Hi Glenn
At the moment I have a Tasco 114mm x 500mm Reflector on an EQ mount (a surprise gift from my wife-say no more).
But it has been great fun trying to do the impossible with this scope, namely trying to locate Pluto. Using a free software program “Cartes du Ciel” and a very carefully set up EQ mount (Ra & dec) I know that I’m looking at the right spot in space because I compare the faint star patterns from the software program to what I see through the scope. It’s great stuff even with an obviously negative result. Can Pluto be seen with an amateur scope, if so what spec scope would be required?
I prefer a collapsible dobsonian because I would like to be able to take it with me on trips with the family plus gear it will need to be compact. A 10” is at my maximum budget wise at this stage.
So I have some idea in using and adjusting the mirrors (but not with any type of collimators) with reasonable success.
Forum
Right, I’m making progress.
From what I can gather from the forum comments it seems to me that the Lightbridge and the Skywatcher are both good amateur scopes. Up till now, no one has said that either is a piece of junk, so this is good.
Am I right in saying that the skywatcher is marketed by Tasco, and the Lightbridge is marketed by Mead but is not a true Mead product? Not that the answers are very important, just interesting.
I must make that trip to York and Bintel to see what sort of deal I can wrangle, although it looks like I will get a better deal buying through the net.
Thanks to every one
Good seeing u soon
Richard
