Expensive!!!!!!!

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Per observing day/night?

Regards Andrew 

No - that wouldn't give such an attractive answer. As pointed out by @Stu in his "Houston I've got a problem" thread, there is something about the enjoyment of ownership. I agree, hence my financial  discounting * model is across ALL days 🙂

I'm my own CFO (at least that's what i kid myself), so I can come up with my own financial regulations 🙂

 

* I originally typed this as "miscounting". Freudian, obviously.

 

[JeremyS]

58 minutes ago, dark knight said:

If any consolation i spent just shy of £1400 on a telescope last month and still waiting for first light! Welcome to the lounge and astronomy

 

8 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Snap!

Regards Andrew 

I'm not disclosing

🙂

 

[andrew s]

16 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

No - that wouldn't give such an attractive answer. As pointed out by @Stu in his "Houston I've got a problem" thread, there is something about the enjoyment of ownership. I agree, hence my financial  discounting * model is across ALL days 🙂

I'm my own CFO (at least that's what i kid myself), so I can come up with my own financial regulations 🙂

 

* I originally typed this as "miscounting". Freudian, obviously.

 

I fully understand the joy of ownership. However, with visual refractors there is so little you can do with them.  Admire them, use them, lick them. 

If I could have bought a Cassigrain mirror set of good quality I would have made a telescope rather than bought the Mewlon.

That's why I built up my own mountain bike. I could have purchased a similar spec cheaper but then you miss half the fun.

I do wonder if the reason frac fanatics have so many is the lack of tweekability that they need the comparison between them to spice up the relationship? 

My favourite telescope of all time was my final 300mm zerodur home made Newt. I even had to go on a welding course to make it. Never lost collimation even after drilling 10mm holes in the frame.

If I ever get to use the Mewlon it may just need collimation. What a joy that will be.

Regards Andrew 

Edited July 8, 2020 by andrew s

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, andrew s said:

I do wonder if the reason frac fanatics have so many is the lack of tweekability that they need the comparison between them to spice up the relationship? 

I think the joy is that you don’t have to do anything to them Andrew, just use and enjoy, no tweaking needed. I would much rather be looking at stuff than fiddling around trying to make it work properly.

One additional benefit as Jeremy alludes to is that they can be used for so many different things including solar both white light and Ha using a quark. I guess also though there is more variety in fracs in terms of focal length, aperture, optical configuration that you just HAVE to have one of each type surely? 😉🤣

[andrew s]

1 minute ago, Stu said:

I think the joy is that you don’t have to do anything to them Andrew, just use and enjoy, no tweaking needed. I would much rather be looking at stuff than fiddling around trying to make it work properly.

One additional benefit as Jeremy alludes to is that they can be used for so many different things including solar both white light and Ha using a quark. I guess also though there is more variety in fracs in terms of focal length, aperture, optical configuration that you just HAVE to have one of each type surely? 😉🤣

A good Newtonian can do all the things a refractor can in one scope but not let's do that all again.

I never lost any observing time with my home made Newt. However, I could add all kinds of accessories to the basic optics to experiment- I am not (was not) a visual observer.

I think we just enjoy different things, nothing wrong with that.

Regards Andrew 

[Chris]

Welcome to the fun and games! The sky isn't even the limit with this hobby Garry, and it's totally normal to have lots of lovely expensive astro goodies sitting around waiting for the clouds to clear.

Reading the above you might think it isn't worth it, but it is! Apart from the shiny equipment and the wonder of space, a big part of Astonomy is the community we have and share 

[Alan White]

Different folks, different strokes...... as always in this life.

[7170]

I'm always surprised by the amount that my friends spend on their hobbies which are pretty common things people do (watching sports, sports club membership, gyms, arts and crafts, visiting pubs, collecting things etc). Its not just the membership but equipment and transport/ents to add on too. I often think astronomy isn't so bad all things considered!

There are many hobbies where you have to spend a few thousand to get into them in a very serious way and the same is true for astronomy. But if you want to get started the barriers to entry are not too bad. £200-£300 on the used market can get you something very nice to get started with and keep you going for many years.

I personally spend very little on an ongoing basis now I have what I want, and the boss knows where I am, so not too many complaints.

[JeremyS]

28 minutes ago, andrew s said:

I do wonder if the reason frac fanatics have so many is the lack of tweekability that they need the comparison between them to spice up the relationship? 

My biggest desire as a telescope user is that the equipment (scope, mount, drive , obsy etc) should be invisible. By that I meant I just want to use them and not have the hassle of tweaking them, or the worry that perhaps they won't work. For the most part, I get this from the telescopes that I have, which include refractors, Newtonians, SCT's, but as yet not casses - it was fortunately that I didn't see @Stu's ad for a Mewlon yesterday in time!!

But the joy of ownership comes in addition to the joy of using. Being able to view, hold and caress an object of perfection and beauty is tremendously fulfilling to me. I seem to get that especially from my refractors. Only this morning en route to my home office, I has a peak at my Tak TSA 120 in its bag and felt a surge of joy; I did the same yesterday, but the way, with my Celestron C9.25. The same feeling of joy also comes from beholding and or handling a top quality eyepiece, or smelling and caressing a Berlebach wooden tripod.

Maybe getting a bit philosophical now... 🙂

 

[Alan White]

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Being able to view, hold and caress an object of perfection and beauty is tremendously fulfilling to me. I seem to get that especially from my refractors. 🙂

Don't forget the lens licking now!!!! 🤣

[JeremyS]

4 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Don't forget the lens licking now!!!! 🤣

@mikeDnight has a lot to answer for 🙂

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

2 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

@mikeDnight has a lot to answer for 🙂

 

Absolutely. I bet he will start calling the telescope "my preciousssss"soon

 

[JeremyS]

1 minute ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Absolutely. I bet he will start calling the telescope "my preciousssss"soon

 

Soon? I suspect he already does 🙂

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

2 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Soon? I suspect he already does 🙂

 

Very likely

 

[Stu]

13 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Don't forget the lens licking now!!!! 🤣

Gents, let’s not forget that what happens in the observatory, stays in the observatory. Ok?

😉

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I think someone may have misunderstood the term Lick Observatory

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Absolutely. I bet he will start calling the telescope "my preciousssss"soon

 

🤣

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

1 minute ago, merlin100 said:

🤣

Nasssty wicked cloudssessss!

[DeathWarpedUp]

1 hour ago, 7170 said:

I'm always surprised by the amount that my friends spend on their hobbies which are pretty common things people do (watching sports, sports club membership, gyms, arts and crafts, visiting pubs, collecting things etc). Its not just the membership but equipment and transport/ents to add on too. I often think astronomy isn't so bad all things considered!

There are many hobbies where you have to spend a few thousand to get into them in a very serious way and the same is true for astronomy. But if you want to get started the barriers to entry are not too bad. £200-£300 on the used market can get you something very nice to get started with and keep you going for many years.

I personally spend very little on an ongoing basis now I have what I want, and the boss knows where I am, so not too many complaints.

Just think how much cheaper it would of been in the long run, knowing what you know now, as opposed to what you knew then.

 

[maw lod qan]

I might be wrong, but I would wager regardless of how much an individual has spent on their equipment, there is that moment when something they view, or image, makes them all realize it was worth every penny!

Welcome to an incredible obsession, oops, I meant hobby!

And just FYI, its every time I view Jupiter and Saturn! 😁

[Chris]

2 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Welcome to an incredible obsession, oops, I meant hobby!

Definitely an obsession  

[JeremyS]

9 minutes ago, Lockie said:

Definitely an obsession  

Er no. That would be a reflector 🙂

 

[John]

Too much choice these days:

FPL-53 or Fluorite Glass ?

Carbon Fibre or Aluminum Tube ?

Smokey Bacon or Cheese and Onion Coatings ?

 

 

[7170]

1 hour ago, DeathWarpedUp said:

Just think how much cheaper it would of been in the long run, knowing what you know now, as opposed to what you knew then.

 

A very interesting question and good point!

I personally believe there is no such thing as a perfect telescope that works great for every object type/interest. My interests have wondered over time from wide-field observations and the planets to doubles and variables, luckily the equipment I bought previously still works alright with those. But it would have been much more expensive if I had to materially change the whole rig as a result of changing interests. 

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Gary, welcome.