The $3000 Question

Rod-AR127 (Rod) · #1 03-01-2022, 07:50 PM

I've only just dipped a toe into what is the universe of amateur astronomy, yet l already find myself wanting, most can attest to this I'm sure.

My darling wife is already complaining of my late night sojourns staring at the sky.

So my $3000 question is.....

Do l spend $ on my AR127L achro and replace the damaged focuser ($300) which will need a large adaptor turned up to suit ($200?), and get the objective lens cleaned ($?) despite my best efforts at keeping it protected. I'm not sure if it's dirty or the light pollution is causing some issues, it's difficult to describe but there looks like there is a cloud over part of my view at all times, in the same spot, my diagonal is new and perfectly clean.

OR

Buy a new OTA APO and use my existing diagonal, EP's, mount and tripod.

For example, a Vixen ED115S OTA is about $3000 ( I have family in Japan).

[Will the better optics outweigh the smaller aparture?

What else is available in that range in refractors?]

One thing l do know is this is not a passing phase, l love looking up!

croweater (Richard) · #2 03-01-2022, 09:24 PM

Hi Rod. To be honest if you are into visual and not astrophotography I think you should go for more aperture. The vixen is a great scope but I think you would be looking for something bigger before long. An eight inch (or larger) Shmidt cassegrain or newtonion reflector would be my choice. A lot more objects available to view. Hopefully other members will chip in with suggestions .
Cheers, Richard.
Ps I would maybe get the ar127 going as well for a grab and go

m11 (Mel) · #3 03-01-2022, 09:41 PM

I would second that a 8-12" dobsonian or sct would be the way to go. Also whether to want goto as well.

You will get more enjoyment out of it than the planned Vixen.

gaseous (Patrick) · #4 03-01-2022, 10:05 PM

I completely agree with the other posters - for visual, aperture is your friend. Not too sure what Mel knows about the subject though, only owning about 20 telescopes. Bloody amateur hour!

Rod-AR127 (Rod) · #5 03-01-2022, 10:27 PM

Yes it is for visual, and l know l should get off the frac wagon but they are just so so nice lol.
I guess if l get my 127 working properly I'll have enough left over for a big newt or DOB and l know nothing about SCT's, apart from what they are.
Thanks for the feed back gents, I'm looking forward to meeting a few fellow Perth IIS's one day and looking through other telescopes.

raymo · #6 04-01-2022, 01:05 AM

Well, I bought my first scope [60mm frac] 74yrs ago, and in the intervening
years have seen many scope owners travel through their astro journeys,
and I firmly believe that assuming that you have not used anything
significantly larger than your 127, you will be happy with it until you get to
try a medium size scope [8-12"]. After viewing through said scope, I predict that you will be happy with your 127 for somewhere around 4 nanoseconds.
If you are prepared to mortgage your house, you could of course indulge your
love of fracs with an 8" or slightly larger APO and all the necessary accessories + of course an observatory;[a big one would be essential in order to contain your large frac.]
raymo

m11 (Mel) · #7 04-01-2022, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaseous

I completely agree with the other posters - for visual, aperture is your friend. Not too sure what Mel knows about the subject though, only owning about 20 telescopes. Bloody amateur hour!

lol, I question my sanity and experience all the time.

I know the wife always does.

In terms of the scopes I find things start to really open up around 8" but start to really take shape at 12".

In terms of bang for buck its hard to go past a dobsonian and even if it has goto as well. Checking some local retailers you can get a 10" or 12" goto Skywatcher for under 3K.

You can always go second as scopes do come up regularly on iceinspace classifieds.

Startrek (Martin) · #8 04-01-2022, 07:18 AM

I started out purely visual only in the hobby with a 6” newt , then the Astrophotography bug bit me and now after 5years I enjoy both visual and Astrophotography ( Astrophotography consumes the majority of my sky time )
Visually I progressed up to an 8” dob (manual) and then 3 years ago bought a Skywatcher 12” Goto dob and love it.
I just wheel it out of the garage with a parcel trolley on the driveway, level it , a quick check of Collimation, perform an alignment and start observing.
I’m 61 years old ,70 kgs wringing wet and with a history of lower back problems but I can handle the 12” with ease (a 14” or 16” would be out of the question)
Complimented with a vast array of Televue eye pieces , the views are incredible.
The Skywatcher 12” Goto is a great versatile scope and the Goto is fairly accurate ( target is within field of view of eye piece)
So I started with a 6” newt and after 5 years settled on a 12” newt which is a big as I’ll ever need to go
My story .........
Cheers

floyd_2 (Dean) · #9 04-01-2022, 12:23 PM

I've owned quite a few telescopes over the last 30 odd years. I would say that my 15" dob was definitely the best for visual of the lot. The only drawback was its weight. I ended up using wheel barrow styled handles on it to wheel it in and out, and it was perfect. Just like the other guys in this thread, I'd recommend a dob for visual if you can manage one. The bigger the better, with the trade off being weight and possibly height depending upon how tall you are. There'll be no going back though

You could consider if push-to or go-to were things of value to you as well if you were going down the dob path. I originally preferred star hopping, but as I became older I wanted to spend more time at the eyepiece and less time finding targets so opted for push-to, and finally go-to for my current 9.25" SCT.

Is it likely that you might end up going down the EAA path do you think Rod? If it is, that would also influence your decision quite a lot. With my aging eyes, and not wanting to wear glasses at the eyepiece, EAA is where I've landed and I can't believe how much more of the sky it's opened up for me to look at. The downside of EAA would be setup cost and the need for additional gear to get going for the night. But at least in my case, it was such a good move. My wife may disagree lol

Rod-AR127 (Rod) · #10 04-01-2022, 03:31 PM

Firstly, thankyou all for setting me straight and getting my head out of the clouds.

Today l very gently cleaned all my lens', both objective and EP's.

I have a very large mango tree in my backyard which l am going to attribute to the state of my optics. When in flower it literally rains pollen. Easily fixed once l repair my chainsaw.

I fixed the fine focuser knob on my hexafoc focusser, still has a damaged rack and pinion which l may attempt to repair the rack with some JB weld and a fine file under a magnifier.

Now to get out and enjoy it and forget about spending too much money, I've already organised a star party in 2 or 3 weeks with some friends with small Newtonians, will be a good comparison.
We're heading to Jarrahdale oval one evening, any Perth IIS folks are welcome to join us.
Thanks again, happy days and clear skies to all.

ps. I did a quick read on EAA, would be good and definately affordable, seeing in colour would be great, but l need to replace my focusser first and get Josh to make an adaptor because mine is a weird size.

Rod.

croweater (Richard) · #11 04-01-2022, 05:52 PM

Hi Rod. Glad to see your 127 cleaned up ok. Don't worry abour head in clouds. We all get telescope fever. Don't discount getting a 8inch+ dob in the future. Great scopes fairly affordable. You can always keep yout 127 as great size for useful grab and go. I have a 130 newt which gets used regularly as is ready to use in an instant.
Cheers, Richard