Gear you sold but wish you hadn't...?

[GazOC]

We all live and learn, there must be stuff that, looking back, wasn't as bad as you thought and you should have kept hold of?

Mine:

1) Synta 8" f6 Dob, a top first scope for me but the base started to feel the weather so I sold it, I should have just scrapped the base and bought some blumming tube rings....It resulted in me having a bizzare short tube refractor fixation, that I still don't fully understand, for the best part of 18 months.

2) EQ5, sold this with my Helios 150mm f5 refractor. Should have kept the mount and just sold the dog of a scope, its a nice portable mount that can also take reasonably sized scopes. I've since bought another for my new Mak.

Any others guys?

3)

[Ant]

I went through a strange phase a few years back and decidedto get out of astronomy for good - I'd discovered other things like motobikes. So I sold my Meade LX10, with PEC and loads of other gubbins... Also a complete set of Parks gold eyepeices, camera's back to BC&F.

They gave me almost nothing for it (compared to what it was worth).

Not so sad about the Meade, but I SHOULD NEVER have sold the eyepeices....

Still pee's me off to this day!

Ant

[GordonCopestake]

I hesitate to bring this thread back from the dead but here goes:

ST80, owned 3 of these and keep coming back for more

ST102, in direct tests of the 2 examples I had at the same time the ST102 outperformed the ST80 in colour correction and contrast

ST120, a nice little richfield 'scope that had it been an APO would be perfect

AT1010, one of the best achros i've owned, damn heavy though!

C8, nuff said really

ED80, fantastic 'scope but i'm not really an imager so wanted more aperture

ED100, amazing 'scope that could easily be a contender (with the C8) for a perfect one 'scope solution

12" Lightbridge, loved this but the truss was wasted on me and finances dictated a sale

24 Panoptic, owned 2 of these and want a 3rd

3-6 zoom, owned one, sold one, brought one, sold one, brought one, selling one.... a great eyepiece but just that little bit too expensive unfortunatly

Strangly I dont miss any of my other naglers

I'm sure there will be lots more in the future... but for now i'm enjoying my 6SE, if I ever put it up for sale, someone shoot me

[GazOC]

ST120, a nice little richfield 'scope that had it been an APO would be perfect

Bleddy hell Gordon, thats one big 'if'....

[GordonCopestake]

hehe, I just mean 120mm f/5 is a nice size 'scope

[GazOC]

I guess mine would be a 102mm f5 refractor, I've bought and sold four or five over the last few years. It's just such a handy little scope but I don't really use them that often....

My latest I bough from John for £60, so I can afford to only use that a few times a year and not have a guilty concience!

[russ]

I've bought and sold stacks but only two stand out that really gut me. One was beyond my control, the other I missed a chance.

1/ ED100 - simply the best scope i've ever owned and by a few country miles too. This was the best all rounder, closest thing to the perfect scope I've ever had. Visual or imaging, planets or deepsky, solar or lunar - did it all. Forced to sell, nothing I could do I feel sick now.

2/ Burgess/TMB Planetary Series 9mm - I needed to sell it as 9mm didn't suit the 80ED. But if I held on another 2 days Neil English would have offered a straight swap for the 7mm version...............poo! Got the Hyperion 8mm now and it's pretty good but it's no BO/TMB.

Other scopes have come and gone. The Orion USA XT10 would have topped this list previously but perhaps time has dulled my memory of that scope. The C8 was nice enough except for the infuriating cool down. The Intes 603 was better than the C8 but afflicted with the same flaw. But they don't make the list.

WOW Gordon that's a lot of stuff to regret selling :shock:

Russ

[GordonCopestake]

Perhaps if I narrowed it down to the things that I would consider buying again and REALLY miss, the big dob is one, but I dont think I would go for the lightbridge again. The other is the C8 but I have a C6 now, and it's so much more portable. The Pan24 is an eyepiece that I love and will buy again at the first chance I get

[Rob]

Feel to sick to answer this thread!... everything I've owned and sold really. I'm going to take up fishing now

[Kai]

Feel to sick to answer this thread!... everything I've owned and sold really. I'm going to take up fishing now

I bet there is a similar thread going on in Fishing World.com but the bloke is taking up Astro instead

[proflight2000]

Early last year I decided enough was enough and basically flogged everything i had, this included my etx 105, with hardcase, 3 books, 6 meade eyepeices, solar filters, GPS, Meade Tri-pod, torches, camera cases, eyepiece extensions for my toucam, and dsl camera. All told the whole lost was worth around £1500 and I sold it all for £750. Mug of the year, you bet I was, the guy that bought this lot from me even questioned me as to why I was asking so much

Well anyways, you live and learn, thats why Im selling nothing now, well not until I cannot carry things outside anymore and then I will be on the lookout again. So keep your eyes peeled for anything I flog.

[FLO]

I miss the 24mm Panoptic, used it more than any other eyepiece.

I liked the Televue 3-6 zoom and 9mm Nagler but doubt I'll replace them - the zoom was handy but it isn't quite up there with a good orthoscopic and I'm starting to think the Nagler is too wide. Sold two(!) Meade Series 4000 1.25" 32mm and will buy another before long - very useful for scopes without a 2" focuser.

I wish I had bought the Tal 200K when one was offered secondhand ... if that counts. Also sold a Tal 100R and miss it.

[John]

Head and shoulders above all the rest for me is the blue tube ED100 that I used to own. It was mint and I paid just £300 for it and sold it for the same seduced by the prospect of a William Optics Megrez 90.

Eyepiece-wise I'd have liked to be able to hang onto my Nagler 13mm T6 and 24mm Panoptic but there was just too much money tied up in them relative to my overall astro budget. I've managed to acquire a set of 6 TV Plossls now so that makes up for it a bit

Mind you it is fun trying out different equipment - I don't think I'll buy new again for a while though "depreciation" is quite steep on new equipment but relatively low on 2nd hand stuff.

John

[FLO]

ED100, amazing 'scope that could easily be a contender (with the C8) for a perfect one 'scope solution

ED100 - simply the best scope i've ever owned and by a few country miles too.

Head and shoulders above all the rest for me is the blue tube ED100 that I used to own.

This is turning out to be quite an accolade for the Skywatcher ED100.

Is somebody bringing one to the Star Party?

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

It looks like everybody sold theirs. I wonder who bought them all?

I've only sold my OMC140 so I need to upgrade to something very similar but bigger. If I can get something with such tight optics but faster I'll be a very happy bunny.

Captain Chaos (never even seen an ED100)

[Astroman]

Not sure this counts, but I spent the better part of a year designing, building and tweaking a 12.5" F/4.9 Newt on a low profile platform for a friend of mine. It was a beautiful piece of work, and had the best glass I've seen for the size. He took possesion of it in October '05. Observed through it twice that I know of and sold it in February '06. I shoulda never let him have it back. "Sorry mate, needs more work. Maybe next year."

[SteelRat]

3 months in, no computer, no internet got a Celestron C6n on a Super Polaris mount with the wooden tripod out of the local rag for £45. Had a 9mm orthoscopic with it.

But what did I know??? sigh.

[The Warthog]

ED100, amazing 'scope that could easily be a contender (with the C8) for a perfect one 'scope solution

That's an interesting comment, as I am thinking of getting a C8 when I retire, for a one-scope solution. I am really wondering why I would keep either my 105mm frac or my 6" reflector if I had a C8.

The only thing I've sold that I would like back is my Tasco Luminova 114. I don't want to use it myself, but I've heard the young fellow who bought it from me doesn't make much use of it, and I'd like to sell it, or give it, to someone who would.

[GordonCopestake]

The C8 is such a fantastic all round 'scope it's no wonder that Celestron have been selling them by their bucket load since the late 70's. Add modern coatings and other refinements you have a 'scope that can go anywhere do anything. However they are not as good as dedicated 'scope for specific applications, jack of all trades master of some

[Kermit]

Does a Soul count?

[russ]

Mind you it is fun trying out different equipment - I don't think I'll buy new again for a while though "depreciation" is quite steep on new equipment but relatively low on 2nd hand stuff.

that's the key, just play the secondhand market. Sometimes you make something, sometimes a loss but mostly even stevens. And the losses are only £20-30 tops. Trouble is secondhand ED100's are rarer than hens teeth.

This is turning out to be quite an accolade for the Skywatcher ED100.

it's the only scope I would consider buying new now

[Whippy]

My concience is clear but when the missus decided to sell 'her' TAL 150P, it was seriously against my wishes. She misses it, I miss it. Damm women eh? So for some recompence, I'm on the lookout for a TAL refractor.

[John]

This is turning out to be quite an accolade for the Skywatcher ED100.

it's the only scope I would consider buying new now

I think the Synta ED80 and ED100 should be considered modern classics - they have really created a stir since they have been around and also created a whole new market niche - the "budget apo" which others are still struggling to compete in.

Thanks Synta ....

John

[russ]

I think a very large portion of amateur astronomers today owe Synta a huge thanks. They transformed the market for budget kit. We really do have a good choice of quality kit (scopes, mounts and accessories) for very little outlay. Just think back to the crappy choices (Tasco junk or homemade dob) we had back in the 80's and early 90's.

Russ

[GazOC]

Very true Russ. Us mere mortals can afford decent gear these days.