Should it stay or should it go

[keef]

Sorry for all the questions guys but i'm stuck and don't know who to ask.

I currently have a Celestron Nexstar 130 slt which i've had for about 15 months and i love it. I've had some amazing views with it but i don't use the GOTO function on it as my back yard is not level and i can move it around 2-3 times a night and cant be bothered to reset it all up again.

It's easy to move when it's all set up and i keep it all set up in my front room.

But I've recently seen a Skywatcher Explorer 200p with a EQ5 mount for sale for £415 and I've fell in love with it.

It looks a lot heavier and has no GOTO which I'm not bothered about.

But i want it now.

A guy I worked with said he would give £200 if I ever sold my Celestron.

I am recently out of work and can't justify paying the whole amount (and my girlfriend has said no.)

But she said if I sold my old one then I could get it. I don't know if i can. But would i still use it if I had both.

So the question is ....Should i sell up and move on with the Skywatcher

Or keep it and try to save up for the new one.

I will be eternally grateful for all advice.

oh yeah... the slt is my first proper telescope.

[JamesF]

If you don't want GOTO, do you even need an EQ mount at all?

James

[Naemeth]

I agree with James. Why not get a Skywatcher 200P dob and save yourself some cash?

[keef]

I've been looking at dobs for months but the mrs says they are too big. I did want to start imaging in the future when i know how to.

[keef]

It does make more sense to get a dob they come with a direct slr connection for future use and are cheaper and easier to use. I won't be doing any major imaging more point and click at the moon. If it does bite me then i could always upgrade. Do i keep the Celestron for its ease? Or will i probably never use it after being spoilt with a dob?

[Naemeth]

I've been looking at dobs for months but the mrs says they are too big. I did want to start imaging in the future when i know how to.

Dobs are much smaller than their EQ counterparts. Dobs can be stood in a corner ready to go, EQ mounts can't.

It's easier to think of them as a thick legged camera tripod with additional bits when fully extended, certainly not small .

[Pig]

I would get rid of the girlfriend

[keef]

Trust me, I've thought about it.

[floppygoose]

Sell the Celestron, buy a 200p Dob, then think about the girlfriend afterwards - phil

[houston]

I have the skywatcher dob and a refractor on eq mount. Dobs much easier to use and a lot less pain setting up.

[PorkyB]

If you have to move your scope around during a session the the 200P-EQ5 will be a real pain. I can't move mine when assembled, even if I take the tube off, the mount really needs two people to move it safely. When you have moved it you will need to do your polar alignment again.

I never thought I would say this, becuase I love my setup, but get the Dob.

As for your original question, I too have a scope that I hardly ever use, but I keep it for the odd occasion when I need a portable scope. I recently carried it to the top of a big hill for a public viewing event, so I am right to keep it. If you think you will ever want to use your old scope again that hang on to it, if finances allow.

[bomberbaz]

get yourself one of these http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Telescopes-Skywatcher.asp?p=0_10_1_3_210 Has the aperture and being a flextube, wont take up all the space that it wouldnt have done anyway, win win I say.

ps you'll need to find someone who has it in stock, not so common the 200p non-goto

[Nillchill]

Get the 200p Dob, much easier to move about the garden to start with. It will be cheaper to get especially after loosing your job, it takes up less room than an Eq mount and tripod. The dob doesn't need setting up its point and look. On the downside the dob doesn't track.

But:

You could always upgrade to an Eq mount later, once you've saved the money.

[bomberbaz]

Or trade it in for a 200p goto later, options are there

[estwing]

not that big..really

[foundaplanet]

200p, and buy the lass something in a big plant pot to put either side of the tele.

[jabberwocky]

My 200 dob has a much smaller footprint when stored in the living room than my old 130 on an eq2 mount.

[Bart]

200Dob

[starman1969]

A Dob sounds like the way to go.

[MrPloppy]

My twopenneth's worth, which is different from the rest!

If I were you, I would just wait. The 200p EQ5 is great (I have one), and I bought it because eventually I want to try photography on it, so I need something that tracks. I've not tried photography yet, but I must say that the ease of tracking something while you're looking through it makes it worthwhile. For example, if you look away from, say Saturn for a bit, then just a quick turn of the RA knob gets you back on track no matter how long you leave it (obviously errors do creep in the longer you wait!). By the way, I don't ever align my EQ5 to polaris. I just generally point the North leg in a rough northerly position and I'm good to go. Of course, this all changes when I go to photography.

In the end, if the 200P EQ5 is something you want, and you're not wanting to go down the cheaper Dob route, then just wait until you have the funds / new girlfriend. After all, you have to be staying out quite late now to see anything, so why not save up the pennies and get one say in October when the night skies are getting better?

Just a thought! :-D

[MrPloppy]

Or if you want to have the scope now, but not pay for it (or put £200 down as a deposit), then Wex Photography do a Buy Now Pay in 6 Months thing.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/?/aboutus/finance.html

The scope is there at £420.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-explorer-200-eq-5-newtonian-reflector-telescope/p10561

I like the fact it says it is an "f/1000" scope!

[keef]

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I've plumped for 200 dob and managed to get a 2 month old one for £160 which I picked up on sunday and had a great nights viewing with it.

Oh and it also cost me a day at Warwick Castle for me and the mrs but is well worth it.

I am now lobbying to keep the Celestron as a more grab and go and its fits in the car easily.

Thanks again everyone and I'm sorry if the current weather has anything to do with me.

[Ouroboros]

The EQ5 is not really up to the long exposure imaging required for deep sky objects in my opinion. Planets and moon it's fine for. Great mount for observing with too. Having used it for imaging for a few years I've learnt a lot, even had some successes. But I should really have gone for something like an NEQ6 with GOTO and the ability to guide.

I plan to upgrade at some point so I shall probably sell my EQ5. I assume there's a market out there for second hand EQ5s?

[JamesF]

People have done some very good imaging with, for example, the 200P on an EQ5. It's really not simple though and demands fiddling with the controller electronics if you want to guide. The heavier-duty mounts are probably a far better bet.

James