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What should be my next scope?


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Hi 

I am looking for a new scope as i am looking to upgrade my 8 inch dob as its just too awkard for me to set up and store. I was wondering what would be a  good upgrade? I enjoy looking at most things but mainly galaxies and planets ( alao the moon). I think i would be comfortable at around £700. I am looking for something that has a quick set up time which also  is easier to store. And has some sort of goto function but not  that important if it doesnt have it.  I was thinking of a refractor this time or even maybe a maksutov.

 

Any advice is much appreciated 

Edited by Olli
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I was very happy with 102 Mak. Even happier with 127 but 102 is so portable. On AZ GTi it's one hand pick up and take anywhere. Just not sure how you will like quite substantial decrease in light gathering. Decrease from 6" f5 Newtonian to 127 Mak for example was quite 'visible' for me - can't imagine what coming from 8" will do to you. I am not into galaxies though. Due to light pollution my observing is limited to Luna, planets(awful this year) and double stars.

One interesting thing is EAA. With 102 Mak and 0.5x reducer I had best results. Even better than with Bresser 102xs refractor - go figure.

Try the AZ GTi + 127 Mak combination. Might suit you. It doesn't take space and decent amount of light gathering.

Edited by heliumstar
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1 hour ago, Olli said:

I am looking for a new scope as i am looking to upgrade my 8 inch dob as its just too awkard for me to set up and store.

I can understand issues with storage, but problems with setup? You place the base on the ground, and then put you OTA on that base and you are ready to go ...

Not sure that any other scope will have advantage in this regard - it is as good as it gets - place the mount on the ground, put the OTA on the mount. Only thing that is going to beat that is grab&go setup - you place the thing on the ground and you are ready to go. Mind you, such grab&go will have much lower light gathering and you won't be able to see as much of deep sky as with 8" aperture. Planets and the moon will be doable (although again, aperture is important there as well).

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I have to agree with @vlaiv about 8" Dob setup time.  I still have enough strength to just carry the whole thing out in one go while hugging it against my body.  Attach a Telrad, check collimation, put the coma corrector in the focuser, and I'm ready to start putting eyepieces in the scope.  All told, about 3 to 5 minutes which includes time to retrieve eyepieces/accessory cases from the closet.

By comparison, my grab and go setup below (Manfrotto 058B tripod, DSV-2B mount, Orion 127mm Mak, and AT72ED) takes much longer to setup because I have to spread the tripod after taking it outside since it's hard to get out the backdoor extended, level it, get the scopes out of their cases, attach and balance them in their clamps, insert diagonals, and attach a QwikFinder.  All told, probably 10 to 15 minutes because there are more cases to retrieve and more pieces to assemble.  It is more compact to store in a car for transportation than the Dob, it has a wider true field of view than the Dob, but falls fall short of the Dob in terms of maximum usable power, planetary details, and ability to reveal faint DSOs.

1559275199_DualScopeSetup-1.thumb.jpg.0314dc931a03959f609a545aa266db02.jpg1527880715_DualScopeSetup-7.thumb.jpg.a0dfceb259bd3770baca0ab240b42283.jpg

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I also agree with vlaiv and Louis D - my 12 inch dob is as quick or quicker to set up than my refractors, all of which are also used on alt-azimuth mounts.

Perhaps you could expand a bit on what you find awkward with your current 8 inch dobsonian to ensure that any suggestions steer clear of the issues that trouble you.

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1 hour ago, John said:

I also agree with vlaiv and Louis D - my 12 inch dob is as quick or quicker to set up than my refractors, all of which are also used on alt-azimuth mounts.

Perhaps you could expand a bit on what you find awkward with your current 8 inch dobsonian to ensure that any suggestions steer clear of the issues that trouble you.

Hi john,

 

its that I find it a struggle getting it down a few steps also through a small gate and I find it a bit on the heavy side especially the base when carrying it separately. I also have to get the  base first then the tube and it’s just a-bit tiring for me to keep going back and forth to the bottom of the garden.it’s to heavy for me to carry together. ( sorry if this sounds lazy) I know I should have thought about this when getting the scope. So I’m looking for something that’s not as awkward to carry as the dob. And I could carry easily. 

Edited by Olli
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If you've got an enclosed garden then maybe the right upgrade would be to get a scope cover so you can leave it outdoors? Telegizmos ones are very good.

SCT and Mak on an Alt-Az or EQ mount is going to be just as much faff to setup, as noted by others.

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59 minutes ago, Olli said:

it’s just a-bit tiring for me to keep going back and forth to the bottom of the garden.it’s to heavy for me to carry together....So I’m looking for something that’s not as awkward to carry as the dob. And I could carry easily. 

Olli, I see in your signature that you've got a 130ps. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the whole set up (mount, tripod and OTA) comes in at just under 10kg. Is that also a bit of a pain carrying in one load down the garden?

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Olli

There is a lot of choices on the market

I started out with a 10" flex Dob, then got a ED80 on a EQ5Pro mount about 8 years ago, and been very reliable

Now would go for a ED120 on a HEQ5 mount

You can now also get the WiFi SynScan adapter for the SynScan controller, and download the SynScan App

I got one about 18 months ago, simple to use. The App sets your GPS location, date/time, from your mobile device

U can also get a class solar filter for the ED120, have one for my ED80, before getting Solarmax 11, which also fits straight onto my EQ5 mount

John

 

Skywatcher ED80.jpg

Screenshot SynScan APP.jpg

SynScan wifi adaptor.jpg

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9 hours ago, discardedastro said:

If you've got an enclosed garden then maybe the right upgrade would be to get a scope cover so you can leave it outdoors? Telegizmos ones are very good.

SCT and Mak on an Alt-Az or EQ mount is going to be just as much faff to setup, as noted by others.

Hi I’ve been thinking about this idea for ages but I’m to worried about the mdf base would it not warp or anything if the ground gets wet or something like that? 

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9 hours ago, Rob Sellent said:

Olli, I see in your signature that you've got a 130ps. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the whole set up (mount, tripod and OTA) comes in at just under 10kg. Is that also a bit of a pain carrying in one load down the garden?

Hi  I can carry this with one hand with no problem everything seems extremely light. I am using this at the moment because of this reason. Seems lighter than 10kg.

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1 hour ago, Olli said:

Hi  I can carry this with one hand with no problem everything seems extremely light. I am using this at the moment because of this reason. Seems lighter than 10kg.

Cool, so in effect, could we say you're looking for a full set up (OTA, mount and tripod) that weighs no more than about 10kg to 15kg in total, and with more aperture than the 5"?

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1 hour ago, Rob Sellent said:

Cool, so in effect, could we say you're looking for a full set up (OTA, mount and tripod) that weighs no more than about 10kg to 15kg in total, and with more aperture than the 5"?

Yeah basically if its possible.

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Do you need to move the 'scope around the garden, eg to clear surrounding trees / houses etc? If you can use a fixed position then a 'scope mounted on a pier under a Telegizmos cover sounds the best bet. I assume that an obsy is out of reach.

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42 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Do you need to move the 'scope around the garden, eg to clear surrounding trees / houses etc? If you can use a fixed position then a 'scope mounted on a pier under a Telegizmos cover sounds the best bet. I assume that an obsy is out of reach.

Hi sometimes but usually not that much i have tall trees to my right which i can't sometimes see certain things andromeda is usually just above it. I have it set at the bottom of the garden as thats the best view think i have a south facing garden?  No houses infront mainly trees.

Edited by Olli
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