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

[John]

If I start taking it too seriously it will stop being a hobby and start being an obsession, which is not where I want to be with astronomy.

When all's said and done, I'm just an amateur sky tourist

 

 

 

[Stu]

Stubbornness and devotion take many forms. I totally respect the dob mob's way of observing, but that's not practical for me, and I'm not prepared to give up just because my skies are not dark. I do solar, planetary and doubles from home, and whatever else I can from a dark site.

I guess, blowing my own trumpet, it takes a degree of stubbornness not to give up having a two year old, two teenage children and trying to start a business up. That's my form of devotion ??

[bish]

25 minutes ago, swamp thing said:

^^^This is the only way I "improve" my kit. It is also the only way I observe nowadays and TBH I've no interest in doing astronomy any other way. 
Not sure I'm braver or more devoted than anyone else. Probably just more stubborn and won't put up with so-so views from okay.....ish skies.

I mainly agree with this. The best thing for me is to drive for a few hours or more to camp under really dark skies and endure the cold for what might be only an hour or two of clear Sky. Worth every drop of petrol.

i do also make the most of home too  Any bright comets, the planets or asteroid tracking etc. what I don't do is go out and look at the same DSOs all the time from my light polluted garden. I would have still bought a bigger scope for use at home but wouldn't spend a load on expensive eps without going to a dark site.

[Gina]

I think astronomy might have been a bit of an obsession with me but not now.

[JemC]

On ‎05‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 14:02, Moonshane said:

Be interested in the views of newer members to see if they are 'feeling the urge' yet.

I consider myself a relatively new member (2 years) and yes i get the urge to change stuff quite regular, i put this down to still trying to find out what it is exactly or which way i want to go with astronomy and which scope i am happy with, (still to come across this yet)

thing is i have always had a fascination with photography even though I've never really been any good at it,  i enjoy it, but have changed cameras and lenses more times than i can remember over the years
I've also always had the same fascination with the sky but only recently done something about it and i am now going through the same process regarding changing kit, see the thing is i currently have a strong urge to try a larger refractor (5" or 6" ) and either a 10" or 12" Dob,

why!
because if i don't try or buy one i will never know and will probably always wonder if i have missed out on a scope i would have been happy with,

Regards
James

[DaveS]

Whenever I think of acquiring new kit I ask myself what it will give me that I don't already have, mainly to do with field of view but also with image quality or mount stability.

Having said that, I think my next big purchase will be a premium mount, that can take a long-ish heavy-ish triplet apo and flattener. Will a DDM60 suffice? Or should I go for a DDM85 standard? My pier will take the 60 but i may need the 85 if I ever go for the CFF 185.

Yeah, right, get both !

[TheMightyKong]

Cloudy weather.

[iPeace]

Honestly, it's a rich mixture. There are - reportedly - better scopes out there, but I'm sold on this one. It gets the best diagonal and eyepieces I can afford. It has a solid, smooth, rugged, functional mount. It works. Yes I want a classy wooden tripod. Yes I want a complete set of a certain type of eyepiece. Yes these things are not strictly necessary. Yes these things are going to happen anyway. Yes I enjoy looking at nice kit almost as much as I do looking through it. Yes there is pleasure in having, as well as in using. Yes I accept my own follies in such pursuits and strive not to take myself too seriously.

[StuartJPP]

I am pretty happy with the setup I have got now, I am not actively looking to upgrade anything. I wanted to stabilise my kit so that I can get on with imaging instead of trying to fettle new kit all the time. Stabilising also allows me to add data year on year on those fuzzy targets that I am after.

 

[DaveS]

I think the best "equipment" upgrade I could make would be a new house somewhere dark, without close neighbours.

Yeah, right!

[Gina]

Doesn't stop the clouds though!   Dark here and the neighbours are rarely a problem but cloud and contrails...

[SteveNickolls]

I think a lack of enough nights to observe and image makes us window shop in compensation.

Cheers,

Steve

[michaelmorris]

What makes me want new stuff?

Shiny things, I love lovely new shiny things...

... precious.

[Dave In Vermont]

For the same reason people moved out of caves - a constant desire to change their environment. Coupled with a desire to be competitive with others - as a prediliction for sports manifests.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go chase the bats out of my living-room.....

Dave

[Scosmico]

I would put it down to three main reasons: Inexperience, purchasing therapy or orthodoxy.

The purchase frenzy tends to stabilise or completely stop with experience, when one realises that better equipment will not make the clouds go away, or simply because you cannot see significant quality increase.

Inexperienced observers tend to purchase more hoping to see that cover picture in the last astronomy magazine. Others tend to spend their time pressing the buy now button between frustrating clouds. A very small group of observers try to reach quality excellence despite major constraints like UK seeing condition.

 

[Moonshane]

I suppose in a way I fit the small group at the end. E.g. most people would see any Televue as a major enhancement. I agree with this but found that for me the most excellent optically was not the  same as most people. I bought an Ethos and found that although it was excellent on most objects, it was (to me) poor on the moon with globs of CA all over as you rolled your eye around. I sold it and bought a Delos and this was a bit better but still had this feature of CA on the moon. I observe the moon a lot and therefore found this an unsatisfactory position that such an eyepiece 'bugged' me every time I looked at the moon. Therefore I bought the Delites which albeit with a narrower field than both, really seem to suit my observing preferences and my eyes. The first thing I think of when I buy a new scope is when can I afford a new focuser.

I do agree though that in general, any decent scope with any decent eyepiece in any decent conditions will given good to excellent results.

[Uranium235]

As an imager.... it was always "faster, flatter, cleaner, wider(field)" for me. But now I've taken it as far as I think I need to in equipment terms - so the next challenge would be to either try for a long focal length, or go down the solar route. Both routes are expensive, but one is considerably easier than the other.

[John]

I guess the advent of forums like this one has introduced factors which might lead to restlessness with the kit that we have ?

We constantly read about others experiences with new kit and perhaps that feeds our desire to change ?

Does "keeping up with the joneses" come into it ? - I think it probably does to some extent.

Is there an equipment upgrade rat race ? - I think there probably is.

I really admire folks that acquired decent kit from the outset and then have stuck to it developing their experience and skills over time so that you know when reading their reports that they are very likely to be getting the best from what ever target that have chosen and the conditions under which they are observing.

 

[cloudsweeper]

John is right - with so much comparative info about, you can easily be led to believe your gear isn't up to scratch - get a different 'scope, a bigger aperture, some TV eyepieces, whatever.

I'm now very happy with my "armoury", because I have a decent ap, a wide range of mostly modest EPs, and a small assortment of filters.  I have taken note of remarks concerning diminishing returns with EPs, and as long as I can see a nice, crisp image, I shan't pursue minor nuances of betterment in that respect.

So now it's a matter of gaining more experience with what I've got.  And between sessions, I like to learn more of the theories of astronomy and instruments.  Plenty to keep me busy and contented!

Doug.

 

[Macavity]

In retrospect, I could tell quite a long story of "upgrades"? But frankly, I think most
initial choices worked out well and upgrades were well considered. (Neener-Neener!)

Of course, I (in part) JEST! But I have mostly erred on the "conservative" side when
buying a new TYPE of scope and, with experience, decided to "push the boat out"? 

I agree that there are many temptations described above? But these are tempered
by my own tendency to (pathologically) "do my own thing" man? lol.
(I genuinely think my "Astro Collection" is mostly complete!)

Personally, I LIKE "tinkering" with scopes - To get the "best" out of them?
But frankly, if I had the dosh, I'd probably buy top of the range stuff.

[Moonshane]

This is an old thread but six years on I still have the same sort of constant drive! I have just added up my like to have list and it's around £2200! I hope to be able to 'finish' my purchasing of this list over the next few years but in truth feel it's always going to be the case that I want to improve my gear.

[John]

Despite my post earlier in the thread I'm still at it as well

It's such an exacting hobby on observer, conditions and equipment. Can't do much about the state of the 1st two but gear can be improved gradually.

I've heard that Tele Vue have a couple of very interesting developments in the pipeline so those may well add more temptation

[Moonshane]

Often I reckon it's just the old adage that it's nice to have something to look forward to 

[Peter Drew]

I think one of the things that drives upgrades are the fact that most astronomical objects are relatively unchanging with a given set of gear. The obvious perception is that something better or larger will open up a new take on things. If this is your perception then it is one of the classic signs of "aperture fever". 

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm happy with what i have and how it performs. Its been about 2 yrs since i last bought anything astro related. "If it aint broke, dont fix it". "If it works well, dont try to improve upon it".