Hi all.
Firstly I must say what a great forum IIS is, so much information!
I've been lurking for a little while but now it's time to jump in.
I'm just starting to dabble in the night sky. Trudy & I live on a property at Bolivia on the New England tableland in Northern NSW that has very dark skies and no light pollution so is perfect for astronomy. We have an old el cheapo 114mm reflector telescope that was very kindly lent/given to us by friends but it really is an old banger. It is wobbly, clunky, very difficult to use and offers quite limited seeing but until we finish building our new home it will have to do.
So, to the questions!
I have a couple of Ipad apps that show star positions and such but I also wish to buy a planisphere to help find my way round the sky and there seem to be two that are generally advertised, the large Chandler and the Astrovisuals.
Is there much difference between these in ease of use, suitability etc? Which planisphere would You recommend?
My next question is are there any other astronomers/stargazers in the Tenterfield-Glen Innes area? As the time approaches to buy a decent scope I'd be keen to meet others to look through their scopes and get their opinions & ideas on what equipment & accessories to buy. I realise there's a club in Armidale (2 hr drive) but it would be nice to meet astronomers who live a bit closer if there are any hereabouts.
Thanks in advance......XT ( John).
Hi,
If you have one of the old, long tubed 900mm focal length 114mm reflector telescopes on a flimsy equatorial mount - it can be a useful telescope. I still have mine.
All it needs is a decent 6X30 finder scope attached to it - which you use with both eyes open when trying to locate some bright star or planet - and a decent 25 or 30mm eyepiece, and to be collimated properly. Really, given where you live you should get better views of galaxies with it than with an 8" telescope where I live.
Such telescopes often used to come with 5X25 finders which, when you looked inside had a little annulus which blocked more light to give sharp images, but which turned them into hopeless 5x10 finders. If your finderscope has that annulus inside it, just unscrew it and take it out. The image won't be as sharp, but it will be brighter and more useful.
Regards,
Renato
Hi John, and .
I also started with the 114mm newt, it inspired me to go bigger and better ( and spend lots more money ) but it was an eyeopener in my LP CBD area all the same.
I'd suggest that part of your stabilty\wobbly problem comes from the tripod as mine did. I hung a small anvil of about 5 kg beneath it and it made a big difference to it's viewing stability. It was good enough for me to add a small RA drive and camera and get my first tracked pics.
If you are building a new house you probably won't have time to do some of the other mods I did to improve the scope but the weight underneath does make a difference.
Welcome John, After reading your post I went looking for my old 114 SW reflector buried deep in the store room,dusted it off and sat it on a spare AZ3 tripod and used it tonight looking at the moon, forgot about the welding flash you get with a bright moon,I always use bino's in my scopes for the moon.Couldn't believe how clear the view was,a dark site will be great.I also found my 7 year old IOptron 80mm baby cube, plug it in and it tracked the moon for 90 minutes,so the old blue boys got some light tonight. Enjoy the dark nights.
Thanks for the replies.
Yep, I don't think skies get much darker than here. I have ordered a Chandler planisphere so I can start to learn the night sky. Whilst out getting some shots of the eclipse the other night I photographed something to the south which turned out to be 47Tuc, my first DSO!
I reckon the old scope is more trouble than it's worth. I have it mounted on one of my BIG photographic tripods but It's rusty/corroded, the mirror isn't too flash, the mount is wobbly and only has about 15 degrees of movement before it grinds to a halt. On top of all this it is way out of collimation, stars are only blurry fan shaped blobs. To buy a collimator would be spending more than the scope is worth. Renato, thanks for the tip on the annulus in the finder, I pulled it out and it's now much brighter ( the view through the finder is now better than through the scope!).
Hopefully I will be able to meet up with some others who have scopes so I can have a look through them and decide which will be the best scope for me to buy.
Hi Rajah, thanks for the input. I am certainly leaning towards a goto dob. I was thinking something in the 12" or 14" or even 16" size, as big as I can justify the money for.
Which brand of dob is also something to consider. Orion, Sky Watcher, Meade, are all popular, but after some reading, the Orions seem to have some advantages (on paper anyway). I'm keen to hear what people think.
John and , If Casino is not too big of a hike? there is a fantastic observer,Glen Cozens,(Glenc) on here who has observing sessions with people around the greater area once a month,that's when he is not traveling.
With a dark sky out of your back door,the bigger dob you can afford is the way to go.
I just re reread your post again,you are looking for some one closer to home.
Never mind the info is there if you ever want to use it.
PS Send him a PM if interested in getting together.
Cheers
Ron, thanks for the info. Casino is a fair hike from here but I will contact Glen sometime soon to see if I may attent one of his observing sessions.
Concerning goto dobs I read on Andrews website and them spoke to them on the phone about the Skywatcher goto setups. They may or may not allow manual movement of the scope due to excessive tollerances in the clutch/ bearing mechanism, depending on the particular scope. Is this true of Orion dobs too or do they use a different goto mechanism?
John, I'll swap your skies for mine! If you are going to buy another Newt then the collimating tools won't be wasted, you will still need them. It sounds as though the mount could use some TLC. If your even a bit mechanically adept it should be pretty easy to improve it. Clean, lubricate and adjust tension - it ain't rocket surgery! I once made a similar mount usable at the campground in the Warrumbungle NP. I borrowed it for the trip and found it had had one careful owner ... and about 5 butchers. The locking mechanism was a bolt pushing onto the shaft, a very poor but common arrangement. Instead of using brass bolts and hardened steel shafts the bolts were harder than the shaft. There were dimples all over the shaft and the shaft had been forced to turn with the lock tight. So every time you tried to lock it the scope would move as the bolt dropped into a dimple. I 'machined' a grove all the why around with a rat-tail file. Rough as guts but you could now point it and not have it move. You may find your issues are equally simple. It sounds as though the mirror needs re-aluminising. Check out the prices at Saintech to see if it is worth the expense.
John, if you are looking at big Dobs, anything over 10" is a big beastie,
so I strongly suggest that you go and look at some big ones before
buying. There are many big Dobs sitting neglected because their owners
can't be bothered humping them outside. I'm not trying to dissuade you
from getting a big one, just suggesting that you don't dive in head first.
raymo
Thanks Raymo, yes, from what I've read the bigger dobs are a handful. I certainly intend to get a look at/through a variety of scopes before making a decision. My thinking at this stage is to have a large(ish) dob permanently set up on a trolley to be wheeled out whenever required. We're building our home with no steps between house, deck and driveway and I envisage a trolley with soft tyres and drop down stabilising legs on each corner. Possibly at a later stage I may build an observatory.
After the house is built we will travel for a few months of each year and will look for another smaller scope to take with us.
What type of scope do people use for frequent transport and setup/break down?
Hi John
I also started with such a scope.
Remember high magnification is not necessary to enjoy astronomy.
A visit to Glen is very worthwhile.
He visited me and showed me things even when I was rather advanced.
Work on making your scope work.
Stabilising the mount is doable as is collimating.
Do not underestimate low magnification....in fact my goal with your scope would be get magnification as low as possible..strangly you will see more...don't underestimate the value of a dark location.
These days I prefer 80mm binnos over my 12 inch scope.
Check out the large and small magellan clouds at low mag...they will keep you entertained...cruise the milky way and see what you find.
Good luck.
Alex
Joys of trying to decide what to buy! I own an 8" Dob and it really is a terrific piece of equipment; relatively easy to move (I use a trolley) and you are ready to go in minutes...(after it cools down a bit!)...views are mind-blowing at times; I also agree that you can see a fair bit at low mag and even binoculars are really quite enjoyable! If I had the option right now, I would get myself a 12" Dob, but I am starting to really use and enjoy the one I have; I am in no way disappointed!
Thanks for the encouragement. I cannot stress enough how bad a shape this scope is in. The main mount/ tripod thread is stripped, one of the tracking arm/knobs has corroded off and the mirror reflects so little light that when I tried to view the LMC and SMC the other night using a 40mm eyepiece I could see less than by naked eye! I am serious when I say it's beyond hope and therefore have completely given up on this scope and will just make do with a planisphere for now.
I will definitely contact Glen and try to start getting a handle on which equipment will suit my needs best. With continued reading I'm still leaning toward a goto dob. I'm still keen to hear of peoples opinions concerning the popular brands of goto dobsonians.
Thanks.
.
John and 
I own an 8" Dob and it really is a terrific piece of equipment; relatively easy to move (I use a trolley) and you are ready to go in minutes...(after it cools down a bit!)...views are mind-blowing at times; I also agree that you can see a fair bit at low mag and even binoculars are really quite enjoyable! If I had the option right now, I would get myself a 12" Dob, but I am starting to really use and enjoy the one I have; I am in no way disappointed!
