What to buy for under $5000?

[chrissara]

You most probably hate this topic being raised as it opens so many options, but essentially I wish to purchase a new telescope. I am what would be considered a beginner. I am looking for the "WOW!" factor but with the miminum of fuss e.g. point the telescope at say saturn and get a nice close up look with good image quality. Most likely what I am looking for is a telescope with say an Autostar feature (or the like) and presumably good lenses. Type to scope doesn't bother me, but presuming it is a telescope that rotates to the planet, star etc, I assume the focus will be on the Cassegrain types. Your comments appreciated (or if any further info is required please post and I will try to reply)

[iceman]

How portable does it need to be?
Do you live under dark skies?
Will you be transporting it often?
Is size/weight a consideration for you?

Most like the SCT types sound like what you need..

[chrissara]

Thanks for the reply. Live in Mackay - it is a town with a small amount of light - not as bad as the captial cities. Little pollution. Portability isn't a concern, and as such weight or size isn't an issue. I have a Meade ETX125EC for that.

[ving]

you could get a large dob and make it goto! :)

that'd give you good wow factor on just about anything :D

[chrissara]

Any particular models of Dob that I should look at? Also what about the GOTO feature - is Autostar alright for that? Sorry my knowledge on the subject is limited and unfortunately my buy is a bit rushed. Mackay doesn't have an astronomy shop and the next astronomy meeting here isn't for another 2 weeks.

[acropolite]

A dob would be good but won't fit into your GoTo requirement, dobs have to be manually pushed to where your target is then nudged to keep the object in the FOV. If you are not considering astrophotography then the meade LX90 series in the larger aperture 10 or 12 inch would be worth a look although the 12 is a fraction over $5K. If you are considering astrophotography then perhaps a C9.25-SGT or C9.25 OTA only on an EQ6 mount.

[Starkler]

Another option is to get a dob and make it PUSH-TO.

What this means is you have encoders and a DSC (pointing computer) unit attached and it guides you to the target. This saves a lot of the cost and complexity of having drive motors.

You could have such a set up on a 10" dobsonian scope for under $2000 complete, whereas a goto sct scope of similar aperture will blow the 5k budget.

[Mick]

Don't rush to buy yet come along and have a look through some scopes at our viewing night first. If the weather is no good on the 25th, PM or ring me and you can come over and have a look through my 12"dob one night. :)

[g__day]

I think acropolite has given you great advise there, I'd say the same for that budget and purpose.

One other consideration, get a good pair of large binoculars (say 20 * 80 for $240 from andrews Communications) a comfortable chair and a tripod and get used to what you can see, and how much effort has to go into holding a heavy tube absolutely steady.

[ving]

is not dave p's dob goto?

[gary]

Hi Phil,

You might not be aware of the enormous number of GOTO Dobs that
are currently in use around the world.

The most popular servo motor controller is the ServoCAT from StellarCAT.
See http://www.stellarcat.biz
There are two variations, the full ServoCAT and the ServoCAT Jr.
The Junior is optimized for Dobs in the 8" to 18" aperture class.

You can use a ServoCAT either without an attached Digital Setting Circles/Digital
Telescope Computer, in which case you point the scope and it operates in
a "track-only" mode. Or you can use it in conjunction with a Digital
Setting Circle/Digital Telescope Computer and have full GOTO (slew) and
track. There is even a ServoCAT fitted to a portable 41.2" f3.9 Dob - one
of the largest in the world.

The disclaimer here of course is that we happen to design and manufacture
the world's most popular Digital Telescope Computer (DTC), the Argo Navis,
which is designed to fully support the ServoCAT.

As 'Starkler' mentioned, one can of course also use a DSC/DTC with the
Dob and no motors and associated motor controller for computer assisted
PUSHTO operation. A very popular choice.

Another GOTO controller is the Sidereal Technology "SiTech" servo motor
controller. See http://www.siderealtechnology.com/
It can also be used in a point and track mode or again, when combined
with an Argo Navis, used to achieve full GOTO support.

In fact I am aware of at least one customer who has an Argo Navis and
SiTech controller in the Mackay area, which is the part of the world
the original poster, 'chissara', mentioned they were from. If chissara
wanted to make contact with this person, either email me direct
at sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au and I will happily forward
the email or join the Argo Navis User's Group and email the person that
made this post - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/argo_navis_dtc/message/4950

GOTO Dobs are becoming ubiquitous, particularly in North America,
where they are now a common sight at star parties. At the recent
IceInSpace AstroCamp at Lostock, Eddie Rocca had on show his
beautiful ServoCAT/Argo Navis equipped truss pole Dob.

For a budget below A$5000, one consideration might be say a 12" Guang Sheng
Dob or similar (A$999 to A$1099) and then accessorizing it with some
good 2" eyepieces. If GOTO is a consideration, then one of the motor
controller systems mentioned above is worth having a good look at.

Alternatively, for a premium truss-pole Dob, one might consider something
like an Obsession 12.5".
See http://www.globaldialog.com/~obsessiontscp/Prices.html
Though landed in Australia, the later is more than likely to blow the $5000
budget, most would agree this scope has a high 'WOW!' factor.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
wildcard@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

P.S.

Even spectacular images are being achieved on GOTO/Tracking Dobs
such as this one by Les Bildy in the U.S. taken through an 18"
Starmaster fitted with ServoCAT and Argo Navis.

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