How often do you upgrade?

[triton1]

Alas the well has run dry

[cutepetgroomer]

With the exception of scope I found at a thrift store, the vivitar one, I love my new 70mm scope. It's a tabletop and I recently got my eyes on two ep kits, both of 1.25 format. I just don't know know if the zhumell or the power seeker kit would be best. As far as scopes themselves, I got my eyes on a go to mount and I'm excited about trying one out. Soon.

[StarryEyed]

Ten plus years with the last scope and mount last four scopes over thirty five years.

If you are constantly upgrading then you bought the wrong scope to start with.

Astronomy has great potential to fill you with disappointment and when it does there are plenty of adverts that promise to address this and satisfy you with the next scope.

A little understanding of your target and a bit of imagination to help fill in the details can bring plenty of satisfaction with an old scope.

In recent years I have upgraded my attitude and not my scope. Looking through a small refractor which I can pick up and move from the shed at some doubles or a variable or a smudge has put a smile back on my face.

I do need a new mount the controller has gone on one axis with my current one though its taken me over a year to consider it. I think I would like a goto mount which would get me more observing time finding things in a suburban sky can be tricky.

The biggest problem is not knowing what you want. The answer can be found without spending any money by going to a star party.

[StarryEyed]

In fact looking through other peoples scopes is really nice.

[garryblueboy]

I'm always changing trying to find best balance .

[Moonshane]

upgrading is directly proportional to the number of consecutive cloudy nights.

I am still on the adding equipment path. not really an upgrade as such. e.g. my most recent (and my main future) purchase(s) have been an 80mm refractor to be used mainly as a white light solar scope and will be a Lunt 50mm Ha solar scope.

would these be an upgrade from my other scopes? 16" f4 dob, 12" f4 dob and 6" f5 newt plus 6" f11 dob. these scopes are all really different and I tend to use them for different objects/events.

[avtaram]

I've got all the kit I need and am very happy with it but I would still like a 6" ED to add to the collection.

Avtar

[Baffa]

I'm quite happy with what I collected so far and probably good for at least this year, haha.

I have some other hobbies and kids, house and unfortunately ill partner so my budget for relaxation (yes, hobbies are relaxing!) is quite limited.

[cutepetgroomer]

I am satisfied with what I have so far, but I am on the lookout for a refracted with. Bigger aperture.

[Stu]

I call it 'refining' rather than upgrading ;-). I have bought and sold a large amount of kit over the last year or so, mostly used but some new, in order to get to a position where I have the scopes I really want and need.

I am a dreadful hoarder, and had built up a beautiful set of TV and Pentax eyepieces, always with the intention of letting the redundant ones go, but never did!

I have broken that cycle now, rationalised my kit and raised a fair amount towards 'new' items but selling lots of cheaper odds and ends which add up to a decent budget!! Without selling these eyepieces, I would not have been able to afford my Vixen Atlux. The eyepieces can be replaced, it would be very hard to find another Vixen!

I'm trying to adopt an 'if I don't use it, sell it' policy which is working nicely.

So, I had my first 6" newt scope for about 7 years, my mak for about 6 years and in the last few years have had anything up to 8 or so. This is now reducing and I have built a set that works I think (hope!)

Just a couple more bits to go ;-)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Macavity]

I think it worthwhile having a modicum of self-discipline (mine is far from guaranteed!)?

For me, it was more of a "change of direction" - To VIDEO astronomy, ro-ro observatory

and subsequent remote control. My shopping lists can look rather *boring* these days. 

"Paint for shed" ... 30m coax cable... "extra video amp"... Windows 7 for Desktop PC...

Having NO eyepieces of note (to "upgrade") is not too unpleasant a feeling frankly! lol 

For me, a BIG part of Astronomy is the "fiddle about" thing (No, not in Keith Moon sense!)

But I do like to experiment... modify things... try to get the best out of (budget?) scopes...

As far as I can see, I won't be doing any major upgrades from now... But you never know?

I am thinking of a modest, ultra-portable, visual setup for local astrosoc "observing nights"... 

[MattJenko]

So it appears we have a more general trend of accessorizing and refining rather than straight up upgrade/replacements. That is what I feared  . I am eager to take inspiration from the patience advice and to get the best out of what I have, but as was pointed out as well, the devil makes use of idle hands (and the internet) with these cloudy skies...

[Moonshane]

I am lucky that I have always had hobbies which tend to utilise quite expensive books, kit etc and which usually has a decent value if sold. therefore although you wouldn't think so with the kit I have already and have bought recently, my own budget from family pot is extremely limited too and like Stu I almost always have to sell something to buy. the number of non-wanted items I have to sell though has been severely depleted of late and therefore I will just have to wait longer and save. you definitely appreciate things more when you do have to wait for them. 

[Alien 13]

I have tended to modify or build gizmos to get the best out of my kit i am at the stage now where i can prep everything indoors in about 5 mins and carry it all out in one go plonk it down and be imaging within 1 or 2 mins.

Alan

[RobertI]

Since I got back into Astronomy a few years ago I have been chomping at the bit to improve my modest set up for astrophotography as it seemed that my Celestron C8 + non-goto CG5 just wouldn’t cut the mustard long term. I reckoned I need upwards of £3500 for a decent imaging refractor, accurate mount and CCD camera.

But I held off making the big spends and continued with my existing setup using a Canon EOS 1100D for imaging and Lodestar auto-guider for guiding my C8.

In the end I’m really glad I held off spending significant amounts of money because in the meantime I discovered that my setup, whilst was not brilliant for astrophotography, was actually perfect for Electronically Assisted Observing (EAO). EOA typically utilises a ultra-sensitive small chip like that used in the Lodestar to take short exposures which feel ‘real time’, can be viewed on the night and show more than the naked eye ever could with the added benefit of a permanent record to take home. EAO is great if you are ‘time challenged’ as most of us are, or have severe light pollution or fading eyesight!!

Here’s what I discovered about my existing setup:

• My ultra-sensitive Lodestar guide-cam was the perfect imaging camera for EAO
• The small chip of the Lodestar means a scope with perfect edge to edge field definition is not required, so my C8 with a reducer was in fact the perfect imaging scope for EAO.
• Typically exposures of 5 – 30 seconds are used to get the ‘real time’ effect, so accurate tracking/guiding is not required, meaning my modest CG5 mount was also perfect for the job. Also ‘mirror flop’ is not an issue with the short exposures.

I realise EAO may not be for everyone, but in my case it has allowed me to get the most out of my existing equipment whilst giving me the ‘astro-hit’ I crave.

For those that are interested there is a Video Astronomy forum on SGL which covers EAO.

Hope that was of interest, not sure if it was entirely on topic!

[MattJenko]

Rather than being off-topic, this is the kind of story I was hoping to see when I asked the question as well as an idea on how many upgrades people tend to go through or how long they keep hold of the main items. In pushing what you have, you have had other avenues opened up to you, which might not have happened had you taken the plunge immediately and upgraded based on what you thought at the time.  Another reason to push until you are really feeling you are being held back.

[MattJenko]

Near Colchester. Me too.... small world.

[RobertI]

Small world indeed. There's one or two of us around Colchester, I'm Manningtree. Happy to demo my EAO setup anytime.

Rob