Table top scope

[scuffer]

Hello , thinking of getting a table top st80 for taking on holiday , have you used one , can you see much , is it worth taking , can you use it at the zenith ? Only have a dob so don't know much about eq mounts , would It be better on an eq1 or az mount .... Will these fit in my case ? This will be firstly used in Spain so going on a plane. Also what's the difference between a 45 degree diagonal and a 90 ......apart from 45degrees. Only gonna be used for visual

[Blazar]

Scuffer...never used one, but i do recall seeing someone mention 'travel dobsonians'.....there is a company called Sumerian Optics that make a range of amazing devices that collapse into a case....not cheap but hey...totally cool. now I must stress I have only looked at these, so cannot comment how good they are. they are pricey though...so not in the realms of a table top price.

The link to their site showing the Alkaid (compact) is here: http://www.sumerianoptics.com/products/alkaid/

I would one day like to look at trying one of these, so anyone with info I would like to hear from

Regards

Steve

[Blazar]

Though also just seen they are improving it:

http://www.sumerianoptics.com/en/improved-alkaid/

[Bizibilder]

Maybe something like this: http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian-telescope_d3626.html

or this: http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/new-skywatcher-130p-heritage-flex-tube_d3617.html

is what you are after?

Or you could get the table top version of the EQ1 mount - with a scope like the ST80 refractor. http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-startravel-80-tabletop-telescope_d5079.html

[ronin]

Have a look at the 2 small Heritage Virtuoso scopes from FLO.

Tabletop and they appear to have motors to track, means you need a supply of batteries but places like poundland do those in packs.

[scuffer]

Was really after comments from people with experience of taking scopes on holiday , wether it's worthwhile, is it practical to take a full size eq1 , if not is a table top eq1 a decent compromise etc , don't think I would take a dob due to collimating . Looking at spending about a ton but can push that a bit

[E621Keith]

IMHO a good photographic tripod with a good fluid head will be a better investment than a EQ1, especially for travelling. If you have spare cash, a geared head will be even better.

[keithatrochdale]

I have a Meade ETX-60 which makes quite a good tabletop scope.

I see you can now only get the ETX-80 http://meade.com/etx

Worth looking for a secondhand one maybe.

[Nibor]

I recently took my Opticstar AR80S Refractor grab and go set up to Spain on Easyjet. The OTA , optical accessories and AltAz head went into a hand luggage case whilst the lightweight tripod went into the hold luggage.

Easyjets website says:-

------------------------------------------

You can take one piece of hand baggage into the cabin with you - no bigger than 56 x 45 x 25cm incl wheels- which must fit comfortably into the baggage gauge. Hand bags, briefcases, laptops and laptop bags are all counted as one piece so if you have a hand bag and a laptop bag for example, you might want to consider putting one inside the other.

-----------------------------------------

The case I took was smaller than EJ's maximum but everything fitted in securely when packed with bubblewrap (e/p's etc put in jiffy bags).

see attached photo

I told security of the contents before scanning at the airport and there were no issues outward or inbound.

Attached Thumbnails

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The altaz head is the following one:-

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Ascension.asp?p=0_10_5_1_1_110

It has 360 degree gearing and takes the short tube refractor nicely - I found it easy to use and it works well on a good lightweight tripod.

I did consider the table top route but then, of course, you need a sturdy table to put it on - I also felt it would be easier to observe using a tripod mount.

[johnnytomorrow]

Scuffer...never used one, but i do recall seeing someone mention 'travel dobsonians'.....there is a company called Sumerian Optics that make a range of amazing devices that collapse into a case....not cheap but hey...totally cool. now I must stress I have only looked at these, so cannot comment how good they are. they are pricey though...so not in the realms of a table top price.

The link to their site showing the Alkaid (compact) is here: http://www.sumerianoptics.com/products/alkaid/

I would one day like to look at trying one of these, so anyone with info I would like to hear from

Regards

Steve

Wow they look amazing