Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

How much have you spent over the years? - Astronomy might be cheaper than you think.

A40farinagolf

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 109
  • Created
  • Last Reply
niallk

niallk

Posted
Posted

WHAT! You should be banished from here!

That is tantamount to going onto a vegan website and posting that you quite like veal...

Just kidding :)

Perhaps members could coordinate all equipment purchases for the year on a single date, get all the clouds over and done with upon delivery, and then we could enjoy clear skies for most of the year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HD-AP

HD-AP

Posted
Posted

more money than i have sense

But what's done is done ,no sense crying about it ,the tears just evaporate and form more clouds :grin:

In my defence most of my gear was purchased a long time ago when i was younger and more impulsive.So most of it has depreciated in market value terms to the point where it's worth more to me to keep it ,to my chagrin some of my astro gear has actually gone up in value over what i paid for it !!  :evil:

A lot of my kit was purchased in nearly new condition ,real bargains still exist out their.

Take heart though  astronomy is a lifelong addiction / non fatal disese (unless the other half finds out) :eek:

Which can be enjoyed by all ages for just a few pounds or a budget even nasa couldn't dream of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paul M

Paul M

Posted
Posted

In maybe 30 years I've spent little.

My first scope was bought by my parents, all 60 gorgeous millimeters.

I've bought a Fullerscopes 6.25 Newt and more recently a Skywatcher 10 in newt. very little in between.

Can't remember  what I paid for the Fullerscope, maybe £600 or more (in 1984)  plus the new one at about £1600 (with bits).

But...

If you add in the cost of two holidays designed to take in Total Solar eclipses my figure is perhaps tripled :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rainmaker

Rainmaker

Posted
Posted

Every now and then someone asks this question .................... how much ????

Late last year is sold off most of my astro inventory as I felt much of it never got used due to the weather................  thus I recouped about $17,000.-  back into the bank account.

This year started out well with minimal spending ............ until someone advertised an FSQ106ED in mint condition with extras at a price I could not pass on.

The rest is history ........... since 15 January I have spent about $8,500 on scope, finder, ExtenderQ 1.6x, Berlebach Planet, Kokusai Kohki T-Rex, Argo Navis, 5 Radians, Robin Casady Saddle and 2 x 14" Dovetails........

Someone please stop me .............

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rainmaker

Rainmaker

Posted
Posted

Dear Rainmaker,

You don't need to stop yet as you've still got $8500 leftover from the last sale plus it's soon the start of the new tax year so you might get a new 2015 / 2016 allowance to include as well.

You can't take it with you.

My wife would argue with you about that ..............

Link to comment
Share on other sites
griz11

griz11

Posted
Posted

Last time I got into AP seriously I had about 20k in it all. Awesome job and no kids :) Dome scopes cameras etc. Sold all that when my health failed. This time around I'm going on the cheap only 5.5K and I'm liking it much more except I do wish I still had the dome. Doubt I'll spend much more since I'm digging into my retirement money. But since I bought the mount and started imaging I've pretty much quit going places on weekends to shoot so gas and wear and tear on the car has gone way down. You only live once and you can't take it with you. I have one foot in the hole already and I dearly love doing AP so to me its worth every penny and then some. I just can't see myself sitting in front of the telly all day getting more and more crotchety and yelling at the kids to get off my yard :) Learning is the fountain of youth.

Griz

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

Posted
Posted

I'd really need to put pen to paper to get me the true cost of my spendings. Off the top of my head though..............i would easily say within the last 10 yrs, i have spent 10-12k on astro gear.

And this is being a cheapskate (apart from my 8SE).

Scopes are the cheapest parts. Its all the filters,adaptors etc that add up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
perfrej

perfrej

Posted
Posted

Ouch! Luckily, I have only been at it since 2010, so I am pretty well off. I also have the privilege of having a wife who thinks it is completely OK to burn the money on astro if it makes me feel well. I could do with some more stuff, though. Currently looking at an FLI ML50100 for my TEC-140 in Provence. That may very well blow a hole the size of a mini-van in my wallet, which in turn means that I really should wait a while with that specific purchase... And then there is the matter of a new car, perhaps...

Stuff in the signature is what I have left. I have more or less gotten all my money back when selling used stuff, so that's it. Plus, of course, an unspecified number of "business trips" to Olly's to build and run the observatory we have there.

OK, I'm signing off from this discussion - I don't want to see the numbers...

/per

Link to comment
Share on other sites
griz11

griz11

Posted
Posted

Well I just dropped another grand :) Decided to add a servo controller and a pair of servos to my rig. Went with the Scitech and Losmandy servos and gearboxes. More expensive for those motors but they have proper cases and cabling and are sized for the mount. All I have to do is make a couple of pigtails to split out the encoder from the motor wires on each axis. Easy pickings :)  Also bought an Aurora Flat field panel. Just can't seem to get good flats with a t-shirt or unfocused sky shots. So make that 6.5K :)

Griz

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

Posted
Posted

Well its a hobby - I spend what I can afford.  Astronomy is cheap compared to rocketry where every launch you make is anything from £3 to £15 being vapourised in front of your eyes and occasionally its more like £150 and months of work being incinerated.  Imagine if you spent loads of dosh on astro imaging equipment, spent months getting the subs together for a huge composite picture and then all the work and the equipment is incinerated before your eyes after the firtts look at the picture - thats rocketry.

By comparison astro is kind on the cash.  I worked it all out once and its not been that bad.  I made a few sales of stuff where I got back almost what I paid and in a few cases a bit more.  The hardware I have is still worth close to what I paid for it I would think so its cash in the bank.  Better really because with inflation running at 5% and the bank paying 2% interest the money in the bank is worth less than the astro hardware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

I've spent plenty on kit, bought and sold loads but really enjoy owning, improving and using it so it is money well spent. I've always taken a car allowance from work and driven around in relatively cheap cars, plus I don't smoke or drink much so it's my biggest vice!

Compared with the cost of my divorce it pales into insignificance anyway so I don't tend to worry about it!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Davey-T

Davey-T

Posted
Posted

Compared with the cost of my divorce it pales into insignificance anyway so I don't tend to worry about it!!

My wife keeps threatening me with divorce if I spend any more money / time on astronomy, it's not working though as I've recently bought SW Star Adventurer, Skris 274 and WO Star71 plus other bits and bobs.  :grin:

Dave

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.