OK, I have been given a Xmas present budget of £250 from the wife..what shall I ask for?

[MKHACHFE]

Hi all,

So, my wife has very generously allocated £250 for my Xmas present and is aware that it will all be telescope related this year. So, I have been preparing a list that gets the most out of that money. A few details on my current setup:

 

Orion XT8

Plossi 25 mm that came with scope

Orion shorty 2x Barlow

10mm Baader Classic Ortho 

9x50 RA finder

Synonym UHC filter

 

So here is what I'm thinking about asking for:

- Baader 8mm-24mm zoom (£185) + Cheshire Collimating EP from FLO (£37)

Or

Cheshire Collimating EP from FLO (£37) + Explore Scientific 82º 11mm (£120) + Baader Classic Q 2.25x Barlow (£39) + Baader UHC-S filter (£58)

Or

Cheshire Collimating EP from FLO (£37) + Astronomic UHC filter (£89) + Explore Scientific 82º 11mm (£120)

 

The reason that I included the Cheshire in all three options is I currently have no collimating tool and I suspect that my XT8 needs collimating.

 

I would love to hear what you would all ask for, given the budget and the fact that I have only started this amazing hobby less than a year ago.

Cheers

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

A nice collection, but save yourself £25-30 and buy a cheshire collimator off ebay for less than a tenner.

With £250 to spend, a Skywatcher AZ GTI might be nice with spare change as I already have a suitable steel tripod and extension, but the 120ST plus accessories would just exceed the mount's weight capacity, so I keeping putting it off. Otherwise there's nothing Astro related I feel I *really* need...

[Whistlin Bob]

+1 on eBay to save your pennies for the collimating ep (though I use and prefer a laser)

For me I'd go for the Baader zoom. I have many sessions where it's the only EP I use. Other Zooms are available of course 😁

[CraigT82]

As you already have the 10mm BCO, I'd be tempted to get the 6mm and 18mm BCOs too.

Then maybe a BST 25mm for wide field and finding.  

Baader UHC-s filter

Lastly rigel quickfinder if you dont have one already.  

That should leave you just enough to get a Cheshire off ebay or 2nd hand

[Swoop1]

You couold chance your arm and ask for another £250. You are worth it after all.

 

I'll get my coat.

[MKHACHFE]

 

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

As you already have the 10mm BCO, I'd be tempted to get the 6mm and 18mm BCOs too.

Then maybe a BST 25mm for wide field and finding.  

Baader UHC-s filter

Lastly rigel quickfinder if you dont have one already.  

That should leave you just enough to get a Cheshire off ebay or 2nd hand

To be honest, Im not crazy about my BCO...Dunno, maybe its just me, but the focus is so narrow that i find it very hard to get it sharp. No problem with my Plossi. Dunno, i was expecting more from the views with the BCO, but frankly its only marginally better than my other 10mm £10 Plossi (that i didn't list)

As for the Rigel .no need. i absolutely love my RA finder and have no problem quickly finding everything i am looking for. 

Thanks for the suggestions. 

[MKHACHFE]

3 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

You are worth it after all.

 

Thats what I keep telling her!! Thank you!

[John]

With an 8 inch scope I'd go for a full blown UHC or even an O-III filter rather than the UHC-S. The UHC-S is designed for smaller aperture scopes but 8 inches can exploit something more effective.

The cheshire eyepiece is a must have I agree.

On the eyepieces, there are loads of options but the Baader zoom does deliver flexibility combined with good optical performance so it delivers value for money despite it's relatively high purchase price.

The 10mm and 18mm Baader CO's are superb optically for their price but if their field of view etc don't "float your boat" then thats how it is. The Baader zoom is about the same in terms of field of view at the 24mm end (wider at the 8mm end though) so you will want a low power / wide field eyepiece to compliment it in due course. Also, with the 8 inch dob an eyepiece that gives around 180x-200x will become a staple high power tool.

Happy Xmas in advance

 

[MKHACHFE]

Thank John. Great advice

[John]

Just now, KevS said:

Business opportunity springs to mind: Do you think there is any market in producing bogus, hum adjusted receipts from FLO and similar astronomical retail outlets. They could be left around the house in full view of "significant others" to reinforce how cheap astronomy actually is🤣.

My other half is glad that I prefer those budget Tele Vue and Pentax eyepieces rather than the more expensive brands. So considerate of me

[MKHACHFE]

3 minutes ago, John said:

My other half is glad that I prefer those budget Tele Vue and Pentax eyepieces rather than the more expensive brands. So considerate of me

You're a good man. 👍

[MKHACHFE]

I'm swaying towards a Baader Hyperion 68deg 8mm,  Lumicon UHC (from ebay) and Cheshire or laser collimating tool. My reasoning is that from almost all posts regarding the BH Zoom, it seems that the most used setting is 8mm. Since I'm happy with my 25 Plossi and it barlows very well, I figure that's that range sorted, and with a high quality 8mm, that will sort me out for the higher end magnifications up to 300x (should the conditions ever get good enough for that). Also, I hear  that the field of view is small at 24mm with the zoom, and I'm struggling to enjoy the narrow view with BCO. 

2 questions if I may:

1: Would a more expensive 2x Barlow be better than my Orion Shorty? I'm looking at the Celestron X-Cel Barlow and (as long as I lose the Lumicon and stick to my current Sybony UHC), the Explore Scientific 2x Barlow. My Plossi barrows well with my shorty, but my Baader CO 10mm does not...not in my opinion at least. 

2: Is buying a used Lumicon UHC off ebay a good idea? Obviously I will go with a seller with good rep. I just dont want to be sold a fake filter!

Sorry for all the questions and I seriously appreciate EVERYONE'S replies and advice so far. 😀

[Aramcheck]

Our Baader 8-24mm zoom has made viewing sessions a lot easier, as there's no need to fiddle about swapping eyepieces & swapping over light-pollution or ND filters. However, on the Skywatcher 200pds the weight has proved a bit difficult to achieve balance & get the eye-piece in a reasonable position. Also a little re-focusing  is still needed too when switching magnification from either extreme.

[Rob Sellent]

Not knowing what accessories you already have, for an 8" f6 Dob and the chance of some goodies for Xmas, I'd be looking into:

• Cheshire EP
• seating arrangement (ironing chair, drum stool)
• red torch which can be suitably dimmed
• S&T's pocket sky atlas
• Baader solar film to make a solar filter
• equipment case keeping bits and bobs in one place
• Illustrated guide to astromnomical wonders
• Rukl's Moon guide
• Fingerless gloves, warm hat, warm socks, winter coat and boots big enough to accommodate 2 or 3 pairs of socks
• primary mirror fan
• Jaffa cakes, Donuts, snacks, coffee, hip flask (medicinal use only)
• note/sketch book, pencils, rubber and sharpener
• Widefield 10mm and 14mm plus x2 Barlow

And for those cloudy nights:

• Patience
• SGL
• Stellarium
• Another hobby like scale modeling, music, reading
• Spending time with your loved ones and leting them know they're loved

[Aramcheck]

PS: I forgot to mention, one drawback I've found with the Baader 8-24mm zoom is that being very short-sighted I can't see the full field of view when wearing my specs... the view without them (which requires refocusing) is much better but that is still a bit of a pain!

[MKHACHFE]

On 13/11/2019 at 03:05, Rob Sellent said:

Not knowing what accessories you already have, for an 8" f6 Dob and the chance of some goodies for Xmas, I'd be looking into:

• Cheshire EP
• seating arrangement (ironing chair, drum stool)
• red torch which can be suitably dimmed
• S&T's pocket sky atlas
• Baader solar film to make a solar filter
• equipment case keeping bits and bobs in one place
• Illustrated guide to astromnomical wonders
• Rukl's Moon guide
• Fingerless gloves, warm hat, warm socks, winter coat and boots big enough to accommodate 2 or 3 pairs of socks
• primary mirror fan
• Jaffa cakes, Donuts, snacks, coffee, hip flask (medicinal use only)
• note/sketch book, pencils, rubber and sharpener
• Widefield 10mm and 14mm plus x2 Barlow

And for those cloudy nights:

• Patience
• SGL
• Stellarium
• Another hobby like scale modeling, music, reading
• Spending time with your loved ones and leting them know they're loved

Thanks for your suggestions mate.i already have some of what you listed. Don't know what that moon guide is but will look into it now. As for the solar film, I was looking into them recently but can't decide if they are worth it as the images I've seen on the web seem somewhat underwhelming to me. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

Cheers

[MKHACHFE]

On 12/11/2019 at 23:00, Aramcheck said:

Our Baader 8-24mm zoom has made viewing sessions a lot easier, as there's no need to fiddle about swapping eyepieces & swapping over light-pollution or ND filters. However, on the Skywatcher 200pds the weight has proved a bit difficult to achieve balance & get the eye-piece in a reasonable position. Also a little re-focusing  is still needed too when switching magnification from either extreme.

Thanks for the information mate.

[MKHACHFE]

Hi all. 

 

I just thought I would update all those who kindly replied with advice/suggestions and tell you what I finally went for. Drum roll please...

I went for:

- BST Starguider 12mm

- BST Starguider 8mm

- Astronomik UHC filter

- A laser collimator

- An adjustable height stool to view from

 

I decided that with regards to the zoom I'm happy with fixed magnification eyepieces with wider FOV . I don't like the 50 degree of my 10mm BCO and was worried about what people were saying about the zoom FOV at lower magnification.b..

Thanks again to everyone.

 

Cheers