New to the Forum - Replacing Telescope Options

[LewiSci]

Hello everyone, glad to be here.

I used to have a basic Celestron Astromaster 90EQ telescope and I was enjoying using it, only for visual not imaging.

However disaster struck when my son managed to knock it over, and damaging it beyond repair. The scope has now gone to someone for spares.

I am now in the position to replace this and want to go for something bigger and purely for observing, not imaging other than using a smartphone adapter for fun.

My initial thoughts were to get a big dobsonian. I have good skies where I am (edge of the Peak District) and plan to take it further into the national park when time/weather allows.

My budget is around ~£800 for the telescope and then another ~£200 for lenses/accessories.

Would really appreciate some advice on what to do for the best.

 

Thanks in advance, Lewis.

[Shimrod]

8 hours ago, LewiSci said:

I am now in the position to replace this and want to go for something bigger and purely for observing, not imaging other than using a smartphone adapter for fun.

My initial thoughts were to get a big dobsonian. I have good skies where I am (edge of the Peak District) and plan to take it further into the national park when time/weather allows.

My budget is around ~£800 for the telescope and then another ~£200 for lenses/accessories.

Would really appreciate some advice on what to do for the best.

 

Thanks in advance, Lewis.

How big is big? If you are purely observing and want to learn the sky as well, then you are more or less in 12" territory for a Dobsonian - but you need to consider size and maneuverability/storage. If you want some assistance navigating the sky, then an slightly smaller goto or push-to would be an option. 

I think the first accessory most would recommend for a Dobsonian would be a Telrad finder which would leave some budget for a couple of budget eyepieces - or if you get a truss style dobsonian, then a shroud to cut out stray light.

[LewiSci]

2 hours ago, Shimrod said:

How big is big? If you are purely observing and want to learn the sky as well, then you are more or less in 12" territory for a Dobsonian - but you need to consider size and maneuverability/storage. If you want some assistance navigating the sky, then an slightly smaller goto or push-to would be an option. 

I think the first accessory most would recommend for a Dobsonian would be a Telrad finder which would leave some budget for a couple of budget eyepieces - or if you get a truss style dobsonian, then a shroud to cut out stray light.

Thank you - I have no issues moving it between the house and the garden/field for observing at home - I would however probably need to get the base dimensions to make sure it would go through the door! I want to fully embrace learning to navigate around the sky so not too interested in a goto at the moment. I was looking at the Skywatcher 300p which I believe is 12" and would need the shroud I guess. Telrad - noted will add that to the list. Thank you for the advice.

[jonathan]

To give you some idea, a 12" dobsonian is about the size of a 6' man, with a base maybe 2 - 2.5' across.  You'd probably need a small step ladder to comfortably look into the eyepiece / finder when close to the zenith.  Goes without saying, it'll be a two-man lift or multi-part carry job unless you're Geoff Capes.

Without goto on a scope this size then definitely have a non-magnified finder in addition to the supplied 9x50.  I manually star hop with my 8SE on an NEQ6 SynTrek and have both finder types fitted.

Assuming that you're starting from scratch (no eyepieces etc) then I'd recommend a basic moon filter and perhaps two decent eyepieces to get you going - use the supplied 25mm when sky surfing and then switch to either higher magnification (e.g. for planets) or wide-field (e.g. clusters).  A Skywatcher 300P is an f4.9 scope so should be able to make good use of some high quality glass, but don't disregard the cheaper options completely - the Skywatcher Plossls seem to have good reviews and at £20 it could be a quick and easy way of increasing your eyepiece collection - maybe pick out a 17mm and 32mm for some variety, find out how far you can push your scope's optics at your observing sites and then splash out on a more expensive eyepiece such as Explore Scientific for example, I really like their 82 degrees options for clusters and the Orion nebula.  You'll probably find yourself wanting to try a specific eyepiece or accessory in the future and have the budget to do so, I think it's fair to say that most of us collect eyepieces over a period of several years.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by jonathan

[Saganite]

Hi Lewis,

Welcome to  SGL.....

If you are not in a hurry, consider a used Orion Optics VX12L Dobsonian. I have one with a 1/8th, almost 1/9th wave mirror which is a very good quality, and I bought it in excellent used condition for £650. I am 5' 8" tall but my eye level is 2" higher than the eyepiece of the scope when it is vertical. The tube is aluminium and so light that I can carry it comfortably ( I am 68 years old ). The base footprint is also  less than 18".

I have used the Skywatcher 12" and the Meade Lightbridge 12" prior to the OO VX12, and whilst they are very capable scopes, they are as heavy and large as has been mentioned.

I will not need another 12" Dob for the remainder of my observing life.

Hope that helps

Edited October 28, 2020 by Saganite

[LewiSci]

14 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Hi Lewis,

Welcome to  SGL.....

If you are not in a hurry then consider a used Orion Optics VX12L Dobsonian. I have one with a 1/8th, almost 1/9th wave mirror which is a very good quality, and I bought it in excellent used condition for £650. I am 5' 8" tall but my eye level is 2" higher than the eyepiece of the scope when it is vertical. The tube is aluminium and so light that I can carry it comfortably ( I am 68 years old ). The base footprint is also  less than 18".

I have used the Skywatcher 12" and the Meade Lightbridge 12" prior to the OO VX12, and whilst they are very capable scopes, they are as heavy and large as has been mentioned.

I will not need another 12" Dob for the remainder of my observing life.

Hope that helps

Thank you, that is definitely something to consider - I will keep an eye out on the used pages.

[LewiSci]

39 minutes ago, jonathan said:

To give you some idea, a 12" dobsonian is about the size of a 6' man, with a base maybe 2 - 2.5' across.  You'd probably need a small step ladder to comfortably look into the eyepiece / finder when close to the zenith.  Goes without saying, it'll be a two-man lift or multi-part carry job unless you're Geoff Capes.

Without goto on a scope this size then definitely have a non-magnified finder in addition to the supplied 9x50.  I manually star hop with my 8SE on an NEQ6 SynTrek and have both finder types fitted.

Assuming that you're starting from scratch (no eyepieces etc) then I'd recommend a basic moon filter and perhaps two decent eyepieces to get you going - use the supplied 25mm when sky surfing and then switch to either higher magnification (e.g. for planets) or wide-field (e.g. clusters).  A Skywatcher 300P is an f4.9 scope so should be able to make good use of some high quality glass, but don't disregard the cheaper options completely - the Skywatcher Plossls seem to have good reviews and at £20 it could be a quick and easy way of increasing your eyepiece collection - maybe pick out a 17mm and 32mm for some variety, find out how far you can push your scope's optics at your observing sites and then splash out on a more expensive eyepiece such as Explore Scientific for example, I really like their 82 degrees options for clusters and the Orion nebula.  You'll probably find yourself wanting to try a specific eyepiece or accessory in the future and have the budget to do so, I think it's fair to say that most of us collect eyepieces over a period of several years.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. That sounds pretty uncomfortable to be having to be on a stepladder - excuse my ignorance but I assume this would be just when the object is directly overhead? I have some eyepieces that came with my other scope and also a celestron kit which included:

15mm Kellner eyepeice
6mm Plossl Eyepiece
2 x Barlow lens
80A blue planetary filter
24 Red Planetary filter
Moon Filter
 

I'm wondering whether I would get better results with a smaller scope (10" maybe) and more eyepieces?

Thanks,

[johninderby]

From the Starizona website.

Sky-Watcher Collapsible Dobsonian 12"

               Eyepiece height at zenith: 55.5”

Edited October 28, 2020 by johninderby

[jonathan]

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

               Eyepiece height at zenith: 55.5”

I'm sure I was having to stand on a step ladder when I last used one, perhaps I'm getting confused with the pier-mounted SCT.  I'll check next time I get to use that 12" dobsonian scope.  It's also possible that this particular scope I'm thinking of is raised off the floor a bit in order to avoid dampness.

[johninderby]

When I had my 14” OO dob could just reach the eyepiece at the zenith but had no problem with a 12” SW..