Travel scope on a budget

[Littleguy80]

5 minutes ago, John said:

Yes, the filter can go on the end of the diagonal barrel. Some 1.25" - 2" adapters also are threaded for 2" filters but you need to make sure that the barrel of a 1.25" eyepiece will not contact the filter if you do it that way. Some eyepieces have longer barrels.

Aaah yes. I think my Baader Clicklock adapter is threaded now I think about it. I’ll stick with the  2” diagonal so I have the option of using a 2” eyepiece. 

[Littleguy80]

Only other consideration I can think of is a finder. Given the low power eyepieces will give around a 4 degree FOV I would think the only thing I’d need is some sort of red dot finder or Rigel Quickfinder? 

[John]

14 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Only other consideration I can think of is a finder. Given the low power eyepieces will give around a 4 degree FOV I would think the only thing I’d need is some sort of red dot finder or Rigel Quickfinder? 

I have a simple Tele Vue red dot finder on my little scope. It's basic but it does the job. 

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

There has been some interesting discussion over the years of the best OTA for air line travel. Most problems relate to the mount and its weight. If you going within the UK an AZ4 would go nicely in the car boot but at over 8kgs that is a lot of weight for the aircraft.

Although I believe that the Heritage 130P is a great scope I think if I was travelling abroad then a nice ED Frac would be best - the Skywatcher 72ED is a great example. With regard to a mount then a carbon fibre photo tripod with a mini Giro would be my choice.

This light weight set up would give nice widefield with a 24mm 68 degree EP + a good quality Zoom EP and a small barlow. Add a Herschel Wedge or just a quality solar filter and you are set for the Mercury Transit + future Total Solar Eclipses.

[Littleguy80]

9 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

There has been some interesting discussion over the years of the best OTA for air line travel. Most problems relate to the mount and its weight. If you going within the UK an AZ4 would go nicely in the car boot but at over 8kgs that is a lot of weight for the aircraft.

Although I believe that the Heritage 130P is a great scope I think if I was travelling abroad then a nice ED Frac would be best - the Skywatcher 72ED is a great example. With regard to a mount then a carbon fibre photo tripod with a mini Giro would be my choice.

This light weight set up would give nice widefield with a 24mm 68 degree EP + a good quality Zoom EP and a small barlow. Add a Herschel Wedge or just a quality solar filter and you are set for the Mercury Transit + future Total Solar Eclipses.

Thanks Mark. I spent quite awhile looking at tripods when I was working on a bigger budget and really struggled to work out what would be stable. Are there any particular models/makes you’ve used that you’d recommend?

[JeremyS]

44 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Only other consideration I can think of is a finder. Given the low power eyepieces will give around a 4 degree FOV I would think the only thing I’d need is some sort of red dot finder or Rigel Quickfinder? 

I had the same idea: use a red dot finder on my Tak FC76. I got the Baader mark 3, but it didn't have the range of positional alignment adjustments that I needed, so I abandoned it and went for a 6 x 30 conventional finder. There might be better red dot finders out there is you are prepared to spend more.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Only other consideration I can think of is a finder. Given the low power eyepieces will give around a 4 degree FOV I would think the only thing I’d need is some sort of red dot finder or Rigel Quickfinder? 

Quite easy to find targets at these low powers/widefields but as said, a basic RDF is helpful, just something lightweight.

[Alfian]

A little late to the thread but I'm wondering whether an AZ4 will be too much for something as light as an ED72. The AZ4 is a sturdy useful mount but it tends to suffer with "stiction" where it can need a little bit of extra nudge to get it moving. With a scope that has a little bit of weight with it like a 150p or a 4" refractor the scopes mass helps. Would an AZ5 be a better option?

[Littleguy80]

11 minutes ago, Alfian said:

A little late to the thread but I'm wondering whether an AZ4 will be too much for something as light as an ED72. The AZ4 is a sturdy useful mount but it tends to suffer with "stiction" where it can need a little bit of extra nudge to get it moving. With a scope that has a little bit of weight with it like a 150p or a 4" refractor the scopes mass helps. Would an AZ5 be a better option?

Interesting suggestion. A quick google finds the AZ5 with tripod for £195 so not much more expensive. Overall weight is 4.9kg so better for airline travel too. 

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-az5-deluxe-az-mount-tripod.html

[Stu]

11 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Interesting suggestion. A quick google finds the AZ5 with tripod for £195 so not much more expensive. Overall weight is 4.9kg so better for airline travel too. 

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-az5-deluxe-az-mount-tripod.html

The standard tripod is not that brilliant, or compact, so I would probably go for the head only plus pillar and buy a tripod separately. 

[Cjg]

Neil, if you are going away with a small frac (excellent idea) then consider a photo tripod, lighter, cheaper and almost as convenient..

See https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-mk290xta3-2w-aluminium-tripod-kit-1578947/

Open Box Altair Astro frac from Wex - currently loaned to Charlotte until May when we head off to Greece, camera tripod and just a ball head, didn't take a finder as with short tube frac and a panoptic 24mm - no need 

 

Chris

[Mark at Beaufort]

Neil I think you need to decide whether you want a travel scope for the UK or for foreign holidays.

I have a Skywatcher AZ5 which I use for outreach work with either a 150P Newt or the Heritage 130P - the views of DSOs are very good indeed.

However, if you want to go on foreign holidays weight is very important.

The Skywatcher ED72 weighs under 2 kgs so if you add a RDF + 2" diagonal + an EP you will be over 3 kgs and this will require a mount that can take at least 4 kgs. The Mini Giro can take 4 kgs - https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1541_Giro-GR-2-mini-alt-az-mount---up-to-4-kgs-load-per-side.html and it weighs 1.9 kgs. I have a German Cullmann tripod which is good but a carbon fibre from Manfrotto with 5/6 leg section will weigh just over 1 kg and will fold down to quite a small size for airline travel.

[Alfian]

39 minutes ago, Stu said:

The standard tripod is not that brilliant, or compact, so I would probably go for the head only plus pillar and buy a tripod separately. 

I tend to agree. I have the same tripod on the Avant mount. Its not dreadful but it could be better.  A good, (2nd hand Manfrotto?) photo tripod would work. Going the other way I've tried the Avant on  an aluminium legged eq3 tripod using a 3/8ths bolt and that firms things up OK but although not heavy it is bulky. That would likely work with the AZ5 mount  too but not exactly a hand luggage item!

[Littleguy80]

A bit more head scratching has been done. If I wasn’t going bald before, I am now  

Based on using the mini Giro as a mount, I could use this tripod:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p8275_TS-Optics-Optics-A284FMO---Alu-Dreibeinstativ---Hoehe-145-mm-bis-1670-mm.html

It’s aluminium rather than carbon fibre but weighs only 1.7kg, collapses down to under 50cm (4 sections) and is rated up to 15kg. Even if the real world capticity is half what it’s rated it should be plenty enough for my purposes. The cost works around £40-£50 more than the AZ4.

This mount and tripod combo would weigh a total of 3.6kg. Would I need any kind of counterweight on the mini giro?

[Mark at Beaufort]

Neil here is an alternative alt/az mount which includes vixen saddle, extension arm + counterweight. https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/starwave-mini-az-mount.html#SID=568

[Littleguy80]

22 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Neil here is an alternative alt/az mount which includes vixen saddle, extension arm + counterweight. https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/starwave-mini-az-mount.html#SID=568

That looks neat. I wondered about weight at first but even with the counterweight it’s only 2.5kg. 

So the cost is up a bit on original plan but only to about £600. The mount and tripod  weight is now near enough half of the AZ4 and steel tripod combo. Hopefully stability will still be good. 

[AdeKing]

@Fozzie had an interesting take on a travel Alt AZ mount which might be worth consideration. It comprised a photo tripod, ball & socket head and panoramic camera attachment.

I used this when I was travelling loads and it worked well for me with a WO ZS66 scope on it. 

Worth considering and for not too much outlay if you already have a suitable photo tripod. 

Ade

 

[John]

This is the travel alt-az mount that I use - the Universal Astronomics Dwarf Star. Weighs just 500g:

http://www.universalastronomics.com/DwarfStar.html

Not sure who retails these in the UK now ?

[Littleguy80]

I’m officially committed now. Just picked up a secondhand Herschel wedge because it was well priced. Will post some wanted ads for the scope at the end of the month and go from there. If nothing comes up secondhand then I’ll get SkyWatcher 72ED. I’m hoping to have everything by my birthday at the beginning of May. 

[Mark at Beaufort]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

I’m officially committed now. Just picked up a secondhand Herschel wedge because it was well priced. Will post some wanted ads for the scope at the end of the month and go from there. If nothing comes up secondhand then I’ll get SkyWatcher 72ED. I’m hoping to have everything by my birthday at the beginning of May. 

Neil I noticed that you purchased John's HW + solar finder it looked an excellent buy. I hope you are able to find a suitable frac which you will be able to take on travel trips. Let us hope we have clear skies for the Mercury transit in November.

[Littleguy80]

14 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Neil I noticed that you purchased John's HW + solar finder it looked an excellent buy. I hope you are able to find a suitable frac which you will be able to take on travel trips. Let us hope we have clear skies for the Mercury transit in November.

Thank you, Mark. I'd been planning on getting the solar setup later on but this looked like too good of an opportunity to pass up. Time is on my side for finding a frac. I feel quite happy with SW 72ED as a choice so it'll be a bonus is if I can get a TV or TS Optics frac with an improved spec secondhand. 

It's crossed my mind more than once that clouds may spoil the Mercury transit but at least I'll have the set up ready to go for future transits and eclipses  

[Mark at Beaufort]

27 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

It's crossed my mind more than once that clouds may spoil the Mercury transit but at least I'll have the set up ready to go for future transits and eclipses  

Neil this is an important transit because the next in the UK is November 2032. Its well worth the effort to find an area to view it. In May 2016 a group of us were clouded out in Hereford so we drove to Derbyshire and set up our scopes in a Pub car park. I attach a photo.

I saw the Venus transit  in 2004 and 2012 (USA) and there won't be another in our lifetime.

Anyway I really hope you get a nice scope - I would say that I used binoviewers with my HW but could not get focus in a TV Pronto

 

[Littleguy80]

42 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Neil this is an important transit because the next in the UK is November 2032. Its well worth the effort to find an area to view it. In May 2016 a group of us were clouded out in Hereford so we drove to Derbyshire and set up our scopes in a Pub car park. I attach a photo.

I saw the Venus transit  in 2004 and 2012 (USA) and there won't be another in our lifetime.

Anyway I really hope you get a nice scope - I would say that I used binoviewers with my HW but could not get focus in a TV Pronto

 

I didn’t know that. I better book the day off work and have the car at the ready. It’s a shame about the Venus transit. I got into the hobby too late for that. 

That’s an excellent photo of the Mercury transit!

[John]

I managed to see the recent Venus transits and got a lucky glimpse of the Mercury one when the cloud layer broke for about 5 minutes here. As Mark says, it's well worth making an effort to see these events - there is something magical about watching the tiny black disk creeping across the photosphere. Of course November is not renowned for it's clear skies in the UK but we can still hope and try and be mobile if possible 

[Littleguy80]

15 minutes ago, John said:

I managed to see the recent Venus transits and got a lucky glimpse of the Mercury one when the cloud layer broke for about 5 minutes here. As Mark says, it's well worth making an effort to see these events - there is something magical about watching the tiny black disk creeping across the photosphere. Of course Novemeber is not renowned for it's clear skies in the UK but we can still hope and try and be mobile if possible 

Really looking forward to it. It's definitely been on my mind as I was thinking about this setup. I did consider getting the filters to use my dob as an option too. I think the little frac will be a much better option. Particularly if I need to drive around to find a viewing location.

I love these infrequent events, things that may never come around again in my lifetime. Adds to the sense of wonder and, perhaps, an appreciation of the shortness of the time we have.

If grandchildren come along, I'll have to get them interested in astronomy so they can watch the next  Venus transit for me ;)