Quote:
Originally Posted by el_draco
Just a few points, wont come close to answering all your questions but may help.
- The 9.25 inch HD is good scope and you have option of trying Hyperstar work at about F2
- Powermate 5X gives you a hell of of focal length and you miight like to consider the 2" 4x as an alternative. You can use it with 2 inch eyepieces as well.
- You can use the starizona cooling system to significantly reduce cool down time.
- Mount is going to be a balancing act. Long focal lengths require grunt and there a few alternatives.
a) dont know about CGEM's and don't know about the tracking of ISS
b) dont know about the build quality.
c) I owned and didn't like the EQ6 and I believe the EQ8 is problematic for some. Build quality may be an issue but I can't comment from experience. There are threads on IIS that talk about it.
d) I own a G11 G2. The build quality is beautiful but the operating system is a bit of a work in progress. They have been a workhorse for many people for many years for very good reasons, including flexibility and upgradability. Good news is they are pretty cheap at the moment and I think there are a couple in the classifieds. Bad news is they take some learning and you have to be prepared to do the learning. There are a lot of support resources available as well. I temporarily sold mine, then bought it back, which I guess says something. (Let the abuse begin  )
The G11 is incredibly stable as well and will carry a lot of mass. It also separates in to a couple of easily managed units. The field tripod is a good option if you can get it.
- C9.25 and G11 G2 are well within your budget and there are plenty of Losmandy plates for mounting everything
Overall, you are planning a good scope with a lot of potential to be a workhorse.
Man, you'll sure notice the difference over a 100 mm scope; wish I could be there when you see Saturn for the first time
Rom |
Many thanks for the reply Rom! I will look into using the 4x instead of the 5x, and agree I will need a rock solid platform to avoid vibrations and the like. Thanks for your opinions on the mounts, those Losmandy look pretty nice!
I just finished looking at the Meade's and that route is looking awefully expensive, while as you say the Celestron route comes in a bit cheaper.
I forgot to mention the scope is unusable at the moment, completely out of alignment after being shipped in a container from the UK when we moved here, and havent bothered aligning it!
Saturn comes up pretty good @ 600mm f/5.6 on my current unguided astro setup, but cant wait to make it a detailed view that doesnt have Saturn as a 25 ish pixels across size!