Upgrading my Grab 'n' Go

[dick_dangerous]

Hi All,

Last night I had a lovely little session for an hour in my parent's back garden on the edge of the New Forest with my ST80 refractor and video tripod. It got me thinking about equipment this year and it seems like there's a hole in my arsenal.

Currently I am toting the ST80 and video tripod (Oh, and EQ1 mount but... well... it's so awful I never use it!) and a Skyliner 150P Dobsonian. Both telescopes have their uses:

• The 150P fits snugly in my car and so can be driven to dark(ish) sites near to London. The only problem is that my car is quite bijou, so with the Dob in there, there's no room for much else: I can only take one passenger and it wouldn't be able to come on holiday (poor thing).
• The ST80 fits in hand luggage and I now use it primarily when travelling abroad to places where I might get dark skies. The video tripod is a bit shaky, but adequate for super-portability.

I'm now looking for something that's grab 'n' go, small enough to fit in the back of the car with room for some luggage too, but big enough that its performance would be close to the 150P (Or rather surpass it because it would come with me to dark skies like the New Forest or on holidays involving the car). The options I'm considering are as follows:

• A Heritage 130P - Because, as with any Dobsonian, this would get me the most aperture for the outlay and would hit all the buttons. The only drawback is the height.
• An ST120 (on an AZ4) - I've heard the CA is terrible on these but I love my ST80, so an extra couple of inches could really open up those dark skies.
• An Evostar 120 or Tal 100RS (on an AZ4) - Hear good things about both of these but the length might start to become an issue for the portability factor.
• A Skymax 127 (on an AZ4) - I've not really used a Mak before and the extra focal length might make this a good planetary/lunar scope from lighter skies. It wouldn't be as good for sweeping widefield views but coupled with the ST80 (Which could go on the same mount) it might compliment my current equipment rather nicely.

Opinions would be gratefully received. And as a further note, I'm wondering if I should actually be saving up for one of these bad boys: http://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/telescopes-by-brand/brand-explore-scientific/explore-scientific-ultra-light-12-dobsonian.html

I know it'll fit in the car, I'm just not sure if it counts as grab 'n' go!

Thanks,

Paul

[happy-kat]

I think I would be tempted by the 127 mak. It is I guess quite portable if driving, compact size and would give you a different flavor of telescope. Maybe a 150 mak would be too close to your 150p.

What do you prefer chasing down planets or dso when you go to darker locations.

[Alkaid]

The TAL100RS is a good scope.  I can just about get mine to lie across the parcel shelf.  However, two things need addressing in my opinion.   It really needs an RA finder to be any use for DSO's.  The TAL stock finder is very good optically but like any straight finder, it is impossible to use on anything other than the moon and planets.  I am currently looking for an alternative finder bracket which will fit, so that I can fit my SW 9x50 RA finder.  I do not wish to drill the tube....  The other thing is minor, but as the OTA length is a squeeze on the parcel shelf, I am looking at removing the dew shield for transportation, which reduces it by about 115mm (a fair bit).  I am then looking for a simple lens cap to fit the lens when the dew shield is removed.  With those things resolved, hopefully for me within the next few weeks, it will be a nice portable, bright DSO hunter too.   (By the way it's already very good on the moon and planets).   And you can rotate the focuser - which means that the finder can be put in any orientation that you so wish.

Re the SW 127 Mak.  Beware putting on an AZ4 using the standard bottom mount dovetail, as you will find that the finder scope is then in completely the wrong place (underneath the scope).  Focus knob also gets tricky, as it is now at the top and the diagonal and eyepiece get in the way.  Options to solve the finder problem are to remove the existing finder and fit a telrad or rigel quick finder.  Or, to solve both finder and focuser problem, you could remove the dovetail and then use tube rings like you would a refractor to rotate the tube so that the finder and focuser are in the right place.