[AstroJason (Jason)]

Went to Bintel today to actually see the NEQ6Pro. Wow is it BIG!! I was really surprised at its size. The guys in there let me pick it up to test its weight as well. It’s heavy. Not exactly something I want to be carrying up and down stairs too often. Before I went I put gym weights on a dumbbell to give me an idea of the weight but it’s just not the same. It’s bulky and not exactly easy to hold. Well at least not in my quick attempt to lift it in store. I’m glad I went into see it in person. I got to hear it too and was happy with the amount of sound coming from the mount. The guys confirmed my thinking that it’s a lot quieter than an LX200 mount which is what I thought.

And gee I have forgotten how big a 10” OTA can be when it’s towering over you. They had one on the G11 mount and it just looked huge!

So with all this in mind and me living in a second story apartment it really got me thinking that this just isn’t going to happen like I planned. I was really seeing all my plans come crumbling down around me as I realised that I have to rethink all this and heed the advice given to me. Otherwise I’m going to fall into that trap of going too big too soon and the stuff just collecting dust. So my options are… Get a HEQ5Pro mount instead and have a 8” Newt on it. That’s if it can carry the OTA plus all the other gear needed for Astrophotography. OR I put the entire AP thing on hold for a couple years and go back to a Dob.

The more I think about it the more I like the idea of going to a Dob. They had the 10” Skywatcher dob there with Synscan (very noisy but relatively quiet at slower slew speeds). It really caught my eye which I didn’t expect to happen. I almost bought it there and then! Its compact and I could easily set it up and pack it away. I could even build a small housing for it and leave it outside when stored in a horizontal position. Maybe this is the smarter option for now considering my living situation. Then after a while building my observational experience back up, I’ll get into AP and get a dedicated scope for it all while keeping a dob for visual use. I really like that idea! Not sure the misses will!

Anyway I am really surprised at today’s outcome, really glad I got to see the mounts/scopes and tested them out as I did not expect to be walking out of there with this complete back flip on everything. But I honestly think I would be doing more visual use than AP at first, hence why I think I should just stick to a dob for the time being.