Posts Made By: John Holt

Another vote for a small newt.
My 6" f5 clearly out resolves my 3", 4" and 5" scopes.
At 9 lbs it's pretty easy to mount alt az.
The ota is 27" long so it will sit upright in any corner of the vehicle if desired.

I have no experience with either scope.

An open tube will be easier to cool than a catadioptric ota.
That may be a real advantage or not, depending on ones locale.
I find secondary obstruction size of scopes a bit over emphasized.

But, it has been my experience that a large secondary, as in one for imaging, combined with thick honkin' secondary spider supports, to be a contrast killer for visual use on planets.

My vote is Starlings.
Which have an incredible vocabulary during the nuptial season.

Tom Mengel said:

Hi all,

I’m finding myself in a (unfortunately) common situation of a “early forced retirement” while my wife is preparing for grad school. The bottom line is my well loved (and used) LX-10 is way to large for my projected future life style (and in truth it was getting to be a pain to set up anyway). So now I’m in the process of “trading down” to a smaller scope that must be able to hibernate in a closet corner in what may end up as compact student housing for the next few years.

I don’t want to rekindle the seeming never ending “Cats vs. Refractors” or “DOBs vs. Cats” threads but would like some feedback on small footprint scopes that involve minimal setup efforts. What I want is at least a 5 inch aperture and easy to carry (possible down stirs) to transport to a dark site. Area contenders range from USC in LA (not renown for dark skies) to Cornell in Ithaca NY (small town in the mountains – probably OK skies).

Right now I’m leaning towards trading “even” for something down the lines of a Celestron G5 on a EQ 3 mount. GOTO is nice but not requirement, just want a utilitarian setup that works well. Figure an older LX-10 with a adjustable field tripod and Magellan I DSC would be a fair dinkum trade for a newer, smaller setup.

Your thoughts?

Perhaps a 6" f5 newt on an alt-az mount. Tripod rather than table top type, as table toppers are only as stable as the table.
It's not an 8". But does resolves more than 4".

I'm sure the radian is good but I don't want the 20mm of eye relief as I want to get closer to the lens to block out extraneous light when I view at higher powers.


I dunno, it's been a long time since I observed through some ones 8mm Radian, but wouldn't you just put the eyecup up to block intrusive lighting for non-glasses viewing? I'm speculating. That's how it works with my Siebert's anyway.

The Max mount would sulely rotate at the top of a pier and most dob designs I've seen rotate at their bottom.


That's it exactly.
It doesn't matter if it's top or bottom. Just that there is stability in the direction of rotation, when the scope is not rotating.
This is where I've had trouble with my homemade mounts. The mount, in the plain of rotation, must be stiff.
In a dob, the base must be stiff, the rocker box stiff in rotation, and the altitude bearings must be stiff enough not to flex in rotation either.
For a tripod, it too must not move in the plain of rotation. Only that part of the mount that is attached to the scope should move. The altitude part of the scope mount on top of the tripod must also not allow any flex.

Here is one kind of pipe mount. I use this for multiple scopes, including a 20 lb scope. So I suspect it's heavier than you may want. 2" pipe throughout. It collapses for storage in the car.

Here it is collapsed, as it is stored in the car.
No tool set up. Takes about a minute.
Another minute or so to mount a scope via it's tube rings.

That sounds like a short.
Is it possible to simply rewire it, like one would do an old lamp?

Alex McConahay said:

I got inspired by thread 1 on the topic, but did not want to hijack the thread.

But, I just started a series for our club newsletter called "The Cheap Observer's Report." (It's a play on words from our newsletter's wonderful monthly "Chief Observer's Report".....) At any rate--seriously, I gotta write something once a month about money saving tips in astronomy. What topics would you guys suggest?

Alex

Some things I have noted:

Among the best scopes money can buy: are available for use at ones local club for the humble price of membership.

A few used plossl's: a good modest budget choice for any target and scope focal ratio.

Local rural sky: it's darker, quieter, with broader horizons. Lets any size scope see more, with out having to buy more aperture. For free.

Public hunting land: it's dark sky you already own. Spend some time learning it's secret places that will work for telescoping. Then use them.

Work out some kind of active cooling on your newt: save a ton o' funds on upgrading to more better scopes of marginally more aperture or snazzier ep's. Because half the problem with the views in that newtonian are seeing issues inside the tube and/or on top of the mirror.

Cargo pockets: the simplicity of observing with 3 or 4 ep's, each in it's specific pocket, protected from dew.

Specific clothes or gear for telescoping, and used for only that: will last for decades before needing to be replaced.

Paperbound printed atlases: the only power supply needed is two AA's, the whole sky is plotted right at hand, they last for decades, and with it's coordinates one can find the location of any target. The BSA is only ten bucks from Willmann-Bell and is a great combo with Uranometria, which is itself one the best values out there.

Just say no to caffeine: water is cheaper, hydrates better, doesn't screw up sleep after/between observing nights.

Budget wide field ep's in combo with a fast focal ratio scope: can cost more in time and money. Money to replace them with better corrected and or coated ones. Time lost chasing fuzzies around the edges of the field looking for DSO's, or time lost barlowing something else better coated when trying to get a critical look in the center of the field.

To build something(s) for telescoping: scope, mount, chair, table, case, finder. Anything at all is a hoot, at any price point.