Why did you buy an SCT?!

[SthBohemia]

Here's a story for yas. A  SCT was sitting outside with its face to the ground. One of the cats looked at it and said, 'mine' an' marked it 😞 Had to take the lens out and give it a wash ! 🙂 

[Louis D]

18 hours ago, SthBohemia said:

Here's a story for yas. A  SCT was sitting outside with its face to the ground. One of the cats looked at it and said, 'mine' an' marked it 😞 Had to take the lens out and give it a wash ! 🙂 

This just reinforces why I love this T-shirt of mine:

[SthBohemia]

^^ @Louis D that my dear little lad gets you immediately onto the blocked list... 🙂

[beka]

On 21/08/2022 at 16:24, Louis D said:

This just reinforces why I love this T-shirt of mine:

So you can love astronomy and not love CATs???

[Louis D]

9 minutes ago, beka said:

So you can love astronomy and not love CATs???

CATs vs cats.  Nothing against the former (I've got a 127 Mak), and nothing against the latter as long as it's not living in my house or yard. 😉

[jjohnson3803]

😁  I bought an 8-inch orange Celestron 30 or 40 years ago because at the time they were stylish and all the rage.    It was a fine scope and I miss that fork mount, but in retrospect I wish I had bought a Unitron refractor.

I bought a 90mm Mak a couple of years ago to complement my fast refractors for lunar viewing.  I more recently bought a 102ED refractor which made the Mak redundant for me.  I'm shipping the Mak to its new owner in a day or so.

[RobertI]

When I was a teenager into astronomy in the early 80’s, I had a Fullerscopes 6” Newtonian. But what I really wanted was a Celestron SCT. Back then the Celestron brand was considered upmarket and SCTs were aspirational scopes - at least that’s how I remember I perceived things as a teenager. So naturally when I resurrected my interest in the late 90’s I bought the scope I had always wanted - a Celestron C8 (marketed as the G8 with the non-goto CG5 mount). It has been a really good all round scope over the years, well used and twenty odd years later it is still in good condition as it’s built like a tank and has an enclosed mirror. Other scopes in my arsenal, particularly the 102ED have shown me it’s optical shortcomings in certain areas, especially doubles, but for globulars and faint fuzzies it’s still the best scope in my arsenal, and it’s no slouch on planets and luna on nights of good seeing. Mirror shift is awful and mirror flop means the collimation varies slightly as you move it around the sky but I’d never say it moves out of collimation enough to make an observable difference. But it is very portable and easy to set up. Overall a very easy scope to live with. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by RobertI

[Alkaid]

I think I got lucky with my C8, it was a bargain price 2nd hand (bought about 5 years back) and the seller who seemed to know his stuff said that the optics were in his opinion rather good for an SCT.  I took that with a pinch of salt, but when using the scope for the first time and many times after that, I agreed with him.  Some good hard views, although I do wish for more contrast on Jupiter.   GRS and some other reasonably good detail is not a problem however.   Contrast  and sharpness on Lunar is good.  It's my main telescope.

I want to re-iterate that I was lucky with mine...most SCT's do deliver softer views  / less contrast than the other designs.  If I was in the market and didn't want to play the lottery, it would be an APO Frac or Mak on the cards as I do a lot of Lunar observing.  It just so happens that my SCT hasn't really done anything wrong, so I won't be getting rid of it...

[Flame Nebula]

On 15/08/2022 at 17:12, ABQJeff said:

I am purely visual and I am all CATs and Fracs.    I use the shorter focal length Fracs for widefields, terrestrial and solar H-alpha viewing.  

I use the Cats for compact large aperture and easier logistics/ergonomics.  These are for planets, lunar and small DSOs.  With reflectix CATs don’t require cooling, you don’t have to clean their mirrors (that you have to take out a Newt’s mirror and wash it blows my mind) and they maintain collimation for months on end of heavy use (even after going on rough roads).

I started with a 150mm Synta Mak, 80ED and 120 f/5.   My main set-up is now a C9.25 Edge, 140mm F/6.5 triplet and the 120 f/5.  My next purchase will be a C11 Edge.  The 140mm and big SCTs do (and will) ride very well in tandem on my Atlas Pro (Az/Eq-6).

I will only get a Dob once I have a dedicated observatory in dark skies.   A dob would be impractical for me in my suburban home: I would need to carry the Dob up stairs to get the Southern views from my house and my North /Northeast facing front slopes (no problem for a tripod that I can level). 

As far as performance, my c9.25 Edge has out performed every Newtonian 10” or less and Refractor 6” or less it has come across (for objects that could fit in its 1.13 degree FoV).

CS!

Jeff

Hi Jeff, 

I know this thread is old, but I'm curious about whether you have compared your C9.25 EDGE with non-edge C9.25? 

Mark

[Cornelius Varley]

10 hours ago, Flame Nebula said:

Hi Jeff, 

I know this thread is old, but I'm curious about whether you have compared your C9.25 EDGE with non-edge C9.25? 

Mark

ABQJeff hasn't visited the forum since Aug 2022, I doubt you will get a reply any time soon......or ever.

[Flame Nebula]

24 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

ABQJeff hasn't visited the forum since Aug 2022, I doubt you will get a reply any time soon......or ever.

Thanks Cornelius

Mark 

[Deadlake]

Since this thread is so old I would how many who posted have still got there SCT’s?

[Peter Drew]

I've still got five 8's, one 12 and two 16's.     🙂

[Elp]

59 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I've still got five 8's, one 12 and two 16's.     🙂

Where do you store them all?!?

[jjohnson3803]

When I bought my C8 in 1982 or so, they were the Big Kahunas / future of amateur astronomy / must-have scope / and all that.  😁

I would not buy one today, not because I dislike them, but because they don't fit my current needs or lifestyle.  (I did buy a 90mm Mak a few years ago, mainly for lunar observing but sold it.)

 

 

Edited March 23 by jjohnson3803

[Gonariu]

Old thread but still relevant! I had bought a CPC 8 in 2010 sold on promotion for 1700 euros, which was stolen in the summer of 2012 while I was at the seaside. In 2021 I bought a used Nexstar 8 SE from a friend for 1500 euros which I am currently using with pleasure on the Moon. Why buy a C8: it certainly combines its portability well with universal use and the convenience of computerization. I would really like the Maksutov Skywatcher 180/2700 but it is a very specialized optic (Moon & planets) even if divine in its field. The big limitation of the C8, as of all SCTs, is the condensation that forms on the correcting plate!

[Space Hopper]

24 minutes ago, Gonariu said:

The big limitation of the C8, as of all SCTs, is the condensation that forms on the correcting plate!

I thought they'd solved that with the ring thing......?

 

[Deadlake]

4 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

I thought they'd solved that with the ring thing......?

 

Is is still one more thing to do. 

it's a trade off between compactness for the aperture compared with a Newtonian and adding shield to handle  the dew build up.....

[fozzybear]

My c5 circa well in white still a great scope

[fozzybear]

6 hours ago, Elp said:

Where do you store them all?!?

a cattery?

[Paz]

I've still got my C8 but then I've only had it for 6 years or so.

The reason I got it by the way was because I had spent ages trying to get a 180 maksutov second hand and failed, then gave up hope and switched to looking for a C8 and got one pretty much immediately upon looking, as they are more numerous.

[Gonariu]

7 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Pensavo che avessero risolto con la cosa dell'anello......?

 

I wasn't aware of this, so far I've used the hairdryer on cold air. I was thinking of making a cardboard lens hood covered on the inside with black cloth.

[Elp]

50 minutes ago, Gonariu said:

I wasn't aware of this, so far I've used the hairdryer on cold air. I was thinking of making a cardboard lens hood covered on the inside with black cloth.

I installed one of these for my C6 straight away, one of the best upgrades for it. I also use the flexible Celestron dew shield as I can also store it wrapped around the OTA in its storage bag when not in use, I wouldn't be able to do the same if I used the aluminium dew shield.

One issue with the dew ring, I find the front objective cap no longer fits in place, not so much of an issue for me as within the bag I use it's a snug fit inside so the cap doesn't move and keeps it protected.

[CCD-Freak]

I still have my Ultima 8 and an old orange tube that I just mounted on an iOptron GEM45 for galaxy season. 

Edited March 23 by CCD-Freak