[Profiler (Profiler)]

Hi Jellies

I have read your original post and some of the following comments and will give you a few ideas as food for thought from a refractor-o-lcoholic perspective.

1) Firstly - what you have read and the old adage "aperture wins" is absolutely correct. A 4inch high quality $4k+ refractor like a Televue NP-101 cannot beat a cheap mass-produced Chinese 10inche Dob in terms of light grasp.

However, the 10' Dob only beats the NP-101 provided you take it outside on every occasion. As time goes by convenience and your enthusiasm to drag out the dob will quickly wane in comparison to ease of taking out the refractor. I have lost count of the number of dusty dobs I have noticed sitting in garages from folks who gradually loose interest and find some reason to not observe because it is too much bother. SO - aperture wins but another even better phrase is that the best telescope is the one you use the most. IMO Pound for pound the telescopes that overall get used the most are small refractors (100mm and down).

2) You ask yourself "Why bother spending $4k+ on a NP101 or TSA-102 when you can get roughly the same thing in a Shywatcher ED102 for $1.2k or even worse - a big dob for roughly $6-$800"?

The reality is that this is a false premise and not true in practice - If these propositions were true premier manufacturers of refractors such as Televue, Takahashi, AP would have been out of business and non-existent decades ago. The reality is that "You get what you pay for"

Something’s gotta give in a Skywatcher ED102 or 10" Dob in comparison to the NP-101 to explain these massive price differences. The reality is that the "give" in the cheaper scopes is that they are only "similar" or "near" (ie not the same) to the premier scopes and "only for a defined period of time".

Simply put, the cheap scopes are not built to last and when they are operating at optimal performance they are only close to the premier scopes. This is why Tak and TV give 5 year warranty on their scopes and lifetime warranty on eyepieces while Shywatcher state 12months (if you are lucky in terms of the retailer prepared to honour it and not attribute the issue as some fault of your usage and thus not covered by warranty – this is another long story I won’t get into).

Provided you don't do something manifestly wrong in the care and maintenance of your NP-101 or TSA-102 after 4 years of usage you will still be going strong with the refractor and in many instances your children will be using it when you give it to them as part of their inheritance. After 18months use the particleboard in your dob will begin to deteriorate from the moisture (from prolonged exposure to dew) the mirror coating will also start to wane and thereafter it is only downhill and largely a basket case. Likewise the coatings, treatment and quality of the glass in the ED102 is simply not the same as the glass in your TSA.

The best way to discern the quality of the optical equipment is to look at the prices from cheap stuff, to moderately pricey to expensive high quality built to last.

3) I have tried astronomy and now I am sick of it and want to sell my equipment. Although your outlay for cheaper equipment is much smaller your likely return in terms of what you sell it for will also be manifestly reflected here as well. In contrast the premier brand equipment is always sought after and will commensurately attract a far better return. Basically, you can expect anywhere from 40-70% devaluation in the resell price of cheap mass produced astronomy products. In contrast you can anticipate about 20-35% devaluation in premier products irrespective of their age "provided" they are not damaged/faulty.

In conclusion, a TSA-102 or NP-101 are fantastic refractors both in their performance and have high price tags. Consequently, for a raw beginner wherein concerns for your "budget" exist I would not initially recommend either. If you are wealthy then by all means buy either or both!

However, assuming you are not wealthy and instead like the other 95% of the population it is worthwhile thinking of making your choice based upon buying a small amount of expensive but high quality equipment. In this context Takahashi have just released an amazing new 100mm doublet refractor using genuine fluorite for just over $2k or a Televue TV-76. Both have superb quality, will consistently attract a lot of use from you and as you progress in the hobby you will be able to decide what really suits you with lots of options for resell or adaptation of this equipment for other uses.