New Telescope 'extras'?

[Arctic Jack]

Hello,

In the past, many times, I've researched and almost bought a telescope. This Christmas I am finally going to pull the trigger.

Looking over my old notes from previous years reading I was looking to buy these pieces of equipment.

10" GSO Dobsobian f5 Deluxe - included eyepieces - 30mm 2" Wide Angle ERFLE with 70° field and 9mm Super Plössl - multicoated

Cheshire Collimator

Telrad Finder

4" Telrad Raiser

Turn Left at Orion

Would this still be thought of as a good starting set or have things moved on since I was last here?

I'm guessing the two free eyepieces aren't up to much? How bad are they? I'd like to buy another one or possibly two eyepieces depending on their price. Which ones should I be looking at? I've read X-Cel are a decent eyepiece for the price and perform decently in the fast f5 scope. What mm eyepieces would people add to this set if only one or two more could be afforded?

Any advice would be great.

[TractionMan]

Hello and welcome to SGL!

Cheshire, Telrad + riser and TLaO are great additions to your scope (10" is an awesome start). I suggest that you try the supplied EP's for a while and get used to handling the scope/finding your way around the night sky. That way you can get a feel for what you want and need when it comes to EP's later on. If possible, try to find a local astronomy club and try different EP's with your scope. Oh and if you havn't done so already, download Stellarium (great free planetarium program).

Hope it helps.

[kev100]

The only things I'd add to that list is:

A adjustable height drum stool

An OIII filter

Red light torch

A camping mat to make a dew shield

Stick with the EPs until you've got a bit more experience with them, and are clearer as to their limitations

Kev.

[John]

I think your list is fine for getting started. I might add a red torch to read the book by !

More eyepieces, filters, etc, etc can come along in time and you will make more informed choices once you have had a few sessions with the scope.

The eyepieces supplied with that scope (the Erfle and the Plossl) are better designs than the ones supplied with Skywatcher dobsonians.

[PHIL53]

On the basis of my experience with the smaller 8" GSO Deluxe, I can confirm that the 30mm 2" is a good one but the 9mm 1.25" ended up on the bottom drawer quite quickly, to be later replaced with a 14mm Explore Scientific 1.25" .

However I agree with previous comments, do not rush until you have repeatedly tested your equipment.

[kerrylewis]

To supplement TLaO I would suggest getting a star atlas. Sky and Telescope's Pocket Atlas is not expensive, usefully spiral bound and small enough to use in the field. I use it all the time 

[Andyb90]

I'm a relative newcomer to Astronomy and can't recommend the Telrad enough. Its so easy to target the objects you're looking for or brighter stars that are close by.

I'd also recommend a right angled erecting finder scope too. I found this much more comfortable to use with my Dobsonian than a straight through one.

Andy.

[MarsG76]

The only thing I can vouch for in your post is theX-Cel eyepiece... A 5mm X-Cel gave me some of the best views of the planets so I do definitely recommend it for planetary viewing at the clearest nights.

[Charic]

Arctic Jack, Welcome to the SGL.

As exciting as it is, I would just suffice with what the scope provides when it arrives, working from there.

Your selection is sound, but only after having the items, will you really appreciate them, or think otherwise!

Nothing is equal and the best is not always suitable either, especially eyepiece selection. Same for the Telrad, I sold my first one, bought another and have not used it this Year?

I always wanted a Plossl eyepiece collection, even before I bought my present scope, it just seemed the right thing to do, why, I still dont know? although the Plossl is the standard eyepiece in my book.

However, Im still attempting to build a Plossl set, and like tools in a case, I may have more than one set of spanners, so a few extra eyepieces suits me fine. I also wanted the best for next to nothing, yet some of the eyepieces out there (not just Plossl) are over £300, yet its not the funding, its the principle! If I

can achieve satisfactory results, for my eyes, why do I need the best premium eyepiece when less works fine for me and my present scope.

That said, the better premium rate eyepieces out there could have been the TeleVue plossl range, yet I dont find them comfortable to use, so would not be able to buy the full set!

I was loaned some TVs to trial, and have since purchased into TeleVue, but still cant get comfortable with it, and in comparrison to an eyepiece that is 4 times cheaper and more comfortable with not a lot of difference in the final image, Im more than happy with the cheaper eyepiece, and why not! even my Japan Meade 4000 Super Plossl's are doubtfull at present, in favour of the cheaper ones.

The William Optics 6mm is my primary eyepiece to obtain 200x power from my scope, and I have no issues with the Starguiders, which would probaly work well on an f/5 scope. The reports were always favourable on this site, I tried the 8mm, stunned with the difference between the original SW 10mm MA eyepiece, and never looked back or complained.

I have been studying the option to move from my 8" to either a 12" or the 10" . On paper its a no brainer, the 12" wins for me, but I have to test first to see the difference from a light polluted garden. I know many good folk here have said go for it, and although I have darker skies than most, and totally dark nearby after a short car drive, I have to measure the results side by side under my street light pollution here.

That said, Christmas is not too far away, enjoy the new scope, and the headache it brings whilst deciding on any extras!

[Mrbloke]

Same for the Telrad, I sold my first one, bought another and have not used it this Year?

Sacrilege!  How can you not love a Telrad?

George (convicted Telrad pusher...) 

[Andyb90]

I think I would be reduced to tears if my Telrad was taken from me.

Andy.

[kerrylewis]

Assuming I was already allowed a scope and eyepieces,  if I could take just one accessory to that mythical desert island it would be the Telrad! 

[Charic]

Sacrilege!  How can you not love a Telrad?

George (convicted Telrad pusher...) 

Lol.......Its not that I don't love it! Its because I could not use it properly?

Not everything works like it should,  satisfying everyone?  I had to wear prescription glasses to get the best visual through the Telrad. I could see maybe 9 concentric circles in the bulls eye, which is not really what your supposed to see,  was just annoying,  only just visible, and very close together, but noticeable nevertheless, but  with glasses on , the image is perfect, so as I did not use the Telrad much anyway, from my light polluted garden, I sold it on, and it was put to  good use on someone else's telescope, after a small modification?

But after I sold the Telrad, it did not  feel right,  something was now missing, so I bought another, second hand,  can you believe, someone had a spare? and apart from a very small mod to the adjusters, it works just as well as the one I sold, when wearing my  glasses, so it was not any fault with the Telrad, far from it.

When I said I hardly used it this Year, my preference is to use the Telrad from darker sites, in favour of the straight through 9x50 at home. With the weather being total pants this year and no away trips to  the darker sites, the Telrad is just for show at present

[PeejaySTB]

I for one think the Telrad is such a frustration-saving device, I've just bought a second base so I can swap it between scopes.

Also, a big thumbs-up from me for the X-Cels, which are for me a big quality-leap from the standard eyepieces.

[rockystar]

I'm going to go completely off tangent here and suggest the best thing that I've bought, as an extra to my telescope, is a warm hoodie with a nice big hood for getting right over your head and the eyepiece, and a decent pair of gloves that you can still work with. All the other nice additions will come to nothing if you can't spend more than an hour out in the cold and enjoy your wares.

Oh, and after Monday's session, I need to make a dew shield, as that put an end my (up until then) enjoyable session - and that was only after about an hour.

And another thumbs up for TLAO (and Stellarium) if you're not getting GoTo - once you are nice and warm, you need to try and alleviate the frustration of not being able to find all of the wonderful things that will become available to you.

[Waldemar]

If you own a smart phone, maybe it will be nice to use one of the astro apps like StarWalk or SkyView. In combination with an atlas these are very nice tools to find your way around the night sky. Without an atlas too, b.t.w.

[Mr Spock]

From my experience of using a 250mm, the first two eyepieces I would have would be widefield and around 13mm for deep sky, and a high quality eyepiece of 6mm for planetary.

What you see is what counts, everything else are just luxury additions. As we know, astronomy is a bottomless pit of spending when it comes to extras!