This Hobby..........

[FlashDrive]

Blimey ...this would have to be the most ' money draining ' hobby I have ever encounted :confused2:
There's always another ' must have ' item :shrug:

Col....:help:

[AndyG]

Indeed. My Wife wold divorce me because of it, but joke's on her - there's no $'s left*.

*On my meagre single income, that's not hard...

[xelasnave]

But all this stuff is an investment ��
Try moto cross, open events but only C grade when I was ready to go to B grade I was doing a front and rear sprocket and chain each race day and you needed a new bike each year..or wood boats..$80 K for a re fit.

The great thing about astronomy you can use your gear for a long time and then sell it for a reasonable fraction of its purchase price..if I had of refitted my boat ($80k) it would have only sold for $25 maybe $30 K...and a year old race bike was half what you paid for it.. it's not too bad really...and look at the money you can make selling astro photos��

Alex

[LewisM]

Meh, you only live once. Invested forever money is as useless as mammary glands on a male bovine. Spend it, enjoy.

For tomorrow you may be mammary glands up dead.

[Ukastronomer]

Don't understand

"this would have to be the most ' money draining ' hobby I have ever encountered"

What would ?

[LewisM]

Astronomy as a hobby is what Col means, is a very money-intensive hobby

[casstony]

..... not to mention the gear you didn't know you needed that pops up in the classifieds. At least buying and selling second hand doesn't cost too much.

[GrahamL]

+Its not a hobby !!.. its serious scientific endeavor,, that helps a lot to with expenditure Rationalisation dont ever let anyone tell you otherwise or ..at least hide a little bit the real costs science is forcing you to make .

[Wavytone]

This hobby is a black hole for money ;)

But sailing is worse ... Tearing up hundred dollar bills while standing under a cold shower is an understatement !

[bigjoe]

Yep had a Jeannau Cruiser once twin motors..money went down an empty well..A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF PAIN.for those uninitiated!
You could literally buy a new tak fc100
for each month on the water!
Bigjoe.

[Atmos]

This hobby isn’t that big of a money pit, just ask anyone who owns a boat or does car racing :lol:

[Bobbyoutback]

I have never considered it just a hoppy , I've thought of it as an adventure into the cosmos .

The gear we buy is personal , I wish i was rich enough to be able to get some of those high end Super Apros :(

In the meantime I'm happy enough with my modest gear .

Cheers
Bobby

[Bobbyoutback]

Hi Joe ,
Id'e love to own a big Apro in this life , thanks for those contacts ' Silver will go to levels this year that could make my dream scope possible :)

Cheers & Beers
Bobby

[bigjoe]

[QUOTE=bigjoe;1440824]Bobby if you do well with the Silver you can get what you want in a few years. HA! .look at the Teleskope Express scopes have some really good 4 and 5 inch ones with Outstanding FPL 53 and lanthanum glass triplets ..some start at 2200 posted to Oz the 5 inch 3000.
After comparing to Taks at star parties not much in it..even the cheaper doublets with FPL 53 are top class.
My TS FPL53 Triplet is RAZOR SHARP, even at stupid high powers.
Bigjoe

[bigjoe]

I hope so Bobby..would be great viewing were you are a BIG APO over 5 inch ..nothing really compares!
Bigjoe.

[Bobbyoutback]

That dream Joe could well come true .

Remember we have both owned A Unitron 4" F/15 on a Alt mount . that view would equal to todays 4" F/7 Apros !

Bobby :D

[Ukastronomer]

Hmm..... I bought a new camera setup a few years back £15k, one BODy was £5k, the other £2.5, one lens £1.6k, it isn't just astronomy

[Ukastronomer]

Sorry, for me it IS a hobby, I am in it just for the fun and enjoyment nothing more :)



.

[doug mc]

You can survive financially if you're visual only. Astro photography will send you to bankruptcy. Just try hard to avoid the perfection bug.

[m11]

I have made alot of friends and met people I wouldn't have without this hobby which I couldn't put a price too. :thumbsup:

On a different note - You only live once - I am definitely making sure I can't afford to live twice :rofl:

[Startrek]

I don’t know what all the fuss about the cost of AP is about but my AP rig cost me under $3K and I’m getting satisfying results, that’s not a lot of money to image the universe
My visual rig cost me considerably more .........

[dikman]

Col, as a newcomer to this hobby I can understand where you're coming from. I'm amazed at the cost of some gear (which also reflects the quality, of course). Fortunately it is possible to get started at a "reasonable" cost as there is often good value to be had on used items. I picked up a virtually brand new 6SE, with all sorts of extras, for a fraction of the new price (I think I was lucky) off gumtree, also an older, but perfectly usable, equatorial mount off there to use with a Celestron refractor bought from a member here. I know it's not an APO but for my needs it will be more than adequate - total cost $300. Adapted the mount to work on a Manfrotto tripod that I already had.
The 6SE came with a Canon camera and adapters, so for well under $2,000 I have enough to keep me amused for quite a while and let me dabble in basic AP.


Mind you, I saw a 10" Dob on gumtree for $200 (:eyepop:) that someone just wanted to get rid of. I was very tempted, but realised I've got nowhere to store it! Plus domestic harmony would suffer significantly.


Unfortunately, almost any hobby these days costs $$$. I took up shooting some time ago and don't want to know how many $1000's I've poured into it.

[LewisM]

Me, out under the stars on a dark, quiet night away from the idiocy that is the modern world - PRICELESS.

It's the penultimate de-stresser. I'll let your imagination fill in the ULTIMATE de-stresser :lol:

In all seriousness, if I could do this for the rest of my life, I'd be happy in perpetuity. Even watching the full 1 hr production makes me happy, relaxed, calm...escape. Imagine a telescope there... (it's in Sapmi / Lapland): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpE9MBN_YIY

[Wavytone]

Lewis that would have to be paragliding :D

Bobby a 130mm APO is one thing ... but this bug is worse than dermatitis - if you scratch the itch, it feels good for a while... but the itch returns, and its worse, each time...

[multiweb]

My Dad went fishing there for 3 weeks with a few mates. Just them the wilderness and the tones of mozzies. :lol: You hear the background hum... it's not the wind. :P

[Rainmaker]

I set a strict budget for this hobby, so far I have managed to stick to it....

[LewisM]

A budget without constraints is a manageable budget :P

[xelasnave]

I only buy things if I want them.
Alex

[FlashDrive]

:lol: .... !! Yeah OK ... if you say so

[bigjoe]

Well said ; the view I and my family and neighbours got of the Moon and Saturn last night, in my big Apo and CPC925 with a Tak TOE EP was WORTH the "price of admission" to great observing and some AP!
Bigjoe.

[bigjoe]

Unitron .. fantastic Mars Scope esp..even with the supplied
Japanese Kellner and Ortho!..Seeing didn't bother it ,with its great depth of focus.
Bigjoe.

[Bobbyoutback]

Maybe I could aim for 152mm APO & stop the itch ? :sadeyes:

Bobby .

[Ukastronomer]

PLEASE can I second that first comment

I don't go out, rarely, and don't mix, but the first thing I do every day is check my emails and come to this forum.

Socially it alone is WONDERFUL

[DJT]

cough..I see this image is doing the rounds again...