Travel Combo

[Arg0]

Good afternoon, 

Haven't been on here for a long while,

Any views and opinions on a combination I’m thinking of putting together as a decent travel option, especially abroad, so the more equipment in hand luggage the better.

Either the Altair 70 ed travel or the new Altair 60 edf. Both would be mounting on the SkyWatcher gti WiFi Mount.

Already have lenses, diagonals etc.

Has anyone also managed to interface SkyWatcher mounts with the Celestron StarSense.

Would be interested if anyone thinking of selling any of the above equipment.

Many thanks

[GavStar]

Although I’m taking a 60mm refractor to Gran Canaria this year that’s only because of severe space limits caused by taking my two young daughters with me ?

In reality i’d want at least 80/85mm when travelling abroad to a dark site. My tv85 worked really well for this last year in Portugal and I have some very nice views of Saturn.

Ideally I’d like around 100mm for abroad trips.

So I’d suggest consider something a bit larger than you are currently.

Regarding mount, the az gti is a great choice imo. Light, easy to use and setup. I would buy it mount only from say flo (previously you had to buy it with a slightly weak tripod). Then use a good photo tripod and maybe the £19 pier as well. 

I use a 8ah tracer battery for travelling abroad - I think it’s the largest size you can take on a plane.

[Arg0]

Hmmm. Not considered an 80mm. I want to carry everything but the tripod in hand luggage. Having had a quick browse there are plenty of Short Tube 80’s on the market. All under the 22’’/56mm cabin bag length. My horizons have broadened, but hopefully not the budget!

Many thanks for your reply 

[Highburymark]

Many 80ED-type francs are fine for cabin baggage as long as they have a sliding dew shield. Depends what you want to see when you reach your destination. I rarely get the chance to observe more challenging dsos from dark sky locations in the UK, so I try and take the biggest aperture scope I can. But am sure the smaller Altair eds would be very portable and great for widefield views of the Milky Way 

[Arg0]

Thanks.

Now also considering the Altair Lightwave 80 ED-R. This puts me at the limit of the budget though. Could be pushing the carry on bag size on aircraft for length.

I'll get myself along to a stockist and have a look in the physical form armed with a cabin bag.

[Geoff Lister]

Have you considered the SW 127mm Mak?

This is my Skymax setup, with Synscan handset, in a carry-on backpack. In transit, the Mak holds collimation well. Airport security wanted to scan the OTA in a separate tray, and extra packing (socks, t-shirts etc.) recommended. The all-up weight, with tripod, 2 sets of batteries, and a couple of eyepieces was about 10.5kg, the OTA with finderscope and 32mm EP was 3.8kg.

Geoff

[JG777]

I'm taking an Equinox 80 when I fly to Dublin later in the year it fits into my Brompton C bag which spends more time on planes than it does on my bike. However this is easily carried on board and the scope is delightful to use. 

Tripod and mount will go checked in suitcase, though I have the Manfrotto tripod which closes to 45 cm and capacity of 7 Kg, but not decided on mount just yet, possibly a GTi or something with encoders so I can use the Nexus DSC.

 

 

[laowhoo]

On 1/29/2018 at 14:33, Arg0 said:

Hmmm. Not considered an 80mm.  My horizons have broadened

Literally. Do it for us.  "It's approaching...600 pounds..." (How cool is it to see Mark E. Smith here?)