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Old 21-02-2021, 07:42 PM
SumoGeek (Gavin)
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Howdy! A wanderer from Sydney west.

Finally can gather myself on this Star wandering journey. Other than the formation of life form itself, the whole formation of the universe is the other wonder that we human kind have the privilege to observe and even be able to make some sense of it.
I am very new to this journey and very glad to have found the community of IIS. Having lurking around the forum over the last few days I have discovered such a rich repository of knowledge and expertise here and can be sured that I am no longer clawing blindly.
Currently, I have a small 70mm spotting scope and also a SW desktop 130p. Recently, I got myself a ES Twilight I mount as I am looking at getting a bigger scope, targeting 8”/200mm range as the max size portable scope, for DSO observation purpose. Would happy to take your suggestion on a good choice.
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Old 21-02-2021, 08:01 PM
jahnpahwa (JP)
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Welcome Gavin!

8" newt is a fine choice for your next scope, I reckon. I use mine (Skywathcer 200pds) on a gso alt az mount that is something similar to the Twilight... It vibes, for sure, but for me it's manageable and it doesn't ruin my session. If allowing 3+ seconds for the set up to settle sounds like a hassle, maybe a 6" would do better?

I also enjoy sumo
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Old 22-02-2021, 12:24 PM
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mura_gadi (Steve)
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Hello and welcome,

Some questions as normal...

(almost think about making it a proforma under the beginners section - of which I am a member)

Best scope or best scope for fit...

1 - How fit are you, still young and bench 90kilo? Your overall body strength/mobility does play apart in what to get. (Weight, size)

1a - Roll in/out setup or a setup in an area that traverses three flights of stairs, a small creek and 100m to your site? (maybe ease of access to standard viewing area?)

2 - Do you want to travel with your scope, holidays/dark sites? If so, what car will you be driving? (Storage and space)

3 - What's your budget? (The big one)

4 - Do you want ep's with that? (scope, mount and eyepieces for the full optical train)

5 - What you want to view . (DSO's in your case)

6 - Do you want to move to astrophotography with this scope?



Steve
I'm sure a few ppl would like to put up suggestions, but a little more info would allow for more targeted responses, with a better fit...

Ps. With the 8"GSO ditch the RACI for a Telrad(or similar light weight finder), you'll get your money back or better selling the RACI. The 8" GSO is 22pounds and 10ounces, the 18pound weight recommendation on your mount will love you. Buy some floor protectors for furniture(Bunnings etc) and use them to help damped your tripod legs if your on solid ground(concrete, pavers, decking etc). (I'm guess the RACI with mount/base is about 3pound+, and you'll want large ep's with wider field of views at some stage for DSO's and they can add a lot of weight again)

Last edited by mura_gadi; 22-02-2021 at 01:09 PM.
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Old 22-02-2021, 01:28 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Re Scope

Gavin welcome ..The 8 inch newt will serve you well,does it all really ..just make sure its collimated..easy way
https://garyseronik.com/no-tools-telescope-collimation/
Bigjoe
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Old 22-02-2021, 04:53 PM
SumoGeek (Gavin)
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Thanks all for your suggestions!

See, no doubt that there are wealth of experts around and I am surely on good hands with this long rewarding journey!

Per Steve's question to get me thinking, I would say I am ok with carrying some weight around and would have some space to fit the gears into my mid-sized SUV. Surely, to get better DSO observation, I must travel to dark sky site - I have even been to Coonabarabran to check out the area. However, my current interest is solely around hunting of DSO and to be amazed with their wonders. May take a photo or 2 mainly for session documentation purpose. I know I can always get those beautiful 30"x20" space canvas hanging around my house and swap them as instructed by my Mrs.....

The GSO 8" newt seem like a good choice. Will check with Andrew's new shipment which I hope will arrive some time in March. Will go with the red dot finder/Telrad instead of the RACI.

I did consider the RC8 but it seems that I am not ready for the possible frustration that could come along to toy with it as a newbie.

Also considering getting a Fast 120/150mm refractor further down the road as I think that will also give sharper view on the planets...
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Old 22-02-2021, 05:16 PM
Saturnine (Jeff)
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Hi Gavin and Welcome

An 200mm / 8" newt, either f5 or f6 if well collimated will give you better views of the moon and planets than a fast f5 refractor, though they are not as bulky, the refractors will have a degree of colour fringing that the reflector wont have. That is , unless said refractor is an Apochromat, which is much more expensive than an Achromat.
The newts you are thinking of are most likely Skywatcher or GSO and out of the box they should be collimated already but checking occasionally and adjusting if necessary is not as big a deal as it may sound. once you have done it a few times you can almost do it in your sleep, so to speak. They are also great for DSO hunting, especially if you can get to a dark site and will reveal 1000s' of faint fuzzy objects and the brighter objects will impress.
Have fun.

Jeff
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Old 22-02-2021, 06:20 PM
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Rerouter (Ryan)
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Things like the OTA, e.g. an 8" newt should be comfortable enough for most to carry a few hundred meters, it just comes down to how you need to split things up to make it easy for the other segments, it will end up being a mostly 1 handed load held by the rail due to the awkward size / shape

for myself, the mount and tripod are light enough to treat as 1 piece when carrying, so 2 trips at most, with a small backpack to carry all the rest of the pieces.

You can get reasonable exposures of DSO's without going out to true dark sites if none are nearby, just looking for where is darker than you can help if you feel your struggling to get the detail you want (usually exposure length is what you want in either case)
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Old 27-02-2021, 10:02 PM
SumoGeek (Gavin)
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On this full moon night, having waited and waited, the sky remained cloudy and I shall call it!
I would have tried out my great catch of a 10” Dob! Got it used but in great condition. Surely, I will have a lot of fun for the times to come.
Thanks for all your great suggestions!

Ps. Still thinking about getting a refractor as a gng scope.
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  #9  
Old 27-03-2021, 06:03 PM
SumoGeek (Gavin)
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All set and eager to go.

After 2 weeks of heavy rainfall, this is the night and I have my gears setup ready for the night.
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