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For fun - what scope or setup would you buy with £800.


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3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I'd chuck in an extra £50 and get a WO61 and an EQ5 Pro Synscan Goto.

Do you hear me Santa?

That would be a nice compact imaging rig :) Maybe if you're a very good boy this year :icon_biggrin:

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2 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

I would buy a 90 mm MAK and an EQ3-2 with single axis motor like what I have in my sig, the rest would go on beer :happy8:

Alan

Yeah, I knew I was missing something...booze! :icon_biggrin: I remember trying to image drunk about 5 years or so ago, I don't think it wen't that well...Bahtinov mask left on scope etc, but nothing got broke at least :happy7:

I was looking at 90, 102mmMaks with my fond memories of the ETX and all. Wanting a compact scope it fits the bill apart from the focal length being similar to my Dob, so I was thinking WO61 would better compliment the Dob, and cover more bases with widefield, grab and go, plus imaging. 

I'm really torn though, part of the WO61's charm for me is to see if it will get me imaging again. However, tonight for example, I've literally just got the three kids to bed, and I won't get the clean up operation complete until well after 10pm. Being totally honest with myself, starting at say 10:30 when I've had a day of it with the kids, work, or both, how often am I going to want to spend 30 minutes setting up for imaging, followed by an hour of subs, followed by packing away? Maybe the imaging is still premature?

I might try and base my decision a bit less on DSO imaging, I've got to be honest and sensible and differentiate between what I'd like to do and that is actually realistically achievable in my situation. I'm far more likely to grab a scope that doesn't involve assembling/attaching multiple parts for a spot of observing and unwind from the day under the stars.   

I see you have a WO71 to complement the Mak, this sounds very sensible to me, both small scopes that probably get out a bit more then large one would, perfect for cloud dodging, and they fit different roles :)  

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2 hours ago, nightfisher said:

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, good luck choosing

Thanks Jules, I think between this thread and some pondering I'm coming to some realistic conclusions, and it's always nice to talk scopes of course and see what others would do :) 

 I guess I should be thankful that we're so spoiled for options now days, that I even deem it necessary to start a thread on the subject.

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2 hours ago, Lockie said:

Hmm yeah the Goto debate. Having flitted between not having goto, and having goto, the only way to solve it for me at least is to have both, else I'll just go round in circles of having it, then not having it etc. I will say it needs to be  a  simple quick straight forward goto to be worth it, even if it's to just make use of it's tracking ability :) 

You're words are wise, if I didn't have the f/8 Newt which kind of fills the role of an ED100 in a weird way, and I'd probably go into a fit of despair if I bashed an expensive ED100 tube trying to get it in and out my micro shed, these things aside I think the ED100 is a great choice. 

 

Hi Chris,

I should clarify that I'm not against goto! It's just that when funds are limited, for me it seems logical to invest in the most important part of a scope, which is a good set of optics, refractor or reflector. Everything else can be acquired later over time. ☺

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2 hours ago, Louis D said:

Well, if you want something compact, you could go with something similar to my grab and go setup to complement my 8" dob.  It's a DSV-2B with a 127 Mak on one side and an AT72ED on the other.  This covers super wide, low power views all the way up to high powered views at the same time on the same target.

Now that does sound cool! Thinking about it I think Derek aka DRT had a similar arrangement with a TV60 on one side and a C5 on the other, I'll have to pick his brains also.

Yep, well I might have to work Goto into equation, do they do a compact goto mount that can take two little scopes? Having both a compact wide field scope and a compact long focal length scope at hand would be the best of both worlds. This idea deserves more investigation, I'll see what combo I can come up with within budget, thanks for the idea! :)    

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5 hours ago, Lockie said:

I was looking at ED's namely the new WO61 to go on my EQ3 to complement my 6" dob, but aperture is a concern, i.e. the Dob is very good on planets and fair on deep sky, and the WO61 would be good as it would fit in my eyepiece case so a super portable scope for just scanning star fields and quick looks at the Moon etc. Also good for DSO imaging with my DLSR with it's fast focal ratio, short focal length, and large 42mm image circle. 

The above two scopes have very different focal lengths and focal ratios, but having owned a couple of Celestron ED100's in the past I honestly think it would be too similar to mt 6" f/8 Newt. The Newt being f/8 and 1200mm FL, and the ED100 being f/9 and 900mm, and the Newt has a very small central obstruction so the contrast is high, not quite ED contrast but close. 

Having said this, if I didn't have the 150p f/8 Dob, I would be very tempted by an ED100, they are very nice scopes :)  

............

There is one important thing I've neglected to mention when it comes to what I would want in an £800 setup - Despite absolutely loving the aesthetics of long scopes and being a big fan of long focus refactors, my 3x5 scope storage shed is an issue. I only seem to use the scopes that are fully setup ready to go, and I can carry out my shed in one go and just plonk down. I did have a Vixen 80mm f/11.4 refractor setup on my EQ3 but it didn't fit in the shed at all well due to the tripod height needed for a long frac, and tube length of a long frac, so it ended up just sitting in it's box on the third floor of our house safely out of reach of the kids (of which two out of three are at the destroying stage of their development :icon_mrgreen:)

I think I would like quite a compact setup, either a short ED, Mak, or SCT for me to use it rather than me just admire it's looks. 

Hi Chris

Taking your last comment on size to heart, I'd go for a used Intes Micro 6" Mak (or Lomo/Ylena) if you could find one (I've had 3 all priced between £450 and £750, the cheapest one came with an EQ3 mount and some accessories!). The Optics in these Russian Maks are superb, very refractor like.

You could then sell the 6" DOB and get a 200mm one instead for fuzzies ☺..

Dave

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1 hour ago, Peter Drew said:

I'd nip down to the nearest betting shop and with my winnings I'd buy a 6" Tak.   :icon_biggrin:

Might be worth a shot if we can sneak some EQ8 counter weights into all but one of the jockeys shorts :icon_biggrin:

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7 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Chris

Taking your last comment on size to heart, I'd go for a used Intes Micro 6" Mak (or Lomo/Ylena) if you could find one (I've had 3 all priced between £450 and £750, the cheapest one came with an EQ3 mount and some accessories!). The Optics in these Russian Make are superb, very refractor like.

You could then sell the 6" DOB and get a 200mm one instead for fuzzies ☺..

Dave

Hey Dave, yeah I'm starting to lean back towards a Mak, or even a Mak and a short Frac together if I can sort out a suitable mount. YKSE or Yong is it? also mentioned these, and I think I should do some digging on maybe the smaller Intes Micros. I'm not so sure about a large Mak with thermal stability and adequate mounting? are they a lot better than Synta or Meade? I guess the LOMO bit implies they must be superb. I think the best Mak I had was my little ETX90 for quality, but I've only had a few Maks, I didn't keep the 150 Skymax long. 

I'm griding my own 8.75" mirror for a Dob, if might take until 2020 to complete the mirror and scope but I might see if I can keep the 6" skyliner until I need the space for the Dob build. I'm really happy with the 6" f/8 Newt, I think I've concluded it's the ED100 of the Newt world :icon_biggrin: 

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Option 1

For a mount - Skywatcher AZ GTi WiFi Alt-AZ, £285 (I like it and I want one).

For a scope - Skywatcher Evostar ED80 DS-Pro OTA, £349 (to see what all the fuss is about).

The rest of the budget would be spent on diagonal. 

This would serve as grab and go/travel setup, maybe I would mount ED80 on my EQ6 for astrophotography. 

Option 2

Haggle a bit and blow whole budget on used Celestron C11, for action on planets. Available for ticket price of £850 with moonlite focuser on ABS.

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1 minute ago, Erla said:

Option 1

For a mount - Skywatcher AZ GTi WiFi Alt-AZ, £285 (I like it and I want one).

For a scope - Skywatcher Evostar ED80 DS-Pro OTA, £349 (to see what all the fuss is about).

The rest of the budget would be spent on diagonal. 

This would serve as grab and go/travel setup, maybe I would mount ED80 on my EQ6 for astrophotography. 

This could be a lovely setup, I can tell you that ED80's are very nice indeed :) The ED80 Pro outfit for £469 has all the extras, 2" diagonal, 50mm finder, EP, and ali case. The new AZ-gti has caught my attention also, I need to download the Synscan app for a play. But then again lots of things have caught my eye partly why I've started a thread I guess. 

 

7 minutes ago, Erla said:

Haggle a bit and blow whole budget on used Celestron C11, for action on planets. Available for ticket price of £850 with moonlite focuser on ABS.

lol super price, but how many counter weights would I need for my EQ3?:icon_mrgreen:  

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8 minutes ago, Lockie said:

 

 

lol super price, but how many counter weights would I need for my EQ3?:icon_mrgreen:  

? missed eq3 bit, even when I saw it, I read it eq8 at first. C11 could be a tad overweight for eq3. 

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10 hours ago, Lockie said:

I can recommend making a Dob base, I put one together for a 150p f/5 about 4 years back now, and really enjoyed the project and the result :) 

The 2 week astro holiday sounds a wonderful idea. I very much hope to do such things once my 3 kids are older and less dependent on us 24/7. Good use of money :thumbsup:

post-16129-0-37900200-1432840036.jpg

Yeah, it's a project I have but somewhat I lack the courage to start it.  But, you base is beautiful, great craftsmanship, great shape and color too. Me, I don't have kids or a wife so for me it's pretty much always astronomy time :p  

This bellow is an experimental thread to discuss the dob base project, if you want to visit it. :icon_biggrin:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/297441-study-for-a-203x1000-newtonian-dobsonian-base/

 

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7 hours ago, Lockie said:

Hey Dave, yeah I'm starting to lean back towards a Mak, or even a Mak and a short Frac together if I can sort out a suitable mount. YKSE or Yong is it? also mentioned these, and I think I should do some digging on maybe the smaller Intes Micros. I'm not so sure about a large Mak with thermal stability and adequate mounting? are they a lot better than Synta or Meade? I guess the LOMO bit implies they must be superb. I think the best Mak I had was my little ETX90 for quality, but I've only had a few Maks, I didn't keep the 150 Skymax long. 

I'm griding my own 8.75" mirror for a Dob, if might take until 2020 to complete the mirror and scope but I might see if I can keep the 6" skyliner until I need the space for the Dob build. I'm really happy with the 6" f/8 Newt, I think I've concluded it's the ED100 of the Newt world :icon_biggrin: 

Still think the 127 would be best and get a little frac to compliment it, i am glad my "what scopes" threads are over and done with, still got my 102 Mak but it will go once i have had a chance to use the 127, i might add a little frac next year, if i feel the need

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7 hours ago, N3ptune said:

Yeah, it's a project I have but somewhat I lack the courage to start it.  But, you base is beautiful, great craftsmanship, great shape and color too. Me, I don't have kids or a wife so for me it's pretty much always astronomy time :p  

This bellow is an experimental thread to discuss the dob base project, if you want to visit it. :icon_biggrin:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/297441-study-for-a-203x1000-newtonian-dobsonian-base/

 

Hi, thanks for the compliment :)  I've visited your thread with some advice, and I'll follow along and help where I can if you decide to go for it. 

Don't rub it in about the Astro time ;) 

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16 hours ago, Lockie said:

I'm really torn though, part of the WO61's charm for me is to see if it will get me imaging again. However, tonight for example, I've literally just got the three kids to bed, and I won't get the clean up operation complete until well after 10pm. Being totally honest with myself, starting at say 10:30 when I've had a day of it with the kids, work, or both, how often am I going to want to spend 30 minutes setting up for imaging, followed by an hour of subs, followed by packing away? Maybe the imaging is still premature?

Just build an automated observatory under computer control.  Sensors detect if it is safe to open the doors above the scope, then the computer starts the whole imaging sequence based on a preprogrammed observing list.  You get up in the morning and check how it did overnight and start postprocessing.

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For an extra £100, I've just bought a Lunt LS50THa :)

If I had no scope, I'd buy the Skywatcher 250px manual solid tube (£525 from TS), a Telrad, and something like a second hand 13T6 Nagler ... and have lots of fun!

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18 hours ago, Louis D said:

Just build an automated observatory under computer control.  Sensors detect if it is safe to open the doors above the scope, then the computer starts the whole imaging sequence based on a preprogrammed observing list.  You get up in the morning and check how it did overnight and start postprocessing.

I've built a roll off roof shed obsy before at my last house, but I must admit the electronics/computer side of things isn't my strong suit. Another issue is I live in a three story town house which has a very small garden backing onto tall trees, so East and West are completely blocked below below about 65*, There is a nice little gap to the south but mainly blocked by the neighbors garage which blocks views below about 40-45*. North isn't too bad, but the woodland at the back of the house does wrap around to the North.

When we moved in I concluded I couldn't build another obsy like I did at the last house, but instead opted for a 5x3 shed that I could just grab a couple of scopes from and setup were I could get the best possible views.

Having said this, I haven't considered the possibility of having a micro obsy hanging off the Juliet balcony on the third floor, this would open up more sky. The down side being it would be a scary thing to try and my wife might have something to say about it :help:

A micro imaging obsy does deserve more thought at some point perhaps :)   

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11 hours ago, nightfisher said:

With your 800 budget you could get a used 127 mak, a Bresser 102 F5 and a mount like an EQ3 goto, ot EQ5 with motor drive or the new AZ goto

Hi Jules, I do really like Bresser achros but I really think it's best to get an Apo to open up high powers, and allow me to at least have the possibility of attaching a camera without resulting in big bloated stars. 

I have a motor driven EQ3, But I'm thinking seriously about some kind of AZ Goto, actually I think I may well go this way and the new AZ-gti is a contender. 

Astroboot have a 127 Mak for £154+about £20 postage which is tempting.

Someone may well be buying my AZ4 and steel tripod Saturday in which case I'll have about £900, and if I can wait another payday I'll have about £1100. There's a part of me that thinks maybe just keep on saving until absolutely sure because below is a list of some of the scopes I've been tempted to buy recently and I'm all over the place :help:

 

WO61 Apo (very tempted, super quality, very portable, can be kept in EP case, small aperture though so limited for visual, good for imaging with very large image circle and very nice glass, good for scanning around but bad for planets, but good on Moon, very bad for DSO probably but I have a Dob)

2016 model Meade ETX 80 Observer (very cheap, easy goto, some great features, but an 80mm achro (altough you can use other ota's with it), wobbly tripod)

2017 model Meade ETX90 Observer (Nice quality little Mak on a sturdy tripod and easy goto setup, can use other OTA's, comes with flight case, but still only a 90mm Mak. Reminds me of the Meade mak I once had that got lots of use and I realy liked)

The new SW AZ-GTI wiith one of the bundled OTA to save on money buying separate for more (looks like a great little mount with App control and freedom find, still unsure of the tech and it looks quite wobbly but may be worth a shot for the money)

80mm f/6 Apo (more aperture than the 60mm WO, could be a great all rounder grab and go for my EQ3 but can be expensive just for the OTA)

SW ED80 Pro outfit (great glass and package for £469, not bad aperture and focal length at f/7.5, the fit and finish does contrast the quality of the glass which for some reason bothers me, although it's of course how such a low cost good Apo is achieved. I've had a few and don't seem to hang onto them)

ES 100mm f/7 apo (They have one for 850 Euros on the Bresser site but might be getting a bit long to leave setup, and like the 80mm Apo it's a lot of dosh to leave outside in shed even though I do have a de-humidifier, possible slow cooling if kept indoors and that would go against what I want which is a setup that's ready to go as one)

Celestron 6SE (ENS have one for £599, very tempting, good aperture, not bad alrounder OTA, not the sharpest without the RF attached, Quite similar focal length to my Dob)

Meade LX90 8" and sell the Dob (Great aperture but still portable, might break because of age second hand, might not fit easy in the shed, not wide enough FOV but can add 0.63 reducer which also makes the stars much nicer)

CPC800 (ENS have one for £1100, would love one but same issues as the Meade LX apart from it might be more reliable because newer, very expensive still so will require more saving)

**save for about 3 more months and get a Celestron EVO6 or 8, or save for about a year and get a CPC800 Edge HD (one of my dream scopes). I wish they did a 6" Edge CPC with GPS, that would be a truly great grab and go goto scope on a stable mount!**

 

I have no idea what I conclude from the above, I think that's why I started this thread maybe.

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Lockie said:

I've built a roll off roof shed obsy before at my last house, but I must admit the electronics/computer side of things isn't my strong suit. Another issue is I live in a three story town house which has a very small garden backing onto tall trees, so East and West are completely blocked below below about 65*, There is a nice little gap to the south but mainly blocked by the neighbors garage which blocks views below about 40-45*. North isn't too bad, but the woodland at the back of the house does wrap around to the North.

When we moved in I concluded I couldn't build another obsy like I did at the last house, but instead opted for a 5x3 shed that I could just grab a couple of scopes from and setup were I could get the best possible views.

Having said this, I haven't considered the possibility of having a micro obsy hanging off the Juliet balcony on the third floor, this would open up more sky. The down side being it would be a scary thing to try and my wife might have something to say about it :help:

A micro imaging obsy does deserve more thought at some point perhaps :)   

I can't find the article, but I remember reading about a guy in Colorado building a tower observatory to get above the trees.  Of course, he was under no building restrictions in his rural area.

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41 minutes ago, Louis D said:

I can't find the article, but I remember reading about a guy in Colorado building a tower observatory to get above the trees.  Of course, he was under no building restrictions in his rural area.

lol Sounds awesome, but I bet my neighbours would have plenty to say about it if I tried the same :icon_mrgreen:

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2 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

That would suit me down to the ground. I've been thinking of writing the book "Astronomy for Well Dwellers".

lol that's a great title :icon_mrgreen: I'm not alone then.

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