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Help me choose an 11" plus setup please

gurney

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Vega

Vega

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I think Gaz has pretty much summed up the SCT / Newt argument. There's no clear winner, Newts are just a bit more tricky to handle once you reach a certain size. Think of it this way, the money saving you'd make from buying a Newt is a trade off for ease the of use of an SCT (and not having to get around tricky focusing issues for photography).

Matt

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FLO

FLO

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The Newtonian's lack of inward focus travel can be corrected with a low profile focuser.

If the C11 is suitable for spectroscopy then it would be the more convenient option. (Dealers BTW like SCTs because they will readily accept a whole pile of accessories :) ).

We took a C11 to Kelling two years ago and visually the views were superb - the Ring nebula in particular showed shape and structure that up til then I had only seen in images 8)

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gurney

gurney

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Oooh nice one. Thanks Kaptain!

Can you buy it from a newsagent or is it subscription only. Any website for it?

And Steve - or anyone - why are SCT's more actered for in the add-on department than Newt's? Surely the tube is the same on each, just different lengths! :)

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FLO

FLO

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why are SCT's more catered for in the add-on department than Newt's? Surely the tube is the same on each, just different lengths! :)

I think its a case of success breeding success. The SCT's compact, portable, closed tube design and the way it combines the properties of both mirrors and lenses made it very popular so there are a lot out there. As imaging became popular, owners looked to adapt their existing SCT telescopes so a large accessory market quickly developed to cater for them. Accessories are now available to both increase and decrease f-ratio (speed and field of view) and to attach just about any camera together with filter wheels, motorised focusers and the like. That isn't to say that an SCT is better than a suitably-made Newtonian or APO refractor, just that it is more popular and so better catered for.

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gurney

gurney

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Well it looks like I might have come full circle.

When I started looking at telescopes I was first of all swayed by the pretty adverts of Meade's in the magazines and on the net. But then I started reading some reviews suggesting the quality was a bit poor.

So I ended up on here and everyone's mad on EQ6's and so I ended up looking at a big old Skywatcher 300P on an EQ6 Pro.

But then it turns out that they'll be a nightmare for getting into spectroscopy which is what I really want to do.

So I'm back looking at SCT's, but they're much more expensive and I need to get EVERYTHING cos I'm starting fro scratch.

Oh the pain of it all.

Finally I come across Sfarndell's ad for a classic Meade 10" SCT LX200. Nice I thought!

At a decent price, for not a lot more than an EQ6 on it's own I figure this is my best route in. I can get this scope and all the extras I need, get used to it and if I find I need to upgrade later on then so be it. But all being well in a couple of days time when I go to see it, it seems to me that I should get myself a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from it.

thanks for all the advice guys and girls. All very helpful indeed.

If you have any more advice - especially about Classic LX200's please let me know! :)

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ringz

ringz

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When you go to inspect the scope one of the things you need to check is the focuser. Make sure it turns nicely with no sticky regions.

place a distant object into the centre of the field with medium magnification. Use the focus knob to put the object into focus coming from both directions of rotation of the knob. Make sure that the image that you centred doesn't wander about the field of view too much.

The scope will drive you nuts if, when you focus, the image moves drastically away from where you placed it.

I hope I explained this well enough for you to understand :) . I know what I mean but it doesn't always come over in what I type :oops:

Make sure that all the keys on the controller are working. It's not unknown for them to go U/S.

I'm sure that there are other things to look out for but I'm not too familiar with Meade kit.

--

Martyn

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gurney

gurney

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Heads up kind of here Re. the spectroscopy aspect. Practical Astronomer magazine has an introductory article in the July '08 edition which I just picked up off the doormat.

Kaptain Klevtsov

Many thanks for that tip Kaptain. Never heard of that magazine before - but went to the website and decided to subscribe! The July copy arrived this morning - only just got in from a wedding 140 miles away! Skimmed through and it looks fantastic!

Thanks for the top tip! :)

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gurney

gurney

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My apologies to everyone on board! I've just picked up my 10" LX200!!! :)

However, you should be ok for a few days yet in terms of weather conditions as I don't have any eyepieces yet and I'm away on a conference for a few days. So the weather should hold off until about thursday I reckon!

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Keagle

Keagle

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My apologies to everyone on board! I've just picked up my 10" LX200!!! :)

However, you should be ok for a few days yet in terms of weather conditions as I don't have any eyepieces yet and I'm away on a conference for a few days. So the weather should hold off until about thursday I reckon!

Congratulations Gurney! :lol:

When's the spectothingie stuff coming then eh?

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gurney

gurney

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Ah! that's on hold until I find a camera. I'm going to get the staranalyzer for spectroscopy, but I need to know which camera I'm getting first to get the right spacer to go with it! So I'm hunting for a good second hand deal on a cooled CCD camera first, then I'll get the staranalyzer.

I have a steep learning curve ahead, and very little by way of helpful english weather. So expect something March 2011! :)

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gurney

gurney

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Well - the scope's got no eyepieces with it. so I'm hoping to order a set of Meade 5000 plossl's tomorrow:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ms5000spset&cat=81

Unless anyone's got any better ideas. I liked the look of this set though for the following reasons:

1. Same manufacturer as the scope. I know that's probably a subjective issue, but it makes me aesthetically happy at least

2. comes with a case!

3. Good quality eyepieces - not just quantity without quality

4. Sensible range of focal lengths

5. Includes a huge 2" 32mm! Which should give some nice wide field views! :)

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GazOC

GazOC

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Re. the Meade set. For high power work the 5.5mm is far too much and the 14mm is not enough. You need an eyepiece in the middle, around a 10mm, to give you ~x250. Out of the 4 eyepieces you are paying for you are only really going to be able to really use 3. I'd try to find away to buy the eyepieces separately or ask to swap out the 5mm for a longer focal length.

Them being the same make as the scope is unimportant from a performance point of view but I know things like that can matter to people. :)

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gurney

gurney

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Thanks Gaz!

That's why I like this forum - very helpful and sensible people around the place! :)

Ok, I need some more advice then please!

Steve at FLO has very kindly offered to swap out the 5mm for a 9mm in the Meade set.

However, he's also suggested getting some Baader Hyperions instead, and/or a 33mm Williams Optics Swan eyepiece.

The budget will allow me to get either the Meade set (taking up Steve's kind offer of the 9mm instead of the 5mm - to give me :

Meade 5000 Super Plossl 9mm (1.25") (60deg FOV)

Meade 5000 Super Plossl 14mm (1.25") (60deg FOV)

Meade 5000 Super Plossl 20mm (1.25") (60deg FOV)

Meade 5000 Super Plossl 33mm (2") (60deg FOV)

All in a case

OR

Baader Hyperion 8mm (68degree FOV)

Baader Hyperion 17mm (68degree FOV)

Baader Hyperion 24mm (68degree FOV)

Williams Optics Swan 33mm (72 degree FOV)

The scope concerned is a 10" Meade LX200 Classic (f10).

Or if anyone wise is knocking around and wants to offer an alternative, please feel free to do so! Need a full set for around the £300 mark. Ta

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Whippy

Whippy

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Actually, I was going to suggest Hyperions! I have a few of them and they're pretty darn good and they'd work a treat on your scope. You could buy those and just get a case from somewhere like Maplins or B&Q.

Tony..

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GazOC

GazOC

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I've got a full set of Hyperions and I love them, I've never used the Meades so I can't compare the two. One benefit of the Hyperions is that you can use them as 1.25" or 2" format so its a little less fiddling about when you have swap the widefield eyepieces in and out.

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