Your thoughts on a scope thinning please.....

[Alan White]

Your thoughts on a scope thinning please.....
Having just arrived at a 10" OOUK Dob, with which I am delighted, I am finding its the favoured scope.
When I was buying, this was done with the pre-agreed thinning of my existing scopes with my good lady.
This is mainly because they all live in our Dining Room, which has quietly turned into the Astro Room and it's causing disquiet.

So keeping the 10" OD 250 OOUK and its base, what goes what stays?
Your thoughts and why please if you will be so kind.

• 250 mm Newtonian OOUK on Dob Base
• 150 mm Newtonian Sky-Watcher f5 *
• 103 mm Refractor Vixen ED103s *
• 80 mm Refractor Vixen f11 Achromat *
• 80 mm Refractor Sky-Watcher ST80 *

I am favouring either the 150 mm on a Dob base or the ED103s, for more grab and go duties.

 

[Gina]

Usually the best option is to sell the one you use least.

[bottletopburly]

Sell the mrs and keep the lot ???

[Guest]

You've got to keep the Vixen ED 103 in my opinion. 

[johninderby]

Or buy a copy of this?   ?

[Alan White]

Thanks?
I was after some advice folks, honest.

The least used is the ST80 and the Vixen 80m, so these are top of my list so far.

 

[Stu]

Keep the 10" and the 103mm, lose the rest

Might want to spend the sale money on a smallish apo frac for really grab and go use, 72ED say, or the TS72mm. Only little so will go in a cupboard and be a better replacement for the ST80. Simples

 

 

[Moonshane]

14 minutes ago, Stu said:

Keep the 10" and the 103mm, lose the rest

 

 

 

This. ?

[Stub Mandrel]

I suggest your wife helps you choose with a baseball bat.

You'll soon figure out which ones are grab and go

[AdeKing]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Keep the 10" and the 103mm, lose the rest

I'd go with this advice too. ?

[DaveS]

Agree, the other 'scopes are just duplicating the dob and frac.

[Paz]

I'd keep the 103mm Vixen, as you would have 2 very good but very different scopes. If you could keep another I'd go for the ST80 as it would cover a different base - being super portable, and it could be retained without taking up a lot of further storage space. A single light alt az mount would do for the 103 and the st80 further saving space.

[Alan White]

Thank you folks, as Stu set the ball rolling on just two, well that’s what I was thinking.

I just wanted confirmation on that thought and did not want to bias your thoughts.

 

[L8-Nite]

If you haven't been given a deadline on thinning the herd, consider waiting awhile until the excitement of your new acquisition wears off, and make your own decision; as only you will know what's best for you. 

[DirkSteele]

Keep the 103 and the short tube 80mm in addition to the 10" scope.  My thinking is that the 103 is a good compliment to the 10" but the ST-80 is portable in a way that none of the other scopes are, and even though it would be optical inferior to the 80mm f/11, it can be the ultra portable scope you can take away (fitting in a back pack) when you have no capacity to take something bigger.  I might have come to this conclusion as I quite like small scopes and also travel a lot for astro so value the small size.

[Gina]

The ST80 is quite adequate for narrow band imaging - you just need to change focus when changing filters eg. from Ha to OIII.

[Saganite]

19 hours ago, Stu said:

Keep the 10" and the 103mm, lose the rest

Might want to spend the sale money on a smallish apo frac for really grab and go use, 72ED say, or the TS72mm. Only little so will go in a cupboard and be a better replacement for the ST80. Simples

 

 

Ditto Alan   

[F15Rules]

18 hours ago, AdeKing said:

I'd go with this advice too. ?

Me too!??

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

Hide them in the loft ?

[Saganite]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Hide them in the loft ?

Good idea in principle. I kept my additions in my garage / workshop, and my wife said nothing for weeks until I mentioned a particular scope to which she replied don't you think you have enough secreted in your workshop. Nothing goes unnoticed !

 

[Alan White]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Hide them in the loft ?

Tempting, but I don't hide anything, fully open and transparent with each other on all things.
 

[Alan White]

28 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Good idea in principle. I kept my additions in my garage / workshop, and my wife said nothing for weeks until I mentioned a particular scope to which she replied don't you think you have enough secreted in your workshop. Nothing goes unnoticed !

 

Moving them to the garage is a temptation too, but, the garage is the shed and somewhat full of my goodies and tools for DIY.
 

[Saganite]

1 minute ago, Alan White said:

Tempting, but I don't hide anything, fully open and transparent with each other on all things.
 

And that is the way it should be. 

 But I do enjoy the game !

 

[Alan White]

Well here are my thoughts so far for now, need a few more sleeps on it, but:

Keeper -OOUK f4.8 250 mm Dobsonian
Keeper -Vixen ED103S
Stay of execution - 150 mm f5 SW Newtonian

Going to a new home - Vixen 80M Achromat
Going to a new home - ST 80 SW

Thanks for your input one and all, sometimes your thoughts need to be aired to get your mind straight.

Of course no mention was made about eyepieces etc. so I can fill my boots......... perhaps ?

[Alan White]

On 14/10/2018 at 15:35, Alan White said:

250 mm Newtonian OOUK on Dob Base

103 mm Refractor Vixen ED103s 

Now gone:

150 mm Newtonian SkyWatcher f5 *

80 mm Refractor Vixen f11 Achromat *

80 mm Refractor Sky-Watcher ST80 *
 

Well as an update, after much gnashing of teeth and a heck of a lot of thought I am down to 2 from the original list.
BUT
I have added the C8 to compare to the 10", perhaps then it will be back to two.

Happy Mrs W as she has some room in the Dining Room again.
I did have to tease her about 10 scopes on eBay watching list to get her worried though...... ?