX, for the set up ease, but that is as I said because I am familiar with them.

[Thirdway]

You really have to examine what you are trying to achieve. Personally, if you want a low power, portable refractor then why not just buy a pair of good quality binoculars ?

The lower the resolving power and the wider the view means that goto mounts are pretty obsolete when you can just look up and consult a star chart. The only reason for low power viewing and goto is when it is also guided to allow astro imaging, otherwise it's IMO pointless.

In terms of portability, lugging a small refractor around is hardly much less of a problem than a larger reflector. A pair of binoculars just slip in a rucksack, but a goto mounted refractor and tripod are far less portable.

The natural step up from binoculars ( which are always useful even if your not looking at the sky ) is a light bucket such as an 6 " or 8 " Dob . You can learn to find objects easily with a star guide and an additional star finder such as a Rigel or Telrad. You get the light gathering to allow far higher magnification for planets and they are the only things that can be used for observing faint objects and galaxies.

Let's face it, you are not going to cart a telescope more than a few yards, because your also carrying EPs, charts, torches and whatever other paraphernalia around at the same time. So you can stick an 8" Dob into a car, the two parts come apart in 10 seconds and are easily carried individually. The scope can sit on the back seat and the base in the boot.

So, if you want to go ooh and ahh out of the box, an 8" Dob will be perfect, it's on the edge of portability, is easy to use if you buy a Telrad/Rigel as an addition to a magnified finder and for the money you really do get tremendous views. It won't work well as an astro imaging device, but it will allow ultra quick setup with minimal equipment and knowledge. It truly is a see and focus type of scope, nothing much to go wrong or mess about with. It's set up and cooling in less than 30 seconds and can be put away in the same amount of time.

A low powered scope with electronics seems more ideal and will do a job, but it won't have the wow factor of a big reflector.

[sparkly]

hi

thanks for you input,

well i have opted for the 6 inch dob, a moon filter and a 2 times barlow which is about my price range cant wait .

[Thirdway]

That will do the trick, you should get a Cheshire extension collimator and a Rigel starfinder. You will need to collimated the scope every so often and the Starfinder will make finding objects a lot easier. Finding the Moon should be reasonably easy though, shouldn't need a Rigel for that :-) have fun.