whats the best scope, eye pieces, mount for a £2500 budget

[rutmonkey]

including the kit i will need, can anyone recomend the best all round viewing astronomical telescope i can aquire for £2500.00. i wouldent mind buying second hand.

appreciate your feedback, thanks.

[Psychobilly]

It really depends on what you want to look at... as no single scope can do everything...

How much hassle do you want in setting up and is there anyone to help you... For purely visual use then you wont got far wrong with the largest aperture dobsonian that you can live with/handle...ans some quality eyepieces...

There is/was an absolute bargain going here....

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,34850.msg356860/boardseen.html#new

I'm not into the visual stuff preferring widefield imaging of DSO's so I'll let the experts argue it out...

Billy...

[Ben Ritchie]

It really depends on what you want to look at... as no single scope can do everything...

Exactly.

If you are purely visual then £2500 on the used market buys you a heck of a lot. How much is portability an issue for you?

[rutmonkey]

i have a honda crv will that do?? wont always have help tho

[Ben Ritchie]

The other thing that i'd add is ... what have you used before? Even with a sizable budget it isn't always a good idea to jump in at the deep end.

A truss dobsonian will fit in a small car, still heavy though.

[Psychobilly]

How failiar are you with the "sky"

If you dont know sky then you could becoem frustrated finding objects as you'll be star hopping with the dob...although....you could do this...

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,34866.msg357042/topicseen.html#msg357042

Billy...

[rutmonkey]

just junk scopes really, and the underpwered etx125 which had me spitting my teeth out.

with a larger aperture tho the rewards my be worth perceveering for.

id like the possibilty of astrophotgraphy but this isnt essential as it seems to eat up hal,f the budget according to what ive heard and id just rather have the damn power of magnification for my money if you get my drift ??

[rutmonkey]

im pretty good with the sky, based out near filey, NE England.

[FLO]

If you are new to astronomy perhaps it is best that you not spend the full amount, at least not for a while. If you buy something along the lines of the Skywatcher 200P and HEQ5 Syntrek then spend some time simply enjoying the views, you will soon have a much better idea of what it is that mosts interests you. Then spend the rest accordingly.

HTH

[Psychobilly]

Excellent advice steve

Billy...

[John]

I agree wholeheartedly with Steve's post here - you can get a decent scope which will enable you to find out how deep your interest really is for far less than 2.5 grand.

Throwing more money at the hobby does not necessarily equate to better views - learning the sky, viewing techniques and the potential of your viewing location(s) have a lot to do with it.

Good luck

John

[Doc]

I have said this for ages there is no substitute for experience.

A big dob with no electronics and learn the sky yourself.

Telescope + Map (or laptop) and just learn the sky.

Cannot beat it.

You will reach a point where you will know exactly where your Messiers are.

[astro84]

Hi,

just junk scopes really, and the underpwered etx125 which had me spitting my teeth out.

with a larger aperture tho the rewards my be worth perceveering for.

id like the possibilty of astrophotgraphy but this isnt essential as it seems to eat up hal,f the budget according to what ive heard and id just rather have the damn power of magnification for my money if you get my drift ??

You sound just like I did when I initially started: Budget in hand, want to "see all that's up there"

Perhaps you could help here a bit though: -

1] What exactly is it about the etx125 that disappointed you?

2] Was there any aspect of the etx125 solution (as a whole) that you felt positve about?

3] Where do you expect to be observing from (Home? Somewhere else?)

4] Do you expect a one-man-operation solution, or will you have company when observing?

5] Is there a local astro club nearby where you can perhaps "try-before-you-buy"?

Its presumptuous really, for anyone to advise you (granted you did ask) on how best to spend your money without knowing more..,

Regards,

astro84

[beamer3.6m]

EQ6 and how about a C11.

I have no idea if this is suitable but it is a scope which always appears to give good results and I would really like one.

By the way - if you feel you cannot spend it then please don't hesitate to spend it on me instead - hehe.

[Astro_Baby]

£2,500 is big bucks for visual. If it were me and I had a good location I'd buy the 12" Sky-Watcher Newt on the NEQ6 mount and a couple of Televue Ethos EPs.

That would give you monster aperture and relative ease of use and allow you to move up to astro-imaging as well later.

[timetraveller]

I second Mel's views on that and you will be hard pressed to find a better build quality and better optics than on a skywatcher I own the 8" version like Mel and it is a superb scope IMHO and in my 45 odd years I have looked through some OTA'S including the sir Issac Newton ,so i do have some genuine knowledge of telescope build quality. hope you find the right kit to suit your needs dark skies and good seeing Pete

[Keagle]

If it's a permenant setup then great. Ease of use wise...not so sure of the angle of the eyepiece, the height of the eyepiece, and the setup time if it isnt permenantly setup.

Kurt