A 2nd Telescope

[JohnSadlerAstro]

Hi,

Well, first a bit of an apology, I haven't been active on here much recently, my 1000d is beginning to breathe its last 😱 so the imaging is on hold for a year or two until I can invest in a proper, good camera.

Meanwhile, I'm doing visual observing and planetary imaging with my 130PDS and NEQ6. I've decided that I should be able afford a budget-ish (roughly <£300) second scope for visual and/or planetary imaging, so long as its the last astro purchase for a year or two. I really want to get a better view of the Mars 2020 opposition than I did last year with the 90mm frac. I live in b4.5 skies so I'm not averse to some deep sky observing capability too, although my 130PDS does a good job on widefield targets. I'm happy to use the 2nd hand market, although I'm aware that some scopes are more common on astrobuysell and SGL than others. 🤔

What sort of scope would you folks recommend? I don't know if I should go with a dob or an OTA of some sort for my NEQ. I've owned both newts and a frac before, but I really don't have the experience with different scopes to work out whats best for me. There's also the possibility of a more portable setup, but with uni starting next month I'm not convinced Ill have the time to drive out to dark locations and stuff. (Unless I can find a really nice setup going cheap, that is! )

Clear skies!

John

[Stu]

Welcome back John! Wondered where you had been.

How about a used Skymax 150 Pro? Might sneak in around your budget (ish!)

Would sit on your NEQ6 nicely and would do very well for planetary.

[Mr niall]

There's an altair 102 f11 for sale on the classifieds right now that would be perfect

[JohnSadlerAstro]

12 hours ago, Stu said:

Welcome back John! Wondered where you had been.

How about a used Skymax 150 Pro? Might sneak in around your budget (ish!)

Would sit on your NEQ6 nicely and would do very well for planetary.

Hi Stu, its good to be back!  I've looked at the 150 several times before, reviews seem to be a bit mixed about its performance at higher magnification. 🤔 Otherwise though, it seems to fit the bill quite nicely as its well within the size and weight capability of the neq. Have you ever used one? What was it like for general viewing? 

12 hours ago, Mr niall said:

There's an altair 102 f11 for sale on the classifieds right now that would be perfect

😍 Its very tempting, and just down the road from me.... but I really want to tread carefully and go for performance over looks, I have a chronic weakness for fracs which must be kept in check!  

John

[Cosmic Geoff]

Most serious planetary imagers use a SCT. You could get a C8 or C9.25 and put it on your NEQ6.  A used C8 should be within your budget.