Move from catadioptric to refractor

I have a Meade 8" LX 200GPS telescope. At my age of 71, I'm finding it rather difficult to set it up so I'm considering moving to a more manageable refractor that will provide me with similar viewing. I have most of the optics and ccd camera, so I'm looking for the scope, tripod and mount. My budget is around $2,500(new/used).

Your advise and comments are appreciated.

corky

The Sky-Watcher 120mm ED doublet APOs have generally gotten good reviews for optical performance. Prices are around your budget. Might have a look at those:

Ads:
http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-sky-watcher-pro-120ed-apo-with-cgem-mount.html
http://handsonoptics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_171&products_id=2324
http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=835663

Reviews:
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2742
http://scopeviews.co.uk/SW120ED.htm
http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/104445-the-skywatcher-120ed-review/
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/3678502/Main/3675349

The Orion EON 120 is a similar scope. I don't see them listed new anymore, but
there are probably used ones around.

A completely different scheme woud be to stay with an 8" SCT, but on a German
Equatorial Mount. That might involve less massive pieces to assemble and set up:

http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-advancedvx-8-inch-schmidt-cassegrain.html

Corky,

Let me just throw out there that doing imaging with a fast refractor is very easy (relatively speaking) and very rewarding. My Televue TV-101 on an inexpensive CG5 have dome amazingly well. Here are some shots taken with this great combo (except for the Trifid Nebula):

https://www.facebook.com/russell.carroll1/media_set?set=a.3998122238760.2166696.1452139013&type=3

I can't recommend this combo highly enough.

Good Luck!

Russ