Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Just joined and clueless

psychobabbler

By psychobabbler
in Welcome

Recommended Posts

psychobabbler

psychobabbler

Posted
Posted

Hi Everyone

I'm new to the whole thing but have been spending the last couple of months doing a bit of research on astronomy, telescopes and astrophotography, having been inspired by Bill Bryson's "Short history of nearly everything". What a book.

I live on the outskirts of glasgow and have access to a good site with limited light pollution.

I'm looking for a 'scope that is relatively portable and also a CCD. I'm really just looking for advice from you guys (and girls!) so i do not waste my money (Tight Scot? Where?!). I'm in the lucky position where budget is not a huge problem, but equally don't want to make a prat of myself. Would ideally like to do some deep sky work, more so than planetary.

Any help you can give will be very gratefully received. Have joined the Glasgow AS.

Thanks again

Psychobabbler

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 29
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Jamie

Jamie

Posted
Posted

Hi David and welcome to Stargazers.

To start with mate my advice would be to build from the ground up.

Go for as good a mount as you can aford and still pay for a scope to go on top of it.

I live in Paisley so if you want to come over and see my setup you are more than welcome.

Also mate give it a bit of time and pick the brains of your fellow Glasgow AS members they will be

able to let you see other setups and you might even get a chance to try them out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ant

Ant

Posted
Posted

Welcome,

Oh we can have some fun guys - budget isn't a huge problem :wink: Now is the chance for us all to buy our dream setup!

Welcome to the forum, don't be afraid to ask any questions - even if they seem daft, chances are that most of us have either asked or kept quiet till someone else asked on most of them.

Phillip's advice is sound... Get a good mount and the rest will take care of itself...

David, Daivd??? How do you know these things Jamie... :grin: Is it some kind of Scot super power?

Anyway, have fun David.

Ant

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astroman

Astroman

Posted
Posted

As Phil says worry about the Mount first then the scope :wink:

I'd recommend the Paramount ME. Hook it up to the web, it shouldn't matter what scope you put on it but the bigger the better, and I'll remotely give you a sky tour you won't soon forget. Weather permitting, of course. :grin:

Welcome aboard!

(Actually, that goes for basically anyone here.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
radioactive

radioactive

Posted
Posted

Hi David and welcome to Stargazers

I been doin it a while now and still clueless Lol

so you are in good company

best advice has been mentioned already get the best tripod mount combo you can afford the steadiear that is the better you will observe no matter what you use to look through

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LITTLE COL

LITTLE COL

Posted
Posted

welcome to sgl david i am also a starter at this game , up to now i have a skwatcher 130p , pretty dam good for my first scope , could only afford an slr camera though but hopefully get some decent pics soon

excellent advise on here david

good look sky hunting

col ( manchester) :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
daz

daz

Posted
Posted

Welcome along David

Budget no problem, eh??? :wink: As Ant says, we'll help you allright!

That's kind offer from Jamie - I'd certainly take him up on it, and as he also says, get down the As and 'try before you buy'

:grin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MartinB

MartinB

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the forum psycho. Your aspirations are very similar to mine, I'm just 9 months further on.

Here's my biased and dogmatic opinion, well someone has to get off the fence. Astromans suggestion would be nice for £11 000 plus an observatory to put it in!

OK for deep sky CCD imaging, a good mount - heavy with good tracking. A skywatcher EQ6 is the forums favourite mount. Incredible value for money, carries a big scope and performs well. With goto - a tad over £1000. If budget really isn't an issue a Losmandy G11 is a dream mount for many. With goto plus other worthwhile accessories a bit over £2500. You pay a lot for that small extra smidgeon of performance but you've earnt it and quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten!

Scope - starts getting controversial now. For learning the ropes I believe a small, short focal length apochromatic refractor is the way to go. These will produce outstanding results and are much more forgiving than long focal length scopes. An ED80 is a great choice. Plenty second hand, you can pick up a good one for £200 or new with appropriate bits such as diagnonal, finder etc for a little over £300. This represents fantastic £ to performance ratio freeing up dosh for the mount. Other options include SCT scopes which will be good for visual stuff and are great for imaging esp using focal reducers. Check out the Celestron and Meade ranges - I have a Celestron bias.

Another deep sky range of scopes which is delivering fantastic images is the Meade LX Schimdt Newtonian series. These are basically reflectors which work at short focal lengths without deterioration in optical quality. They will work for visual astronomy but are designed with imaging in mind.

If your budget is fluid an SCT working in tandem with an ED80 is a great combination.

As for CCD cameras - this is a complex area. You could start with a modified webcam such as the Atik 2HS. These arecapable of very good performance with a bit of practice. Alternatively you can go straight onto CCDs but there is a hefty learning curve getting to grips with all the above. Check out the Starizona and Ian King Imaging websites which have sections on choice of CCD. Fantastic value - Atik 16HR.

Finally buy a second home somewhere sunny, build an observatory and we will come over and give you some help!

Although the learning curve is steep, if you are enthusiastic and used to seeing things through then don't be put off. Modern astro gear, and digital imaging make the whole thing much much easier than in days of yore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
G1ZmO

G1ZmO

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the forum David

You'll certainly get a wealth of advice here :wink:

There are quite a few of us in the Glasgow area if you compare and contrast equipment before you buy although if you're wanting to do astrophotography you'll probably not be interested in my cheapo dob lol

Cheers

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites
psychobabbler

psychobabbler

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Think i've replied to the wrong thread - doh!

Can i thank everyone for replying and making me feel welcome - especially to Jamie, Paul and MartinB. Can i take up Jamie's offer of a visit to Paisley?

I've been amazed by the comparative lack of talk about Meade SCT's in general. I think i'm turning onto APO's with all the talk!

Can i ask if i really would be a prat going for a meade SCT and a DSI? Portability is a big issue, as are the apparent features of Autostar, but i realise i may be being heretical in the present company. Can anyone tell me more? MartinB's comments about telescopes i had not even considered has really got me thinking about alternatives. All i'd really like to be doing in a year's time is beginning to work my way through the Messier catalogue slowly, taking some pictures i can be really proud of. There, i've said it!

Thanks again to all

Psychobabbler

Link to comment
Share on other sites
geppetto

geppetto

Posted
Posted

Psychobabbler

Can you put the gist of your post in Equipment Discussions

I for one would be interested to see the responses as until you pointed it

out, I hadn't realised that the forum is extremely light on Meade stuff and it

would be good to find out why... 8)

Cheers :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jamie

Jamie

Posted
Posted

Can i take up Jamie's offer of a visit to Paisley?

Firstly can i appologise for not posting a reply to this sooner.

Secondly Yes you can take up the offer but by the way the weather is going these days

it will have to be a day time visit just to actually see and discuss the scopes but hey im up for

that too if you don't mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.