Grab and Go scope advice

[kevthered]

First off, let me apologise, as I'm sure this questions been asked many times before, but I really need some advice.

What I want to know, is what is the best telescope, mount and tripod available that will give me the following:

1. Good planetary and lunar views.

2. Is nice and stable.

3. Is transportable enough for me to take camping.

4. Preferably with a motorised drive (NOT Goto)

Basically, what's the best grab and go scope !!

My budget is about £200 - £300

I'm thinking of some sort of short tube refractor on an EQ3-2 mount......does this sound sensible ?

All advice / recommendations welcomed.

Thanks in advance

Kev

[nightfisher]

Kev, if you want motor tracking and portable look at the Maksutov scopes on the AZ supertrack mount

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-supatrak.html

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

For planets and the moon, a maksutov (skymax 127) or SCT will beat any affordable short-tube frac of the same weight by a mile. Even my C8 optical tube assembly weighs only 4.7 kg. The little skymax 127 gives 5 inches of aperture in a more compact package than an ST120, shows no chromatic aberration, much less spherical aberration, and does all smaller DSOs (i.e. the majority) as well as any 120 mm refractor. Short tube fracs are fine at wide field, but not intended for planets. A C5 or C6 is another option, but these are more expensive.

[kevthered]

Thanks for the above replies regarding Skymax 127 Mak's.

I've actually got a Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 Synscan at the moment, but there are 3 reason why I'm thinking of selling it:

1. I find it difficult getting things into focus as every time you touch the focus knob the scope wobbles.

2. It's not ideal for camping (goes through batteries VERY quickly)

3. As I'm only interested in lunar and planetary work, I don't need the GOTO function.

I'm considering selling my Skymax 127 to get something more suitable, hence my approximate budget.

Maybe I could sell the Synscan GOTO mount and buy something more stable (and possibly motorised)

What do you think ?

[nightfisher]

Allow me to steer you in a slightly different route, only if your astro is visual as apposed to imaging.............consider the AZ4 mount, very stable and simple to use, this mount will also allow you to image the Luna surface with a DSLR

[hobsey]

No, keep the 127mak and buy a az4 mount.

This setup is an amazing for grab and go and the az4 is very stable so you won't get wobbling when trying to focus.

[hobsey]

Sorry, i was too slow.

[kevthered]

Thanks to all 3 of you for your replies.

So keeping my 127 Mak, selling my Synscan GOTO mount, and buying an AZ4 mount seems to be the way forward.

How much do you think I'd get for my Synscan GOTO mount (it's like new, and comes with a power adapter purchased from Opticstar in Sale, so it can be plugged into an extension lead), and how much is an AZ4 mount likely to cost ?

Thanks again for all your help

Kev

[nightfisher]

AZ4 is £177 at FLO , not sure what price you would get for the AZ goto, but as a Moderator can i just politely remind about the no selling rules on these pages (sorry had to say that)

You could place an add on uk astro buy sell, i would suggest some thing in the area of £150

[RT65CB-SWL]

Thanks for the above replies regarding Skymax 127 Mak's.

I've actually got a Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 Synscan at the moment, but there are 3 reason why I'm thinking of selling it:

1. I find it difficult getting things into focus as every time you touch the focus knob the scope wobbles.

2. It's not ideal for camping (goes through batteries VERY quickly)

3. As I'm only interested in lunar and planetary work, I don't need the GOTO function.

I'm considering selling my Skymax 127 to get something more suitable, hence my approximate budget.

Maybe I could sell the Synscan GOTO mount and buy something more stable (and possibly motorised)

What do you think ?

Q1. attach a clothes peg to the focus knob, or if the focus knob has a grub screw, then remove it and replace it with a longer machine screw/socket cap screw/bolt of the same thread. I opted for the socket cap screw/bolt on my 'modded' ETX105 and I get little or no vibration with the final focus.

[kevthered]

nightfisher: No problem. I won't mention it again.

Philip R: Thanks for your advice. I've tried the clothes peg trick, and although it helped slightly, I still get wobble when focusing.

Your questions about grub screws, machine screws, socket caps etc........you may as well be talking a foreign language. I haven't got a clue what you mean !!

I can tell the difference between a screw and a nail, and that's about it !

Thanks for the advice anyway.

[RT65CB-SWL]

nightfisher: No problem. I won't mention it again.

Philip R: Thanks for your advice. I've tried the clothes peg trick, and although it helped slightly, I still get wobble when focusing.

Your questions about grub screws, machine screws, socket caps etc........you may as well be talking a foreign language. I haven't got a clue what you mean !!

I can tell the difference between a screw and a nail, and that's about it !

Thanks for the advice anyway.

Grub screws look like this...

Machine screws look this...

...and Socket Cap screws look like this...

...and they all come in different lengths and imperial & metric threads too!

[ronin]

For ease of use there is not a lot to beat a simple 70mm or 80mm refractor.

The RVO 80/600 one looks good but would eat up the budget on the scope alone.

TS do a 70/500 scope at €225 so about £185-190.

I know there is the ST80 but I have never been a fan of f/5 achro refractors.

As to a mount not sure.

The one that comes to mind is the Vixen Mini Porta but that is £187.

A used Skywatcher Alt/Az would be good with the 70mm however the cost soon adds up.

There is the Skywatcher Heritage range from FLO. Scope and tracking mount for £175 - maybe the 90mm Mak one they have.

[kevthered]

Thanks Philip, at least I've learned something tonight !!

I've attached a couple of pictures of my focusing knob. I'm assuming it's attached by 2 grub screws. So do you suggest removing these grub screws and replacing them with something of the same thread as per your post ?

[RT65CB-SWL]

You could just remove one of them as I have done and replace it with a socket cap screw...

...and 'Yes' that is/was a Meade ETX105!

The tricky part is knowing what thread it is; and when you have extracted it, putting it somewhere in safe storage where you cannot lose it, (35mm film canisters are great for storage of small telescope and mount/tripod hardware). The canisters also make cheap dessicant caps too... http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/flo-10-x-spare-desiccant-sachets.html and only £3.00 for ten sachets from FLO... Just drilll a few small holes in the base of the canister, remove the end cap put in a few sachets, put on the the cap and pop in the focusser tube, (assuming it is 1.25"), when you are not using your 'scope.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The mount is the real issue here, I think. If touching the focuser gives problems, even without twisting it, the mount is not sturdy enough (far too many scopes are sold undermounted). I actually prefer star-hopping in EQ mode (having had an EQ mount with only an RA motor for almost 19 years now), soI would go for an EQ3-2 or even an EQ5 (works as long as you are not backpacking, but travel to the campsite by car, as I have done for the last 20 or more years). My GP mount and C8 fitted nicely in the little Peugeot 106 when it was still just the two of us, and when we had kids it traveled happily in our Daewoo Nubira Wagon. Fitting the Vixen GP mount (the EQ5 is a clone of that venerable mount) was never a problem, as the tripod, head and counterweights + bar split up into compact parts that fit in the luggage easily.

An AZ4 is certainly good by all accounts.

[kevthered]

Thanks for all your replies and advice.

I've decided to definitely keep my 127 Mak, and it's now just a case of what to mount it on:

My budget is likely to be about £200, so I need to decide whether to go for the AZ4 as recommended earlier, or go with my original choice of an EQ3-2 on a motorised mount if funds allow (I'd love an EQ5 but doubt I'll be able to afford one)

While I'm getting my funds together, I think I'll spend a bit of time looking for whats available second hand, then I'll make my decision.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Kev