[TRADED/FOUND] [WANTED] Refractor with mount, brisbane area. Max $200 budget

[brendo (Brendan)]

Hi Guys,
I am looking to get a medium level refractor scope to try for before a while I spend big on a new kit. I have been using a Shy watches Heritage 5" dob for 18 months now and have got the bug. I picked up some 30 year old Japanese binos a while back and love the clear views they give so I wanted to try refracting on a stable mount with more aperture.
I was looking at this on ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Refractor...item43cf8a27ed
But was advised that a wanted ad here would yield a superior scope.
Fear not, it will go to a great home.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Save your self a lot of grief and DONT !!! touch this , its rubbish and wont perform even as good as your bino's , your 130mm will trounce this on every level ,my God the seller's speil is all over the place , terrible scope .
To get a refractor of good quality gets very expensive very fast , but if you feel you want one start saving your pennies and be happy with what you have until you have at least 1-2k to spend , sorry to say .
Brian

Originally Posted by brendo

Hi Guys,
I am looking to get a medium level refractor scope to try for before a while I spend big on a new kit. I have been using a Shy watches Heritage 5" dob for 18 months now and have got the bug. I picked up some 30 year old Japanese binos a while back and love the clear views they give so I wanted to try refracting on a stable mount with more aperture.
I was looking at this on ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Refractor...item43cf8a27ed
But was advised that a wanted ad here would yield a superior scope.
Fear not, it will go to a great home.

[Huey (Michael)]

I second that, look for a good mount first, preferably with motors. This one doesn't look like an equatorial either in the photos. Then look for a refractor. You get far more enjoyment out of it if you don't have to move it constantly and you may even use it with your binoculars and a bit of ingenuity.

Huey

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

$200 dollars would hardly be referred to as medium level maybe $2000-$4000 would be but not $200. Save you money & buy something better.

[brendo (Brendan)]

Originally Posted by Pinwheel

$200 dollars would hardly be referred to as medium level maybe $2000-$4000 would be but not $200. Save you money & buy something better.

Thanks for that doug. It has been most helpful. Maybe we have differing views on medium level, but clearly if I am asking for something in the $200 range, I do not and will never have $2000-4000 to spend. I'm not trying to find comets. Just having fun.

[brendo (Brendan)]

Thanks Huey,
I'm not too fussed about motors or goto really. The star hopping part is what I really enjoy. I was able to get hold of a free star atlas down to mag 15th which has been an amazing help along with the monthly night skies map for an overview of what's up there :-)
I did however think that the mount pictured does look somewhat flimsy so maybe even get this kit, use it but keep an eye out for a good 2nd hand or discount mount. I think the scope itself is good enough for me.

Originally Posted by Huey

I second that, look for a good mount first, preferably with motors. This one doesn't look like an equatorial either in the photos. Then look for a refractor. You get far more enjoyment out of it if you don't have to move it constantly and you may even use it with your binoculars and a bit of ingenuity.

Huey

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Hi Brendon and welcome to IIS
I too would suggest that the scope you have is far better than the one on Ebay. If I were you I would be saving up for (or keeping an eye out for 2nd hand) a good 8" or 10" Dobsonian as an upgrade from your 5" Skywatcher. These are the entry level scopes that I offer new starters on a budget, but even the 160mm is a modest increase in performance. Although the longer focal length gives greater magnification for a given eyepiece. Just persist and keep looking up :-)

[brendo (Brendan)]

Thanks Ian,
Yes the big dobs are very tempting, and price effective. Just have to work within my budget I suppose.
I'm super happy with the heritage. It's been a great scope to start learning with, but wanted to try a refractor before choosing an upgrade path. I'm always looking second hand so I guess I'll see what comes up.
Thanks for your insight.

Originally Posted by gaa_ian

Hi Brendon and welcome to IIS
I too would suggest that the scope you have is far better than the one on Ebay. If I were you I would be saving up for (or keeping an eye out for 2nd hand) a good 8" or 10" Dobsonian as an upgrade from your 5" Skywatcher. These are the entry level scopes that I offer new starters on a budget, but even the 160mm is a modest increase in performance. Although the longer focal length gives greater magnification for a given eyepiece. Just persist and keep looking up :-)

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Brendon , I have a nice 70mm f11 refractor with mounting clam shell with Vixen style dovetail , red dot finder and 1 1/4 inch diagonal , I will send it to you for the cost of postage if you want , that way you can grab a GSO alt/az mount from Andrews for $279 and be away and you should be able to scrape up the extra $79, what do you think ?

Send me your post code via PM so I can get a price .

Its not a bad refractor OTA that performs well and your 130mm heritage eyepieces will work well in this being 900mm fl and will give higher magnifications with any given eyepiece than the 130mm reflector .

Brian.

Originally Posted by brendo

Thanks Ian,
Yes the big dobs are very tempting, and price effective. Just have to work within my budget I suppose.
I'm super happy with the heritage. It's been a great scope to start learning with, but wanted to try a refractor before choosing an upgrade path. I'm always looking second hand so I guess I'll see what comes up.
Thanks for your insight.

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Brian I'm positive your trying for the "IIS Nice guy of the year award". You really look out for the beginner & do nice things too!

Look out Dudley Do right!

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Originally Posted by brendo

I do not and will never have $2000-4000 to spend.

Brendo, two things- 1/ Never say Never. 2/ Buy the biggest apeture you can for the buck.

Happy viewing..

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Save your self a lot of grief and DONT !!! touch this , its rubbish and wont perform even as good as your bino's , your 130mm will trounce this on every level ,my God the seller's speil is all over the place , terrible scope .

While it's a bit late (as the eBay sale is now closed), I thought I'd just add my $0.02 worth on this listing. (And in case anyone wonders - no, I have no relationship with the eBay seller!)

I suspect it's actually the same telescope as my York SkyRover R90 (90 mm aperture / 500 mm FL / f5.6), which is actually a remarkably handy "Grab'n'Go" telescope - and definitely worth more than $150, as long as it's in good condition!

While it's very confusing for would-be buyers, I think you have to forgive the seller's confusing description - as they say, they are selling it for their parents, so it isn't really surprising that they aren't quite sure what they have. The PowerSeeker 60 EQ reference is completely out of place, but the BigEye R90500 manual looks to be the applicable manual.

These telescopes really DID cost around $700 10-years ago from reputable optical dealers (I know, because I still have the receipt for mine, from York Optical in Brisbane), so these scopes are a definite step-up from "department store" cheapies. It's "only" an achromat, so given it's short FL, there's a bit of chromatic aberration on brighter targets (e.g. colour fringing on the Moon and Jupiter), but the image quality on mine is MUCH better than you'll get on most "department store" telescopes.

The mount is indeed an equatorial, but the seller clearly didn't know how to set it up properly. Mine comes with both a normal tripod, and three short legs that screw into the GEM head for table-top equatorial use. (I can't see the threaded holes for the table-top legs in the eBay photos, so this one may not have that feature.) The normal tripod is a bit flimsy when the elevating centre-post is extended, but it works fine when it's partially retracted, especially if you hang a bit of weight from the spreader - perfectly adequate for visual use. When mounted on a sturdier tripod (e.g. a SkyWatcher EQ-2), it's actually a very sweet wide-field telescope ("comet hunter"), and it makes a good terrestrial scope as well with the 45-degree "erect image" prism that mine came with.

The big selling point is that the whole kit (scope, tripod, GEM, table-top legs, eyepieces, etc), all pack into a shoulder bag - making it a true "Grab'n'Go" telescope.

To the OP - your existing 5" Dob will give better / brighter images than this telescope, but for portability (and packing away), this sort of kit is hard to beat at the price. Without getting into a debate about what constitutes a "medium-level" telescope, I would just suggest that as long as it's clean and undamaged, this could be a very good sub-$200 telescope. (And if you get serious later on, it would make a great finderscope / guiderscope for a bigger telescope!)

[PeterEde (Peter)]

Just bought my 2nd telescope after a Tasco POS years ago.
Skywatcher EED80 and EQ3 was $1500 delivered. Much cheaper than that and you're going to be very disappointed

[brendo (Brendan)]

Thanks everyone for your diverse opinions and kind advice.
I have come to an arrangement with the buyer to pay slightly less than the asking price, and will pick the scope up tonight.
I know many think this is 'inadequate' and will 'disappoint' however I think that if I can get as much enjoyment as I do from 7x35mm binoculars, then this can only be a good thing to have on hand. My observations are taken in a light polluted back yard and usually last about 1-2 hours so I'm not looking for something huge that takes an hour to set up. I also think it's a better scope than some assume it to be. I (like Julian) have found that the $700 pricing is accurate indicating a higher level of quality than the common junk. Also, if you actually do the math, assuming 85% transmission through the optics, it's actually got slightly better light gathering than the 126mm dob (assuming 75% reflection and taking away another 20% for the secondary mirror).
In any case, if it does turn out to be good optically, my next purchase (after saving many pennies) will be a motorised mount to put it on, and then I can think about something bigger/better optically.

Thanks for all of your opinions and advice, and clear skies everyone! I shall endeavor to let you all know how it goes when another clear night rolls around.

Originally Posted by julianh72

While it's a bit late (as the eBay sale is now closed), I thought I'd just add my $0.02 worth on this listing. (And in case anyone wonders - no, I have no relationship with the eBay seller!)

I suspect it's actually the same telescope as my York SkyRover R90 (90 mm aperture / 500 mm FL / f5.6), which is actually a remarkably handy "Grab'n'Go" telescope - and definitely worth more than $150, as long as it's in good condition!

While it's very confusing for would-be buyers, I think you have to forgive the seller's confusing description - as they say, they are selling it for their parents, so it isn't really surprising that they aren't quite sure what they have. The PowerSeeker 60 EQ reference is completely out of place, but the BigEye R90500 manual looks to be the applicable manual.

These telescopes really DID cost around $700 10-years ago from reputable optical dealers (I know, because I still have the receipt for mine, from York Optical in Brisbane), so these scopes are a definite step-up from "department store" cheapies. It's "only" an achromat, so given it's short FL, there's a bit of chromatic aberration on brighter targets (e.g. colour fringing on the Moon and Jupiter), but the image quality on mine is MUCH better than you'll get on most "department store" telescopes.

The mount is indeed an equatorial, but the seller clearly didn't know how to set it up properly. Mine comes with both a normal tripod, and three short legs that screw into the GEM head for table-top equatorial use. (I can't see the threaded holes for the table-top legs in the eBay photos, so this one may not have that feature.) The normal tripod is a bit flimsy when the elevating centre-post is extended, but it works fine when it's partially retracted, especially if you hang a bit of weight from the spreader - perfectly adequate for visual use. When mounted on a sturdier tripod (e.g. a SkyWatcher EQ-2), it's actually a very sweet wide-field telescope ("comet hunter"), and it makes a good terrestrial scope as well with the 45-degree "erect image" prism that mine came with.

The big selling point is that the whole kit (scope, tripod, GEM, table-top legs, eyepieces, etc), all pack into a shoulder bag - making it a true "Grab'n'Go" telescope.

To the OP - your existing 5" Dob will give better / brighter images than this telescope, but for portability (and packing away), this sort of kit is hard to beat at the price. Without getting into a debate about what constitutes a "medium-level" telescope, I would just suggest that as long as it's clean and undamaged, this could be a very good sub-$200 telescope. (And if you get serious later on, it would make a great finderscope / guiderscope for a bigger telescope!)

[brendo (Brendan)]

Thanks Doug,
I am keen to see what difference I will notice between a comparable dob and reflector. But as you say, I'm sure that eventually, I will be tempted enough to invest in a big light bucket dobsonian. I'm just not there yet though

Many thanks.

Originally Posted by Pinwheel

Brendo, two things- 1/ Never say Never. 2/ Buy the biggest apeture you can for the buck.

Happy viewing..

[PeterEde (Peter)]

Enjoy your purchase. Hopefully you get more than you paid

[brendo (Brendan)]

Thank you Peter, I hope so too

Honestly, I can't wait to set it up and have a play!!! If I can get pinpoint stars, and nice views of messier clusters and the big nebulae. I'll be happy. If I can see more than that (clearer view of a spiral galaxy ), I'll be ecstatic as that's about the limit of the 126mm dob. You can juuuuuust make them out. Just.

Originally Posted by PeterEde

Enjoy your purchase. Hopefully you get more than you paid

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Orion's M42 will be up soon, you'll love that one!

[brendo (Brendan)]

Yes saw this one last year! Spectacular. Hope to give it more time this year

Originally Posted by Pinwheel

Orion's M42 will be up soon, you'll love that one!

[brendo (Brendan)]

Hi Guys,
Just to report, I got to use the scope (briefly) last night, and aside from some minor issues with the height of the tripod (got a plan for this, Astro Pete is selling EQ2s for $39!) and a bit of mucking around learning to use the mount, I found the viewing was great. Nice bright pinprick stars, up to quite high magnitudes. Also much more contrast, enabling much better views of the nebulae and DSOs that I had time to look at than I am used to on the Heritage.
Thanks again for all your helpful advice and kind offers. I think I got what I wanted and am very pleased. Just have to hope for some more nice weather!
Clear skies everyone!