Slo Mo controls vs Goto for a grab and go mount

[IanH]

Hi All,

I'm contemplating getting something compact and portable for taking on a family holiday to Cornwall. At home I use a Celestron C11 on a Skywatcher Az EQ6 (the new Az/GEM combination mount ) and I'm very happy with it, but of course it's bulky to transport. So, I am thinking of adding a more compact setup - the usual small apo refractor on a portable mount, which might also be a nice widefield addition to the sct.

My big question, not having tried it, is whether the speed of setup of a manual alt az mount is worth giving up the Goto and autotracking of a small powered mount like the Skywatcher AZ goto? Are slow motion controls easy to use and do they add more vibration issues? Does the speed of use make up for more time searching for your targets - or does the wider field of view of these refractors make that easy anyway?

I would consider something like the Heritage 130 dob, which looks pretty compact, but I'm going over to 2" eyepieces where possible - which I don't think that would hold.

Thanks for your help.

All the best,

Ian

[Ben Ritchie]

I find a simple manual alt-az is a great thing to have. No wires or alignment make it very quick to get started, and I quite often grab mine even if I only have ten minutes spare to get under the stars. So it's really something that complements other kit very well.

You quite rapidly learn your way around the sky, and I find a RDF gets me close and the field of view with a medium-low power eyepiece is enough to zero in on a target. Plus the sort of targets that suit a refractor on an alt-az (or a small Dob for that matter) are the bigger, brighter ones anyway that suit low-power viewing so tracking isn't such an issue - unless you're Stephen O'Meara you're not going to be hunting faint fuzzies with it. It'll be a very long time before you run out of things to look at, especially as you'll be back to view old favourites time after time.

[IanH]

That sounds like what I'm after. Would the ubiquitous ed80 type refractor be good for visual use?

The cheaper achros seem good value - but I'm not sure I could take the colour fringing (it annoys me in binoculars).

Thanls for your advice.

Ian

[Ben Ritchie]

I've owned both the 600mm f/7.5 and 500mm f/6.25 flavours of Chinese 80ED and they are both great telescopes and very well suited to a grab'n'go setup. Touch of false colour in the Revelation f/6.25 I had, but very limited and a non-issue for visual use - it was really only there if you went searching for it. The f/7.5 is a great all-rounder and has better colour correction, a bit heavier and more cumbersome, but not such as to really make much of a difference in practice.

One of my favourite ever grab and go telescopes was a TeleVue Pronto (now with Olly), even though it was an achromat I loved the views through it. Sold it when I got a TV76 as I couldn't justify two telescopes that were quite so similar, but have always regretted it a bit

[osbourne one-nil]

I've got a Televue 85 on a Porta II Mount (Vixen) and that has slow motion controls on. It's instant to set up and I've been tracking Saturn quite happily at x100 using the slow motion controls....I could track at a higher magnification too, but that's as high as my eyepieces go. I think it's great to the extent that any thoughts of providing tracking have gone out of the window. I have just treated myself to an Agro Navis push-to system though, so at least I'll have some help finding things.

[IanH]

I wondered about the TeleVue Pronto, there is one on UK A B&S - asking price is £500. Do you think a used Pronto is worth about the same as a new Skywatcher Equinox/Pro ED80? I like the idea of buying quality optics - but is 70mm less useful than 80mm for visual, or is it not really noticable? I can't justify the new price of a TV 76 at the moment, unfortunately.

With regards to the mount - the Vixen Porta mount II is getting the vote. I like the idea of not messing around with power supplies too.

[E621Keith]

The Heritage 130 dob does not have slow motion control (it's a dob). If you want manual slow motion, you need a conventional Alt-Az mount. Slow motion control is easy to use and causes less vibration than moving the OTA by hand. Vixen Porta is quite popular, as is SW AZ4.

My current grab and go is a Borg 77 and a Borg SWII mount. Set up takes less than a minute. Extend the tripod legs, put it on the ground, mount the scope and it's ready to go. If I was using my GP2 I would still be assembling the mount.

ED80 is a good scope and it's a lot cheaper than the TV.

[osbourne one-nil]

It's great - if you get the long flexi-handles too, it makes it really smooth and completely hassle free. I've read a review on the Pronto from Ed Ting (and others) which says it's not got great colour correction and that it's not up there with the TV76 and TV85, so I'd not want to part £500 on it, but I've never looked through one myself. I also think 80mm is a big step up from 70mm, or about 30% if my maths is right.

[Ben Ritchie]

Definitely recommend the Vixen Porta II, that's what I use with my TV76.

I'm not really recommending a Pronto, just reminiscing based on your comment that "The cheaper achros seem good value - but I'm not sure I could take the colour fringing". I love using a small refractor and alt-az to just browse at low powers, and colour correction is less of an issue for that really. Olly might remember what he paid for my Pronto, I don't remember, but it was just the OTA so not like the the one on UKAB&S which is on a mount too. That looks reasonable value to me. It's true that the colour correction is not great, it is an achromat, but it never worried me in use - it had a kind of vintage charm to it and was great fun to use.

[IanH]

Great advice, thanks. I think I will go for an ed80 of some kind on the vixen mount.

Ian

[jetstream]

I use a Stellarvue M2 mount with no slow controls and it is silky smooth,no problem tracking and it is so simple to set up.Great quality.I have no idea if anyone in UK sells this brand tho

[rwilkey]

I've got a Televue 85 on a Porta II Mount (Vixen) and that has slow motion controls on. It's instant to set up and I've been tracking Saturn quite happily at x100 using the slow motion controls....I could track at a higher magnification too, but that's as high as my eyepieces go. I think it's great to the extent that any thoughts of providing tracking have gone out of the window. I have just treated myself to an Agro Navis push-to system though, so at least I'll have some help finding things.

I use the Porta II mount with good results with my C100ED, and tracking with slo-mo controls at 150x (6mm WE SPL ep) ok and not too cumbersome, the slo-mo controls on the Porta II are very good indeed. The mount is also reasonably light and a good grab n' go.

[osbourne one-nil]

I've often wondered if my little mount could take a bigger scope, but always told myself that 85mm was about the limit. Your 100mm f9 must weigh a whole lot more. I fear yours might prove an expensive post.