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  #21  
Old 26-03-2019, 08:23 PM
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LaughingBeagles (Peter)
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Hey mate,

Welcome to the forums. As someone that travels a fair bit off road into the WA Wheatbelt (some of the best dark skies in the world) I changed from something I had to collimate to something that was pretty robust and I could just throw in and head off.

The other thing was as a beginner, collimating and such was not what I was looking for and moreover, the standard Alt-Azimuth mounts were not that great for Astro Photography (which I am pretty keen on).

So I ended up selling my Newtonian and going with the rig you see in my signature block.

The key there was that like most, I am a person of limited funds so I bought all my gear second hand by hanging around forums like this one (and Cloudy Nights and Astronomyforum.net) and landing a great bit of gear for often less than half the price.

So for me, a refractor is the go for ease of use and great results early without too much of a learning curb.

Some great second-hand ones out there to dip your toe in the water.
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  #22  
Old 28-03-2019, 10:21 AM
PTZONE (Mario)
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Thanks Peter, i will keep that in mind.

For now I will stick with the Heritage Virtuoso Mak 90mm, I can get a price match from National Geo at $329 and then look to get a collapsible Dob ( if your is still available Allan) that can fit on the Virtuoso mount

Heading down the south coast and unlikely to have any wifi not sure of service so I want to be equipped to be able to know where to look in the sky.

What is the best way to know where to point to view DSO's?
I have a couple of apps Sky Map, Stellarium and Starwalk 2.
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  #23  
Old 28-03-2019, 11:31 AM
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xelasnave
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Originally Posted by PTZONE View Post
Thanks Peter, i will keep that in mind.

For now I will stick with the Heritage Virtuoso Mak 90mm, I can get a price match from National Geo at $329 and then look to get a collapsible Dob ( if your is still available Allan) that can fit on the Virtuoso mount

Heading down the south coast and unlikely to have any wifi not sure of service so I want to be equipped to be able to know where to look in the sky.

What is the best way to know where to point to view DSO's?
I have a couple of apps Sky Map, Stellarium and Starwalk 2.
My preferred method was to get the binnos and cruise around the Milky Way..all over really...and when you see a glow or a dark patch investigate☺
Approach it as if you dont know what is there and see what you can discover.
If you cant find anything I would be surprised and by the search I suggest after a while you get to know the sky rather well.
I still have to do that in Sydney cause yhere is little sky and I have to work out what is available.
I do think searching for a specific object takes away from getting to know your way around..mind you when in the bush I could do this night after night all night☺
I first found Omega Centuri when using binnos on my boat just trying to see what I could see.
Alex
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  #24  
Old 28-03-2019, 06:54 PM
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LaughingBeagles (Peter)
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Great idea Alex.
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  #25  
Old 29-03-2019, 07:26 AM
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JeniSkunk (Jenifur)
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Originally Posted by PTZONE View Post
Heading down the south coast and unlikely to have any wifi not sure of service so I want to be equipped to be able to know where to look in the sky.
Will you also be out of cellphone coverage?

Quote:
What is the best way to know where to point to view DSO's?
I have a couple of apps Sky Map, Stellarium and Starwalk 2.
To that list, I'd add the paid app, Sky Safari 6, and the free app from SkyWatcher in conjunction with a SkyWatcher WiFi Adapter , on the Virtuoso.
The WiFi adapter is a WiFi hotspot your phone/tablet connects to, to control the scope.

Not having a GOTO scope, I simply use Stellarium and Sky Safari to work out what I am looking at.
With a SkyWatcher GOTO capable scope and the WiFi Adapter, either the SkyWatcher app, or Sky Safari, can control the scope.
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  #26  
Old 29-03-2019, 07:35 AM
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Also I do think having a wide field photo of the Milky Way to look at before is handy.
Alex
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  #27  
Old 29-03-2019, 10:57 AM
N1 (Mirko)
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Printed material + red light or a proper (i.e. physical) red filter over any screen you use or an eyepatch over your observing eye while reading charts will make a significant difference to your night vision and how much you will see through the eyepiece.
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