Look at the size of that thing......

[Talitha]

I second the vote to make this a sticky... great idea, Mel !!

(Love your boots, BTW. )

[D:Ream]

Really useful. Thanks.

[haitch]

I have to say, when my wife first saw the 200P she went ballistic. She was soon enjoying the Orion nebula, though.

Imagine when my Missus (who has absolutely no astro interest) first clapped eyes on my 14" dob that I'd bought without telling her. I gathered this hobby might involve sacrifices but I didn't realise I would be one! (darling you've built me a platform for a pier - No... it's an altar for pagan rituals)

[Kp6]

Heavy build my ***! In Scotland we would refer to your figure as 'ultra petite'.

On a more relevant point to the topic I fully agree with what you say regarding size and weight of the real thing compared to a pic in a glossy mag or on the internet.

The first telescope I got a loan of was a 76mm celestron reflector and boy I thought it was a just a 'tad' cumbersome, but very quick and easy to assemble/disassemble, was light weight and quite portable. I thought it set me up well for my first scope purchase which was a slightly bigger celestron 114eq reflector.

How wrong was I!!! The delivery guy had issues squeezing the huge box up the stair well to my flat and he looked rather short of breath as I signed the delivery note.

Upon assembling the scope I realised I had a very different beast to the 76mm I tried a couple of months before, easily twice as heavy and included a counterweight which if dropped would destroy whatever lay in it's descent.

The eq mount is quite chunky and weighty too, something the 76mm didn't have.

All that said it is still considered a portable telescope and I'm very happy with it.

Could I ask what the weight of the 250p is when assembled?

[JohnDenim]

I notice that the weight of the 'scope also changed your hair colour Astro-Baby........

[John]

....Could I ask what the weight of the 250p is when assembled?

About 55lb or 25kg.

[JohnDenim]

(Love your boots, BTW. )

Haha, love this comment carol!

[tuc]

I like your shelves.

[Astro_Baby]

Shelves are 'billy' range from ikea.

Boots are from evans. Its a uk shop for fat women Carol. My feet are very wide but short and look like waffles

For the sizing in the first pic I am a size 12 in other pics a size 14

[Gadget]

Great post AB when i was looking at my first scope i spent ages looking through google images for people standing next to their scopes to get an idea of their sizes i am sure loads will find this very useful

Kevin

[vulcan]

Thanks for that, Astro_Baby. I was flabergasted when my NEQ6 mount turned up in two large, heavy boxes. Moving it out into my garden to a viewing position is a major lift.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice thread. I'll show this to the missus so she understands why I prefer the more expensive SCT/RC/ACF-like set-up

[Gerontius]

If you can build Ikea shelves then stripping and rebuilding telescope mounts must be a doddle for you.

Nice idea about the pics.

[Rob L]

I feel bit insecure and totally inadequate now with my Mak 127. Thanks astrobaby

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I feel bit insecure and totally inadequate now with my Mak 127. Thanks astrobaby

Don't forget, it's not the length but the girth that matters

[Zakalwe]

Ohh man...this thread is full of win for picture-whores like me:D:D:D

My kit now lives in what used to be a small dining room.

The EQ6 with Equinox mounted is exactly 72" top-to-toe. I have extended the legs to the lowest point that I can comfortably polar-align with.

Fully geared up, both 'scopes pretty much fill the room, especially when you add in some of the accoutrements that you also need (cables, power packs, EP cases, chair, tables for lappy).......being recently divorced means that I can now spend my money on exactly what I want AND store it where I want! Win-Win:headbang::)

[G2EWS]

.......being recently divorced means that I can now spend my money on exactly what I want AND store it where I want! Win-Win:headbang:.........

Now that always helps in our striving to get the toys we want!

I am lucky enough that SWMBO just says get what you want!

Mind you I did buy Her a £50k car for an anniversary present last year, so guess I am still in Her good books!!

Best regards

Chris

[Barry]

I feel bit insecure and totally inadequate now with my Mak 127. Thanks astrobaby

Rob L - You shouldn't. I recently p/exed my SW200 Flextube Auto for a Celestron 5SE (against advice) but I'm really glad I did. Although the optics are obviously better in the dob, the 5SE is so much easier to use that it actually gets taken out.

Barry

[Vargojones]

Here's me with my Skywatcher 150p Dob

I'm 5'10", and this is quite portable by yourself. It now lives in the garage for less stair hassles.

I now also have major telescope envy, mine's definitely not big enough!

[eriwig]

Makes mine look dinky lol!

Sooo want a bigger one some day but it's still very early days for me and for now it is handy enough for me to store and move etc

Might take a pic later though just for comparison if anyone else is looking at getting one.

[black5f]

My kit now lives in what used to be a small dining room.

Looks just like mine! Being into model steam engines as well, we have a saying. "Wot sorts the men from the boys is the size of their toys!" BTW, a Black5 is a very handsome locomotive based on kettle technology!

[Astro_Baby]

Just for completeness, heres my most used telescope. Its my TAL 100RS and possibly the most beautiful looking scope of them all.

Its a good size comparison if your thinking of any refractor for around 100mm / 4" and its pretty similar in size to the Evostar 102 and equivalents. Its mounted here on a TAL mount which is roughly the same size as an EQ3-2.

[nicnac]

i was waiting for this one AB

tis a fine thing

[starship trooper]

great thread as people have said,it certainly does give people an idea to what they might be getting there selfs into when they buy these big aperture scopesand have to be luging them to dark sites.

[Astro_Baby]

Well the 250 will be going for sale soon, I thought when I bought it I'd upgun it like my 200 (rotating rings, Moonlite, flocking, fan etc) but the truth is even in its standard form its too big and bulky and by the time the weight has increased by 30% with all the extras it will be too big and heavy for me to handle.

I want to give it a few runs under a dark sky and see whether the extra 2" pver my 200 makes sense but I suspect unless the views are hubble like then it will be sold off.

These things are heavy and for all those who tell newbies an EQ6 "isnt that much heavier than an HEQ5" you have clearly never had to carry one up 8 flights of stairs:)

Soooo newbies beware, when some hoary old tart like me tells you its not so hard to cart a big scope round bear in mind some peoples idea of carting it about is dragging it from the garden shed to 5 feet away and some die hards like me are happy to put up with lots of aggro dragging stuoidly sized telescopes about. Consider if you are nutty enough to do the same before making domestic argument inducing decisions.