Which Of Your 'Scopes Do You Use Most, And Why?

[Saganite]

Sheer class and beauty !!

[Saganite]

37 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Most used scope: my Tak FS128..    Why??: Well, just look at it!!😍😁

Dave

Sheer class and beauty !!

[F15Rules]

Obviously I was being a bit tongue in cheek, but a while back I decided that, for me, a good 5" refractor would be my primary "one size fits all" scope.

I'm not interested in faint fuzzies, but prefer sharp, contrasty clear images of doubles, clusters, planets, starfields and the Moon, and this scope nails all of them.

I must give an honourable mention too, to my only other scope, my trusty Vixen SP102m 4" achromat, which in its day was coveted by many frac lovers back in the 70s and 80s..and still a very capable scope and one I plan to take to dark skies in the Scottish isles later this year..😊

Dave

[jjohnson3803]

ST80 on an alt-az mount.  It's small, lightweight, and more portable than my other refractors.  Very easy to pick up one-handed and carry outside.

[Saganite]

And talking of sheer class and beauty,  my most used Telescope.............Vixen ED103Swt

[Richard N]

ST80 on alt az mount. Plenty that I can see with it and it seems to punch well above its weight given its low cost. Sits by the back door. Ready in seconds. Travels in my motorhome too - just in case.

[Bigwings]

I use 2 most of the time as they are sort of joined at the hip. No they are not binos, just mounted on thr AZ-EQ6 Pro.

A 10" Bresser Newt at f5 on one side and my newly aquired  StellaLyra 6"CC at f12 on the other. That used to be a Mak till I dropped it😭

Mounted on a dolly and fitted with StarSense it can be out of the garage, onto the deck and ready to use in 5 mins. I'm 75 and don't fancy anything I have to lift and my Directorof Household Affairs vetoed an obsy. It works for me as I can have the same target in both scopes with different magnifications etc. 

Life is likely to change as I am tip toeing into astroP

Clear Skies

Bigwings

[iapa]

On 16/07/2022 at 14:38, Bigwings said:

I use 2 most of the time as they are sort of joined at the hip. No they are not binos, just mounted on thr AZ-EQ6 Pro.

A 10" Bresser Newt at f5 on one side and my newly aquired  StellaLyra 6"CC at f12 on the other. That used to be a Mak till I dropped it😭

Mounted on a dolly and fitted with StarSense it can be out of the garage, onto the deck and ready to use in 5 mins. I'm 75 and don't fancy anything I have to lift and my Directorof Household Affairs vetoed an obsy. It works for me as I can have the same target in both scopes with different magnifications etc. 

Life is likely to change as I am tip toeing into astroP

Clear Skies

Bigwings

where's the rolling 3 wheeler from?

[andymw]

My Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS Newtonian of course as it is the only scope I have. 

That said, it is a pretty good allrounder with a focal length of 906mm at F4.5 once the coma corrector was installed.

[iapa]

4 minutes ago, andymw said:

My Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS Newtonian of course as it is the only scope I have. 

That said, it is a pretty good allrounder with a focal length of 906mm at F4.5 once the coma corrector was installed.

I've one too, agree it's very flexible in capability.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On 02/05/2022 at 20:03, cloudsweeper said:

Great responses everyone, thanks!  Got me thinking about a 102ED f/7 frac as an upgrade from the AR102S f/5.9 - isn't there always something else to fancy?!

Re no electronics: yes, a valid point.  But I've set GoTo up so many times now that it only takes a couple of minutes, even after the GPS module packed up.  Again.

Doug.

If I'm lunar observing then the Skymax 127 on an AZGTI is great if you want to point and track without the faff of star alignment. Very occasionally I'll do some white light solar with the same combo.

If a long session is on the cards then the Altair Starwave Ascent 102ED on a Celestron AVX is a nice match. The telescope feels rock solid on the mount. Polar alignment doesn't take very long and I prefer hands free tracking. 

Although back to the ultimate question. The telescope I've used the most these last six months is 10x50 (and 15x70) binoculars... Clear skies and free time just haven't aligned so the binoculars come out for quick sessions. Plus I like watching the birds flitting about and checking out the aircraft flying over so the binocs get used regularly.

[Bigwings]

On 31/07/2022 at 20:18, iapa said:

where's the rolling 3 wheeler from?

Afraid its a home build by my son. Total cost £120 and some metalwork.

They can be purchased on USA but cost a lot plus expensive to ship and import. 

Invaluable when you have one. 😁

[Carl Au]

Well I only have one scope, so that’s the one I use; a rather wonderful Altair 102 ED-R mounted on a TeleVue Gibraltar HD 4. 
 

 

 

[LDW1]

My NP101 !  The history of this scope speaks for itself, everyone should have a look through one at say the Double Cluster, M13 or .......... to know.  My new 90mm Svbony 48P is no slouch either for about a 10th the price.

[Zeta Reticulan]

Sky-Watcher 72ED DS PRO

Because it's small.

[SthBohemia]

This magnificent, marvellous Meade 🙂

Because it's even smaller than @Zeta Reticulan's thing up there ^^. Plus it needs no wretched EP or diagonal 🙂 

[Zeta Reticulan]

1 hour ago, SthBohemia said:

This magnificent, marvellous Meade 🙂

Because it's even smaller than @Zeta Reticulan's thing up there ^^. Plus it needs no wretched EP or diagonal 🙂 

Yeah, but its mount is huge!

[badhex]

On 31/07/2022 at 21:18, iapa said:

where's the rolling 3 wheeler from?

I think either TS Optics or Astroshop.eu has a few tripod dollies, but they aren't cheap as I recall!