Ultimate visual set up

[mikeDnight]

11 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I think the last laugh is with you Mike...I hit 68 orbits next Tuesday!🤦‍♂️😱

That makes me feel much better Dave, as I hit 62 last Sunday.  I'm just weather beaten, though never got out of my teen's mentally. I'm still waiting to grow up! 

Edited February 8 by mikeDnight

[mikeDnight]

10 hours ago, dantro said:

'Class', but not too much.  'Price', but too much.

But just think of the money you'd have saved over the years if you'd just bought something like that to begin with. I tell myself that if I'd done that I'd have missed out on the learning process, and the pain that goes along with it. And of course, by suffering from costly mistakes in this way, there's a certain deep appreciation that comes along with it, which can't really be had any other way - or at least that's what I keep telling myself!  

 I feel sorry for all these young whipper-snappers who do start out by buying a brand new Tak or TEC, or similar top end scope, because they're going to miss out on all that suffering.

[Xilman]

I have two 6" (150mm) refractors that don't get used any more

They are a pair of Fujinon 25x150 binoculars, mil-spec and originally used for coastal surveillance. An equatorial mount was built for them but that took a bit of damage (a bearing popped out and lost its balls) in the last house move.

Perhaps I should try selling them on but have absolutely no clue as to a fair price.

 

[F15Rules]

4 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Absolutely beautiful telescope in typical @Franklin condition. Great acquisition Dave!

 

Thanks Ian.

Yes, I can't speak highly enough of Tim and how he looks after his kit. And, his knowledge of Vixens, past and present, is astounding!!😊👍

Dave

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, Xilman said:

I have two 6" (150mm) refractors that don't get used any more

They are a pair of Fujinon 25x150 binoculars, mil-spec and originally used for coastal surveillance. An equatorial mount was built for them but that took a bit of damage (a bearing popped out and lost its balls) in the last house move.

Perhaps I should try selling them on but have absolutely no clue as to a fair price.

 

I'd be inclined to buy a new bearing. May be members of a local astro group could help you repair it. Or just sell the binoculars separate to the mount. I'm sure you'd get a few take-aways from the proceeds!

May be post a pic here then you could get feedback?

[ollypenrice]

One thing I liked about this instrument was that I didn't have to wait till night time to use it. A shadow transit of Jupiter was easy to see on a very bright, sunny afternoon. You need to bear in mind, though, that the 31mm Nagler in use there is the planetary eyepiece...

lly

[dweller25]

25 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

One thing I liked about this instrument was that I didn't have to wait till night time to use it. A shadow transit of Jupiter was easy to see on a very bright, sunny afternoon. You need to bear in mind, though, that the 31mm Nagler in use there is the planetary eyepiece...

lly

Those Naglers make all the difference 🤣

[Mr Spock]

If that's similar to the Planewave 1000mm scope then the 31mm Nagler would give x194 

Very nice, but, I'm not sure I'd want to commit $575k to a scope, even with a lotto win 

[paulastro]

16 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Paul, I never thought I'd  "Like" a Ship's Funnel photo, but your description of your ideal scope combination of Wants, Needs, Finances, Health etc at this time nailed the OP's question. Thank you for your post.

In the past 10 years I have owned 3 main scopes, each of which met all the above criteria for me at that particular time..

2014 -Beautiful D&G USA 5" F15 achromat, customised by Moonraker, London, and fitted with a Moonlite 2" focuser and tube optimised for Binoviewers. Completely undermounted as I had no funds left for an upgrade after the scope was done. Still got some amazing views though!

2017

I fulfilled a lifetime ambition to own one of the finest 5" refractors ever built..the Tak FS128. Owned her for 7 years.

2024 February

Vixen SD115S 

Sadly I had to recognise that deteriorating eyesight, especially in my right eye, plus the significant bulk and weight of the Tak setup and awful recent weather was working against my getting out under the stars so often..and I was probably not able to detect the very best images that the Tak could deliver.

My new setup is significantly smaller, lighter and less bulky. With the proceeds of the Tak sale I've been able to acquire this lovely and still premium quality and powerful refractor, plus an almost complete set of Vixen LVW eyepieces. So I hope this is now my personal ultimate setup for the observing time I still have to look forward to..

Dave😊

Many thanks Dave, that's very kind  of you. You've had some great scopes, and still have!  I had followed your thread on selling the FS128 with interest - I used Mike's quite a few times before he sold it so I know what a great telescope it was.   Your 'new' Vixen SD115S looks fabulous, especially on the Tak mount.  I've never had the pleasure of using one, but I'm sure it performs every bit as good as it looks.  I can see many pleasureable observing adventures await you with it.  Great to have the LVWs to use with it too.

I have had more scopes than I can remember over the years, and have enjoyed using every single one.  I don't regret selling any of them though, I've simply sold them on whenever my personal circumstances, or my observing priorities, have changed and I've  bought something which has met my new needs.   My enthusiasm for observing has never changed- the scopes just change now and again.

The weather has been, largely, particularly poor up here since Semptember, I then had to have a heart procedure in early December and a hip replacement three weeks ago, but I expect to be back at it to make up for lost time shortly when the weather improves.

I 'll look forward to reading  about how you're getting on with the Vixen Dave, by all accounts it's a fine scope.

[ollypenrice]

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

If that's similar to the Planewave 1000mm scope then the 31mm Nagler would give x194 

Very nice, but, I'm not sure I'd want to commit $575k to a scope, even with a lotto win 

I believe it was considerably more than that... 

😬lly

[Xilman]

4 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

If that's similar to the Planewave 1000mm scope then the 31mm Nagler would give x194 

Very nice, but, I'm not sure I'd want to commit $575k to a scope, even with a lotto win 

If I had 2 megabucks to spare, I would definitely spend half of it on the 1m Planewave and the other half on cameras, filters, spectrographs, computers, software, housing, etc to be able to make good use of it. Even cameras don't come cheap when you would like to have >= 50mm diameter imaging area.

It would fit on the land still available here.

Edited February 8 by Xilman
s/spectroscopes/spectrographs/

[mikeDnight]

If funds were endless, id probably have a large Ash Dome with a 250mm Takahashi Triplet Fluorite Apochromat on one of those giant Tak equatorials. I'd also like a big country house to go with it, large grounds, and an observatory lackey to act as an aid.

[Beardy30]

Ok lets take this a in another direction? If you could choose a set up purely for visual on a budget of 2k to what would you pick (lets see how many Dob fans we get

[The60mmKid]

On 08/02/2024 at 12:32, ollypenrice said:

One thing I liked about this instrument was that I didn't have to wait till night time to use it. A shadow transit of Jupiter was easy to see on a very bright, sunny afternoon. You need to bear in mind, though, that the 31mm Nagler in use there is the planetary eyepiece...

lly

I like this because it looks like a big Astroscan. Cute!

[mikeDnight]

I'm a Dob fan! The big one's - temporarily at least - attract the crowds at star parties, which leaves me alone with my refractor. Until some Wandering Walter with too much curiosity finds me hiding in the dark; then after one look through the refractor gives me away and loudly invites his friends to look through "the best scope here!" And  my quiet observing is over for the night.

[mikeDnight]

I think with only £2000, I'd buy a 120ED and an AZ4, SvBony 3 to 8mm zoom and a 30mm Ultraflat. 

[F15Rules]

With a budget of £2k, I'd get a used Vixen ED103S, used Vixen GP mount with RA drive and used Morpheus 6.5mm 12.5mm and 17.5mm eyepieces, a Baader T2 prism diagonal, a Baader Hyperion zoom barlow 2.25x and finally a decent used 30mm wide angle low power such as the APM UFF.

I reckon I could get all that together fairly quickly within £2k 😊

Dave

[The60mmKid]

£1950 pair of 70mm binoculars and a comfortable lawn chair.

[Beardy30]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I think with only £2000, I'd buy a 120ED and an AZ4, SvBony 3 to 8mm zoom and a 30mm Ultraflat. 

Very nice 😊 

[paulastro]

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

I'm a Dob fan! The big one's - temporarily at least - attract the crowds at star parties, which leaves me alone with my refractor. Until some Wandering Walter with too much curiosity finds me hiding in the dark; then after one look through the refractor gives me away and loudly invites his friends to look through "the best scope here!" And  my quiet observing is over for the night.

And then Mike wakes up, as the sunlight filters through his bedroom window........🤣

[Whistlin Bob]

Oh, go on. Let's re-balance this a little... £2k? I can build a fantasy around that. The fantasy bit being around time and skills. Maybe one day...

Wait for a nice big old second hand mirror to become available- let's say 20" or 22", and ground by one of those craftsmen who really knew what they were doing, but who forgot to sign it, keeping the price to maybe £500. Then build a Dobsonian mount around it. Whilst I like those ultra light jobbies, I think I'd prefer to build something wooden - varnished to a dark brown sheen, but with the grain very obvious. The trusses would be matt black, matching the light shroud and the counterweight bar I'd add to give me lots of eyepiece and binoviewer options. I wouldn't bother with any electronics besides a reflex finder, but I'd use a 72ed or similar to double as a finder and rich field instrument. 

Because fantasy me is more skilled than real me, the scope would be perfectly balanced and would have buttery smooth movements in alt and az. It would live in my garage and some detachable wheelbarrow handles would enable me to move it and set it up in minutes. The spider would have three vanes for a bit of JWST chic on bright stars, but if I was getting serious about doubles or planets of an evening, then I'd use the matching, and magnetically attached, aperture mask for around 160mm unobstructed and naturally colourful f12 or so light grasp.

Why so cheap on the mirror? I think building this properly would cost a few quid, and I'd want £500 for a paracorr to take some biggish eyepieces and enjoy some wide'ish views (and stuff I mention that the mirror was pretty fast) Obviously I'd need to put up with a few comments about steam funnels and shaving mirrors, but I suspect exploring the shapes of galaxies tens of millions of light years away would be adequate compensation 😃

[dweller25]

IF I did not have a bad back, my £2000 visual setup would be….

Bresser 12” Dob = £1036

Televue 8mm Delos = £383 giving x190 which is great for Jupiter.

Pentax 7mm XW = £249 giving x218 which is great for Saturn.

Televue 6mm Delos = £383 giving x254 which is great for Mars.

Thats a total of £2051

Views probably the equivalent of an 8” APO 👍

Edited February 19 by dweller25

[Nicola Fletcher]

I suppose I’ve just done that (maybe), by buying a Mewlon 180C. I’m hoping for a semi-grab and go that is excellent on planets and bright DSOs. Those are my favourite targets. 
I know I’m cheating a bit here because I already have a mount and EPs….

Let’s see how close I am when the oceans of cloud eventually clear!

[Moonlit Night]

Well if money is no object and I had an observatory to put it in would like a 8 inch TEC apo please! 

[SCANS]

For the £2k scenario, I really like what I'm hearing about that StellaMira 125ED. I think it's at the limit of what my AZ5 could handle, so I'd probably need a better mount too, but it looks like a pretty sweet scope. Alternatively, I've never actually seen a Tak IRL, but I would like to and FLO lists the FC-100DC for £1998. And with the extra £2 I could buy some gum 😁