Some help and advice please on this potential setup - Meade UHC (LX200) 12" & EQ6 Pro

[Elara]

Hello,

I am brand new to the forum and I am seeking some advice please.

The Internet being what it is has helped tremendously in my search to date and I now realise that there are many pitfalls that a beginner such as myself could fall into.

In taking advice so far and in the contemplation thereof, I have defined and refined my needs and goals. I want portability, but I also realise that with heavier equipment there will exist a 'knack' of lugging things about and mounting stuff single handedly. I want excellent visual capability ( the 'wow' factor ) with imaging  in the future. My main interest will be in visual observance of the moon planets and deep sky objects.

Firstly, I want a decent  EQ mount for which I am prepared to invest a reasonable sum - £1,000-1,500 - this I hope will be a good start?

Secondly, for personal reasons, I am more attracted to SCT's than say Dobsonian's or Newtonian's; Refractors are an option though.

Thirdly, I do like the look of the Celestron EDGE SCT's and their Hyperstar/Fastar option - the thought of hooking up my MacBook to the mount/camera CCD and controlling everything (almost) from indoors is very appealing (or very naive)

With the above in mind, an opportunity exists for me to purchase a 4 year old Meade UHC 12" scope (dealer tested and collimated) alongside an appropriate mount, probably an EQ6 but could stretch to a CGEM; either mount would be brand new, only the scope being second hand.

A large scope such as this, I realise has limitations in the field of imaging and also portability, but is an attractive option because of its large aperture, good optics and potential for re-sale. 

I have a budget of £3,000 including eyepiece(s), diagonal, imager and power source, so any advice on the aforementioned option would be very well received.

Many thanks in advance.

Graham

[Peter Drew]

I used a 12" SCT on a EQ6 Pro for some years, great combination. The telescope gave superb images of the Moon, planets and DSO's and great solar system photos, you would struggle somewhat with DSO imaging due to the long focal length.    

[Elara]

I used a 12" SCT on a EQ6 Pro for some years, great combination. The telescope gave superb images of the Moon, planets and DSO's and great solar system photos, you would struggle somewhat with DSO imaging due to the long focal length.  

Thank you Peter that's very helpful in the decision making.

DSO imaging will be something to aspire to in the future, hence the appeal of Hyperstar friendly SCT 'kit' in future. I think my strategy of building experience and knowledge through 'observation' first, will stand me in good stead.

Cheers 

Graham

[nicks90]

its not really a scope for dso imaging, and from what others have said about hyperstar scopes - its a tricky beast to master.

maybe get the meade anyway and blow your socks off with the visual aspects of the hobby and do some killer planetary imaging, then if dso iimaging really bites, buy aa little 80mm ed scope to mount on the eq6 for those nights you want to explore the dark arts. if dso imaging becomes an obsession, the meade will hold its value well and you can sell it to buy lots of gadgets for ap.

[Elara]

its not really a scope for dso imaging, and from what others have said about hyperstar scopes - its a tricky beast to master.

maybe get the meade anyway and blow your socks off with the visual aspects of the hobby and do some killer planetary imaging, then if dso iimaging really bites, buy aa little 80mm ed scope to mount on the eq6 for those nights you want to explore the dark arts. if dso imaging becomes an obsession, the meade will hold its value well and you can sell it to buy lots of gadgets for ap.

Many thanks for this Nick - It helps tremendously and gives me a bit more clarity on the whats important now, whilst keeping an eye on the future.

[Elara]

Hi - this is a picture of the Meade 12" SCT I'm thinking of purchasing - it looks as if it is LX8** series but without the UHCT or ACF - any clues would be helpful?

Cheers

Graham