Happy with my current kit - Am I ill ??

[Telescope40]

Hi All. Guess this must have been posed before but was musing earlier while doing a bit of solar observing.

Recently got some Baader Solar film and sorted out a filter, so I could use my refractor. Got to thinking of what else I may want. I'm always looking on the ABS website, classifieds on here and all the usual suspects when it comes to Astro shops.

However came to the conclusion, for now anyway, that I am happy with my kit.

Only bits that come to mind is maybe a Oiii filter later in the summer. Also a possible Binoviewer upgrade ( Baader MB's - new pair on ABS at the mo with a nice discount - yes I have sent an e mail enquiry lol ) but unsure if I would see a marked increase in the view compared with my current pair.

Is anyone else of the same mind. I know the sentence above may have run a coach and horses thru this posts title but overall I am happy with what I have and can only see spending a lottery win would significantly increase what I do / see / enjoy with my hobby.

I'll shut up now.

John

[rowan46]

You nearly had me convinced but deciding you don't want to spend, whilst eminently sensible. Is not the same as you don't want

[Moonshane]

Hi John

to be honest, I am pretty much in the same boat; I could easily live the rest of my life and buy nothing else. of course there's always the odd thing we might buy in the future to fill in gaps etc (I might get a 25mm and 20mm TV Plossl in due course and sell my barlow) but I don't really need them. A PST type scope would be nice but I'd have to make sacrifices and white light's quite novel still.

also, in times when the weather's poor, we all start thinking about what we can improve but in the end I would have to sell something to buy and generally I don't.

I am lucky, I have three great scopes and 11 great eyepieces (plus a paracorr and barlow, five filters, two telrads, two RACI finders and a partridge in a pear tree) and all but the scopes fit into two medium cases. I consider myself on the plain of stability not the incline of buying up kit or the decline of cutting kit down so maybe that's why.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

On the one hand I could still spend lots of time with the current kit. On the other hand,I find there is always more creeping in. H-alpha is exciting (started last year with an LS35 and want to upgrade now). White light solar with the Herschel wedge in the little APM 80 really calls for one or two shorter EPs (XW5 and XW3.5, for example). I sometimes feel I am running out of targets with my C8, so aperture fever sets in. A suitcase dob or bigger SCT/Mak has considerable appeal. A heavier mount with guide port is another wish.

So on balance, even though I have plenty of kit, there is always more stuff that would extend my possibilities.

[Stargazer_00]

I flip flop between thinking im ok and thinking I need lots of new stuff. It's difficult to motivate myself to buy new thing in the summer as my observng is stunted by the bright nights. I can't stay up late on week nights due to work and as such only friday or saturday nights are going to get an observing and on those nights it has to be an early morning hours session to get any real observing done.

I know I need a bigger scope, at the moment Im trying to work out which scope. 14" dob to ensure I know I can never go bigger but have a faff each time I set it up or a 12" to have a more comfortable limit but keep a niggling doubt I might be able to carry more...

In fairness even my current set up is enough to keep most people going forever, i do want a bigger main scope, and probably a decent coma corrector. after that it's just puchasing for the sake of it. I'll probably put a Moonlite CR-2 on my main scope. I'll possibly swap out my 150p for a brand new VX6 with 1/10pv mirrors. Then I'll maybe think about swapping my eyepieces out for top-top of the range brands if I feel it's necessary.

On the other hand I could not spend another penny and have 90% of the above list (which is probably £4-£5k in total) with what I have now!

[Moonshane]

two things stall my aperture fever and make me happy with what I have. 1) getting it through the door. I have to store my scopes inside and therefore need to fit them through internal doors. 2) As you get larger and larger scopes you increasingly reduce the TFOV and start to seek out increasingly obscure fuzzies. basically galaxy X which is beyond most scopes looks like NGC Y in a much smaller scope. to me this is a bit daft - leave that to NASA! there's plenty of Messiers, NGCs and other brighter objects to last a lifetime.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

two things stall my aperture fever and make me happy with what I have. 1) getting it through the door. I have to store my scopes inside and therefore need to fit them through internal doors. 2) As you get larger and larger scopes you increasingly reduce the TFOV and start to seek out increasingly obscure fuzzies. basically galaxy X which is beyond most scopes looks like NGC Y in a much smaller scope. to me this is a bit daft - leave that to NASA! there's plenty of Messiers, NGCs and other brighter objects to last a lifetime.

But then you have a 16" dob, whereas my C8 runs out of targets rather sooner. Plenty of NGCs are beyond it. My initial aim would be a 11"-12" or so (although 14" and 16" scopes have their attraction as well)

[alan potts]

I guess that from an eyepiece point of view I am happy but that's largely down to there are few if any that I could buy now. I guess on the scopes front I am happy but there is a part of me that still would like a big Dobsonian and there is one in particular that comes from Holland that ticks all the boxes.

Alan

[Qualia]

Scope wise, I think I have essentially my 'lifers' and unless something odd happens and I not only start to live and work in the countryside, but somehow have saved sufficient dosh for a house (where most people live in flats) with a garden (where very few have one), I cannot expect ever to escape from the cities or suburbs. So aperture upgrade isn't necessary, nor in any manner practical.

EP wise, I do need a low-power, wide-field EP and perhaps at some stage around winter, a lesser-power mid-range EP, and then I'm done.

Like Shane, I wouldn't mind a dedicated solar scope, for you're going to get an average of some 280 to 300 blue sky days here, so it makes sense to take advantage of that, the only snag is they're quite pricey, so that would be a longer term project.

Other than that, day after day, I just keep thinking how lucky we are to be living in these times. I mean, even fifty years ago folk were lucky to have half of what we have.

[boss hogg]

Being new to this I am still treading cautiously!

only started in January. so i still need to think about which way to go ....

I would like to have a go at astrophotography probably starting with the moon (easy target big round blob, cant miss?) and move on from there!

the trouble comes with the SWMBO and having three school aged daughters. Oldest looking at going to bath uni in the autumn if she gets the grades, Middle one just about to start college and youngest just about to start GCSE.s

so the lust is there but the cash might be gone before i realize the ambition.

but what major bit of kit do i upgrade first, I quite like my scope but find the tripod a bit wobbly especially after changing an eye piece and needing to refocus.

but it's still a hobby, although some times a little frustrating with the limited setup i have!

[Telescope40]

Hi all. Liking the replies and all the POV's. For now i would just add that I am hoping I have my "keeper" OTA's but only time will tell. Think a telling point is the amount of use we all get due the weather vs money spent. We all have patience in bucketloads, we have to , lol , but I don't think I can justify more spend re less use.

We shall see. My comments could well be codswallop in the future

John

[Astro_Baby]

Contentment is much to be desired. Personally I have no wants or needs really. Theres a few bits which if they came up cheap enough I would buy but I am very happy with what I have and thats a good thing. If anything some stuff will be sold off but theres nothing I really want anymore.

[perfrej]

I find the attraction of new stuff amazingly strong

I should be very satisfied, and I am. I also put a ban on further purchases as I have my hands full just trying to steer the stuff I have in the right direction. Not to mention the weather... So, the ban is active, no more stuff to buy, just stuff to build and complete. And that, that is the precise moment that QSI announce that they will release a KAI-29050 based camera soon... Oooh - the urge, the URGE! Knowing myself after 55 years, I will find a way to acquire one. I will. Apart from it being a KAI and not a KAF, it is very close to the perfect camera.

Anyone want to buy soe stuff from me?

/per