help me spend my money

[seeker372011]

I have been saving for the last two years and have nearly enough to splurge on a new mount

so what would you recommend:

my interest-dso imaging-maybe with a CCD someday for now DSLR

scope-going to be small-100 mm apochromat-William Optics or maybe Long Perng (right now all I have is an ED 80)

maybe an Intes Micro 5 inch f/10 instead of the 100 mm apo- again someday..for now it will still be my trusty ED80 till I save up after spending on the mount(i'd like something with a longer focal length to complement my ED80))

current mount-CG5-get frustrated from time to time but it works (i think ! fingers crossed)

my options:

*the new Vixen SXD (fully goTo)-extremely portable-I do need to go to dark sites from time to time. Problem is the user support and the yahoo forum seems to be rather full of people with problems

*Losmandy G8 (without Goto -I would have to save for another eight months or more to afford the Gemini goTo -maybe an Argonavis would be a bit cheaper)-come to think of it this yahoo forum is full of people with problems

not thinking G11-too expensive, too heavy-and too finicky ..maybe I have it wrong here, but the weight and so on do scare me off

*EQ6 (heaps cheaper, should handle my current and future scopes with ease..from what I read relatively trouble free)this yahoo forum seems actually to have people with less major probs-is this perception or reality????

*do nothing--use the money I have saved for a Qhy Pro 2 CCD and stick with my current mount

so what do you think i should do????? ::):sadeyes:

or should I do as some members of family (who shall be nameless) say, stick with my current gear and use the money I have saved on an overseas holiday????

[ballaratdragons]

Buy an EQ6 for you, and send them away on a holiday :thumbsup:

But seriously, the EQ6 is very good for the price!

[h0ughy]

that's a really hard decision - I had better not influence you either way - give me the money instead and then you should be able to sleep at night knowing that you will no longer be corrupted by impure thoughts:whistle:

the EQ6 is a nice cheaper option and will do a terrific job for you - its no G11 or better, but it is certainly satisfying and can be broken down easily for storage and travel, it will take 2 scopes easily like a Vixen R200SS+ED80 or a C8 and a ED80 and a camera with a cooler very well;). it autoguides and is quiet to run:D.

I have a Intes 5" and they are a beaut portable scope!

for various reasons I have at one stage had 3 Eq6's:screwy: but each had their own story. Ken has my first one which is/was brilliant, Petra my second one, I am keeping the last one no matter what. i also have a G11. you will be satisfied with the Eq6:thumbsup: it has is own quirky workings, its not perfect but for the money it is bang for buck:thumbsup:

[seeker372011]

i like what i'm hearing--stuff the hype , go value for money!!

so do members of my family :)

[ballaratdragons]

Yep, still is Houghy :thumbsup:

Needs a bit of gear adjustment to fix a bit of PE, but I can't fault it :)

[netwolf]

The G-11 is portable. When I first got mine it looked daunting but once I got it setup it was fairly easy and painless. Though as yet i have no scope on it. My friends apoman and Kal have gone up twice to Kulnura, both times taking apoman's G-11 with his 5' ap refractor it took us 10-20mins to set up. If you dont count the time spent polar aligning but that is there with any EQ mount. You also might get a bargain if you import a used one, I have seen some good deals on Amart. And as happened with me you can also get a bargain right here on IIS.

Regards
Fahim

[iceman]

I'd go a G-11, will last you long into the future for all your scope upgrades.

And if you want to put a 12" newt on it, you can!

[Garyh]

Well I have had a G-8 for over 18 months and can recommend it as a great little mount. Only problem I have had is the on of switch being a little dicky and had to adjust the worms when first using it as had a bit too much backlash. Soon to be fitted with Argo Navis (prefer push to!)
If you could afford a G-11, go for it! maybe a secondhand one?

The new Vixen mount sounds rather good as well what I have read about it?

cheers Gary

[Alchemy]

sure can

[[1ponders]]

Well as my sig says I have both the GM8 and the G11 (and I've nearly bought an EQ6 half a dozen times. (stay away from h0ughy, what ever he has is contagious!!!!))

The GM8 is a great little travel mount and I like it a great deal when combining the ED80 and a small guidescope. It does have much greater PE then the G11, but I have found np in autoguiding it out at the FL I am imaging at. It would be a different story for longer FL but then it probably wouldn't carry the weight either.

The G11 is a great alround mount. Yes it can be portable, but I prefer the GM8. The G11 is no AP mount, nor is is a Paramount ME, but it doesn't pretend to be. It is no frills but with quality ;). And boy it looks sexy. Just ask Dennis, he spent 10min trying to chat it up one night at duckadang. He tells everyone he though he was talking to me, but I know I dont look that good. :)

The PE on the G11 is not fantastic (10 - 15 arcsec peak to peak top to bottom ) but it will guide out with np. They can be a bit fiddley getting the gears meshed properly at times, but once you master your fear of taking the worm covers off you will be fine. Get yourself a set of feeler guages. Out of the box they are usually fine, but some of us like to tweek. ;)

The only EQ6 I have had exposure to is h0ughy's and once we got that working (Told him he needed the shoestring adapter for it, but would he listen to his guru. :lol: ) it worked like a charm. Not a problem with the Intes on it with the ED80 for a guidescope.

If you are limited by your budget, then definately go the EQ6 if you want to upgrade in weight in the future. If you can spare the dollars then go for the G11 without Gemini. I use the AN on mine occassionally, but normally I star hop without a problem and you can autoguide directly through the handpaddle port of the G11's digital drive. If you want to use your handpaddle at the same time just get a double adapter from Shoestring astronomy, works a treat.

Have fun!

[xelasnave]

Send the family on a working holiday and get a Paramount mount:whistle:...
alex:):):)

[xelasnave]

Seriously the eq6 seems rather good value.. I have been very happy with the little use from mine. AND I must say I have a fair bit of weight on it..150sn, 80 x 400, 70 x 600 ..the quality was better than I expected also.
Could not be happier. I have blown up many shots and the stars are round enough for me and that is only hand guiding... I expect it will be pretty good when I finally get it to auto guide.

AND the family must be considered I have failed to do that myself with astro purchases and paid the ultimate price.
You may find this hard to believe but not all share our passion for astro things.
alex

[seeker372011]

the tally so far:

stay with current mount 0
Vixen 0
EQ6 4
G 11 4
G8 2

( I am counting Paul as having recommended all three: the EQ6, GM8 and G11)

well at least one thing is clear..don't stay with the current mount seems to be the consensus :)
narayan

[CoombellKid]

Dang! looking at the thread title I was going to say buy me a 40" mirror : )))))

regards,CS

[[1ponders]]

Yep that's me. Painfully sitting at the junction of 3 fences :lol: But seriously though I do like my G11 ;)

[Bassnut]

The G11 also comes with a rock solid tripod, a wonder to behold. I got PE down to below 5 arc secs with Pempro trained PEC. Its a long way to a future upgrade, and its very well supported software wise ;-). If you go the G11, dont muck around, get Gemini with it.

[seeker372011]

thinking through why I was hesitant about a G11, I came up with a few reasons, not sure if any are valid:

-heavy and not too portable-though Fakim says that's not true
-Ted Dobosz fried the electronics on his which makes me wonder if it is not well protected-course his is many years old and the technology may have changed since
-lots and lots of issues on the Losmandy forum..but maybe this is a vocal minority and most people are happy with it out of the box.....:confused::confused::confus ed::confused:

[Bassnut]

mmm Ive run the G11 on a battery, no problem there, heavy?, well, easily liftable by yourself, yes, PE has been a problem with some ,but I dont have a problem with the dreaded non periodic PE others have had. True, some risk there if you dont want to fiddle with the worm gears to minimise PE. But the G11 is hard to beat for its load capacity,the G8 may be an option for a smaller OTA?. The EQ6 seems like a viable option for lot less money, but I have no experience on it.

Hehe, arnt these decisions fun ;-)

[[1ponders]]

I sometimes wonder what they are going on about on the Losmandy forum or maybe they are expecting a higher level of perfection than I am prepared to accept. :shrug:

[seeker372011]

yyyyyyyessss ..i suppose.. :0:lol:

[digby dart]

I too have been looking at buying a new rid for some time now.

From my perspective the Vixen SXD would certainly seem a nice compromise. Maybe with a lx200r 10" tube. Both Meade and Vixen are competitively priced here in Australia. Most of the other brands seem to be distributed by companies more interested in profiteering from the current healthy exchange rate.

It's a pity a fork mount on a wedge doesn't track as well as a eq mount. The Meade LX ranges are really good value at the moment and the locally made 'Hans Superior Wedge" looks a beauty. Meade accessories are also readily available and for the most part reasonably priced.

[seeker372011]

I suppose there doesn't seem to be anyone here who has actually any experience with the SXD especially for imaging

Over on the Sphinx yahoo forum there is at least one user who said that while it is capable for astroimaging, it is not as fit for that purpose as a Losmandy G8..this may be again may be one person's view

as for Meade, I hope they pull out of their current well documented problems but the prognosis doesn't look good for them -on current course and speed of course

http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/071101/130402.html?printer=1

[digby dart]

Thankz for the link seeker. I didn't know all that.