Who's using a Newt?

[MortonH]

Am deliberating over a 'serious' scope, and have been mainly comparing 4-5" refractors or 8-10" SCTs. However, I'm curious about how many are using equatorially mounted Newtonians?

In particular, anyone have any experience of the Skywatcher Newts? Kinda thinking about the 8" model on HEQ5 with SynScan.

Main interests are comets and deep sky, but I also want decent (and bright) views of the planets. How does the contrast of a Newt compare with an SCT?


Morton

[matt]

Our very own Iceman (Mike) has a 12" Skywatcher on an EQ6.

Up until very recently he had his 10" GS on the same EQ6.

There are plenty of folks using EQ mounted newts.

[gbeal]

I am. I have been down all sorts of roads, trying new toys, but always seem to return to my 10" f5 newt. I built it from parts from Sky Instruments many years ago, and more recently built a carbon fiber tube for it.
While no doubt there are slightly better designs out there, the humble newt is a stunner, and features plenty of bang for the buck.
As I type this my wee newt, an Epsilon 130 is imaging the HorseHead, and the latest newt an 8" f5 Grab&Go is doing what little deep sky or doubles that can be seen with the moon close by. If the seeing gets better later I will try Saturn with the 10".
In answering your question though, I believe that a decent newt is every bit as good as an SCT, and at f5 (normally) they are better suited for imaging DSO's. Whether a 10" is suited to the HEQ5 or not is a matter for debate, but if Mike can sling his 12" on an EQ6, then maybe. Lastly, don't be afraid to use the newt in both the dob base, and the GEM, I do, and the dual usage is another great point.
Gary

[MortonH]

Thanks, guys. I fancy a SCT cos they seem more high-tech, or a refractor cos they're (possibly) more portable and have higher contrast, but I must confess that I'm starting to think that for seeing things, a Newt is as good as anything else.

Morton

[Adrian-H]

only if the user is serious about the scope, then it is a serious scope.

arnt all scope views of planets bright!?

its up to you how much you want to spend, but is that extra money for
the features of a higher end expensive sct/refractor over a cheaper newt, worth it to you?

or dose it just appear to be worth it!?

you will get more light gathering power for views in a newt

[iceman (Mike)]

Adrian is right. The SCT is no better than a newt, it just looks hi-tech cause they come on fork mounts that already go buzz click.

In fact I've always preferred the view through newt's as opposed to SCT's. More contrast, less central obstruction, wider field of view (shorter focal length).

There's nothing you can do with an SCT that you can't do with a newt, and newt's are more customisable, easier to cool.

The only issue with a newt on an EQ mount is the eyepiece position - you need to be able to rotate the tube in the cradle so you can get the eyepiece at a comfortable position even when it's 2 metres or more off the ground.

Although SCT's and refractors suffer the same issue, except in reverse - you can end up kneeling on the ground.

I love newt's. I loved my 10" and now I love my 12". My 10" was dob mounted for most of its life and only sat in an EQ mount once or twice. The 12" now sits in an EQ mount, but like Gary said, it's convertable back to a dob at any time.

It's still got the altitube hubs on and i've still got the dob base. Best of both worlds.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by MortonH

Main interests are comets and deep sky, but I also want decent (and bright) views of the planets.

Mike has already covered my thoughts on sct vs newts from a quality of view perpective but going on the above statement, I think you would be better off with the newt on a dob base instead of the eq.

Considering the inconvenience factor of an eq mounted newt, I'd say you would be much happier with a dob mount. Why? Its only when imaging or using high powers for planetary or lunar viewing that you would even consider using an eq for a newt because at lower powers, tracking really isnt an issue for visual use.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Yep.

I have a 12" Reflector (GS12" Dob) on a huge EQ, an 8" reflector (goes on the same EQ mount).

I also have an EQ6 with Synscan and they may be going on that too!

The 12" Reflector shows heaps more than the 8". Can see really faint fuzzies.

[Gama]

Well, ive owned many scopes.
Some Cats and some Newts and a few i call lens benders (Refractors).

Like everyone, it all stems down to what you need for what you can get.
I get a great view from my 22.5 Newt, and some great views from my 14" RCX, i cant really seperate them. But for the money, the newt hands down.
Just remembering my first views from my newts, just awesome, stars everywhere and just a dream to use.
But i recommend you go to a viewing night and see for yourself the differences of the scopes your interested in.


Theo.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I also suggest you read this for a users perspective of setting up an eq mount vs a dob.

[Ambermile]

Originally Posted by Starkler

I also suggest you read this for a users perspective of setting up an eq mount vs a dob.

Maybe even watch this too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikpZJZFj3Wc

Arthur

[gbeal]

Originally Posted by Ambermile

Maybe even watch this too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikpZJZFj3Wc

Arthur

Goes to show how behind the times I am, that is the first ever time I have watched Youtube.
Well, TrueMartin and Benny Hill certainly did a number on the dob, it almost looked like the GEM won.
Like a clown I then watched in amazement, at the 400mm Binoscope video. I really need to change my thinking here, I c an see.
Thanks for sharing that with us Arthur.
Gary

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Originally Posted by gbeal

...
Like a clown I then watched in amazement, at the 400mm Binoscope video...

I'm watching it now, Moonlight sonata for soundtrack is so lovely. Give Beethoven the Oscar.

[MortonH]

That is the funniest thing I have seen on Youtube, and I've watched lots of animals clips!

Well, I have owned an EQ-5 mount before, and it was a bit of a pain to set up.

I think from some of the replies that perhaps I've made myself out to be a complete beginner. I should explain that I've owned, over the years and in chronological order (with some gaps when I gave up for a while and few overlaps) the following scopes...

6" cheap Newt on dodgy EQ mount
8" SCT (with RA drive only - no GOTO)
Tele Vue TV-85
Borg 100ED
William Optics Megrez 80

The Newt was my first scope and I knew nothing about optical quality, and it's so long ago that I don't remember how good/bad it was.

I loved the SCT as it gave me decent deep sky views and I used it for piggyback photos of Comet Hale-Bopp. However, I bought the heavy-duty tripod and wedge, which was always a bit of a hassle.

Bought the TV-85 cos I wanted a quality small refractor. Never used the SCT again, despite the huge aperture difference. However, I was living in cloudy Scotland at the time so quick set-up was a much bigger priority than it is now.

Then bought the Borg cos I wanted more aperture again and it was light enough for the Tele Vue mount, so the TV-85 went.

Then the Megrez joined as my travel scope, and was the only one to come with me to Australia two years ago.

So all of this is now leading me back towards the SCT cos it's easier to set up and use than using a GEM mount, but will still give me decent aperture. I really want to do some piggyback photography, so a Dob isn't an option, although tempting cos they're so cheap.

It's frustrating cos I'm desperate to get something, but I may wait until after the SPSP so I can try out a few different scopes under (hopefully) good conditions.

Morton

[ving (David)]

to get things back on topic, i have a 8" f/6 newt on a heq5. the mount handles it well but the shorter length of a sct would be even better. I'd say that my 9.5kg newt would be nearing the limit of teh mount even tho i have seen 10 inch newts on one... you have to extend the counter weight shaft or get heavier weights for a bigger ota like a 10"er.

comparing maks and scts to newts... well thats preference really. you can use a focal reducer to get an f/10 down to 6.6 or 3.3 easily but i dont know how this effects teh image...

setting up... its not that hard i guess. depends on what you want to do. just looking at stuff you can get by with a rough alignment.

[Karls48 (Karl)]

All the posts about difficulty and the time to set up EQ mount with Newtonian (or any scope) telescope are correct. I almost gave up, because I did not have enough time to set the scope. But there is a simple solution to this. Permanent pier will solve all the problems. And it doesn’t need to be something with 2m deep concrete foundations. Almost any pier will be better then tripod.

[MortonH]

I'm renting a unit, so no pier for me!

There's something nice about the SCT in that you only have to roughly align with north/south then you only have to move right/left and up/down, and the scope stays the 'same way round', so your observing position doesn't really change. it's almost as simple as an alt-az mount but with tracking. Unlike the GEM, where the eyepiece position changes all over the place depending on where you're pointing, and you need to make the mount move 'uphill' and all that.

Fork-mounted Newt anyone?

Morton

[swannies1983 (Dan)]

I have recently been interchanging between the TAL 200K and 8" Newt on my EQ6. The Tal performs really well on DSOs but not as good on the planets compared to the Newt due to large central obstruction. I have been using the Newt for planetary imaging as I have been disappointed with the results for the Tal. However, once I start imaging DSOs, I'll probably use the Tal.