new equipment Wish List Sense Check Please

[Andy ES]

Hello all from a forum newcomer,

After a long time away from Astronomy I have a  chance to get involved again. I have been reading up on and researching a lot of equipment through these forums and web sites. Particularly looking at other people’s set ups.

I have formed a wish list of equipment that seems to be regarded as good quality and may meet my needs of general visual observing of solar system and deep sky objects.

This forum is a great way for me to talk to people who are experienced and know what they are talking about. I would be very grateful if you could look over this list and give any comments on my choices or how appropriate the equipment is. I am not a total newcomer to Astronomy and have made these selections based on he theory that good, if expensive, kit is more likely to hold my interest.

I am 53 and physically fit so I have no problems with carrying weights and I have budgeted for the expense through early retirement pot so my choices are affordable. I also have a way to transport kit around.

Looking forward to hearing what you think, excuse my ignorance, thanks for your time and I appreciate you must have been asked this a few times.

Celestron CPC925 or CPC1100 (Is the 1100 worth the extra cost over the 925?)

Baader click lock 2” visual back, click lock 2” diagonal with 2” to 1.25 adapter 

Telescope comes with 40mm EP

Tele vue Eyepieces:- 27mm Panoptic, 17mm Nagler, 13mm Nagler, 7mm Nagler

Celestron Lithium battery pack

Astro zap Flexi dew shield heated (will the above power both the dew shield and telescope for a couple of hours?)

Astro essential desiccant cap

ADM counter weights

 

Things for later:-

Focus replacement 

Celestron star sense.

Thanks again for any help and I look forward to contributing myself in the future.

Best Regards

Andy

 

 

 

 

[Peter Drew]

Hello Andy, welcome to SGL.

A pretty comprehensive list which should satisfy your interests.  Main caveat would be that the CPC versions are pretty heavy as the components don't dismantle for set up and take down.  It's not so much the carrying as the need to carefully place it accurately on its tripod whilst supporting the weight, you won't be 53 for ever. 🙂

I would personally go for the 11", the planets are not well placed for some time and there are countless DSO's for which the 11" will do better on.  An after market additional focuser is very beneficial from the start, you shouldn't need any counterweight as the CPC's are fork mounted, the heited dewshield is essential.

You will probably get recommendations for a completrly different telescope!    🙂

[Andy ES]

Peter

thanks for the advice. Yes I saw a video which showed someone wrestling with the alignment on the tripod.I think I saw some sort of cage that can be added to help with the alignment. I’ve also got 5 kids so hopefully I can get one of them to help me and the misses in our later old age!

Cheers

[KP82]

If you haven't already got another scope and you have ample amount of funds + previous experience with observing, I'd recommend a large 12" dob + a 3-4" ED frac combo over an SCT.

The dob will get you as much if not more light as the SCT while the frac can be a nice grab'n'go with wide fov. You could even squeeze in a decent EQ mount for dabbling into imaging if you wish. Those TV eyepieces will come in handy with the fast newt and provide a space walk effect with the frac. The SCT being slow doesn't really take advantage of those expensive eyepieces (ES 82 or Baader Morpheus would do if you want wide afov).

SW 300P flextube:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-300p-flextube-dobsonian.html

Vixen SD81S:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen/vixen-sd-81s-76146-apo-refractor.html

SW AZ GTi (GOTO Alt-az for visual):
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html

or

ES iEXOS-100 PMC8 (for lightweight imaging):
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-mounts/explore-scientific-iexos-100-pmc-eight-equatorial-mount.html

 

All of these combined are still well within your budget if you were going for the CPC925 or 1100. You will have plenty amount of funds left for eyepieces and other bits and pieces.

Edited December 1, 2020 by KP82

[Andy ES]

kP38

Thanks for the response. I have spent a lot of time looking at the SW 300p Dob and this is still a contender. I wonder if you have got any experience on how well the goto version performs?

very useful tip on using and not using the TV eyepieces on the slower scope

thanks for your time.

[KP82]

I've never owned any GOTO version of a dob myself, but one of our local astro club members has that exact SW 300P GOTO model. Despite the flextube design it is still very heavy (outside my comfort zone, that's why I stopped at 8"). The alignment process is just as easy as any other synscan mounts and the GOTO is pretty accurate. But the noise of the motor is fairly loud. He's had it for several years, so I don't know if it was as loud when it was new.

[johninderby]

One thing to remember is that the Flextube dobs are a bit heavier than a solid tube dob. The collapsing mechanics weigh more than just a bit of solid tube. A 10” dob is a very practical size.

Another option although a bit more expensive. Same optics as the Skywatcher. Shipped from the Netherlands.

https://uk.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/GoTo-Dobsonians/pc/1306/c/1316/1356.uts

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by johninderby

[M40]

Hello Andy, welcome to SGL. That looks like a phenomenal shopping list and I can't comment on any of the items on it but I can put a few things to consider your way.

As Peter Drew said, you won't be 53 forever and the kids tend to move away so moving the telescope becomes a big thing. I would guess at the CPC OTA at about 8Kgs which is manageable leaving the mount at about 18Kgs which is quite a lump. So think about storage being close to where you are going to use it plus storage as a complete setup. I don't know if the CPC has a dual speed focuser already, if not, just to add a few pennies to your list, I would definitely consider one, definitely on my wish list 🤣

Another thing to consider is that a DOB would be a larger lump to move and store. I am not knocking the DOB at all, it's just that I am a few years in front of you and changed from a 200P DOB because moving it became difficult.

Enjoy

 

[John]

You have had some great advice in this thread already.

My advice is, whatever you decide to go for is to:

- Keep it simple to set up and take down

- Keep it reasonably portable

It is much better to have a 6 or 8 inch scope that can be deployed quickly and easily, moved around as needed to get the best views / darkest sky, and reasonably easy to pop into a car if you need to than it is to have a larger scope that, after initial enthusiasm, gathers dust because it's hard work to set up and move about.

Avoid stuff with complex power requirements and lengthy setup times.

11 inch SCT's are big, heavy devices - I've helped set up a few and their owners quite often are still setting up and aligning their SCT's at our society events half an hour or so after I've set my non-GOTO 12 inch dobsonian up and I'm moving from target to target.

Even the 9.25 inch ones are quite a handful !

 

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by John

[johninderby]

 i once had a CPC1100. Great scope but such an utter pain to set up I rarely used it. More suited to a permanent obs setup. 

Now have a Bresser 10” dob on a custom base that is a nice comprimise in weight and portability and performance.

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by johninderby

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have a CPC800 so feel well placed to comment.  The CPC925 or CPC1100 would be great setups  but as others have said they are very heavy as the OTA and mount head do not separate.  I would not be keen to acquire anything heavier than the CPC800 in this range (at my age) and if I did aspire to a bigger Celestron SCT I would be looking at a different mount so that I could split it it into lighter lumps.  Or does your situation allow you to put wheels under the whole thing including tripod and wheel it in and out of an outbuilding?

On the plus side the mount is exceptionally stable and vibration-resistant, and free from annoying backlash, and ideal for planetary imaging, and with the GPS is easy to get aligned.  I suggest though that you can afford to replace the straight-thru finder with a red dot type finder + a RACI  (right angle) finder both mounted on the OTA. (The red dot then acts as a finder for the optical finder - you will find out why...)

With a f10 SCT you don't need those fancy expensive eyepieces - Plossls will work well enough in the lower powers - but I expect like other SCT owners to whom I pointed this out you will go ahead and buy them anyway. 🙂

[Andy ES]

Great advice, thanks everyone.

definitely picking up on the portability and set up issues.

Also the most appropriate EPs for the F10 scope.

On the subject of  EPs, and Focal ratio, my understanding is that a slower scope will have a narrower field of view than a fast scope ie the F5 Dobs discussed here and therefore are more suited to planetary viewing than DSOs.

if this is correct is good DSO observing possible with the correct wide angle EP on an SCT?

Thanks

[Cosmic Geoff]

3 hours ago, Andy ES said:

if this is correct is good DSO observing possible with the correct wide angle EP on an SCT?

From a dark skies site I observed a lot of DSOs (galaxies) with my C8 SE and I did not need a wide field eyepiece - just a Plossl.  And not even the lowest power eyepiece the 1.25" barrel will take - I used a 25mm and 15mm Plossl.   The field of this scope with a 25mm Plossl is about half a degree:  a modest number of star clusters are bigger than this,  as are a few nearby galaxies (whose outer parts you probably will not be able to see anyway) but uncountable numbers of DSOs are smaller.

If you have the Stellarium program you can set it up for a particular telescope and eyepiece and it will generate an "as seen through the eyepiece" view for you of various objects.

The Perseus Double Cluster looks great through a 203mm f5 Newtonian - I had one and that cluster was the best view I had with it. 🙂