Do I need GoTo ?

[vlebo]

I am thinking of buying a refractor and large Dob ,one being transportable , on an alt az mount just for simplicity and easy set up, but my nagging concern is how much I will be able to locate with just software like Stellarium etc ,and how much will I be missing by not having GoTo.

I would hate to spend about £2200 on a couple of scopes and find myself getting lost everynight, I want to keep my whole set up simple and cable free . I looked at the Orion USA skyquest with object locator and it seems quite user friendly but have not managed to find out much about it. Does anyone have any experience with this dob or can you recommend something else.

Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Thanks in advance

Vlebo

[FLO]

With a Wixey you can easily measure the altitude of any Dobsonian. Point the tube to the correct altitude then with a little sweeping in azimuth the target can be quickly centred in the eyepiece.

[Casus belli]

Most dob owners I'm sure would agree that half the fun is the thrill of the hunt. Unless you have really bad light pollution you wont need anything other than some sky charts and a half decent sense of direction.

Cartes du ciel is a free program that allows you to print off your own charts and I'd heartly recomend it.

I have had one year with a go-to scope and one year with a dob. I know which set-up taught me the most.

[part timer]

You most certainly DO NOT NEED goto. It can of course be useful but people have been finding every observable object without it for hundreds of years. You may find that at first it takes some practice to use star chats and associate them to the view in the finder. But it takes time to learn to ride a bike or drive a car or swim and every one manages these things!

[A McEwan]

The Orion Skyquest with Object Locator isn't GoTo, it's Push-To. It tells you how far you need to push the tube in azimuth and altitude until the object is in the field of view. It does this by means of a reducing counter so that you can see when you're getting close.

GoTo actually takes you to the object itself and all you have to do is type in what you want to see.

The Push-To will still let you learn your way around. Personally I prefer to star-hop, but I can see the attraction.

Ant

[vlebo]

I would like to learn to navigate around the night sky but I want to keep things simple so I am thinking of a Equinox 120 on an WO EZtouch mount for grab n go and the Orion 12" Skyquest Intelliscope for more prolonged viewing but with the aid of 'pushto' .

Do you think this about covers all bases ?

[A McEwan]

Nice choices! But I'd say to qualify as "grab'n'go" the smaller scope needs to be a bit...well, smaller! But then it depends on just how portable it needs to be I suppose. Personally I consider my ED80 g'n'g or a 102 f5, or something like that, but the Equinox 120 is a long tube refractor.

If your definition of g'n'g is just to haul it out into the garden then that will work well, but if you will need to load/unload a car or carry it any distance on foot you may find it a bit cumbersome.

Having said that, both those choices will be excellent optically and provide you with great views!

Ant 8)

[vlebo]

Thanks Ant

I think this is the combo I am looking for.

[martinss]

Hi.

I've just bought a GOTO scope after spending 18 months with a motorised mount without the GOTO bit.

What I found is that I really enjoyed working my way round the sky with the normal mount and star hopping from DSO to DSO....so I've learnt quite a lot of the sky by doing that. It's worthwhile.

Now I have learnt the sky a reasonable amount, I've upgraded my kit to a GOTO set-up, but will still take notice of where the scope is pointing when it has GONE-TO what I want to look at.

Personally, I would recommend the 'learning the sky' route to anyone just so they can get an appreciation of the sky before handing it over to a computer.

Hope this helps.

Martin

[vlebo]

Good point

Thanks

[Capricorn]

Not sure where you are but if the UK and you want a goto to transport, Celestron had their 4ins Nexstar at £299. It isn't a refractor but at that price and size is a fair option.

I have a Meade ETX refractor that I use for the same reason. I keep the scope and all items, power leads to run from car etc, in a cheap trolly case. Pick up case and everything is in it.

[The Warthog]

Yes.

[Doc]

I have a big dob and use the Wixey guage Steve was talking about.

fantastic bit of kit and so eay to use.

You will find that aperture rules and with a little patience and good charts you won't need go-to

[jonbarr87]

I would say tracking drive maybe.... but goto kind of takes some of the fun out of it.... thats just me though

[jamieren]

Most dob owners I'm sure would agree that half the fun is the thrill of the hunt. Unless you have really bad light pollution you wont need anything other than some sky charts and a half decent sense of direction.

I have had one year with a go-to scope and one year with a dob. I know which set-up taught me the most.

Enough said. Unless you're really impatient the journey will be far more enjoyable if you plot it on your own. (Although I've never used a goto I don't intend to!) You'll have to make the decision, though as having someone to blame isn't half as fun as making your own decision and kicking (or congratulating) yourself.