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  #1  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:09 PM
Arman
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Exclamation (C10-NGT Computerized Telescope) Your view!

Heya IIS!

It's been just over a year now since I've turned my scope/time into the night sky. Now I believe its also time for me to upgrade.

Celestron Astromaster 130EQ

To

Celestron 10-NGT Computerized Telescope

Your thoughts?

Or shall I go for something else?

Regards
Arman (Timothy)
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  #2  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:32 PM
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Bassnut (Fred)
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Turnkey systems tend to compromise on the mount, the most important bit. An EQ6 pro might be the go, others here would know a suitable OTA.
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  #3  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:37 PM
Arman
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I'll be saving for a mount/accessories within the upcoming months.

36hours for a casual is a lot of hours
So these months wont take that long.
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  #4  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:43 PM
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h0ughy (David)
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mate you would be better off with this one from andrews comms which is far better than the package you are looking at - way better value for money

Skywatcher SW-252
254 x 1200P EQ6PRO Go-To mount with V3.0 Go-To hand controller



or you could look at this one from Myastroshop but it doesn't have go to

SkyWatcher 10-inch Equatorial Newtonian
Code: BD25012P-EQ6
254mm (10-inch) Newtonian Reflector and EQ6 mount

The Black Diamond 10-inch Newtonian supplied with the famous heavy duty EQ6 mount offers diffraction-limited optics from a superbly made paraboloidal mirror constructed of high quality Pyrex glass for best thermal and optical performance.

It is by far the best 10-inch Newtonian telescope in its class on the market today for price and performance. With a superbly made mirror cell for easy collimation, it is an excellent astronomical telescope for studying and imaging the Moon, planets and deep sky.
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  #5  
Old 12-04-2009, 12:00 PM
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OneOfOne (Trevor)
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I used to have the C8-NGT and it worked very well, but I think the 8 was getting close to the weight limit, especially if you end up with some heavy eyepieces (like my Pentax XWs), both scopes use the Celestron CG5 mount (~EQ5). An EQ6 mount would be able to carry a 10 inch quite easily with room for "expansion".
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  #6  
Old 12-04-2009, 12:18 PM
Arman
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It seems the EQ6 mount would be the way to go then.

I've got a brother in the states doing an internship with Disney, and hes going to bring it home on the plane... (Saves a $1100 shipping fee ) And probably with that 1100 I'll invest in a EQ6 mount.

I'll be getting the NGT-10 within the closing months of September. Followed by my start to Astrophotography!

Happy Easter fellow IIS members!
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  #7  
Old 12-04-2009, 01:50 PM
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tonybarry (Tony)
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Hello Arman,

I started out with an eBay 8" f/4 Newtonian originally made by Optex, on what I believe would be described as an EQ1 (no motor drives).

There were some plus points and some minus points.
Plus - a good deal of light collecting area, and a low (fast) f/ ratio.
Minus - The setting circles did not permit celestial navigation even when used with Stellarium. They were too coarse in resolution.
The tripod was wobbly and I found it hard to see much while focusing.
It took a long time to align with celestial south, and it would not track the stars (due to no motor drive).
It was also heavy and bulky and hard to take and hard to set up.

My next telescope was an ETX80 - much smaller,lighter, 80mm f/5 refractor, but with a Goto alt/az mount.

This was a revolution. Although I could not see faint objects as well, the Goto mount would reliably take me to where they were in the sky, and I could hook it up to my Mac and Stellarium and get to know what stars were where in the night sky. This alone made the device incredibly useful, and represented the point where I realised that astronomy was a viable hobby for me.

My current scope is an LX-90 8" GPS UHTC. It is as heavy as I can reasonably carry (19kg for the scope, 13kg for the tripod), and this is the limiting factor for me. I realise that although a 14' scope would deliver more stars and DSOs, I would never get it out because it stops being fun and becomes bloody hard work to transport the thing.
It is Goto, and can hook up to Stellarium or Astroplanner on my Mac. I can guide with it if I wish to. I can also mount it on a wedge for astrophoto work if I wish.

My advice to anyone considering an upgrade would be to work out what the limiting factor for you is. Weight? Setup time? Navigation ability? The desire to take astrophotos? Uncle Bob (author of the Used Catadioptric Telescope Review) makes the vital point that the best scope for you is the one you'll use ... not the gee-whiz technoscope that lives in the garage on a dolly that's too hard to carry and too time consuming to set up and too complex to work in the dark.

I hope this helps.
Regards,
Tony Barry
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