Buying second telescope....

[shopnochari_meghdut]

Hi,
This is Azimul.

I have a Skywatcher Skyliner 150P reflector f.length 1200mm.
With kit:
10mm+25mm Plossl eyepieces,
BST Starguider 5mm,
Revelation 30mm eyepiece 2",
Ostara quality 2x barlow,
2" adapter.
Canon 100d DSLR
Seben digital camera adapter
Extension tube for eyepiece/camera focusing

Now, the problem is this telescope weighed more than 27lb :). I've to take it from 5th floor to eighth floor roof which is very difficult.
So, I have planned to sell this and buy a new one.  (and it is must i have to do).
Can anybody recommend me something in budget of £ 390~400.  I can search for a used one if highly priced. I need:
01. To observe planets
02. To observe nebulae
03. Little bit astrophgotography (optional)
04. Scared of setting up Equatorial mount
05. Computerized telescope can work?
06. Should I move into refractor one?
 Any help or suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Edited June 23, 2019 by shopnochari_meghdut
was mentioned 27kg it should be 27lb

[Ricochet]

Your #3 and #4 aren't really compatible if you want to do DSO astrophotography, plus the minimum recommended starter mount, the Skywather HEQ5, is way over your budget on it's own. It would probably also be a nightmare carrying it up and down flights of stairs.

With you wanting to observe nebulae as well as planets, you want to keep aperture large if possible, but given that you live in a building with 8 floors I imagine the light pollution is quite bad. Can you see many nebulae anyway?

I would probably consider the following Skywatcher scopes:

• 130ps AZ GTi
• 150p Star Discovery
• Skymax 127 Synscan

 

[shopnochari_meghdut]

Thanks a lot.. ur suggestion noted.

[Cosmic Geoff]

What mount are you currently using? You don't say but 27kg kit weight seems a lot.

If you want GoTo, this is just possible for £400 if you choose one of the smaller & more portable outfits.

Also consider a Celestron C6 SE (used). This is a 6" SCT with GoTo and the tube is a lot smaller and lighter than the equivalent Newtonian.  If you are normally fit, you will be able to pick up the whole thing including mount and tripod, and carry it through a doorway.  It also comes apart fairly easily into 2 or 3 sub-assemblies. You can do planetary astrophotography with this (though the mount is not ideal).

Also consider a 6" Dobsonian (cheap and low-tech and not excessively heavy). This could be carried in 2 parts - tube and mount. 

Observing nebulae (galaxies) from an urban site will not work well.  If you have a lot of light pollution it is best to concentrate on small bright objects (e.g. planets, double stars etc)

Be aware that serious astrophotography requires heavy and expensive kit and lots of cables and accessories - not the kind of thing you will enjoy taking upstairs and assembling on a rooftop. 

[shopnochari_meghdut]

Thanks a lot. I appreciated ur suggestion. BTW I am currently useing 6" Dobsonian, Skywatcher.

[shopnochari_meghdut]

7 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

What mount are you currently using? You don't say but 27kg kit weight seems a lot.

If you want GoTo, this is just possible for £400 if you choose one of the smaller & more portable outfits.

Also consider a Celestron C6 SE (used). This is a 6" SCT with GoTo and the tube is a lot smaller and lighter than the equivalent Newtonian.  If you are normally fit, you will be able to pick up the whole thing including mount and tripod, and carry it through a doorway.  It also comes apart fairly easily into 2 or 3 sub-assemblies. You can do planetary astrophotography with this (though the mount is not ideal).

Also consider a 6" Dobsonian (cheap and low-tech and not excessively heavy). This could be carried in 2 parts - tube and mount. 

Observing nebulae (galaxies) from an urban site will not work well.  If you have a lot of light pollution it is best to concentrate on small bright objects (e.g. planets, double stars etc)

Be aware that serious astrophotography requires heavy and expensive kit and lots of cables and accessories - not the kind of thing you will enjoy taking upstairs and assembling on a rooftop. 

I found an used 8" Celestron Advanced VX8 SCT Telescope for less than 400 pound. Should I try for that?

[Ricochet]

Your current telescope and mount combined weigh 16kg and you are finding it difficult to carry. The mount head and tripod for the vx8 weigh 16kg and there is another 6kg for the telescope and a 5kg counterweight as well. 

[shopnochari_meghdut]

Ohh..yes I checked...  ..got a good offer but can't take... okay i will search again. BTW my dobsonian together weight almost 25-27 kg....

Edited June 22, 2019 by shopnochari_meghdut

[John]

I'm surprised how heavy your 150mm dobsonian is. The quoted weight for the tube is around 6kg. Do the base and accessories really weigh 20+ kg ?

The weight you are quoting seems more like the 250mm Skywatcher dobsonian

 

[johninderby]

On the Skywatcher USA site they give the 200p OTA weight with accessories as about 9kg and the base about 11kg.

Edited June 22, 2019 by johninderby

[Cosmic Geoff]

 It is also quite light and easy to carry,   - a quote from a customer review of the 150mm Skyliner Dobsonian.

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

Your current telescope and mount combined weigh 16kg and you are finding it difficult to carry.

You need to confirm the actual weight of your scope + base.  Are you perhaps confusing the Kg and lbs weight figures? The weight should equate to about 27 -29 lbs.  If it is 16kg and that is too heavy to carry, then we can try to suggest something lighter.

Actually I can believe that 16 Kg is likely to be too heavy to carry in one lump up several flights of stairs.   Perhaps the solution is to carry it in two sections - tube and base?

The C6 SE at around 13.5Kg total is one of the lightest outfits you will find without going below 6" aperture.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Cosmic Geoff

[Louis D]

Did someone put a cast iron weight somewhere in your Dob?  According to Sky-Watcher, it should weigh 18kg, not 27kg.  I'll admit, that's still quite a bit to lug up several flights of stairs.  You could break it down into two trips, one of 7kg for the OTA and one of 11kg for the base.  Even if you switch to a non-Dob solution at 150mm, you'll probably want to make several trips.  One for the OTA, one for the tripod, one for the mount head, and in the case of an EQ mount, one for the counterweights.

[Alan64]

Sometimes you've got to give, and sometimes you've got to take...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/sky-watcher-explorer-130ps-az-pronto.html

[shopnochari_meghdut]

15 hours ago, John said:

I'm surprised how heavy your 150mm dobsonian is. The quoted weight for the tube is around 6kg. Do the base and accessories really weigh 20+ kg ?

The weight you are quoting seems more like the 250mm Skywatcher dobsonian

 

I mentioned the weight for the whole set up....   U r right it is around 15kg with base and tube.

[shopnochari_meghdut]

15 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

 It is also quite light and easy to carry,   - a quote from a customer review of the 150mm Skyliner Dobsonian.

You need to confirm the actual weight of your scope + base.  Are you perhaps confusing the Kg and lbs weight figures? The weight should equate to about 27 -29 lbs.  If it is 16kg and that is too heavy to carry, then we can try to suggest something lighter.

Actually I can believe that 16 Kg is likely to be too heavy to carry in one lump up several flights of stairs.   Perhaps the solution is to carry it in two sections - tube and base?

The C6 SE at around 13.5Kg total is one of the lightest outfits you will find without going below 6" aperture.

U might be right... i might confused myself between lb and kg.. I also found c6 se is a convenient one. 

[shopnochari_meghdut]

11 hours ago, Louis D said:

Did someone put a cast iron weight somewhere in your Dob?  According to Sky-Watcher, it should weigh 18kg, not 27kg.  I'll admit, that's still quite a bit to lug up several flights of stairs.  You could break it down into two trips, one of 7kg for the OTA and one of 11kg for the base.  Even if you switch to a non-Dob solution at 150mm, you'll probably want to make several trips.  One for the OTA, one for the tripod, one for the mount head, and in the case of an EQ mount, one for the counterweights.

Yes u are right... i was confused between lb and kg..

[shopnochari_meghdut]

15 hours ago, johninderby said:

On the Skywatcher USA site they give the 200p OTA weight with accessories as about 9kg and the base about 11kg.

I was confused between lb and kg

[Astro-Geek]

Now that the confusion between Kilos and lbs has been resolved, Azimul's wishlist is for something lighter than 12kg for carrying up three flights of stairs to the roof, that can do Planets, Nebulae and a little bit of Astro Photography.

As has already been discussed, the reluctance towards an EQ mount is a problem with photography, because of no tracking and field rotation.

The 150 Newtonian Skywatcher OTA is a good optics compromise though, being light and compact with relatively good performance.

The weight problem is caused by the MDF wooden dobsonian base, (probably made intentionally heavy for stability).

The two parts (OTA and Base) do readily separate though, but is there a concern about doing it in two trips maybe ?

Computerized goto could be achieved with that 150 newton by getting a secondhand Synscan AZ goto mount.  They can usually be picked up for around £100 in the UK.  You'd still get field rotation, but it would track ok, and the remote handset for fine and coarse manual slewing. They have a payload capacity of up to 5kg (just enough) and there should be just enough offset on the arm for you to reach the zenith with the 150.

Here's a photo of my Synscan AZ goto with a deforked Meade 125 on it.  It has a standard Vixen dovetail clamp, so you just need rings and a dovetail for your 150, (which would then be fully compatible with an EQ, if you ever progressed to one).

The main problem with the Synscan AZ goto mount is the "toy" tripod that they spoil it with. It lets down what is basically a very good well made mount, so I modified mine to fit a standard M10 thread skywatcher tripod.  (but then the weight is creeping up again.....  🙄)

[Ricochet]

To get all the equipment up the stairs in one go, I think that a backpack that can take at least the mount head and eyepieces should be considered as part of the purchase. Something like @Geoff Lister's Skymax 127 setup(s).

 

I expect similar ideas can be taken from the "Show us your travel kit" thread, except that as the travel is only going up several flights of stairs, a larger scope or tripod can be hand held.