Like others have advised, I highly recommend the value in looking through other
people's scopes at a large variety of objects before you go and buy a
telescope of your own.
The Pony Club is certainly a good venue to often see a variety of scopes and to
meet people only to happy to share the views and to pass on their advice and
experience.
We happen to design and manufacture the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer,
however, I can't over-emphasize how important it is to consider the optics and the
mount first ahead of any electronics.
In the end, the electronics is simply there to assist you in locating and identifying
"stuff". But it is the looking at the stuff that matters! For example, last weekend
at the South Pacific Star Party I assisted some colleagues with sky tours using
an 18" Obsession fitted with a 13mm TeleVue eyepiece and equipped with an
Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer. Aligning the Argo Navis at the
beginning of the night took about a minute and each time we moved to a new
object probably took about a minute to dial it up on the Argo and then push the
scope to the target. The 99% of the rest of the time was then spent with
eyeballs looking at the object.
For example, when looking at M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, it was worth taking the
time to study the dark dust lane in the ring of the galaxy, taking the time to observe
the central bulge and with some further study, gradually discerning the faint halo
around the entire object.
The Argo Navis took the sting out of
finding it and other objects, especially
when you have a long queue of eager people waiting in line, but it was
the
looking at the object that mattered.
As other scope owners will advise, there are many additional considerations that
go into buying a scope. How will it be transported? Does it need to be lifted?
Where will it be stored? What is the quality of the mirror? Does the
mirror cool down quickly enough? What is the quality of the materials in the mount?
Is the mount smooth to operate? Does the mount suffer from vibrations?
Does the mount suffer from wind buffeting? Does the focuser provide smooth
operation? And many, many more. All best answered by looking at and using
other people's scopes and by talking to their owners.
Once you pick the right scope with the right eyepieces, then consider the
right electronics.
Good luck!
Best Regards
Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au
P.S.
Quote:
... the Argo Narvis which looks/sounds complex for a newbie like me (228 pages of instructions anyone!?)
|
As it says in the introductory paragraphs of the Argo Navis User's Manual -
"Don't be daunted by the size of this manual". The first thirty or so pages is
just about all you need and covers everything from putting in the batteries,
to performing the initial one time set-ups, to showing you how to align the unit,
all the way through to a tutorial on how to tour galaxies in the constellation
Fornax. The rest is reference material and describes every mode of operation in
great detail for those customers who really want to know everything. And if
there is still more they want to know, we are only an email or a phone call
away.
P.P.S
Argo Navis also supports the ServoCAT and SiTech slew and track systems,
so if you really want GOTO on a Dob, rather than just PUSHTO,
this is a popular choice.