General advice for ED70 noob

[Jeff Burnz]

I believe this is my first post so I'll do a quick intro, name is Jeff and I'm am expat kiwi living in southern Sweden - quick enough? Right, on with the show.

I've thought long and hard about my first scope and pretty much settled on the TS ED70 mounted on the Vixen mini porta, although to be frank I really like the look of the Giro mini mount (in black) and sticking that on a light wooden tripod but I can't seem to find a suitable set of legs.

My "first scope" criteria are portability, nice views, something to learn the skies with and around 700 to 800€ max budget - this has to include EPs and other accessories. The big one here is portability. I travel a fair amount, at least one trip to New Zealand per year and many other places. I spent years hunting and fishing in NZ and know a lot of very dark places but you must hike, often many miles, and often up hills, even mountains, hence the portability factor is very important.

If the star gazing bug bites hard for sure I can see a dob coming my way, but for now (with a trip to NZ coming up in dec) I reckon the small APO is the way to go. Also with my current living situation being an inner city apartment with a small balcony, and no vehicle (I usually bike, I have what's known here as a load cycle) although that's going to change next year when I move to the burbs and a house with backyard.

OK, enough of the mise-en-scene, question time!

About that tripod and mount - where might I source a wooden tripod that is suitable and can take the Giro mini (note I will beef up my budget here to get the giro), or another complete mount/tripod combo that will do the job, is lite weight and looks good. The scope is georgeous in carbon fibre tube and I tend to get more enjoyment out of things that look nice and are well designed and engineered. I realize the giro+wood will be less portable but I think I can live that.

Second question is about eye pieces - this is where I get a bit confused, especially regarding the cost benefits of certain EPs. My initial plan was to get three super plossl in 9, 15 and 20 all 1.25", and a Barlow. However, now I see there are these zooms and maybe, at least to start with, one of them would be better? What wound you suggest?

I will get a 2" diagonal with 1.25" adaptor - my question here is which one, as there seems to be some very expensive diagonals and I wonder if the extra cost of these is worth it. I think what I am driving at here is "what can I get away with without blowing the budget too much". When in NZ I plan on getting a basic erecting prism for a bit of terrestrial viewing, mainly regattas and whale spotting.

I think that's about it for now, appreciate you hanging this far and looking forward to being part of your communit, cheers.

[Ags]

Hi, welcome to the forum! I think a 70mm scope will show a lot under dark skies.

[Qualia]

...where might I source a wooden tripod that is suitable and can take the Giro mini

Have you tried the site you linked to? Berlebach might be an option. Give Teleskop a shout, they're helpful and may be able to point you in the right direction.

My initial plan was to get three super plossl in 9, 15 and 20 all 1.25", and a Barlow. However, now I see there are these zooms and maybe, at least to start with, one of them would be better? What wound you suggest?

Something like the Baader zoom has a very good reputation, but obviously wouldn't be of as high a quality as individual decent EPs. Nevertheless, it might be an interesting option because you'll have the opportunity to assess various focal lengths before - if ever you decide to - committing yourself to individual eyepieces.

I will get a 2" diagonal with 1.25" adaptor - my question here is which one, as there seems to be some very expensive diagonals and I wonder if the extra cost of these is worth it.

I don't have enough experience or knowledge to help on this one, but be aware of focus issues.

Welcome to SGL and hope you stick around.

[Epicycle]

Hi,

perhaps a William Optics 2in dielectric diagonal would be good for your APO? They're about £100. I have one that I use with my Megrez 72 and it's excellent.