1st scope question

[JethroB76]

Hi all, I am after what will be some much valued advice on first scope options for my father.
As I have been lurking for sometime I have come to the conclusion that my first scope will be a Dob, hopefully to be purchased sometime next year, for the time being though I will make do with my 11x70 binos.
Now, my dad is also in the market for a scope but is a little ahead of me and looking to purchase a scope soon, I think. Because I am now an expert :whistle:, I have suggested that a good starting point for him would also be a Dob, but at this time he has not been convinced. I think reading between the lines that he would prefer a scope on a equatorial? mount. He is wanting to keep his outlay <$1000 and intends to use it for general astronomical use (planetary, DSO etc, visual only).
Opinions for his best bet and perhaps places in Melbourne that he could go to check out such suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.
Oh yeah, cool site:thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

Welcome Isdonisok,

Firstly, let me guess, your name is Don!

Secondly, boy you know how to stsrt an argument: Dob v's EQ v's everything else!!

You will have to show your Dad some scopes on the net and see which one excites him the most. For under $1000 makes the choice a bit narrower but not imposible.

Suss him out and see what his favourite flavour of mount is, and whether he prefers Reflector or SCT design.

[davidpretorius]

Hi fellow lonnie person.

I have had a dob 10" for 4 months now and love it.

$774 including freight from sydney including 4 eyepieces. I have since bought some other gear like cameras and ultra wide eyepieces, but if $1000 is the mark, a 10" premium dob with some extras or a 12" premium with none would be the best. Mars will be the largest it will get in 18 days, so if you are real keen, come around to my joint and check out my 10" dob with your dad.

Try before you buy!

Click on name and send a private mail message and i can send you my address and phone number etc

Tassie strikes again!!!

[JethroB76]

Actually my name is Jeff. I just happen to have a bronze statue of The Don on my desk, and then that ad came to mind. I suppose it should be Isdonis*******ace.
Unfortunately dad is not really internet-enabled so I was looking to forward any replies to him for a look, as I said in the PM to David, my dear ol dad has a very short fuse on his wallet which means it springs open for the first thing the looks at, hence I just want to give him some ideas of what is a good buy and what is not at this price range. As for scope style I think he may be leaning towards a refractor.

[toetoe]

G'day and welcome Jeff. Keep looking around on the internet for telescopes and do a lot of reading on the ones which tickle your fancy and then go to dad with all the info and impress him with the in's and out's of the telescope in question. Don't rush into the first thing, take your time and enjoy your viewing with the binocs as you can have a ball looking into the sky with binocs. :thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

Hey! sounds like he found my missing wallet :lol: :welcome: Jeff. How mobile and flexible is your dad? Unless you go for a short tube refractor then anything over about 800-900mm long will put him in some pretty uncomfortable positions. Especially when looking straight up, You have to get get down pretty low. A newt on an eq mount can be just as painful in the neck, depending on which way the scope is pointing.

A dob would be much easier on his back and neck. But if he has a spring loaded wallet, maybe think of a fork mounted SCT scope with goto. :) 8" or 10" LX90 springs to mind, though an ETX might be more within his price range.

[atalas]

:welcome: to IIS IsJeffisbetter ! :lol: hope you enjoy your time here mate.
On the subject of a EQ mount , at a buget of $1000.00 It will be hard to make a great choice . I would think that you would have to look at a scope as small as
a 4" refractor on a EQ5 mount and goto for It forget It ! or you could have a look at a Mead ETX 105 Mac with autostar goto for about $1300.00 I think, from Bintel . Another option so you can get more bang for your bucks would be a DOB. Whith that budget you dad could get a 10" dob and look for ojects the old fashion way and learn the sky while doing so.
Anyway just some thoughts which I'm sure you already thought of anyway Jeff !
what ever your dad decides on I wish you and him happy hunting !

Cheers

Louie :hi:

[Starkler]

I think a lot of newbies like the idea of an eq mounted scope because it 'looks cool' and techo compared to a dob which looks like a pivoting water heater or rubbish bin.

The truth of the matter is that with a dob so much a greater part of the cost goes into the optics. With a small budget going for an eq mounted scope, you are making big performance comprimises both mechanically and optically.

[iceman]

LOL, quote of the day! :lol: nice one Geoff :)

It's true though, some people like refractors because they "look more like a telescope should look".

[iceman]

Hi Jeff, :welcome: and thanks!

How did you hear about us?

[janoskiss]

Please forgive me for repeating what others have said already here... For under $1000 you'll get:
- a kiddy scope on a good EQ mount
- an average scope on an average EQ mount
- or an awesome scope on a very ergonomic Dob mount.

I got into astronomy thinking I'd get EQ or nothing, but after some experience with cheap EQ mounts, I went the Dob and never looked back.

[xrekcor]

Now that would be something to see, where are they selling those?


I have an 8" f/6 Newt on an EQ5, the only thing I can fault on it is ep
position can be a pain in the rear, your forever rotating the OTA. And now
that the OTA is bent out of shape a lil, rotating it is not so easy anymore.
But it is also easier for planetary imaging and or just locking onto something
and have it track for you. And the kinks in your neck, well I would like to see
a product that can beat my scope in that department. Apart from that it has
giving me untold enjoyment, the views easily compare favouable with the
10"-12" GSO dob's, put it this way I wouldn't sell to upgrade to a 10"-12" dob
simply because the step up in aperture wouldn't be a big enough wow factor.
Optically for what it is, is very good. I've had images taken through published
in AS&T so it cant be too bad, check out this months. I didn't buy it for the
way it looks I brought so later I could get into imaging and something with the
ability to track.

Cost $1300.00 with motors $1000.00-1100.00 without

regards,CS

[JethroB76]

Thanks for the welcome guys. Ice, I think I found the site via google when looking for a local astro forum.

As for the scope, for what he has in mind and his budget, I think an 8 or 10" Dob would be the way to go, the price of an 8" leaving him with a bit to play with for other accessories and also pretty easily moved around. The other thing that hadn't occurred to me and likely him either is the positioning of the eyepiece for the various scopes, particularly when looking high in the sky, thanks 1ponders!

[ving]

hi jeff, welcome aboard...

he wants an eq ount hey? andrews communications sell a 6" reflector on an eq mount for about $500 i think.
http://andrewscom.com.au/images/products/telescopes/reflector/gs500.jpg
or a 8" for $700
http://andrewscom.com.au/images/products/telescopes/reflector/gs600.jpg

really tho, aperture rules in alot of cases and maybe he should think about a dob unless he is taking pics. he will get more resolving power for his money.

[JethroB76]

Thanks Ving!
I have actually had a look at those scopes at Andrews. I assume the OTA used on these are of the same quality of the GS Dobs? I thought they probably would be same tube but they look shorter:confused:.
Any opinions on the quality of the mounts for either the 6 or 8"-er in vings post?

[ving]

they are what andrews call a sv1 which looks to be the equivalent of a eq5. GS OTAs are great value for money :)

the 6 and 8" pictured have the same mount. the 6" is f5 and would be pretty easy to maintain. the 8" is f4 and my understanding is that good collimation of faster scopes (like f4) is more important. :)

[cahullian]

good to see another Leeds United fan in the forum.
I hear a lot of good things about the ED80 refractor. You can buy these almost anywhere. They are portable and can be mounted on a eq3 mount(althougt it will have a few wobble troubles with such a light mount.) But it will cost under $1000.
Sometimes a good refractor comes up on ebay (not very often though) so keeping an eye there might help.

Gazz

[janoskiss]

Yes, I guess that was a silly thing to say. :ashamed: What I meant was is that you won't have much money left over for a scope if you're after a solid EQ mount. If you never tried an EQ mount before you might imagine them to be sturdier than they really are.. (that was my mistake anyway)

I have the ED80 on an EQ5, and that cost me just under $1000, with the mount 2nd hand. The EQ5 is pretty good for visual with the small scope. Its flaws can be worked around without too much fuss.

[rmcpb]

Just be aware that those faster equatorially mounted GS scopes will require more expensive eyepieces to give good views to the edge than a slower dob so your pocket will have to be deeper quicker than if you have a dob that gives good views on standard eyepieces.

BTW welcome to the madness.

[ving]

thanks rob... i knew there was another reason against fast reflectors :)
just couldnt quite put my finger on it...

[JethroB76]

Thanks for that Rob, when you say more expensive eyepieces, could you give an idea of the price of a 'more expensive eyepiece' as compared to standard eyepieces?

Jeff

[davidpretorius]

my series 500 are the bottom of the pile, they are around $29, but generally 4 will be thrown in with a dob purchase.

next level are $70 to $100 and then expect $200 to $600 for televue, pentax etc

bintel are a good starter point to get a feel as to what costs what

https://www.bintelshop.com.au/welcome.htm

[acropolite]

Welcome Jeff, good to see another Lonny boy. I really can't see any value in an eq mount unless you're going to use it for astrophotography, and a solid eq mount is out of the equation for a budget of under $1000. Secondly there's no sustitute for aperture, the bigger the better. A small refractor may be easy to tote outside and requires no cooldown time, but ultimately will be disappointing (visually) next to a dob. The elegant simplicity of the dob and the optical performance for your dollars is hard to beat. Take a trip to Dave P's place and check out his dob, or turn up to our next new moon viewing session....:astron: