What is it that makes us constantly want to improve the kit we have??

[Moonshane]

Hi all

We are all the same I suspect. There's a new piece of kit on the way, maybe a new scope. Before it even arrives, we are thinking about what modifications and improvements we can make to it, what new eyepieces we might need for it and what have you.

Why do we do this? What are your reasons?

I admit that I have always been a meddler, wanting to put my stamp on things and make the experience more enjoyable, comfortable and convenient for me. Sometimes it works and sometimes not but as long as I limit myself to things I can put right then no worries.

With eyepieces and finders etc, I think it's the wish to be able to make the most of the chances I get to observe and I'd hate to miss a chance to see something as well as I can on that one fabulous night for the sake of not buying the right EP. Like others on the forum, my dad passed away very young (51) and my mum quite young (64) and this puts a whole new perspective on life. If I can afford it (I am lucky that usually I can currently) and it will make life (or at least my hobbies) more enjoyable then go for it. You can always sell things again if you buy at a decent price.

So, what drives you to the madness of gear pursuit and the urge to make things better (if you are even driven by these dark evil forces at all)??

Cheers

Shane

[LukeSkywatcher]

Scope wise.......i buy what is practical for me, being disabled. This means i am very limited in the size of scope i can have. My SW Heritage 130P is currently the only scope i know of on the market that suits me while having a medium size aperture. If i ever decide to go bigger then i would need a dedicated Obs and a scope that has the EP/focuser on the end of the tube instead of the top.

Regarding EP's.....

I like and use ALL of mine. I have the Celestron Eyeopener kit, a couple of SW EP's that came with the Heritage and a couple of Vixen EP which i bought second hand here for a fair price.

It was only when i looked through a Vixen EP that i saw the vast difference in quality between views. That has me now searching out more Vixen EP's because the views between them and kit EP's can not and do not compare.

I am a bit of a hoarder with regards to astro gear. It breaks my heart to sell it or give it away but i have done and most likely will do again.

I've never done any mods to a scope. I dont know enough about the technical side of them to even attempt this. I bought them....they work.....leave them alone.

[jleach29]

For me I would have to say long periods of cloudy nights are what make me change things, clean things, and build things. I always want to be out under clear skies but since I cannot messing with my astro stuff kind of eases my desire.....kind of like a junkie getting a "fix". This forum also play a role because you will read about something you never thought of before and would want to give it a try.

[LukeSkywatcher]

This forum also play a role because you will read about something you never thought of before and would want to give it a try.

If i may?:

I have read time and time again that a Telrad makes finding objects soooooo much easier then a bog standard RDF. In my mind a Telrad is nothing more then a posh overpriced RDF. How does this making finding objects easier?

With a RDF you have to know where to look and point it in that direction til the dot is on target. I can only assume that a Telrad operates in the very same manner.

If i want to observe M42 (FOR EXAMPLE) with a standard RDF...........i have to rotate the scope until M42 is in the centre of the RDF. Then the EP will also show the same M42.

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how the Telrad operates any differently and why it is sooooo much better?

I can have M42 centered in a RDF in about 3 seconds. A few seconds more if i use the slo-mo controls on an EQ mount.

To be honest though i dont use a RDF or even a finder scope. I know the area i want to be in and aim there. Then a bit of a hunt and i can usually find what i am after in no time at all.

The reason i dont use a RDF or finder scope is because my Heritage is too low to the ground and i get a pain in my neck trying to look through them.

I have a Wixey on order for the Heritage. This way i can raise the scope to the desired latitude and then all i have to do is scan along the AZ axis to get on target.

Thats the plan anyway.

[rowan46]

i must admit I would like some decent eyepieces but other than that there is not a lot I can practically do to upgrade other than to learn to drive and I'm too much of an old dog to learn that new trick.

[LukeSkywatcher]

i must admit I would like some decent eyepieces but other than that there is not a lot I can practically do to upgrade other than to learn to drive and I'm too much of an old dog to learn that new trick.

You are NEVER too old to learn to drive. I only passed my test 3 yrs ago (im 37 yrs old) and i love driving. I passed 1st time.

I live about 20 mins from some of the darkest skies on the east coast of Ireland but i never venture out of my garden because i am too chicken.

[rowan46]

You are NEVER too old to learn to drive. I only passed my test 3 yrs ago (im 37 yrs old) and i love driving. I passed 1st time.

I live about 20 mins from some of the darkest skies on the east coast of Ireland but i never venture out of my garden because i am too chicken.

I'm older than that I live in one of the fastest driving cities in britain and I would never venture out as a learner 'cos I'm too chicken

[Manok101]

For me, I bought my first scope, a 4.5 inch dob to test the waters so to speak, that got me hoked enough to want a 10" dob, I'm going to do research into 2" eyepieces to see if its worth getting more than the one supplied by Orion. And as to driving, I have a phobia of cars... and don't know how to fix it, it really is difficult working around a thing you freak out at every time one goes by you. So I understand completely.

[Demonperformer]

Most of my purchases are "photographic" rather than "visual" and I suspect my motivation is an ill-advised attempt to compensate for my lack of innate astro-photographic talent

[Capricorn]

I have read time and time again that a Telrad makes finding objects soooooo much easier then a bog standard RDF. In my mind a Telrad is nothing more then a posh overpriced RDF. How does this making finding objects easier?

I find that we tend to tell people what to get on the basis that "It worked for me." Unfortunately it may not work for whoever asked. Finders are a good example of this some work for one person another for a different person. BUT still the person asking gets TOLD to buy a specifc one.

People here rave about TLAO, I have a copy. Opened it twice, first time to look at it, second time to see if it was as bad as I thought it was. Don't really like it and the way it presents stuff doesn't suit me. It is taking up space on the bookshelf.

Look at it this way. It says 100 objectes in the night sky, well there are 110 Messiers. It doesn't even list the whole lot! I can dump them from Wikipedia on to 3 or 4 sheets of A4.

Have a read of threads and count how many ask should I get scope A or scope B, for the person to be told get a completely different scope instead, then barraged to buy a different scope. The reason for the completely different scope, the person answering has one.

Find that although I might like something bigger/better, all scopes I have are small (<100mm), I tend to consider would I use them, are they really worth it, am I paying for something I do not need. So far stuck with the 3 small scopes and I get by OK.

People get told aperture is king. In some ways it is, in others it isn't. If too big to use then useless. Still I see posts of get the biggest you can. Still I read posts of people saying they cannot, or do not, use the nice big scope because it is too big.

Bet that a lot of people with a 10 dob or 8 inch SCT would use an 80mm refractor more in reality. Do we tell them to get an 80mm refractor? No, we say buy that 12 inch dob which you will use less.

[Hawklord]

I blame it entirely on SGL and the wonderful posts in the imaging sections

[swag72]

I always want to upgrade what I have as I have this stupid idea that it will make me better at whatever it is I want to do. Photography is my other hobby and I have spent thousands on cameras and lens's, probably always in the hope that it will make me take better pictures. Of course it never does!!! And I know that it won't make a jot of difference, but I also like buying things!!

[ollypenrice]

Paul, the key advantage of the Telrad is that it places a set of circles of known angular size on the sky. The largest is 4 degrees. So now you have some information about scale before your eyes. You can quickly judge angular distances with reference to this. There is no information about scale in a dot. In large areas of 'empty' sky this is a godsend. I have had both and prefer the Telrad for this reason, and because it is so reliable and uses proper batteries, not those wretched aspirin things!

Re the itch to upgrade, I have found that if I get to having the right kit the itch does go away! I am totally happy with our main refractors, TEC and Takahashi FSQ and just like to go out and use them. Likewise TeleVue eyepieces. So I don't feel driven to upgrade for upgrading's sake.

But I would upgrade a mount, cash permitting, till I got one that you switched on, pointed and left to do its thing unguided. It may happen but it certainly hasn't happened yet, despite the frequently unsuccessful efforts of an Austrian company to achieve this.

Olly

[brianb]

I have found that if I get to having the right kit the itch does go away!

Yeah ... I know my kit isn't perfect but a significant upgrade would cost more money than I'm willing to part with; the next "upgrade" for me is a darker site (and preferably one with better seeing too).

[Nick P]

Upgrading is about getting that little bit 'extra' out of the view, and the improvement is conversely incremental to the improvement! i.e. those little improvements cost an awful lot of money............ eyepieces?

And strangely I don't think we ever get to the point where the view is 'best' - there's always some new product on to the market to tantalise us!

I also blame clouds for this (definitely an invention of a marketing department somewhere) the less time we spend observing the more time we spend dribbling over the latest products and convincing ourselves that we 'need' that new mount/scope/eyepiece/filter/book/software/camera/gadget etc etc.

My set up is now pretty complete and does almost everything I want - all I want to upgrade is the focuser from the old rack and pinion to a nice crayford type, although maybe for the same price I could upgrade the whole scope and maybe get another eyepiece............ ad infinitum!

[Astro_Baby]

I think in the UK it has a lot to do with the weather. I know when I cant observe I start buying and/or modifying.

My most recent acquisition is a case in point - a 10' Newt on an EQ6 - completely ridiculous for a portable astronomer and doubly so when my avowed intention was to optimise all of the equipment towatds a single long focus refractor of larger size.

I suppose the EQ6 may be useful in that pursuit at least. Having vowed never again to take an EQ6 to bits purely for my own amiusmenet I have a rebuild job on my hands.

Why ? Why ? WHY ? Well a bigt part of it has been the atrocious weather, I just wanted that the next time its clear to have a decent look with a bigger scope.

The lunacy is I already have so many projects on I cant cope, I am writing two new guides, three reviews, I have a prototype in my head that I am making and its being troublesome, I have a TAL to restore, a U nitron to do some work on and possible upgrades to the SkyMax 180 (if its shows some mettle). Outside of astro I have a website that needs building, posters to design, a half comleted novel wanting attention, two demanding teenagers and somewhere in between that I need to have a bath, wash my hair, eat etc

Yes I cant stop acquiring stuff and modifying it = I think in part for a lot of us equipment hypochondria creeps in. No one is ever satisfied - lets face it even Hales wasn't - first he built a 60" then decided what was needed was 100" and then on to 200" and the largest practical sized mirror so he couldnt go any further in his day.

Theres a lot of Hale in all of us I suspect and a lot less of Tycho Brae who did it with no telescopes at all

[nicnac]

for me i thinks its because i have seen a little and now i want to see a little better and a little more

[Psychobilly]

I have found that the atrocious weather of the last few years has become the perfect antidote to the upgrading bug (at least in terms of new purchases - although couldn't resist the once in a lifetime astro shop liquidation auction to pick up a few bargains...) it's bad enough having the kit I have already sitting around doing nothing....

Billy...

[nightfisher]

Im the worlds worst for wanting to change equipment soon after i get it, typical example is my oo omc140 deluxe, i bought it for lunar imaging which it will do superbly, but im always toying with selling it ro get some thing different, dont know why as its a superb scope, the one scope i bought and will always keep is my tal 100rs

[Beulah]

I was at a star party recently and there was a chap there who owned a 14" telescope, a hand built one from the 1970s. I started chatting to him about Skywatcher's latest foray in to the large Dobsonian market, as most astronomers have an interest in the latest gear and he looked a little confused.

He apologised, saying that he was perfectly content with his 14" Dob, the mirrors had been recoated twice and he doesn't read all the astro mags, internet fora; he didn't even know what "Skywatcher" or "Celestron" was, therefore, not keeping up with the latest gear.

It was quite a humbling experience for me, as I find myself hankering after every new astro toy that comes out......and even thinking about the gear more than studying the night sky...

[Psychobilly]

Stop reading the mags (or delay it by 12 months ) and dont buy kit when it first comes out...

Avoids the early adopter problems and disappointment...

Billy...

[BinocularSky]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how the Telrad operates any differently and why it is sooooo much better?

I don't have a Telrad, but I do have a Rigel QuickFinder -- the principle is the same. The increased ease is when it comes to finding objects that do not have any obvious nearby "beacons".

The QuickFinder has reticles of 0.5* and 2* -- so, if I have to go, say 7* east from my starting point, that is 3 outer rings and 2 inner rings of "hop". You cannot do that with a red dot. The Telrad has an additional 4* ring; this is useful in more light-polluted skies, where the distance between visible targets is greater.

[Macavity]

Inate failure of atronomer's equipment to live up to expectations (FNAR)? <G> That said, most astro-stuff is fairly good value for money... now! Nevertheless, I sense, if you have a large budget, and / or spend WISELY, this is far less of a problem.

Emphasis changes though. I am now WAITING (and waiting!) for the arrival of an observatory. I have enough "accessories" - I may buy a bigger / better OTA, eventually, but that's about it... (probably)

[causerino]

I always want to upgrade what I have as I have this stupid idea that it will make me better at whatever it is I want to do. Photography is my other hobby and I have spent thousands on cameras and lens's, probably always in the hope that it will make me take better pictures. Of course it never does!!! And I know that it won't make a jot of difference, but I also like buying things!!

That is me completly!

That and I also like to hack/mod/integrate things I have with other things I have.

[Richard C]

We've all probably got G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) ...