Post Your Grab & Go Astronomy Setups

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

With the recent weather/fires/haze I decided to build myself another Grab & Go outfit for those elusive times when the sky clears as my other scopes/mounts are rather bulky and time consuming to deploy:

The components:

Takahashi FOA60Q 60mm F15 Apochromat
Skywatcher AZ-GTi Alt-Azimuth Mount
Really Right Stuff Tripod
Manfrotto Hexagonal Tripod Clamp
Baader 2" Dielectric Clicklock Diagonal
Vixen RDF on V/Tak Quick Release
Synscan V Handset
Lynx RJ45/RJ12 Coiled cable
TalentCell 3000mA Lithium PowerPack

With this setup in one hand and my observing chair in the other and a couple of eyepieces in my pockets I can be gone in 60 seconds.....

[MigL (Miguel)]

Brilliant setup !!

I was thinking in the very same setup (maybe different tripod), but I´m still deciding which tube to use: FOA60Q or FC76Q (FC76DCU+CQ1.7x), for grab & go visual only from polluted city skies...

Do you think they´re comparable or the FOA can be better to the FC, despite its lower aperture?

Thank you for sharing your setup !!

Regards,

Miguel

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Hola Miguel,
I really like the FOA60Q (although it hasn't the light gathering of the 76DC) it is incredibly sharp and totally free of any visible aberrations. Due to its diminutive size I mainly use it on the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and double stars.

For such a small scope it can cope with a lot of magnification, even at 180x it holds a sharp image.

[JA]

Should you wish to, you could also swap out the Manfrotto mounting base for a 3 Axis Manfrotto Tripod head for equatorial use (± the extension pier). It would certainly be possible with a camera/lens or short scope setup, but more challenging to make work with a longer tube.

Best
JA

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by JA

Should you wish to, you could also swap out the Manfrotto mounting base for a 3 Axis Manfrotto Tripod head for equatorial use (± the extension pier). It would certainly be possible with a camera/lens or short scope setup, but more challenging to make work with a longer tube.

Best
JA

I am only using the Hexagonal Clamp as a Quick connect but anyone interested in imaging could certainly use one of those heads as a wedge

[Hemi]

Very nice matt,

What is the battery box your using to drive the AZ GTI?
Ive got that diagonal for my regular setup, but its a bit heavy!

ive been using an ES102CF/AZ GTI/ three legged equinox as my grab and go, but its been a compromise. A bit too big a scope, a bit too small a tripod (both on the edge of acceptable). id like a small TAK.

My setup is less jittery with the SW included Tripod.

H

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by Hemi

Very nice matt,

What is the battery box your using to drive the AZ GTI?
Ive got that diagonal for my regular setup, but its a bit heavy!

ive been using an ES102CF/AZ GTI/ three legged equinox as my grab and go, but its been a compromise. A bit too big a scope, a bit too small a tripod (both on the edge of acceptable). id like a small TAK.

My setup is less jittery with the SW included Tripod.

H

The standard tripod is actually very good, I already had the RRS tripod so fitted it with a quick release clamp.

The power pack is a TalentCell 3000mA 12v/5v and comes with a charger and power cable. I plan to keep this mount a long time so did a bit of custom machining to fit the power pack inside the mount. I also made my own cable to hook up to the mount as I the standard one is a bit bulky. The standard cable allows charging while using the mount which is a handy feature.

I will probably use the 1.25" Tak prism instead of this Baader one with a selection of Tak LE and TV Panoptic 1.25" eyepieces , lighter more compact. I dislike phones and iPads when observing so will use the V5 handset instead...

[Atmos (Colin)]

Last night I had a Mewlon 250 sitting on an AZ-EQ6, I’m sure if I bent my knees first I could carry it out in one go

Ideally I would like to get a DM4 for a true Grab & Go, no power or nothin’.

[LewisM]

A pair of binoculars - it's all I have left.

[DeWynter (ILYA)]

My grab & go setup - William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO on Stellarvue M1V. This morning I observed Jupiter with it and Vixen SLV 4mm - first observation since October last year due to bushfires and bad weather.

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by Atmos

Last night I had a Mewlon 250 sitting on an AZ-EQ6, I’m sure if I bent my knees first I could carry it out in one go

Ideally I would like to get a DM4 for a true Grab & Go, no power or nothin’.

Grunt&Go

Originally Posted by LewisM

A pair of binoculars - it's all I have left.

Originally Posted by DeWynter

My grab & go setup - William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO on Stellarvue M1V. This morning I observed Jupiter with it and Vixen SLV 4mm - first observation since October last year due to bushfires and bad weather.

Nice setup Ilya

[JeniSkunk (Jenifur)]

At present, all my equipment is grab and go.
My main scope is a tabletop Dobsonian, the Sky Watcher Heritage P130 collapsible tabletop Dobsonian.
My second scope is my Royal Astro Optical 50mm x 500mm tabletop refractor.
And there's my 10x50 Carl Zeiss Jena Dienstglas German military binoculars from WW II.