What should I buy next?

[iceman]

Got a bit of money for my birthday, looking to spend up to $250-$300 on "stuff".

What stuff should I get? Which of these would you choose?

I'm considering, on my "want" list:

* Astronomik UHC filter (~$190)

* Telrad (~$90)

* A budget widefield eyepiece (probably the GSO SV 30mm) (~$99)
or
* Save up more and get a premium widefield, maybe a 27mm Panoptic or a Pentax XW? (> $400??)

* GSO 2" 2x barlow (~$70)
or
* Save up more and get a premium (televue?) 2" 2x barlow or a 2" 2x powermate? (> $200??)

* A smallish shed to store my scope/accessories on outside (not an observatory, this is just for storage). (probably over $200)


What do you think? Got any other ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

[DougAdams]

Put me down as a Telrad fan. I have one on my Dob. It's a bit big and bulky (size, not weight), but great to use. The Sky Atlas includes a Telrad circle template making it very easy to navigate around by naked eye. From a dark sky site, it's all you'll need.

[ving]

you could get a finder with a angled mirror thing to save your neck. $100 @ andrews.
look after your neck and it will look after you :P

how about buying me some nice EPs? ;)

[rmcpb]

The telrad and GSO 30mm eyepiece with a bit left over for the GSO barlow.

[gaa_ian]

Me ... If the Shed would make it easier to observe with what you have.
Go for the shed :work:
If not the astronomic UHC filter is an absolute treat on some nebulas :eyepop:

[[1ponders]]

The shed. The shed. Every man needs a cave.

[gbeal]

Ice,
we are all different, but:

I have never wanted/needed a Telrad.
I own an OIII and it gets used very very infrequently.
I have a 30mm widefield 2" made by the Cheap & Nasty eyepiece company. It is OK in the scopes I own (f5 newt and f10 refractor).
I have owned "premium" eyepieces, and have opted for "sets" (in my case a set of Takahashi LE's & Zeiss orthos)
I have a selection of barlows, and for imaging and some viewing these see good service.

So it depends. If an eyepiece my suggestion is try a cheaper model first, maybe to test the water. If the bug gets you, then think the premium, but not until you try the cheaper one first.

Barlows? Maybe same deal. In as much as the imaging is concerned, most agree that the so called premium barlows don't offer much other than price tags. This is from a guy who owns a pair of Powermates though.

I would rather dream without the discretionary cash, as once you have the cash it tends to burn a hole in the pocket huh?
Gary

[Starkler]

What you didnt tell us Mike is what eyepieces you already have, and what your priorities are. Do you have any astigmatism in your eyes?

For visual use, the first place to spend money is on your most used eyepiece. For most of us thats somewhere between 10-14mm for an f5 scope. This can be barlowed for a good planetary magnification.

I would personally put the money toward a premium EP in this range before a low power widefield.

[iceman]

Geoff,

I don't think I have astigmatism. I currently own a 9, 15, 25, 32mm plossls and a gso 1.25" 2x barlow.

What objects do you use the 10-14mm for? What focal length (in an f/5) is best for galaxies, nebula, planetaries etc?

10-14mm would be too small for most open and globular clusters and a lot of nebula wouldn't it?

What focal length do you use for the planets mostly? I'm guessing around 6-7mm?

What would you recommend as a good premium eyepiece in that range?


Gary, good points.
I'll be able to test out some eyepieces soonish I hope, and that'll give me a better indication of whether the budget ones will be suitable for me.


Ian, I like the idea of the UHC. I really want one. But like Gary has suggested, I don't want to spend $200 on one right now if it's only going to get periodic use. I may as well put it towards something that gets use almost every session.


The shed would be handy, it's not going to be big enough for me to hide away in Paul, it's just going to be big enough to hold the scope standing vertically. I currently keep it under my pergola out the back tucked away in a corner, and it's fine there, except my wife keeps complaining about it because one day the kids are going to slam their bikes into it or something :D

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions guys, keep 'em coming!

[[1ponders]]

If its big enough for the scope to stand in Mike, its big enough for you to hide in :D

[iceman]

Yep, that's true :D :scared3: :family2:


heh, nice try Ving :)

[ving]

bunning sell a 6'w x 4'd x 6'h... you should check that out. small but big enuff for your scope :)

[Starkler]

My most used is the 14mm pentax which does great for all but the very big dso's. If I want a closer look ill put in the 10.5mm
to look at a small plantetary neb. The 14mm has a FOV equivalent to a 20mm plossl.



For planets I barlow the 14mm, an if the seeing is really good, I can barlow the 10.5mm . Incidently my barlow works at 2.2x with my eyepieces measured by star drift time tests.

You could go for a pentax xl second hand, an XW new or a televue nagler t4 12mm, or maybe a 9 or 13mm nag t6.

The pick of the bunch would be the 12nagt4, except it doesnt work well with my barlow.

[iceman]

What barlow do you own?

What's the difference between a pentax XL and a pentax XW? What do you own?

Why doesn't the 12nagt4 work well with your barlow? How will I know if what I buy will work with mine?

Do you have any weight issues using 2" barlow's and 2" eyepieces on your scope? I imagine i'll have to counterweight the back..

[Starkler]

Yep I do, and I still havent done a proper counterweight yet.

[Starkler]

Please guys keep to the topic on hand.
We dont want threads to grow huge because of chat and banter that doesnt contribute or ask anything pertaining to the topic.

Four posts deleted.

[ballaratdragons]

Mike,

My suggestion would be for the shed.

If you do go that way make sure you line the roof with something or condensation will drip on your goodies.

[Astro_Guy]

"What focal length do you use for the planets mostly? I'm guessing around 6-7mm? What would you recommend as a good premium eyepiece in that range?"

Try the 7mm TeleVue Nagler Type 6. Many 8-10" Dob owners eventually settle on this eyepiece for the combination of tack sharp images across a generous 82 degree apparent field. I'm not sure what these would set you back in Oz, but you should be able to get one shipped from the US for about $300 USD.

Clear Skies,

Bob
www.skiesunlimited.net

[iceman]

Bob, why wouldn't you use a 14mm that could barlow to 7mm? Then you get the use of the 14mm as a DSO eyepiece as well..?

And what's the difference between the "7mm nagler" and the "7mm nagler type 6"?

Wouldn't the 13mm nagler type 6 be better, that can be barlowed to just about 7mm anyway? They are the same price.

[Dave47tuc]

Mike ,
If you want a 27 Panoptic second hand in mint condition pm me if you want one.:D

I know of one for sale:)

[Starkler]

An ideal low mag widefield ep for the f5 gso dob . After much research I got one myself :)

exit pupil 5.4mm and 1.5 degree FOV

[iceman]

PM sent dave :poke: :D