Scopes I've owned since I started .....

[estwing]

always there to help,thank-you John..take care and clear skies!

[MadAlbert]

You should be very proud of yourself and the contribution you make! And well done on a landmark posting record!

It's quite an eye opener to see how many 'scopes you've owned and equally interesting you've ended up with more-or-less what you started with.

I suppose it's fair to say you're very well qualified to steer others towards the most suitable gear for them!

[John]

Thanks folks

[emadmoussa]

Bresser Uranus 102mm F/9.8 refractor on Vixen SP mount with Skysensor GOTO

Wow! This seems like an old piece of electronics...how did it function? I mean the go-to unit..

Meade AR6 152mm F/8 refractor

Thinking about getting a similar refractor, Bresser 152mm... just for visual use mainly for DSOs...is it any good for planetary? I kind of find refractors much easier and quicker to point and find objects. Personal preference I guess..

[John]

The Bresser Uranus 102 was a Vixen SP102M achromat with a different paint job and the Bresser branding. The Skysensor unit mount was a very early (1980's), and rather un-friendly in my opinion, GOTO system. I tried to use the GOTO function a couple of times but gave up and just used the controller to adjust the drive speeds in the end. The Super Polaris mount was excellent though.

The Meade was a bit of a handful being a bit heavier than the Skywatcher / Bresser / Helios 150mm F/8's that I'd had. What you can't see in the photo is the Chromacor corrector that I used with these scopes which is in the drawtube, ahead of the diagonal. This massively reduced the CA and corrected spherical abberation which gave close to 6" ED doublet performance from the scopes. Without such correction I personally feel these 6" F/8's produce just a bit too much CA on bright objects for my taste.

[emadmoussa]

I'm in the process of replacing my 200p with a wide aperture reflactor. I'm diligently looking for a 5-6 inch frac I can use for visual and deep sky, but could also work well for lunar imaging. Apart from the this 152mm Bresser I don't really find many better alternatives within this price range - except for this Explore Scientific 6.5 inch -- Unfortunately even though it's my favourite choice, I still can't find any supplier who is willing to ship to the UK, or somebody who would sell their second hand one. If anybody has an idea on the above, please let me know.

[John]

I'd put a "wanted" advert on UK Astro Buy & Sell and in the classifieds section here. I found my Meade AR6 that way. The new price of those 6" achromats is a bit OTT to be honest. I don't think I paid more than £200 for any of the ones I owned - the AR6 was just £125 in excellent used condition !

[E621Keith]

I'm in the process of replacing my 200p with a wide aperture reflactor. I'm diligently looking for a 5-6 inch frac I can use for visual and deep sky, but could also work well for lunar imaging. Apart from the this 152mm BresserI don't really find many better alternatives within this price range - except for this Explore Scientific 6.5 inch -- Unfortunately even though it's my favourite choice, I still can't find any supplier who is willing to ship to the UK, or somebody who would sell their second hand one. If anybody has an idea on the above, please let me know.

Why do you want to replace your 200p anyway? CA could be an issue if you want to image the moon with a fast achromat. If you just want the scope for visual DSO and lunar imaging, you can consider C6 or C8 SCTs as an alternative to your 200p.

[emadmoussa]

Why do you want to replace your 200p anyway? CA could be an issue if you want to image the moon with a fast achromat. If you just want the scope for visual DSO and lunar imaging, you can consider C6 or C8 SCTs as an alternative to your 200p.

Mainly for the ease of use considering the size and functionality. AC could be treated in post imaging processing. You may find bizarre, but I never got along very well with refectors. The 200p is a great scope, but I dont feel very comfy looking at objects side ways

[emadmoussa]

A C8 will be a great replacement...if I can find one for the right price

[Andrew*]

C8s often come up sub-£400, and you will certainly find it more portable than either your 200P or a 6" refractor. A 6" refractor is heavier and longer than an 8" newt so not in the least more portable, and not as good optically.

Andrew

[emadmoussa]

C8s often come up sub-£400, and you will certainly find it more portable than either your 200P or a 6" refractor. A 6" refractor is heavier and longer than an 8" newt so not in the least more portable, and not as good optically.

Andrew

You mean second hand?

[Andrew*]

Yes, sorry.

[emadmoussa]

As a matter of fact, a Celestron C8 is my ideal scope...I keep the power of the 200p and reduce weight and size. Perfect...I think I will post a "wanted" ad on the classifieds...any links to second hand ones are welcome

[John]

The C8 I had (see the photo in the original post !) was a nice instrument. It showed me the best view of Saturn that I've ever had, using an 8mm Tele Vue plossl (250x). The seeing conditions were exceptional that night as was Saturn

The only issues that I had with the scope were i) it took quite a long time to cool fully when bought out from the house and ii) my older example had a little "mirror flop" and it would loose collimation slightly when the tube was pointed at certain angles. Dew prevention equipment was also essential with it, as with all SCT's / mak-cassegrains.

C8's are certainly the most compact 8" scopes around.

[Stargazer_00]

Blimey John. Nice collection grats on 20k posts!

[scarp15]

Great archive - the documentation profiles the historic nature of each scope. Unless I missed it, not a 12volt battery pack to be seen! The Super C8 Looks great. I agree with the comments made that the classic C8's can be purchased at good prices on the second hand market. I really like the quite adequate tracking system, with the RA motor run on a compact 9 volt battery, which can last for a year or two.

I also use an 8mm and 11mm TV plossl with my Celestar, providing great planetary views.

[John]

Thanks Iain

Yes, I tend to prefer the "low tech" or "no tech" approach. Less to setup and less to go wrong !

[emadmoussa]

Thanks Iain

Yes, I tend to prefer the "low tech" or "no tech" approach. Less to setup and less to go wrong !

Tell me about it! I spend more time wiring and debugging than actually observing or imaging

[bish]

Impressive list of scopes you've had. I'm on my 4th. If I come across an old 60mm Prinz Astral Varipower 100 (in blue) on e-bay I will buy it as that was my first scope as a kid. Obviously it won't match up to my 250px but will bring back lots of happy memories.