Newbie looking for grab and go!

[dweller25]

Hello Matt,

Welcome to SGL

It sounds to me like you want a lightweight, small, grab and go setup that will give good visual results on all types of objects ?

The obvious choice without any doubt would be a Dobsonian ?

But it sounds like you really want a refractor - but if you want to observe DSO’s you will need a big one, which will be expensive and not grab and go

Perhaps a good compromise would be a Celestron C8 SCT - a good all rounder and not too heavy and a Skytee mount would hold it nicely - but it will take a while to cool down

Whatever you choose you will have to make a compromise, but as you already have a refractor your next scope may have a mirror ?

 

[flower_matt]

Hi Stu, 

Thanks for including all the pics, the frac + 9.25 setup looks great. Out of interest, where did you get the Giro head from and which tripod is that?

The Trus DOB looks like a serious bit of kit. Looking forward to trying some form of DOB and seeing what I think. Cool down time is another key considering as you say. 

Thanks

Matt

[flower_matt]

43 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Hello Matt,

Welcome to SGL

It sounds to me like you want a lightweight, small, grab and go setup that will give good visual results on all types of objects ?

The obvious choice without any doubt would be a Dobsonian ?

But it sounds like you really want a refractor - but if you want to observe DSO’s you will need a big one, which will be expensive and not grab and go

Perhaps a good compromise would be a Celestron C8 SCT - a good all rounder and not too heavy and a Skytee mount would hold it nicely - but it will take a while to cool down

Whatever you choose you will have to make a compromise, but as you already have a refractor your next scope may have a mirror ?

 

Thanks dweller,

You're right I did/do have my heart set on a Frac but as you say for DSO that gets expensive quickly and you still dont have HUGE app.

I think the C8 or 9.25 could be in the running, but not before I've tried a DOB. Im definitely not rushing into anything and looking forward to spending more time with my new Frac!

Thanks

Matt

[flower_matt]

37 minutes ago, flower_matt said:

Hi Stu, 

Thanks for including all the pics, the frac + 9.25 setup looks great. Out of interest, where did you get the Giro head from and which tripod is that?

The Trus DOB looks like a serious bit of kit. Looking forward to trying some form of DOB and seeing what I think. Cool down time is another key considering as you say. 

Thanks

Matt

Sorry Stu, I can see you mentioned the Tripod name. Thanks!

[dweller25]

1 hour ago, flower_matt said:

Thanks dweller,

You're right I did/do have my heart set on a Frac but as you say for DSO that gets expensive quickly and you still dont have HUGE app.

I think the C8 or 9.25 could be in the running, but not before I've tried a DOB. Im definitely not rushing into anything and looking forward to spending more time with my new Frac!

Thanks

Matt

PS - My grab and go is a Celestron C6 SCT on a motor driven Vixen GP equatorial mount - but it would fit on one of these too.....

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/vixen-porta-ii-mount.html

[Cosmic Geoff]

flower-matt: Like others, I think you should take stock of what you really want to do rather than rushing into a costly purchase.

One point I should make is that if you are observing from a light-polluted urban site, don't expect to see much in the way of galaxies. It's almost a waste of time except for seeing the nuclei of a few of the brightest.  To see galaxies, in my experience, you need to take a scope of 8" or more to a dark-skies site, and unless you want to spend all week trying to find a few galaxies, it needs to be on a GoTo mount so you can get through the observing list in the few hours available.

You express an interest in the C 9.25.  I have seen one of these in a showroom, and the whole outfit is significantly bigger and heavier than my C8 SE.  I would not call my C8 a grab'n go, and the C9.25 definitely is not, IMHO.

As an aside, I can point out that the C8SE is small and light enough that one can pick up the whole outfit and carry it outdoors through a standard doorway to e.g. a patio, with the tripod legs retracted.  Mine has Starsense, so having carried it out, I had to do little more after that than connect the battery, enter the T&D & turn it on.  

In the same showroom I saw a guy trying the weight of what was probably a C11. He picked it up using both hands and thought about fitting it on the (large) tripod , but from the body language he seemed to considering other options... 

If you want large aperture scope, alt-azimuth, all-manual, simple to set up, for visual use only, a Dob seems the best course.  If you are concerned about viewing objects near the horizon, just stand the base on a crate.

A SCT can do most things, but you start to feel you've got your money's worth when appreciating the compact size, low weight and good observing position, and when you come to attach accessories like binoviewers, atmosphere dispersion correctors, and cameras.   Bigger ones are likely to be permanently mounted - they seem to be the staple of university observatories.

From an urban site I find one can observe double stars, planets (personally I found these under-exciting unless one gets into imaging them), brighter planetary nebulae, brighter globular clusters, and asteroids.

Cooling time? I have never been clear about the effects. Seeing sometimes seems to get better as the night advances, and you can always use the first half-hour or hour for less critical observations. 

 

[Greymouser]

8 hours ago, flower_matt said:

I will also have a look into the focal reducer and the impact that has observing.

I will be honest, it does not seem to have much of an effect visually, but it still does give a noticeably wider field. Some people say it causes problems when imaging, but I have seen some great images on this forum taken with the scope and reducer. F10 and F6.3 though speaks volumes to me, even if there other introduced problems, they are not insurmountable. Next for me is to try and image in the new year and long term, get a better small Frac,  then a huge Dob! Blimey this is a costly hobby eh? ?

Edit: I would say in my not at all humble opinion, the 9.25 Evolution is without a doubt grab and go. It is easy to carry it out in three parts, ( unless you are very unfit, ) I can even carry the whole setup out together, but this is not really advisable, with any set up. ( Health and safety you know... ? ) FLO say the whole kit comes to 46.6 lbs, I would say a little more, but definitely manageable. As you say matt, get yourself to a star party and give several a whirl!

[flower_matt]

2 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

flower-matt: Like others, I think you should take stock of what you really want to do rather than rushing into a costly purchase.

One point I should make is that if you are observing from a light-polluted urban site, don't expect to see much in the way of galaxies. It's almost a waste of time except for seeing the nuclei of a few of the brightest.  To see galaxies, in my experience, you need to take a scope of 8" or more to a dark-skies site, and unless you want to spend all week trying to find a few galaxies, it needs to be on a GoTo mount so you can get through the observing list in the few hours available.

You express an interest in the C 9.25.  I have seen one of these in a showroom, and the whole outfit is significantly bigger and heavier than my C8 SE.  I would not call my C8 a grab'n go, and the C9.25 definitely is not, IMHO.

As an aside, I can point out that the C8SE is small and light enough that one can pick up the whole outfit and carry it outdoors through a standard doorway to e.g. a patio, with the tripod legs retracted.  Mine has Starsense, so having carried it out, I had to do little more after that than connect the battery, enter the T&D & turn it on.  

In the same showroom I saw a guy trying the weight of what was probably a C11. He picked it up using both hands and thought about fitting it on the (large) tripod , but from the body language he seemed to considering other options... 

If you want large aperture scope, alt-azimuth, all-manual, simple to set up, for visual use only, a Dob seems the best course.  If you are concerned about viewing objects near the horizon, just stand the base on a crate.

A SCT can do most things, but you start to feel you've got your money's worth when appreciating the compact size, low weight and good observing position, and when you come to attach accessories like binoviewers, atmosphere dispersion correctors, and cameras.   Bigger ones are likely to be permanently mounted - they seem to be the staple of university observatories.

From an urban site I find one can observe double stars, planets (personally I found these under-exciting unless one gets into imaging them), brighter planetary nebulae, brighter globular clusters, and asteroids.

Cooling time? I have never been clear about the effects. Seeing sometimes seems to get better as the night advances, and you can always use the first half-hour or hour for less critical observations. 

 

Thanks Goeff, 

Yea, agree It's always tempting to rush into things, I will do my absolute best not to, and besides I don't have the funds yet so that helps too!

Very useful feedback on viewing galaxies, I will bear that in mind, I find galaxies fascinating but need to stay realistic. I really enjoy the thrill of the hunt as it where, for example I can find M27 with my 72mm very quickly from Albireo now and that makes me happy (even if it is just a smudge)! But point taken I dont want to spend hours hunting with no result, and won't be at dark sites much aside from UK holidays.

Anyway, there are just so many variables to consider and there is a lot more thinking / trying out of scopes to be done.

thanks

Matt

 

 

[rockystar]

2 hours ago, Greymouser said:

Evolution is without a doubt grab and go. It is easy to carry it out in three parts

And this is where we need to decide for ourselves the definition of "grab and go". For me, I would need to be able to pick the whole thing up in one hand,  comfortable,  without struggling,  and start observing pretty quickly. 

I can do my 8" dob in three parts (with all the extra bits), making it fairly grab and go, but I would like something smaller that I can plonk down and use for 1/2 an hour,  and I would do that with my dob (mainly because it's in the garage)

[Greymouser]

9 minutes ago, rockystar said:

but I would like something smaller that I can plonk down and use for 1/2 an hour

Couldn't agree more which is why I have a Skywatcher 102 Startravel too! Though I have to say, the Evolution only takes about ten minutes to set up, including alignment and it is GOTO as well. Always assuming the app doesn't freeze and crash, over and over... ?

 

[Extreme007]

Hi Matt

Im a newbie too and had the same thoughts as you and after months and months I went for the SW130pds and SW AZ4 mount about 2 weeks ago. They are a great pairing imo and the scope I will eventually use for AP when I become more experienced and upgrade to goto mount.  The AZ4 mount is very solid and stable. And it is portable. 

Lots of advice on SGL. Good luck with your choices.

[flower_matt]

Hi all,

So thought I'd give a quick update on my experiences with the new setup so far.

Firstly, I'm loving the true grab and go nature of a 72mm frac on a photo tripod. Venus was out the other morning, and with only ten mins to spare (I have a 4 month old daughter!) I still managed to get a quick peak.

To recap, I am using the scope with Baader Morpheus 17.5 and 9 mm EP also with a 2x Barlow, plus added a ND filter for Lunar and Astronomiks UHC-E filter for nebulae.

I was in Fuertaventura for a week around the start of Dec and the scope and tripod packed nicely into my carry on backpack. With the very dark skies the scope really came into its own, felt like I had twice the app!! 

Andromeda, Orion, Auriga clusters, Plaides, Dumbell Neb all looked great with the UHC-E filter increasing the contrast on the nebulae nicely. Goes without saying that the moon looks awesome in this scope too. After quite a bit of searching I also found the Veil nebula which I could just about make out with AV. I Would be very interested to view  Veil neb with an even wider EP under dark skies. With full dark adaption, Andromeda was very prominent with the naked eye, stunning!! Also found the monkey head nebula, but couldn't see any nebulosity around the Rose Nebula even after a lot of persistence with AV.

Back in the UK have been waiting for clear skies to look for Comet 46P Wirtanen, but no luck so far.

So where to go to next in terms of equipment? In terms of scope, for the moment, nowhere I think. It's a great little scope and using it in dark skies has put into perspective how compromising it is observing DSOs in urban areas. Truly dark skies will probably be reserved for holidays for now and if that involves flying I can only take a scope this size anyway!

With this in mind, I may proritise planets / lunar more when I do finally buy a bigger scope. Still need to get myself to a star party to try the a dob., but that's not happening any time soon unfortunately.

One thing I would like to add is a good planetary EP (within the limitations of my short focal length), I think a Delos 4.5mm will do nicely there. Im not a huge fan of the barlow. Plus, an Alt Az mount to give more stability at higher mag (Giro Ercole).

So all in all i'm really happy with my lovely little frac and looking forward to adding building on my experience next year!

Clear skies!

Matt

 

 

 

[Caldwell-14]

I recommend A SW 150P on an AZ4. Very stable, reasonable money, quick and very easy to use.