Where do you keep your scope?

[rubbertoebooks]

Just another newbie question!! . I've noticed that quite a lot of members have their scopes detailed on their signatures , some with 3 or 4 .

Do you folks keep your scopes set up in one particular area of your homes? I was intending of keeping my telescope (when purchased!!) in the garage, set up in order that it can be moved to and from the back garden with as little hassle as possible.

Would you advise keeping it in the garage, covered up with dust sheet etc. ? Or where is the best place for storage in your opinion?

Cheers...

[ashenlight]

Hi rubbertoebooks,

As I live at home I keep my scope set up in my bedroom. If I had my own place, I would definitely keep it in a garage or secure out building to make it easier to get on with an observing session. Needless to say, it is hard going carrying down the stairs... I take the tube, tripod and mount down seperately! It is always worth it though (unless it clouds over by the time I am set up, which has happened a few times now... frustrating to say the least). I'm sure some of the members who have larger telescopes and so keep them in an easily accessible place could offer some advice Just out of interest, what scope are you thinking of buying?

Amanda

[PhillyDee]

I have Geoptik bags for my EQ5 head and my 200P. (Cost £149 for both from Bern at Modern Astronomy) and my celestron 80SLT lives in a tripod bag I found at a local photography shop. These live in the corner of my room. Down the side of the wardrobe.

[Deneb]

My Skymax 127, EQ5 Synscan & SW200P are in the small spare room.

[rubbertoebooks]

ashenlight...

I've been looking at all the sites selling scopes etc. Have had a good couple of recommendations from this site. Still at the stage where I'm using a pair of bins, trying to find my way around. Have ordered a few books etc and bought a few magazines to read up on but I'm getting impatient!!!!

I've been looking at this scope

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2

What do you think?

[Astro_Baby]

Sky-Watcher 200 / HEQ5 and Celestron Nextstar 4SE live in the lounge as a kind of conversation piece. It also means they are on hand when I want to fiddle about with one of them.

All the EPs, power packs, leads, torches, dewshields and other stuff live ina cupboard in my study.

[ashenlight]

rubbertoebooks, that scope looks grand. I have the 130mm skywatcher and I have been so impressed with the results, having only viewed a few of the more obvious sights: Saturn, Mizar and Alcor, Algeiba etc. It does say it is more geared toward planetary enthusiats, is this you? Or do you want a more across the board scope for DSOs etc?

I started with binos myself too. Be prepared for a big leap up. It's so easy to star hop with binos as you have a larger FOV, with the scope it tends to be harder to get the hang of. The views you will get, whilst they will take longer to achieve, are well, well worth the effort.

My advice would be to ask in the 'beginners help and advice' section of the forum. I posted alot in there when I was in the process of choosing a scope, the information and advice was invaluable Also, you could ring up FLO if you wanted to, I've heard Steve gives excellent over the phone advice

Amanda

[The Warthog]

I keep scopes that are not in current use in my office/reading-room/den, and the scope I am currently using in my back shed, under a plastic bag. If I had a garage, I would keep them there, and I am planning to build a small shed specifically for storing scopes.

[Kai]

I keep all of mine in the gargage so they are close to ambient , the mount is on a pier in the garden so it only takes a few minutes to get set up.

[The Warthog]

ashenlight...

I've been looking at this scope

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2

What do you think?

I use a 6" Newt, and often wish it were an f/8 scope instead of an f/5. I have looked through a Skywatcher 6" f/8 Dob, and it gave excellent results. Also, it looks far bigger than an f/5, and is sure to impress your neighbours. My scope is on an EQ3-2 mount too.

[rubbertoebooks]

Thanks for the advice, cheers.

[Doc]

Mine lives in my conservatory.

[Tim]

Hi,

I keep my setup ready to go in the garden, covered up with a bbq cover. Am planning to build an observatory later this year, funds permitting, just need to decide on the roof type to go for.

TJ

[gary1968]

Mine, at the moment, lives in the garage all stripped down for safetys sake. I am in the process of building a summerhouse / warmroom and pier in the garden the mount will spend most of its time on the pier and the rest of the gear will live in the warmroom.

Gary

[c4miles]

In the kitchen, by the back door. I will take it outside in the early evening if it looks promising, and this gives it an hour or two to acclimatise.

[themos]

I keep mine in the gadgetarium.

[beamish]

I used to keep the stuff in one of the rec' rooms but kept getting those knowing looks from SWMBO. Anyway it all lives in the basement now so kept cool ALL the time ! Safer now that I've sorted the basement steps to the garden too- no longer risking my life ( no understatement !!) on mossy York stone steps

Karlo

[Bigwings]

Mine live in the conservatory. The doors are South facing so in the winter I can do some observing without going out...wish I could do a SkyAlign from there but a solar system align works for planets and moon.

I just have to remember to open the doors to let it all cool in summer and then just 3 paces to the patio.

[Astronut]

I keep my 12" dob in the kitchen although tomorrow morning it's being transferred to the back of my little hatchback car for SGL4

If and when the weather clears up I only have to move the OTA to my unheated back porch for an hour or so before taking it outside. I wouldn't dare leave it set up in the backyard unattended for fear of theft.

I used to keep the dob in the living room but that meant an extra door to carry it through to the back yard. I keep the big binos and tripod in the living room now.

[Psychobilly]

Finally after nearly 2 years of carting it back and fore form the house to the garden .... It's in an Observatory on a pier just wake it up and then its ready to go as soon as the doors are open and the roof lifted off... :)

Peter.....

[albedo0.39]

FWIW, when it arrives, my scope will live in a garage along with 6 bikes and other "toys" to keep it happy. I think that as the garage is unattached to the house, it's very close to ambient temperature and as such will not require lots of time to cool down to give good images.

Worth considering if you have the space (but of course, not so close to hand if you fancy a little tweeking here and there)

[Astrosurf]

I've thought long and hard about storage for my scope. There's no space in the garden for an obsy, the sheds are full and falling apart and the garage is so full you can't get into it without risking injury! So until I sort the garage out I've bought this (yet to arrive):

Homebase - Make a House a Home

I read they're waterproof but I'll still cover the equipment with my scope cover. I don't know how the mount and OTA will take being laid down for long periods, even with great care! But I can't keep the scope in the house much longer, it's taking up too much space and annoying us!

[jgs001]

Mine live in the garage, all setup and ready to go. It's a lot closer to ambient than inside the house. I have the HEQ5 with the pair of fracs on, and the NexStar with the Skymax on. My ep's etc live in a Maplins flight case under the NexStar.

[step_hen]

My scopes live out in the garage too, all setup ready to go, but covered with large heavy dust sheets when not in use

[PaulG]

I used to keep them in the bedroom which was a right royal pain to tip toe down stairs with the mount. I have tripped up on a few occasions negotiating the stairs with my mount .

My kit now lives in the garage which is convenient to move into the back garden and the OTA is closer to the outside temperature.

One thing I noticed when returning the equipment back to the bedroom on a cold night, the equipment was dripping in condensation. I dont get this happening in the garage location.

I do need to cover the mount and OTA due to the dust that collects quickly in the garage.

Paul