Fantasy Rigs

[Liquid360]

I dream of one day having a room exactly like this one... heavy sigh...

- Nate

Birmingham, AL

[johnno]

hmm , just one of those will do nicely

[DaveGarland]

Rubbish! Hasn't even got a dob

[laowho]

Rubbish! Hasn't even got a dob

Lol. Indeed, my fantasy rig would be the LBT (Large Binocular Telescope) in Arizona, but one built/configured for actual eyeball visual observing (and without sacrificing all of its other detectors).

[Alien 13]

A nice Borg on an Astrotrac would do me...

[ollypenrice]

I'd like all the Takahashis but I'd want them on one mount with CCDs in the back and a team of skilled assistants devoted to passing me the calibrated, combined stacks for processing... which Id get round to doing after my jet brought me back from whatever restaurant I'd been dining at that night...

Olly

[omahaastro]

Meh... astrophotographers, glued to their computer screens.

My fantasy rigs... there is a cure to aperture fever.

[swamp thing]

Lovely looking pair of dobs. That must be a wonderful (and tough) choice to have as the sun goes down

[crashtestdummy]

Why anyone would want to stand on a 7' ladder in the dark is beyond me.

My next scope will hopefully be my fantasy rig

[swamp thing]

Why anyone would want to stand on a 7' ladder in the dark is beyond me

Couldn't do it myself as I get really nasty pains in my feet if I stand on ladders for any length of time. Mine is just a small 8" hop up to reach the eyepiece at zenith. The rest of the time I'm on the ground.

Certainly wouldn't knock anyone that does use a ladder though

[Gina]

I'm afraid I'd be likely to fall off and break my neck.  I would have to sit down as my feet won't let me stand for very long.

Good luck if that's your thing but please be careful!

[crashtestdummy]

My current 16" f4.5 requires tiptoes for my 5'7" bulk at zenith but tbh i hardly ever view at zenith anyway.my next scope will be a 22" f3.6 so will just need a small step which i can put up with

[swamp thing]

My current 16" f4.5 requires tiptoes for my 5'7" bulk at zenith but tbh i hardly ever view at zenith anyway.my next scope will be a 22" f3.6 so will just need a small step which i can put up with

Yep a 22" f/3.6 will be about the same as my 20" f/4. You'll be on the ground nearly all the time buddy keep your focuser parallel to the ground when you build it. This really helps keep your feet on the floor.

[crashtestdummy]

Yeah thats the best thing about my lightbridge,the focuser position makes it not too big for shorties like me unlike the 16" skywatcher whoch has a much higher eyepiece.

[omahaastro]

The views make ladder time on the 30" all worth the 'risk'... and it cost me nearly a 1/3rd of what it might have, if I were to consider a new, 'fast' scope of the same aperture.   I have yet to get any complaints from those who accompany me into the field.

The 18" only requires a 2-step ladder for me.

[Mike73]

My current 16" f4.5 requires tiptoes for my 5'7" bulk at zenith but tbh i hardly ever view at zenith anyway.

I'm 5'10" and the only niggle about my scope was having to stand while observing anywhere near 'the dob hole', I prefer being seated while observing and was even considering getting a f/4 mirror next summer but decided that a bigger seat would be cheaper and be less hassle!

Catsperch Pro plans and a chippy mate = jobs a good un'.