Orion (Skywatcher) 120 EQ Refractor

[jjjjohn9]

After many years of little use, I am moving on to something smaller and easier to manage and am selling my refractor.
The package includes:

Orion (Skywatcher) FL 1000mm F/8.3 Equatorial Refracting Telescope (#9026)
(Objective lens is 120mm, crown and flint glass, achromatic, air spaced, diffraction limited).
Orion German-type Equatorial Mount
Orion EQ-3M Single-Axis DC Motor Drive System (#7829)
Focuser Rack and pinion, accepts 1.25” and 2” eyepieces
Orion AccuFocus Electronic Focuser (#7395)
Finder 6 x 30
Telrad Finder Scope
3 Eyepieces, Multi Coated Orion Plossl 25mm & 10mm plus Clave 6mm
Orion Padded Scope Case

This is a complete telescope kit. Total cost over the years is about $A 2,000. Asking just $450. (The Telrad alone costs $85).

It would be an ideal scope for anyone who could set it up on a (semi) permanent mounting or pier. I would be keeping the telescope if I could do that.

For a review of the telescope, see the review of an identical Skywatcher 120mm in IIS Equipment Reviews on 21-Feb 2006. The link is:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/41-281-0-0-1-0.html
The review speaks favourably of the optics being well built with good finish and represents excellent value for money.

John W.

[kalon]

I'm guessing I'm setting myself up for judgement (and J. P. Morgan "if you have to ask..." vibes) but is this something that would be suitable for attaching a camera and doing deep sky astrophotography?

I've reached the limits of my simple setup and I am looking to get a tracking mount and telescope for the increased focal length - this price seems too good to be true (as just a StarAdventurer mount from Bintel is nearly $100 more) but I don't know enough to accurately commit or count this out for "reasons" (that I don't even know about).

I'm a stumble-around-blindly-until-I-figure-things-out-myself-with-a-liberal-helping-of-YouTube-videos kind of guy, so if the hive mind say that I'd be making things too difficult for myself, I'd take that to heart and look elsewhere.

[Imme]

As is, on that mount, I'd suggest it would be much more suited to visual.