hello from south gloucestershire

[magic77]

Hi Dave and a warm welcome to SGL...

[slim80]

Hi,

Welcome to SGL....Theres plenty of friendly,helpful advice on the forum.

I only joined the other day...Im addicted to the place:color:

[John]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to SGL from me in North Somerset - just down the road from yourself

[arrturro]

Hello from London

[gazza666]

Hi Dave and welcome to SGL I live in gloucestershire as well

[JamesM]

Hi Dave,

I have one of these NEQ6 mounts, they are a beast that can easily tamed! The set up and polar/star alignment isn't that difficult to be honest although if you haven't been using it for a bit it can take a little while to remember what to do. They do last, they are very reliable and are very sturdy. I was attracted to them because there is so much written on them, especially by our very own Mel (Astrobaby) and of course other support group on Yahoo etc. Another advantage with them of course is the development of the EQMOD project, allowing you to interface the mount via Stellarium, to help program the mount to take mosaics of the moon, to control the mount via a gamepad etc - so much extra can be gotten out of this mount. I wouldn't say they were popular but I suspect if you broke down somewhere and a car pulled up behind you to help, I'd put money on it that driver would probably own one of these mounts as well.:D

In fact, you have done exactly what I did and that was to settle on the biggest 'cheapest' mount out there (whether the capacity payload is needed or not) and thereby future proofing any further scope purchases at a later time. With that decision out of the way, you can now sit back a little and look towards researching your immediate scope. As you've specifically included galaxies and nebula (Deep Sky Objects, DSO's) in your list I would recommend that you look at the Newtonian type of scope because this will provide the largest aperture for the remaining budget. Cassegrains are better for planets and for some DSO's but your budget won't provide for a large aperture. Swings and roundabouts and of course the Cassegrain would need Dew Shield etc. Refractors are also great for planets but their aperture (unless very large) has difficulty in revealing a lot of the DSO's although their increase contrast (having no tube obstructions) can off set this.

Have you tried ringing FLO to see what suggestions they might have. As observers themselves, they do offer honest advice.

Keep researching!

James

[Pete Presland]

hi welcome to sgl from bedfordshire

[BAZ Senior]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum.

[whooshbang]

Once again thanks for the advice James. A Reflector tube does seem like the sensible choice(or the only choice left) for the remainder of the budget. Upon mildly researching the Reflector OTA's available i have been drawn to the Skywatcher 250 and as you mentioned provides large aperture at relatively low cost. FLO have a 250D PS for around £380 which has the enhanced focuser and shorter tube length for Astrophotography which, at a later date, means i can give prime focus a go without spending too much extra cash.... Cool.

However, i still have some reading to do but the "add to cart" button on the FLO website has been hovered over a few times now..

I think by tomorrow morning i will of made a solid choice... will let you know as the transaction is made.

Cheers.

Also, a quick "Hello" back to all that have welcome me to SGL, local peeps and those further afield. Much Appreciated!

[brantuk]

Hi Dave and welcome to SGL