Hi Allan L
Thankyou for pointing us in the direction of some nice locations. We often head up Katoomba way to escape the city life for a few days (when work permits) so we will check out the airstrip up there next time we hit the town.
Lostock in April & Chaffey dam Nundle are now on our to-do list. Mangrove Mountain is not to far, though I'm terribly allergic to horse hair so Guy may have to go to that location solo.
Hi Malcolm
Thankyou for your advice, we'll certainly put it to good use. After looking through cheap 60mm - 70mm store scopes picked up from flea markets over the past years, it was time to upgrade to something well worth looking through. Originally we were looking at buying something like the Celestron Nexstar 8 SE computerised Cassegrain scope, but so many reviews recommended a dobsonian over these, especially for beginners, it was well worth NOT rushing in a buying the first thing that jumped out at us. What can be seen for the price, plus the relative ease of setup, we feel we made the best choice. Even if we purchased an 8" dob, we would probably have wanted to trade it in for a 12" by now already.
The Kendrick due heater for the secondary mirror is already up and running, the digifire 7 controller might be a handy addition for that so it's back to the store to enquire. Also added the 12V DC solution package from Bintel to run the heater & fan which will save a small fortune in battery burning and costs.
Next on the list is the nebula and/or OIII filter(s) and we should be pretty much set.
Guy is looking at all the tele vue eyepieces so it's time to start hiding money in offshore accounts until we know exactly what we want and don't really want
Guess the only question now is when buying better eyepieces comes around, is buying second hand to save $$$ worth the risk as apposed to simply buying new from the stores?
Generally, buying Televue eyepieces secondhand is a good experience.
Being so expensive, owners tend to look after them.
I have bought and sold quite a few here on IIS classifieds.
Other forums (and ebay) may not be so lucky. ?
If you make it to one of our observing nights, we will be happy to let you try some televue etc eyepieces in your own scopes so you can see what works with your system.
After what seems like an eternity reading many many posts and trying to decide where to start, I finally took the plunge and Purchased the BT302 (12 inch Dob) from Bintel. First light was on saturday just gone (11th) and wow I was extremely happy with the view that i had with my first attempt. Even with the moonlight being quite bright i had a great view of Jupiter etc.
I am looking forward to many more eventful viewing sessions.
Hi Adrian,
Excellent choice! Highly recommend the 12" dob especially for beginners like us. If only the clouds would stop rolling over every time it's dragged out for the last two weeks here....
The people here have a lot of great advice, your in the right place.
Cheers Linda and Guy
After what seems like an eternity reading many many posts and trying to decide where to start, I finally took the plunge and Purchased the BT302 (12 inch Dob) from Bintel. First light was on saturday just gone (11th) and wow I was extremely happy with the view that i had with my first attempt. Even with the moonlight being quite bright i had a great view of Jupiter etc.
I am looking forward to many more eventful viewing sessions.
Adrian
WOW ! Adrian,
Congratulations!
Thats a big scope to start off with.
It should provide enormous satisfaction for years to come.
Being a first time poster...
Welcome to IceinSpace
although I note you have been around for a while.
I had not planned on the 12 inch initially but due to stock levels on the first choice and a generous price from the guys at Bintel I was able to step up a level.
I am a brand new forum memeber and someone that has been interested in space and stuff for a long time. I would like to to get into astrophotography and even though I have already been looking at allot of telescopes and getting as much info as possible I thought I should join a local Aust. forum to get even more help and advice from people already in the know.
My name is Dave and I dont even know if I am posting in the right place but oh well you will have to forgive me being a newbie and all
Hi Dave and welcome to IIS.
You've come to the right place for friendly, helpfull advice.
If you keep an eye on the starparties forum you might be able to find a group that meet at a dark site and join them. Its a great way to get some idea what is involved with setting up/using various types and sizess of equipment.
My father recently satisfied a life-long ambition to purchase a decent scope, and got himself a Meade 8" LX90 ACF - it's a lovely instrument. While he can just about use a computer, he isn't really all that internet-forum-savvy - and that's where I come in. I get the best of both worlds - access to a really nice telescope, without the not-inconsiderable expense of ownership!
I've been helping him get it set up (with assistance from a couple of IIS forum members - thanks guys!), and we got "First Light" for an hour or so last night - fabulous!
By way of paying for my access, I'm doing a few hardware hacks and upgrades to hopefully make his usage more convenient and enjoyable. He's getting quite frail, and it's a big piece of hardware for him to manhandle on his own, so I've set it up on a tripod dolly with rubber castors. (Don't laugh, it works remarkably well!) The attached photo show the scope on the dolly during our "First Light" experience from last night.
I've also got him a second hand Celestron NexImage planetary camera which we will play with in the next few weeks, as well as an eyepiece-mount for his camera, and some solar film which I will use to make a solar filter.
I'm not sure who's going to have the most fun - him or me!
Last edited by julianh72; 03-02-2014 at 05:54 PM.
Reason: Uploaded better photo
hey all,
this is my first Astronomy forum, group and i am about to purchase my first telescope. after spending some time with my DSLR and moon shots now its time to get into deep space. off course i am doing lot of reading about telescopes and i would like to get some expert opinion. frankly i am very new to this area and i love photography. so i would love to capture Saturn rings, milky-way or other galaxies if possible. please suggest best VFM under 600$.
i am from Melbourne and i have shortlisted these one.. please guide towards best of these keeping budget in mind. http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx
Hi All!
Im Amanda, I live in Western Sydney, and Im getting into Astrology!
I am here to make friends and get some advise when it comes to equipement etc!!
Hi All!
Im Amanda, I live in Western Sydney, and Im getting into Astrology!
I am here to make friends and get some advise when it comes to equipement etc!!
If you want to make friends here, I suggest you learn the difference between astrology and astronomy!
As for equipment - I suggest you start with a deck of tarot cards.
My name is James and I'm located in Melbourne. I'm new to astronomy and am looking to buy a 2nd hand 8" or possibly 10" DOB - if anyone out there is interested in selling one, please get in touch! Collapsible would be ideal, but not a necessity.
My name is James and I'm located in Melbourne. I'm new to astronomy and am looking to buy a 2nd hand 8" or possibly 10" DOB - if anyone out there is interested in selling one, please get in touch! Collapsible would be ideal, but not a necessity.
Cheers,
- James.
Hi James, welcome. Keep an eye on the classifieds on this website, Dobs often show up there I sold one last year. Also noticed the pop up on eBay a bit. All the best, John.
Hi John. I've been keeping an eye out but nothing as yet. If nothing comes up over the next few weeks I'll just buy a new one..trigger finger is getting very itchy!