5k budget...

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by issdaol

Hi Greg,

Understand and agree based non corrected Mewlon. However Gunther mentioned primarily visual and some casual/beginner imaging.

The Corrector Reducer for the Mewlon brings the FL back to around 1900mm and an image circle of 39mm which is pretty good. I have seen some very good images done with corrected Mewlons.

Plus the benefit of getting brand new equipment from one of the top Japanese manufacturers all within his budget has to be a bonus.

Cheers

Oh yes I remember now. Tak brought out a corrector for the Mewlons.
I have never loooked through one but have read numerous times they are sensational visually. F9 and 1900mm though is still tough territory for new imaging. 550 to 700mm is better for a new imager.

1900mm will show up all the errors of the mount, the polar alignment, but 39mm may be just enough for an APSc sized DSLR.

Greg.

[M_Lewis (Mark)]

I see lots of useful advice about which scope to buy, but realistically nothing about the mount...

To put it bluntly, if your foundation of your setup is poor, then putting on an awesome scope will still result in poor. So I'd do more homework into what mount would be most suitable (and include transportability in that equation, connectivity, guiding capability, parts and usability), and then look around for a decent 2nd hand scope.

A refractor is literally no-maintenance vs anything else. But is also transportable, and a decent astrograph if you decide to go down that route in the future, and a doublet is a very good alrounder.

Google for some free programs that show you the field of view on known nebula for the different size scopes, and that will be your best indicator of what you want to achieve size wise from a scope, then start searching from there for a suitably priced scope.

But I refer back to the mount, make it a decent one.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by M_Lewis

I see lots of useful advice about which scope to buy, but realistically nothing about the mount...

To put it bluntly, if your foundation of your setup is poor, then putting on an awesome scope will still result in poor. So I'd do more homework into what mount would be most suitable (and include transportability in that equation, connectivity, guiding capability, parts and usability), and then look around for a decent 2nd hand scope.

A refractor is literally no-maintenance vs anything else. But is also transportable, and a decent astrograph if you decide to go down that route in the future, and a doublet is a very good alrounder.

Google for some free programs that show you the field of view on known nebula for the different size scopes, and that will be your best indicator of what you want to achieve size wise from a scope, then start searching from there for a suitably priced scope.

But I refer back to the mount, make it a decent one.

100% Agree.

Even for pure visual, using a poor mount and tripod will make your experience VERY annoying.

My tripod alone (not including mount) cost over $2k but considering the build quality and stability was well worth the investment. Maybe a roadtrain or D9 running over it would destroy it

[Poita (Peter)]

I have a 4" fast triplet you could borrow, and a G11 you could put it on if you want to see how that goes.

There is also the option of something like a C9.25 and hyperstar combo for long and short focal length imaging.

[g__day (Matthew)]

I note there is a Losmandy G11 for sale in the mounts section right now - would make for the heart of a great system!

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by g__day

I note there is a Losmandy G11 for sale in the mounts section right now - would make for the heart of a great system!

Now you're talking. A G11 and a modded DSLR and invest the remainder in the best 4 inch APO you can afford plus the bits and pieces - an autoguiding solution. Orion has an autoguiding package that is affordable. I am not sure how good it is. It looks like it would be ok.
SBIG has the STi and the lens kit which is super small and light and would be suitable for a 4 inch APO setup (not so much a long focal length setup).


Greg.

[Steffen]

All that for a primarily visual scope?

Cheers
Steffen.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Just my thoughts, but I'd take a look at the 8" Edge HD and VX combo. Predictably, I say this because I have one but it's a lovely visual scope, and both it and the mount are quite lightweight and portable. It's an EQ mount, but easier to use and more polished than my EQ6. I feel it's overpriced in Australia compared with over the big pond though.

Then once you want to dabble with photography, you're ready to go for planetary, but just get a small apo for DSO photography and use on the same mount.

If you're interested in looking at mine sometime, PM me.

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by Steffen

All that for a primarily visual scope?

Cheers
Steffen.

What he said

[slt (Gunther)]

Thanks to all for your help, particularly to those offering me a "look". As already mentioned it will primarily be a visual instrument, so for the time being I'm not considering G11s and SBIGs, on budget grounds alone. FWIW I'll probably end up with a quality 4" refractor on a mount that will give me some lee way in the future. Again, thanks for all the input!

[g__day (Matthew)]

Even for visual a less than solid mount may guarantee you hours of frustration. Jumping from the CG5 (an EQ5 variant) to the Atlux was an incredible step for me. Going from wobbles, weird mount behaviour, erratic pointing and not finding targets, strange slews, gear almost knocking etc... really impacted my visual and made astrophotography an exercise in pure frustration. The much better quality mount just made everything work pretty much flawlessly.

My advice would be a second hand mount for $3.5K (originally worth maybe $5K) paired with a second hand triplet APO (I bought mine for $2.5K) would just sit in your possible $6K budget and give you solid, reliable enjoyment - versus possible regret spend and you saying if only I listened!

You might get lucky - but is it worth the risk if the goes pair shaped?

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

So here's the thing...all of these solutions are all a great way to spend $5k, but how about starting off blowing $500 on an 8" Dob? It doesn't get much simpler than one of those for visual and packs enough light grasp to start seeing some decent detail in DSOs.

A 4" or 5" apo will present the image in the most beautiful way no doubt, but can't avoid being photon starved compared to bigger reflectors/cats of similar price tag or less. Globs for example need an 8" or greater scope for anything near full wow factor

There no one scope to rule them all...that's why many of us have more than one

Imaging wise...I'm leaving that to the experts

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

For primarily visual observing you would be nuts to go with a 4" refractor. I have 3 so it's not like I don't appreciate them. However, an average 8" dob will show you much more, and for your budget you could probably find a used dob up to 16". The whole argument around light pollution or poor seeing being worse in a big scope does not match my experience either.
Many of my friends here use the CPC9.25" or similar and I am always impressed with the versatility and convenience of these. I'm pretty sure 5k would get you something like that.
Cheers, and remember, advice is worth what you pay for it :-)
Andrew.

[PeterHA (Peter)]

That must be the most professional fited DIY portable power pack I have seen.
Very well done, impressive.
Maybe post the description and images in the DIY forum.
Cheers

[PeterHA (Peter)]

Gunther,

That must be the most professional fited DIY portable power pack I have seen.
Very well done, impressive.
Maybe post the description and images in the DIY forum.
Cheers

[slt (Gunther)]

First off, apologies to all Sydney-siders for the terrible weather during the last 10 days or so ;-)

Well, after a lot of soul searching and reading a couple more books (Choosing and Using a New CAT, R. Mollise and Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope, N. English) I ended up with a new CAT (after almost having bought a FSQ-106, then almost bought a C9.25, then almost bought a Meade 10”). But in the end aperture fever got the better of me, and courtesy of Steve Massey of MyAstroShop I’m now the owner of a brand-spanking new EdgeHD 11, sitting on an AZ-EQ6.

A few notes: Steve was very helpful in getting me both the OTA and the mount delivered within 2 business days. After the obligatory couple of weeks’ worth of cloudy sky/rain, I finally had the opportunity to try it out last night.

Yesterday afternoon was cloudless, but by sunset they were threatening once again. But I had the scope on the terrace at sunset for acclimatisation just in case. My terrace faces north, and while I can still see the SCP from eye level, the polar finder of the mount can’t, so I’ll be in Alt-Az mode for a while. Then came an impatient wait for the first stars to appear. As soon as I had made out α Tau I commenced a 2-star alignment. For the second star I choose α Leo, and I was pleasantly surprised that the mount was level enough to have it at the edge of the field of view in the 23mm Axiom that was included with the scope. So much, so good…

A quick defocus on Regulus to check the collimation … in retrospect not an ideal target, since it was relatively low in the sky. Even so, perfectly concentric diffraction rings, only the slightest scintillation. (Seeing was obviously not too bad last evening!) After having heard and read horror stories about badly collimated CATs new out of the box I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

Now for the fun part. Jupiter. Just in time for the end of a shadow transit of Ganymede. First wow experience of the evening. Next stop M42. Second wow. Still twilight, but plenty of structure and texture in the nebula. Swapped the Axiom out for the Ethos 13 mm (don’t ask, somehow snuck that one in J). Even more wow! E and F of the Trapezium clearly visible. Back to Jupiter for a closer look. The shadow of Ganymede looked crisp and clean as if someone had taken a hole punch to the face of the planet! Was wishing for a shorter EP then, because it would have easily taken twice as much magnification, but 215x would have to do for now.

Selected a few more targets in the north (transparency from the zenith south wasn’t that great): M35, α Gem, 38 Gem, γ Leo (wow once again). A final look at Mars, but not much too see, still too low in the sky…

A note on the mount. The C11 (15kg with finder and EP) appears a bit on the large side for the AZ-EQ6, but it’s within the specified payload of 20kg. And I found it to be quite solid. Maybe not good enough for fancy AP work, but I primarily got this setup for visual observing, and learning the ropes with AP. I’ll get something heavier once I have a permanent setup somewhere.

Happy little vegemite for now!

Thank you all for your advice and help. Clear skies!

(and thank you Peter, I’ll get round to writing up some notes of my power pack)

[slt (Gunther)]

Oh ... and yes, I exceeded my budget a little ... about 50%. Less that most government projects

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Way to go busting the budget congrats on your new scope

I enjoy my Edge as a visual scope, hope you do too.

[MortonH]

That setup looks awesome!

[SimmoW (SIMON)]

Really nice setup there, and great friendly advice from everyone!