FINALLY decided on a newbie scope!

[Crazydog]

I can't believe the sleepless nights Ive had thinking about telescopes! My parents bought me my first scope about 20 years ago (60/700 Tasco, of course) and I had a lot of fun with it but remember a lot of frustration as well. A few weeks ago my 5 year old daughter asked about the stars so I dragged out the old Tasco- surprisingly still complete but the lens holder was cracked. So with some silver sticky tape and a cable tie we got the lens to stay put with as little wobble as possible and had a wonderful view of the moon. We even managed to fluke Jupiter and moons first try, and needless to say, I'm a little hooked again.
An 8" dob was my first choice but the more I thought about it the more I was pulled towards a refractor, for a number of reasons, the main one being I enjoy terrestrial viewing, as well, and like to play around with a dslr. I can always get a dob later if the hobby sticks.
And then the reality of finances hit.:( So with a very tight budget, at least 20 good reviews read, and an understanding of the limiting factors like CA, I've decided on a Skywatcher 102 (f5). What a relief! I hope I'll enjoy it as much as I think I will. (When I get one! Am looking for second hand for a while first)

[Camelopardalis]

Congrats on your decision Lea and welcome to IceInSpace :welcome:

IMO you can't go far wrong with your choice, it should give you lovely wide views of large objects and the Milky Way will be great!

You may experience a little false colour on the Moon and brightest planets/stars but I wouldn't worry about it, just get out and enjoy the sky :thumbsup:

I'd also recommend you see if there any club, society or IIS group meets near you hat you could go along and meet fellow astronomers and have a look at all their scopes top :D

[glend]

Congratulations, you can do a lot to negate achromatic CA with a good filter. Have a look at the Baader Fringe Killer and the Semi-APO after you get your scope.

[Camelopardalis]

Oh and another suggestion...never let go of your first scope :thumbsup:

[Amaranthus]

Good stuff! I recently acquired its slightly bigger brother, the SW120, as a rich field (and highly portable) 2nd scope. Pleased with my decision, after much indecision!

[Amaranthus]

By the way, since you're still looking around, have a read of this recent thread where we discussed the merits of the 102 and 120 f/5 refractors, and a bunch of stuff on field of view, CA, FC, filters, and other considerations:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=117525

[Crazydog]

Thanks Barry, I did read that thread a few days ago and joined Cloudynights so I could follow up the links, lol. I would also go for the 120 if I happened to come across a second hand one. I've found a couple of second hand 102's but the sellers were not willing to post, unfortunately. We are very rural so have lovely dark, wide skies so hopefully that will work in my favour for whichever I end up with. Unfortunately, being rural also means not much access to clubs, there is nothing close by, but there would probably be something at Wagga which is 100kms away.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone, much appreciated for what seems a ridiculously important decision, lol.

[Camelopardalis]

Having ready access to dark skies trumps all, Lea :)

Good luck with your search!

[Crazydog]

Thanks Dunk.

Very annoyed at the moment....my internet went off last night till this morning and I missed the one in the classifieds till now...:mad2:

[Camelopardalis]

Like City buses, another will come along soon enough :D the Universe isn't going anywhere in a hurry, although I appreciate this may be of no comfort :(

[Crazydog]

Very true (although I only see the school bus here :lol:)

[AstralTraveller]

Not sure about Wagga but there is a mad woman at Swan Hill - mad keen that is! That's Jen of the purple text her dob Johnny.

[Crazydog]

Mmmm....it appears my new scope is lost in the mail. :mad2::mad2::mad2: Sent from Melbourne two weeks ago and still not here. I'm waiting on the vendor to get back to me with a tracking number so I can find it!

In the meantime I ordered a new 1.25 focuser and star diagonal (just cheapies) to go on the old .965 Tasco so my little girl can use it with the new eyepieces. I could only find these in the USA but at this stage they'll probably be here before my scope! :rolleyes:

[Amaranthus]

What did you end up ordering - the 120?

[Crazydog]

I did order the 120, yes. :) Still hoping it was the right one, I think so, and I can always get another down the track if I get into it again. My husband took scrap wool off the shearing shed floor into town for cash, and gave half to me for a scope, so I decided to get the bigger one, lol.

[Amaranthus]

Great! I assume you got the shorty f/5? This will make an excellent first scope, and you'll likely always hang on to it as your 'rich field' instrument even if/when you upgrade to a large-aperture reflector down the track. Given your dark country skies, you're going to get a lot of joy out that that purchase.

[OzStarGazer]

Yes, two weeks should be more than enough. Strange the vendor didn't give you a tracking number when the scope was sent. Good luck! :)

[Crazydog]

Thanks Barry, yes, it's the shorty.

Apparently the warehouse marked the order as shipped but neglected to actually post anything because there was none in stock and didn't bother to tell anyone! So they are looking for another, but if they cannot find one then I have to wait till the next shipment in May. Bit of a let down. :(

I wont even be able to use the Tasco till then as I'll have no eyepieces.

Ah, well, guess if that's the worst thing I have to worry about then I'm not too bad off.

[Camelopardalis]

If I were you Lea, I'd be asking for a refund so I could buy from elsewhere - but check your consumer rights :thumbsup:

[Crazydog]

If they can't find one then that's what I'm thinking of doing, if I can. Problem is, they were the only ones that came in under my budget for that particular scope. I'll just have to see what happens. Thanks.

[brian nordstrom]

:shrug: Have you tried Andrews communications ? there prices are seldom beaten .

Have they found your scope yet ? and its strange they never sent a trace# when they posted it .
It takes 2 + weeks to get anything to Perth if that helps :D .
Sorry .

Who sold it to you , if you don't mind , you are allowed to tell.
Brian.

[Crazydog]

Hi Brian, it was actually out of stock at the warehouse so never sent to start with. The Andrews site only has the 102 listed, not the 120 that I would like. Bintels price was $100 over my limit of $600 so I went with Gerry Gibbs as they had it for $575 including post which I thought was pretty good.

AND....they have found one in Adelaide for me, so fingers crossed Ill have it soon!!!

[Crazydog]

Arrived today!!! Have already set it up and been looking at the daytime views. :)

[jenchris]

Took these with a 102 skywatcher on a tripod of course.
Great little nature scope

[Crazydog]

Oh, thanks, that's really impressive for a lens that is not camera dedicated. I bought a T mount after I ordered the scope so I could could have a play around. I have a Nikon D90, so not sure how it will go, but it's purely for my interest, anyway.