Long time lurker,

[JATOM]

Long time lurker, so I thought I should finally come out (no, not like that).

Firstly I would like to thank you all, then I would like to curse you all, and both for the same reason i.e. information.
There is so much information here and I have learnt so much (and continue to do so) and there is so much information here that I thought my head would explode and when I thought I had a plan and a path, I would read something else that would send me off in another direction.
So I thought I would follow the preferred path on here and start off with an 8” dob, big mistake for me.
At this point I should describe myself, I am a male, closer to 60 than 50, I am 188 cm and 110 kg and like most people of my dimensions, I have a bad back. I know (now) that I should have had a chair/stool of some sort but,, the ‘freestyle’ style also didn’t suit me as I would say in my head to move right, but couldn’t override the compulsion to move it left and to bump it would take me ages to get it back on track. I finished up giving it to my son- in-law who is younger, shorter, lighter and more patient than me (he’s with my daughter after all).
I then tried a SW127MAKSE which also frustrates me, with the wobbly mount (I tried to make it more solid by weighing it down with a power supply on the accessory tray) and the focuser, adjust, wait, adjust, wait, I’m pretty sure I had the tube balanced but I may be wrong.
I understand that there is no ‘one size fits all’ telescope setup and the all-rounder types might do one type of viewing well but fall down on another type of viewing.
I would like to do visual on everything in the sky (if that’s not to broad a term), including solar and try to stay away from photography as I can see that being a world of hurt (for me). To this end I have decided on a setup.
I intend getting a Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT mount and a Skywatcher BD-ED 100 and a Skywatcher BD2001P. The reasoning behind this is I believe I get the best of both worlds and it all should come in around $4K which is comparable to a decent SCT setup. I would also get a solar filter for the refractor.
Now that I have laid my soul bare, feel free to point out my misguided reasoning and where I SHOULD be heading, I can always ignore it later (kidding).

Brian.

[jenchris]

Azeq tick.
Ed100 tick
Good solid gear with no adverse complications.
As long as you take the weights out separately you'll not hurt your back.
I'm 180cm and 70 kilos so my problem is strength but I manage to haul an neq6pro about.
I use my ed100 for photos. So can you later

[ZeroID]

Hi Brian and :welcome: as well.
I'm nearer to 70 than 60 but I modified my 10" Dob to make it a lot lighter, it's now a one hand carry with the base in the other hand (balance) so don't give up hope. And I have to be careful with my back too.
As you say if one idea doesn't work try another. The EQ5 and ED80 sounds like a good option. I build an Ob instead and everything stays setup, EQ6, Lunt 102mm ED refractor and all the attached junk.

And as Jen says that setup will do imaging later if you get sucked into that black hole of $$$.

Ask questions and you are bound to get heaps of advice.

Enjoy.. :thumbsup:

[JATOM]

Thank you both for your input, I appreciate the feedback.
I hope I don't come across as a broken down old hack, because I'm not. It's just that I'm trying to "future proof" my project.

I read with a tinge of sadness in the classifieds the 'regrettable' sales where people sell their much loved equipment because they can no longer handle it.
I don't want to be that person.

[rustigsmed]

just make sure you get a diagonal!

if you are 'frac man all good, but i'll throw a spanner in the air - for around the same price you could get a 14"-16" goto dob (from andrews). for visual aperture rules! these track great and the eyepiece will be easier on the back (not as much leaning over - although you have to move the buggers out to set up). otherwise a smaller goto dob may suit better (and save some cash for good eyepieces).
i'd suggest joining a local astronomy club and taking a look through an ed80-120 and a 14-16" dob and then decide ;)

Cheers

Russ

[JATOM]

Thanks for the input Russell,

As I said, I tried the dob experiment and "I" failed. Gave it to my son-in-law and he loves it, and I'm happy for him.
I intend putting an 8" F5 Newt on a mount, won't that do the same job, just higher?

Re joining a local club - Done.

Brian.

[rustigsmed]

putting a newt on an equatorial mount is pretty annoying to use. the eyepiece position is in a more comfortable position on a dob. I am assuming your old dob was a non-goto version. a goto dob allows you to enter objects into a handset (after a star alignment) and it will then track. if you were interested in deep sky photography then an equatorial mount will be what you are after.

[raymo]

Brian, A Newt on an EQ mount is an entirely different kettle of fish to a dob mounted one. Yes, it's usually higher than a moderate sized dob, but the eyepiece gets into some very awkward positions indeed, from pointing
directly down at the ground to directly up into the sky, and any position in between. There are two ways of resolving this problem; a pair of
special tube rings that allow the tube to be rotated to a comfortable position without sliding down under the force of gravity,[very expensive] or a D.I.Y. setup such as I made for mine that cost me $2!!!!
raymo

[JATOM]

Thanks Russell and Raymo, always grateful for knowledge, however, I think you may be getting ahead of me.
I intend getting an AZ-EQ mount which from my understanding is one mount with two brains (happy to have it explained better to me). My journey begins on the AZ side exploring planets, then moving on to further objects (over time) before moving on to the EQ side.
I do understand what you're saying about "tube rotation" but wouldn't the tube only rotate 90 degrees in a six hour period anyway and you should have a start position that would take that into consideration? (remember I'm a noob, so I see things 'simplictically').

[barx1963]

Yes you are correct that the tube will only rotate 90 over 6 hours.... but only if it tracking a single object! With a newtonian telescope on an EQ mount, each time you slew to a new object (and if doing visual you will never spend 6 hours on one object! At least at the start you will be checking out things all over the sky.) the eyepiece will end up in a new position. I have an EQ/AZ mount and have only tried it once in AZ mode and it worked fine. That was with a solar refractor not a Newt so I would be interested to hear how it goes.

BTW, I know what you are saying about the motions of a dob, it is counter intuitive at first, but you do get used to it after a while.

Malcolm