Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Your Favorite 3 Telescopes ???

deepspacehunter

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 50
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Bodkin

Bodkin

Posted
Posted

An interesting question this one as it also raises the question of why some telescopes did not hit the mark.  My top three favourites are

  • Celestron Comet Catcher - an unusual 5.5 inch schmidt newtonian from the mid eighties.  It was the first telescope I took to dark skies and finally saw what I had been missing.  Sadly sold - let me know if you have one you would part with!
  • Homemade (except for Hinds optics) 12 inch dobsonian.  Another eighties creation that had a square plywood tube.  I did not see much from my town location, but really enjoyed using it.
  • My current Fullerscopes 10 inch newtonian on a dobsonian mount.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

I have ordered my scopes in the reverse order of what I would sell if it came down to it (i.e. I'd sell 1 last). The results might surprise some!:

  1. PST (shortly to be combined with a Tal 100 for a PST mod) - I use this and number 2 the most of any of my scopes. The PST converts to the stage 1 and stage 2 mods as well as being usable as a 40mm white light scope with the Lunt wedge.
  2. Skywatcher 120mm f5 (pretty much a dedicated white light scope with a Lunt Herschel wedge)
  3. OOUK 6" f11 dobsonian - this would be very hard to replace and cost me very little. wonderful on moon and doubles.
  4. (OOUK 12" f4 dobsonian - my most used 'night scope')
  5. (80mm F11 Vixen achromat - lovely as a lunar scope and not so tight doubles)
  6. (OOUK 16" f4 dobsonian - whilst this is possibly my best visual night time scope, it is only used for dark site sojourns these days which are scarce and usually rained off!)

All that said, I have no intention of selling any of them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
laser_jock99

laser_jock99

Posted
Posted

I have ordered my scopes in the reverse order of what I would sell if it came down to it (i.e. I'd sell 1 last). The results might surprise some!:

  1. PST (shortly to be combined with a Tal 100 for a PST mod) - I use this and number 2 the most of any of my scopes. The PST converts to the stage 1 and stage 2 mods as well as being usable as a 40mm white light scope with the Lunt wedge.
  2. Skywatcher 120mm f5 (pretty much a dedicated white light scope with a Lunt Herschel wedge)
  3. OOUK 6" f11 dobsonian - this would be very hard to replace and cost me very little. wonderful on moon and doubles.
  4. (OOUK 12" f4 dobsonian - my most used 'night scope')
  5. (80mm F11 Vixen achromat - lovely as a lunar scope and not so tight doubles)
  6. (OOUK 16" f4 dobsonian - whilst this is possibly my best visual night time scope, it is only used for dark site sojourns these days which are scarce and usually rained off!)

All that said, I have no intention of selling any of them!

Our 'best scope' might also be defined as the on we use most? No good having a superb instrument that is too much of a faff to set up.

One the reasons my 12" F4 is the 'permanent' obsy scope is that it needs to be winched into place. Needless to say I don't de-mount it often, but it did mean my other scopes got used less. I purposely built an external pier for using the other scopes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
perfrej

perfrej

Posted
Posted

All time favorites and current scopes:

#1 - My TEC-140

#2 - My Tak FSQ-106 EDX III

#3 - My Skywatcher 190MN

Other scopes that have passed by and are no longer in my possession are:

A Skywatcher Explorer 250P

A William Optics Megrez 90

A William Optics FLT-98 w Feathertouch

A Celestron EdgeHD 9.25

/per

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nightfisher

nightfisher

Posted
Posted

Our 'best scope' might also be defined as the on we use most? No good having a superb instrument that is too much of a faff to set up.

One the reasons my 12" F4 is the 'permanent' obsy scope is that it needs to be winched into place. Needless to say I don't de-mount it often, but it did mean my other scopes got used less. I purposely built an external pier for using the other scopes.

Jock, how do you rate the build quality of the GSO newts? i sort of fancy getting the 150 f6

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
A McEwan

A McEwan

Posted
Posted

Wow! When you've been through as many scopes as I have it's a really tough question...

In no particular order:

TS 90mm ED Triplet f6.6 Apo (completely PERFECT textbook optics)

Equinox 120ED

TeleVue 85 or Skywatcher DS 100ED Pro.

But seriously... only THREE?!?!

Can I give honorary mentions to my Orion Optics 150mm f8 planetary Newtonian and super-pimped GSO680 8" f6 Dob? Please?

Ant ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bombassa

bombassa

Posted
Posted

Thankfully I have all three of my fave's still.

1) Equinox 120 - nearly sold this one! It was so nearly sold, the upgraded focuser and the focal reducer had already been sold! I then realised it might be quite good for solar white light. It's now my fave scope for solar imaging in white light with a Herschel wedge, or in h-alpha with a Daystar Quark. I also like using it for lunar, though my fave scope for lunar is an Edge 8. It is not my most used scope, but it is the scope I like to use the most, so this is the last one I would be without. Here's one of my pictures taken with the 120 and Quark:

14777106901_84c1ccab5f.jpg

2) Tele Vue 60 - gets the most use, as solar is my favourite thing and it's my grab and go for solar white light and h-alpha. Very compact and a nice thing to take on hols, it doesn't draw much attention to itself, a lady on hols asked why I was pointing my camera at the Sun! Also use it for a quick view at the night sky and I have been surprised to find planets are still pleasing even with just 60mm of aperture. Of course, it is not going to match a bigger scope for resolution. Sometimes it's just nice to see the objects, have fun, it's not always about the very best view. I managed to grab the monster spot in white light on hols with the little 60:

15481698688_1dfb3d59d1.jpg

3) Skywatcher 16 inch dob - haha, it gets beaten by a titchy 60mm scope, because although a 16 inch dob is very nice indeed for DSO observing, it doesn't work with a Daystar Quark and Herschel wedge for solar. Which just goes to show, all scopes have their plus and minus points, and the best scope depends a lot on your needs and preferences.

Your solar images are amazing. 

My three favorite scopes haven't arrived in my life yet I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rowan46

rowan46

Posted
Posted

I am limited in my choices. As a non driver and unable to use my garden due to lp mine have to be very portable so my favourite scope is a c5 its the biggest scope i can carry comfortably, then my 80 x 480 its done me well as a grab and go and hopefully will be good when i eventually get imaging.  my third, well thats any large scope I can blag a look through at a star party.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paul M

Paul M

Posted
Posted

1)   My old and long gone 60mm Dixons own brand refractor from the late 70's I discovered the Universe with that.

2)  Ye Olde Fullerscopes 6" Newtonian from about 1984/5. Still have it. It was a childhood dream to own something like that one day.

3)   My most recent acquisition. SkyWatcher 10" Newt on NEQ 6. I don't think we have fully bonded yet. Need some clear sky for that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.