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Which accessory you can't / can do without?

emadmoussa

By emadmoussa
in The Astro Lounge

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

Posted
Posted

In my experience accessories have always been about trying and then deciding whether or not they were worth keeping. On the other hand, many other accessories I assumed were very useful before hand turned out to be more of a nuisance for me and ended up for sale again.

Few months back I reluctantly bought a Telrad, only until recently did I start to think of it as an indispensable accessory. I even wonder how I ever lived without it. I think in general it's always about what your ''personal'' needs and preferences are. While for example some people find a RACI finder a great piece of kit others struggle to make much use of it.

I'm just curious what other people's experience is...

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mog3768

mog3768

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Well I brought a set of Bino Viewers at this years show and I just can not get on with them. Much prefer single eyepiece.

Might be because I wear Spectacle's So there a no go suspect my son will inherit them.

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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Well I brought a set of Bino Viewers at this years show and I just can not get on with them. Much prefer single eyepiece.

Might be because I wear Spectacle's So there a no go suspect my son will inherit them.

Probably not age - I don't get on with binos or binoculars either.. much prefer single eyepiece :)

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RichieP

RichieP

Posted
Posted

Most useful accessory - Bey observing chair.

Least useful - filter wheel with set of colour filters - if I ever use it I just cycle through them trying to decide if any of them makes an improvement at all.

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Qualia

Qualia

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I guess a lot in this hobby could be counted as an accessory - even those 'extra' eyepieces we have could be considered as much. Before buying anything I try to read a lot and think long before making a purchase. To date, of the stuff I do have I think everything is used each week and I wouldn't like to part with any of it. At a push perhaps the moon filter could go, but it came included when I bought the Tal, so I feel it is part of the kit :smiley:

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Qualia

Qualia

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I love using my blue and yellow filters for planet work (especially with Jupiter) and together they make a lovely green shade (a poor man's continuum) which I use along with a polarizing filter for the Herschel Wedge for solar viewing. I've also found the UHC-S filter works wonders on given nebulae and in the future would consider a OIII. Neodymium filters get great reviews and might also be worth a look into.

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avtaram

avtaram

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I couldn't do without a telrad.

With a telrad in conjunction with S&T Pocket Sky Atlas I can locate objects that are not visible to the naked eye from my location.

I have a William Optics binoviewer which I bought after reading so many glowing reports about the advantages of using a

binoviewer over a single eyepiece. Having used it about three times I am rather underwhelmed by it.

I much prefer to use the Baader 8-24 zoom and the panview 38mm.

I haven't had a chance to use the binoviewer on the moon yet but overall I think I could do without it.

Avtar

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I couldn't be without either my telrad or my 9x50 RACI finder. from my light polluted garden, I genuinely feel lost when I try to use one or the other and not both.

I also use the S&T pocket atlas and actually recently 'discovered' green torch rather than a red torch maintains my night vision better and allows easier map reading.

then there's my observing chair......I want everything I have really!

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bomberbaz

bomberbaz

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My scopes goto. I am guessing a few are shaking their heads at this revelation but my sky knowledge is pretty shaky so I wouldn't hit half the stuff I do with out it. I am learning the sky slowly and I am happy to learn at this pace, until then, goto it is. :cool:

There is nothing in my bag that I don't want. Well maybe a 2x barlow although it has been used once. :p

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L8-Nite

L8-Nite

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.................. recently 'discovered' green torch rather than a red torch maintains my night vision better and allows easier map reading.

..................

Interesting, I'll have to try that as I have a couple of flashlights/torches which included red, blue, and green filters.

For the most part I'm low tech when it comes to Astronomy, and can enjoy observing without a lot of gadgets, but can't do without my .965", 1.25", and 2" eyepiece adapters.

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helicalwave

helicalwave

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Telrad is indispensable. Thanks for the help finding a good mounting location. I took my kit for the first time beyond my garden to Kent for the Perseids, and without my Geoptik carry bags I would not have got very far.

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