Thinking about seling my Dob for a refractor.

[Olli]

Hi all,

I have been doing some thinking over the past couple of weeks and i think i may sell my 200p. The reason for this is that ( for me) it is to cumbersome to carry and setup. Lately i haven't had a lot of time to observe because of work and don’t feel like moving the scope  and i was thinking of getting something smaller than a dob. I know that i will miss the aperture of the Dobsonian. especially as my main interest is Galaxies ( also the moon). I Was just thinking what would you recommend for me to get? I'm not sure on what the budget would be but might be around £500? would also have to consider a mount as well I still have my 130p that i might use as well. What scope would compliment it ? 

 

Many Thanks

[Sunshine]

Well, if you can get past narrow FOV, i would say a 150 Mak, planetary and lunar views are beautiful, it does well on brighter DSO's like clusters and  brighter Nebulae, is portable, and holds collimation through an earthquake.

I love it, even if the only thing i used it for was planetary and lunar, it is well worth its US $700 price tag, Mine is an SW 150, if i lived near you, i would gladly let you use it for a while. 

[Stu]

Tricky one Olli, would the £500 include the mount?

You don't want the replacement to be just as awkward but in different ways. I thought about one of the 152mm f5.9 TS or Altair scopes, might be too expensive and too heavy but would give nice DSO views. Equally a 120ED would be nice but still needs thinking about in terms of mounting. Perhaps a 100ED would be a good compromise or if you can find a 100mm f7 ED doublet, perhaps a TS one or similar that would be easy enough to carry around and mount?

[Olli]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Well, if you can get past narrow FOV, i would say a 150 Mak, planetary and lunar views are beautiful, it does well on brighter DSO's like clusters and  brighter Nebulae, is portable, and holds collimation through an earthquake.

I love it, even if the only thing i used it for was planetary and lunar, it is well worth its US $700 price tag, Mine is an SW 150, if i lived near you, i would gladly let you use it for a while. 

Hi,

a Mak was also another candidate but wasn’t 100% sure as I do like wide fov stuff. Before I was going to get the don I was looking at the 127 but not sure how much of a difference a 150 would be?

thanks 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Do you use your 130PS on the AZ Pronto?

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Olli said:

Hi,

a Mak was also another candidate but wasn’t 100% sure as I do like wide fov stuff. Before I was going to get the don I was looking at the 127 but not sure how much of a difference a 150 would be?

thanks 

If it doesn't have to be a frac, a 6" SCT would give you a wider field than a Mak, and is lighter and faster to cool too. Even an 8" SCT is worth considering.

[Alan White]

I was thinking the same Mark.

Yes an SCT is another option, they tend to be lighter than Maks.

 

[Olli]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

Tricky one Olli, would the £500 include the mount?

You don't want the replacement to be just as awkward but in different ways. I thought about one of the 152mm f5.9 TS or Altair scopes, might be too expensive and too heavy but would give nice DSO views. Equally a 120ED would be nice but still needs thinking about in terms of mounting. Perhaps a 100ED would be a good compromise or if you can find a 100mm f7 ED doublet, perhaps a TS one or similar that would be easy enough to carry around and mount?

Hi Stu,

No, ( well I’m not sure yet) but The maximum I think I would like to spend would  be around 800 for everything. I don’t really like GOTO that much as I just like the freedom of the manual side of things. I will look into the Ed scopes again I did have a quick browse earlier but didn’t look into them that much.

thanks for the help.

[Olli]

4 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Do you use your 130PS on the AZ Pronto?

Hi mark, I do, it came with it as a bundle it’s great for the 130p but I think the max weight is around 3kg? Or might be a bit less.

[Olli]

9 minutes ago, Stu said:

If it doesn't have to be a frac, a 6" SCT would give you a wider field than a Mak, and is lighter and faster to cool too. Even an 8" SCT is worth considering.

No it doesn’t have to be, I was either looking at a mak or a refractor just something a bit easier than the dob. Was a bit of a mistake in buying it really.

[Moonshane]

I think you might be disappointed (in comparison with your 200mm) with a 100mm scope unless you have dark skies. Especially as you state galaxies and the moon as main targets.

What about e.g https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-quattro-f4-imaging-newtonian.html with a good alt az mount such as https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/skywatcher-skytee-2-alt-azimuth-mount.html or https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4202_GIRO-ERCOLE-Altazimuth-Mount-for-Telescopes-up-to-15-kg.html

[Olli]

3 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

I think you might be disappointed (in comparison with your 200mm) with a 100mm scope unless you have dark skies. Especially as you state galaxies and the moon as main targets.

What about e.g https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-quattro-f4-imaging-newtonian.html with a good alt az mount such as https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/skywatcher-skytee-2-alt-azimuth-mount.html or https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4202_GIRO-ERCOLE-Altazimuth-Mount-for-Telescopes-up-to-15-kg.html

Hi thanks for the advice, my skies I think are bottle 4 so not to bad. I want to get into ap next year so a ds scope might not be a bad option. How big is that scope compared to my dobsonian ?

[Stu]

There is a 102mm f7 for €599 from TS which may be worth looking at.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p4964_TS-Optics-ED-102mm-f-7-Refractor-Telescope-with-2-5--R-P-focuser.html

I would certainly consider a Mini Ercole or other Giro style mount, very quick and easy to setup and use.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p8256_Giro-Ercole-Mini-Altazimuth-Mount-for-Telescopes-up-to-9-kg.html

[Olli]

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

There is a 102mm f7 for €599 from TS which may be worth looking at.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p4964_TS-Optics-ED-102mm-f-7-Refractor-Telescope-with-2-5--R-P-focuser.html

I would certainly consider a Mini Ercole or other Giro style mount, very quick and easy to setup and use.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p8256_Giro-Ercole-Mini-Altazimuth-Mount-for-Telescopes-up-to-9-kg.html

 Thanks for the help Stu. Does look like a nice scope.

[Moonshane]

F6-f4 * 200mm so about 400mm shorter I'd think.

[Moonshane]

Just consider that an 8" newt is a big beast for a first imaging scope.

[Mark at Beaufort]

55 minutes ago, Olli said:

Hi mark, I do, it came with it as a bundle it’s great for the 130p but I think the max weight is around 3kg? Or might be a bit less.

If you get a smaller scope than the 130PS and you want to see Galaxies I think you will be disappointed with a smaller scope. Shane (Moonshane) has suggested a f/4 Quattro, which although lighter, your collimation stills will need to be first rate. 

I have a 12" Dob which is excellent for DSOs but at 45 kgs its heavy. I have owned Mak/Cass, SCT and APO Fracs and for your budget I would consider a 6" Newtonian on a reasonable alt/az mount. I have a Skywatcher 150P on an AZ5 + Pillar + the new heavy tripod- so much easier to set up. From my dark site I can view so many DSOs and with binoviewers the Moon is 3D.

[Mark at Beaufort]

If you are determined to have a refractor to view DSOs this is a Richfield scope that will be good for hunting down galaxies - https://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-102xs-460-hex-focus-optical-tube-assembly.html.

The downside might be CA if you use to view the Moon. There are a few reviews on this scope. However, I still believe you would need to upgrade your current mount.

[Olli]

10 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

If you get a smaller scope than the 130PS and you want to see Galaxies I think you will be disappointed with a smaller scope. Shane (Moonshane) has suggested a f/4 Quattro, which although lighter, your collimation stills will need to be first rate. 

I have a 12" Dob which is excellent for DSOs but at 45 kgs its heavy. I have owned Mak/Cass, SCT and APO Fracs and for your budget I would consider a 6" Newtonian on a reasonable alt/az mount. I have a Skywatcher 150P on an AZ5 + Pillar + the new heavy tripod- so much easier to set up. From my dark site I can view so many DSOs and with binoviewers the Moon is 3D.

Would you not recommend a 150 mak?  Even if the views of Dos were not that great it wouldn’t bother be that much if I can get good views of the moon.

i appreciate the help.

[Olli]

2 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

If you are determined to have a refractor to view DSOs this is a Richfield scope that will be good for hunting down galaxies - https://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-102xs-460-hex-focus-optical-tube-assembly.html.

The downside might be CA if you use to view the Moon. There are a few reviews on this scope. However, I still believe you would need to upgrade your current mount.

Hi thanks 

I’m not settled on a refractor (yet) I think my overall budget will be up to 800. Including scope and mount. But will look into the scope.

[Mark at Beaufort]

9 minutes ago, Olli said:

Would you not recommend a 150 mak?  Even if the views of Dos were not that great it wouldn’t bother be that much if I can get good views of the moon.

i appreciate the help.

The Skymax 150 Mak/Cass is an excellent scope for the Moon, Planets and Double Stars - it costs over £500 new. Mak/Cass scopes are quite heavy for their size so you need a decent mount to hold it steady. It also takes a while to cool down so quick grab and go is not its strong point unless you store it in a garage/outbuilding.

You will receive so many many suggestions you won't know which way to turn.

Personally I would run with your 130PS and the Pronto for a few months to see how good or bad you find it - then decide which way to jump.

[Olli]

13 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

The Skymax 150 Mak/Cass is an excellent scope for the Moon, Planets and Double Stars - it costs over £500 new. Mak/Cass scopes are quite heavy for their size so you need a decent mount to hold it steady. It also takes a while to cool down so quick grab and go is not its strong point unless you store it in a garage/outbuilding.

You will receive so many many suggestions you won't know which way to turn.

Personally I would run with your 130PS and the Pronto for a few months to see how good or bad you find it - then decide which way to jump.

Thanks for the advice mark, I store my scopes in a outbuilding and it’s always cold in there so cool down wouldn’t usually be a problem. But I will use the 130p again as you said.

[vlaiv]

Here is my line of thought:

You are used to 8" scope (a good one) and your targets include galaxies, and main issue with 8" scope is weight and bulk. I would say that you should be looking at 6" compact scope on alt az mount.

There are only 4 reasonable choices here (funny thing, just a couple of years ago, that sentence would say 2 instead of 4).

- MCT

- SCT

- RC

- Classical Cass

MCT and CC (and not coma corrector but Classical Cassegrain) will have longest focal length and probably be prime choice for Moon and planets alone.

SCT is probably going to be the lightest of the bunch.

CC and RC will not suffer that much dew issues (no front corrector plate), and are cheaper than the rest.

RC will have widest field of the bunch (2" focuser + quite a big corrected field, and Focal reducer available to bring it down to F/6), but has largest CO so probably the worst visual performance on the Moon.

[Astro-Geek]

I spent a lot of time trying to work out which scope would be the best compromise for me too.

There's such a mouth watering choice now, in every type.

Do we have to accept compromise and stay loyal to one type of scope though ?

Thank God for standardized dovetail mounts and eyepiece diameters,  most can be used interchangeably on every OTA that we possess. 

OTAs may be the biggest and most prominent items we use, but we probably eventually spend far more on tripods, eq mounts, eyepieces, imaging kit etc. which stay with us even when we upgrade the OTA.

Judging by the content on here, I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert or even of "average" competence on this forum (yet !), but I use a 5" Mak, an 8" Newton, and a 5" Refractor, and each is great at something.  Now that I've got used to each on its own forte, I'd rather not rationalize.

[Moonshane]

In terms of Maks/SCTs and galaxies, there are only maybe two that would not fit in a 150mm F10 or so  field (M31 and M33) so they are actually not that bad for galaxies (albeit not ideal for imaging).