Travel scope?

[bingevader]

Hello all,

Looking for a 'scope that would travel fairly easily, as in take it on the bus!

Budget of between £200 and £300, could go slightly higher if necessary or really warranted.

What would your thoughts be?

I know the budget is SW 200p territory, but it really does need to be portable.

Thanks in advance!

[happy-kat]

When traveling on the bus will the telescope and mount stay with you or need to go in the luggage area?

[bingevader]

I was thinking they'd stay with me, this would be predominately public transport!

Was thinking a bag (if necessary) for the tripod and a case or bag for the 'scope, depending on the size.

[Louis D]

I took my ST80 (with solar filter mounted inside the dewshield), a 32mm Plossl, an 8-24mm zoom, and a compact camera tripod with me in my car when I drove to Nebraska to view the eclipse.  It all fit in a gym duffel bag with room for bubble wrap padding to protect each item.  It worked quite well to monitor the partial phases and to get a close-up look at totality.

[happy-kat]

There's a post by Rod showing a heritage 130p telescope on a photo tripod using an eqclamp. There's a heritage 130p tube on the boot from time to time, I'll find the post as tripod and tube and clamp are in budget if you want bigger aperture. 

[Stu]

Heritage 130P is a very good idea. I use one on a AZGTi mount, and Mark at Beaufort uses an AZ5 if I remember correctly. It's is a surprisingly capable scope, very portable and sits well on the mount, much easier than on the original dob mount which has to go on a table or similar to get it to the right height.

[Stu]

Here is a link to Mark's setup

You may need a lighter weight tripod but I'm sure you could make this work.

[Ricochet]

8 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

There's a post by Rod showing a heritage 130p telescope on a photo tripod using an eqclamp. There's a heritage 130p tube on the boot from time to time, I'll find the post as tripod and tube and clamp are in budget if you want bigger aperture. 

This would definitely be something I would look into if I was looking for this kind of travel setup. If you haven't already seen it then the following thread is probably of use, just beware of varying definitions of what constitutes a travel kit!

 

Personally, I don't think that sitting on the bus is the most difficult part of your journey. Your main issue is that whatever kit you take has to be carried to and from the bus stop and that anything in a handheld case is going to get heavy very quickly. I would be inclined to look at which options will fit in a dslr or telephoto lens backpack or even a wheeled tool chest (if you're likely to be allowed to take one onto a bus). Mount wise you're definitely going to want a decent photo tripod so the new Skywatcher AZ5 and azgti mounts might be of particular interest.

[happy-kat]

This is the thread with the Heritage 130p on a compact photo tripod.

link here

Personally I prefer the EQ-clamp adapter which is a silly name as it is a clamp that fits into the dove bar but has a photo tripod thread on it, so clamp mount to photo tripod and telescope dove bar to eq-clamp, brilliantly simple for balance adjustment as have the whole dove bar to move up/down in the eq-clamp. If the eq-clamp is fitted to a camera ball joint then there is even better adjustment, my cheap £15 ball head takes 8 kilos so easy upto the job.

Another heritage 130p on a tripod here

link

[bingevader]

Sorry T'internet has been down.

I've quite enjoyed it, the girls have been besides themselves!

That's a neat solution, using the 130p on a tripod!

How do you think it would compare to a half decent 'frac on a tripod?

A SW Startravel 120 for instance?

Sorry, I know nothing about 'fracs, but they do come apart in to smaller pieces! 

[happy-kat]

The heritage 130p weighs 3.4 kilos  or it might be 3.6 I can't recall which exactly when I weighed mine. It is 650mm but in collapsed state is shorter,  ST120 is 660mm length with dew shield and 4.1 kilo. So the length looks very similar and weight difference is in the heritage's favour. I searched for the ST120 facts.

The heritage does not show chromatic aberration.

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Heritage 130P is very compact and will fit most dovetail mounts. Its a scope that punches well above its size and weight. Holds collimation like there is no tomorrow, so travels well.

[bingevader]

Thanks chaps.

I was just looking at the specs too.

They'd both be f5.

Having no knowledge of refractors, I just need to get a better idea of the pros and cons.

I suppose we're back to the "which is best, reflector or refractor?" argument!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Reflectors are cheaper cuz they use mirrors which are cheaper to make. Refracs us glass lens which are more expensive to make.

Reflecs need collimation from time to time (depending on the size of the mirror and how far they travel). 

Refracs very rarely need collimation (if ever).

Reflecs in general tend to gather more light than refracts because of design. More light gives sharper views.

There are pros and cons with both. It depends on your budget.

 

[Stu]

I would say the Heritage is much easier to transport, shorter and lighter. The most significant negative is the helical focuser but actually it works surprisingly well.

The Refractor will show fair amounts of CA on bright objects which the reflector won't, the reflector will show some coma which the refractor won't.

I think you will get better planetary images from the Heritage but haven't done a side by side so don't know. It is probably fairly close and will come down to personal preference.

[happy-kat]

I've seen a Jupiter moon transit shadow with the heritage would the CA on the ST120 prevent this?

[LukeSkywatcher]

12 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I've seen a Jupiter moon transit shadow with the heritage would the CA on the ST120 prevent this?

With Jovial moon transits, you are meant to be able to see the moon shadow on the surface. It's almost the whole idea of a Jovial moon transit. 

[Stu]

14 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I've seen a Jupiter moon transit shadow with the heritage would the CA on the ST120 prevent this?

I don't know because I've not looked through one, but I would think you would be able to see these with the 120 f5.

[happy-kat]

The transit shadow was the smallest of black dots.

[bingevader]

Thanks again.

There's a 130p on Astroboot at the moment.

There's also an EQ2 tripod, would that be overkill!?

[Stu]

15 minutes ago, bingevader said:

Thanks again.

There's a 130p on Astroboot at the moment.

There's also an EQ2 tripod, would that be overkill!?

Do you mean the tripod or a complete EQ2? I wouldn't use a small EQ, get yourself something like an AZ4 or 5

[happy-kat]

Have a read of that first thread I linked as the tripod used was detailed later on in it.

[Helen]

Go for a photo tripod as they pack down much shorter and so are easier to carry!  Remember the eyepiece position on the heritage is fixed relative to the dovetail, so you really need a side mounting like either the photo head in the thread earlier, the AZ5 or a Giro mini or similar.

Helen 

[Stu]

9 minutes ago, Helen said:

Remember the eyepiece position on the heritage is fixed relative to the dovetail

Good point Helen! Can't rotate the tube so the eyepiece can get in very awkward positions with an EQ! Not that you would want an EQ for portable observing, way too much hassle.

[bingevader]

Great advice as always!

Never used an EQ mount, it's just cheap on Astroboot!

Thanks all!