goto upgrade ?

[staffiebite]

Hi ive been stargazing for about 4 months now , ive also persuaded a friend to join in . After giving it a good go manualy and finding our way around my friend has upgraded his eq5 mount with a goto motor , i now feel like its the way forward for me aswell but im very happy with my orion xt8 . Ive seen on orions website an updated version of my scope , still a dob but fitted with a goto motor , so my question is will i be able to fit the same motor on my scope ? Or does anybody know a way to make mine a goto with the same mount ? i will be gratefull for any help or advice as im lost with all the different equipment and upgrades in astronomy.

Thanks

[Pete Presland]

i think the orion xt8 is available as a goto now, but whether there is a upgrade kit or not i dont know.there are few options when you google the subject, but they all look very expensive

[staffiebite]

Yea ive tried google and your right it all looks expensive and havnt found any definate answers yet , will keep searching

[knobby]

Realisticly, probably the best bet if you like the XT8 classic, your best bet would be to sell it and get this - http://www.scsastro.co.uk/catalogue/orion-skyquest-xt8-intelliscope.htm

or look in the DIY section and try setting circles / wixey angle gauges

[stevetynant]

Don't do it mate - 4 months is nothing in this hobby -learn the skies it might be frustrating to begin with but this is a long term hobby - you'll get out of it what you put in and the thrill of finding things for yourself must be half the whole point of it

Push button, next, Push button Next - I'm very cynical with this and I know its not for everyone so don't want to upset the Go To fans here - if it works for you and its what you want then great. But for me the challenge is what keeps me coming back not the small fuzzies that you eventually get to see.

[knobby]

Yep !

[x6gas]

Don't do it mate - 4 months is nothing in this hobby -learn the skies it might be frustrating to begin with but this is a long term hobby - you'll get out of it what you put in and the thrill of finding things for yourself must be half the whole point of it

Push button, next, Push button Next - I'm very cynical with this and I know its not for everyone so don't want to upset the Go To fans here - if it works for you and its what you want then great. But for me the challenge is what keeps me coming back not the small fuzzies that you eventually get to see.

...and I prefer looking at (and imaging) things rather than trying to find them! That's a matter of personal preference.

I do think that the "you won't learn the sky with GoTo" argument is fallacious though. You get to learn the bright stars pretty quickly when running through GoTo alignment routines and I'm always poking around on stellarium planning sessions and identifying stuff... you don't have to star hop to be able to do that!

[stevetynant]

...and I prefer looking at (and imaging) things rather than trying to find them! That's a matter of personal preference.

I do think that the "you won't learn the sky with GoTo" argument is fallacious though. You get to learn the bright stars pretty quickly when running through GoTo alignment routines and I'm always poking around on stellarium planning sessions and identifying stuff... you don't have to star hop to be able to do that!

I'm not disagreeing with you Xgas. I think astronomy is such a great hobby because threes no one fit suits all If that's what you enjoy good for you

[staffiebite]

Thanks for all your replies , I usually go star gazing with my friend who has a goto so im now thinkin having the two different scopes will give us a bit more flexibility and im gonna be having a brew while hes still setting up

I think in the not to different future i will go fully auto and have a look at the scope knobby suggested and start doing some photography but i think youve persuaded me (for now) to get better with my dob first and do it manually .

Out of interest , how many of you started with a manual base and then moved on to a tracker or goto ? and what made you go for the upgrade ?

Again , thanks for all the advice as im prob gonna need alot more in the future

[knobby]

I started manual ... and have gone 'semi manual' ie 360 degree scale on base and a wixey digital angle guage on ota, Skeye and Stellarium for co-ords ...

[staffiebite]

I started manual ... and have gone 'semi manual' ie 360 degree scale on base and a wixey digital angle guage on ota, Skeye and Stellarium for co-ords ...

Do you do much photography and how well do they turn out with your dob ?

[johninderby]

For everyone that says I wouldn't have learned the sky if I'd used GOTO there's someone else who says without GOTO I would never have learned the sky so it's what suits you that counts.

John

[knobby]

Do you do much photography and how well do they turn out with your dob ?

Very little imaging, just had a play really.

Pretty good on bright stuff as the shutter speed is then high enough to freeze any motion.

[alan potts]

I think gotos really come into there own if you are imaging and need to find something quickly. Time spent finding is time lost expossing. I leant the sky years ago with my SPM recommend 3 inch refractor. I have never forgotten it even with a long break of years in between. I have a HEQ PRO 5 with manual handset and 3 scopes I use on it. I also have an LX 200 12 inch. After using my goto LX 200 for a few years I wanted goto on the SW mount. Bought one and I hate it, tried to use it last night, it drives me mad, see the buttons are the other way round.

After 4 months in the hobby I would wait and see, I would continue with your star chart and scope for the time being, unless you are going to start imaging.

Alan

[staffiebite]

Very little imaging, just had a play really.

Pretty good on bright stuff as the shutter speed is then high enough to freeze any motion.

That pic looks real good to me , got some good detail you can see how rugged the surface realy is

[staffiebite]

I think gotos really come into there own if you are imaging and need to find something quickly. Time spent finding is time lost expossing. I leant the sky years ago with my SPM recommend 3 inch refractor. I have never forgotten it even with a long break of years in between. I have a HEQ PRO 5 with manual handset and 3 scopes I use on it. I also have an LX 200 12 inch. After using my goto LX 200 for a few years I wanted goto on the SW mount. Bought one and I hate it, tried to use it last night, it drives me mad, see the buttons are the other way round.

After 4 months in the hobby I would wait and see, I would continue with your star chart and scope for the time being, unless you are going to start imaging.

Alan

Yea im gonna stick with it for now and move on to imaging when ive got a bit more knowledge

Degzy