If you went back to just 1 scope, what would it be?

[Alan White]

I know this will have been done to death before, but after fresh thoughts.
So if you went back to just 1 scope, what would it be? and why?

For my own scopes etc. I at present have:
10" OOUK Dobsonian.
Celestron C8 SCT
Vixen ED103 Refractor

If I was to have only 1 scope in my life (as if!).

What: If I had to live with just one scope it would be a 150mm f5 reflector or perhaps the 103 ED....difficult one.
Why: Ease of use, enough aperture and FL to be a general all round scope, small ish in stature for storage.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Alan White

[russ]

If i had to live with only one scope it probably wouldn't any of my current scopes (200PDS, C6S and Starmax 90) but a 4" Apo frac again (or maybe a 5"). Miss having an Apo frac. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by russ

[John]

I currently have 7 scopes but if I had to go to just one I would probably go for something like an 8 inch F/6 Orion Optics dob with their best optics in it. Over the course of the past decade I've owned a couple of 8 inch F6 dobs (one GSO and one Skywatcher) and found them very versatile and capable of delivering quality views of a very wide range of astro targets. They are portable and fit into a car easily. Under really dark skies they go pretty deep but are also capable of showing fine planetary detail and split tight double stars. With a 2 inch eyepiece I would be able to get a 2 degree true field without too much trouble so all but the largest objects would fit in.

I'd also invest in a quality and comfy observing chair as I'd need to sit at the eyepiece of such a scope rather than standing as I do with my current 12 inch F/5.3.

As I'm typing this I keep wondering if I ought to be saying a 10 inch F/6.3 dob instead but I'll stick with the 8 inch F/6 on the grounds of ease of storage, portability and fitting int the car easier I think.

 

 

[fwm891]

For me it's my Altair 115 EDT-APO refractor. Great imaging scope and very useful for visual (so I'm told🤔)

[Tomatobro]

with the way the Pound/Euro is going this may no longer be a hypothetical question..........

[DaveS]

Possibly my 130mm f/7 TS Photoline triplet apo, provided I can keep my APM-Riccardi 0.75x reducer.

[Stu]

Has to be the Tak FC100 for me. It's just so flexible and capable. Very good for lunar, planetary, solar plus widefield deep sky observing. Compared with larger apertures it obviously struggles on galaxies, globs etc but give it a dark sky which it can easily be taken to, and it is surprisingly capable.

That said I currently have ten scopes so I suspect I won't have to cope with only one any time soon.

[Saganite]

Terribly difficult this one Alan.

I have three telescopes;

The Tak FC 100 is a a superb scope and of course is easily transportable to dark sites.

The 12" Orion f5.3 Dob is the one for really deep sky....but,

the one I would keep is my 5" f15 refractor ; sublime for lunar observing with binoviewers, superb on planets, double stars, globs, and pretty good on fuzzy stuff. It also gives me a thrill just to look at it when it is mounted on the pier.....

Edited July 31, 2019 by Saganite

[Gina]

It would be a toss-up between the SW MN190 Mak-Newt and Esprit 80ED Pro but I also use several vintage SLR lenses for imaging.

[Alien 13]

If the "one" scope was for visual then it would be my C90 Mak as I only look at the Moon, the choice for imaging however would be my 70-200 f/4 L lens.

Alan

[Trikeflyer]

This is so hard because I think the reason most of us have more than one is because one just won’t do. Most of us like lunar, solar and deep sky faint fuzzies. It also depends on budgetary constraints and mount options. I love my equinox 120 and out of all the scopes I have that’s the one I’d keep. If I had the budget, the obsy and the mount, even though I don’t own an sct  I’d probably have a 14 or 16 inch sct permanently set up in a dark sky area @ollypenrice 😂. 

Steve 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Trikeflyer

[Gina]

I'd like a planetary scope as well but can't afford it.

[Stu]

37 minutes ago, Gina said:

I'd like a planetary scope as well but can't afford it.

Bet if you stuck a x2 or x3 Barlow in the MN190 it would do alright!

[Gina]

I tried a x3 Barlow but Jupiter was still just a white dot.

[andrew s]

7 minutes ago, Gina said:

I tried a x3 Barlow but Jupiter was still just a white dot.

x5 Powermate? 

Regards Andrew 

[Nikolas74]

Love my ESPRIT 100ED for imaging and wouldn't change it , just a bit heavy for my preferences !

I started with newtonians and sold them all although they are very good for imaging but not very compact , then i had a MAK127 sold it too , didn't like so much the long focal length... 

[Gina]

1 minute ago, andrew s said:

x5 Powermate? 

Regards Andrew 

Yes, that was one of my thoughts.

[andrew s]

I have only ever had one at a time as I have mainly built my own Newtonian telescopes with bought optics and reusing bits as I go. 

Sold or given away the old mirror sets. 

 Current scope is a ODK 16 which should see me out.

Regards Andrew 

Edited July 30, 2019 by andrew s

[Paz]

Of all my scopes the one I don't intend to  part with is the VX14... until I can't physically handle it any more. But if I had to live with one scope it would not be anything that is currently in my possession... it would be either be a 4 inch apo or a slowish 8 inch dobsonian. I.e. really good quality and really easy to use.

[NGC 1502]

 

Wotcher Alan 😯 from the scopes I presently own - my OO 8” f6 Dob with the top rated mirror.   It’s a tough call but you knew that 👍

Ed.

[barkis]

Being a bit egotistical here,, but I can't apologise for it.
I would Opt for the 12" f6 Newtonian I built myself, it comes with a lot of other 
add on's, like the A Frame GEM  Mount that I welded together, and fitted with 12" setting circles , 
I used four inch Water Glands to take ball bearings for both the 2" diameter RA shafts. and stepper drives to both Axis. 
It was no work of Art, but  It worked a treat.  It all rested on a Concrete plinth, inside the Home made Domed Obs.
The super structure for the Obs Dome,   was made for me  by a local engineering business. 
They were so interested in what I was doing, the only charged me £100 for the job, and that included deliver to my Garden.
You rarely get service like that these days. .
Sorry for the seemingly  long winded boast, but as far as settling on only one Item,
I would take the Newt. alone. That telescope gave me so much pleasure, I'm almost weeping onto my keyboard here.
When I showed Saturn to my good lady, she expressed total; disbelief in what she was looking at,
She thought I was playing a trick on her.
Happy Days indeed.
THE END. 😀

Ron.

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by barkis

[AdeKing]

Hmmm, of the ones I have, it would have to be the midnight blue Celestron XLT102 ED due to being relatively compact and lightweight but big enough to show most of what I'm interested in. 

If we're talking theoretical, the scope on the bucket list is simply a Tak FC100 with some combination of letters after it as they are so highly regarded and seem to be good all rounders. 

[Alan White]

Well that's got you all thinking on a wet afternoon and evening.

A very interesting and (not unexpectedly) mixed bag of answers. 
I note some are not fully playing the game though by wanting more than one scope, myself included.

Keep on posting folks.
 

[Paul73]

10” Dob for me. Does a bit of everything. Goes deepish, goes widish, portablish etc etc. Although 90% of the time, I use a 16” Dob.......

Paul 

[Saganite]

35 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Well that's got you all thinking on a wet afternoon and evening.

A very interesting and (not unexpectedly) mixed bag of answers. 
I note some are not fully playing the game though by wanting more than one scope, myself included.

Keep on posting folks.
 

I could of course mount the FC100 on the f15 as a 'super finder'. That would count as one scope Alan surely....