Posts Made By: Owen Chin

Have you considered a used Stellarvue AT 1010? It will give you a bit more aperture and is a couple hundred less than a used Pronto that you apply toward a mount. People might argue that the color is a bit less on the planets, but the SV will pull in the DSOs better.

Jose,

I would agree that the best 4" apo for the money right now is a used Tak FS 102. On AM you can pick one up with the essential accessories for around the $1600-1700 range. But personally IMHO the best with no compromise is the TMB 100/800. They are NLA so you will have to get one on the used market. I have one and the views are stunning with no color and wonderful contrast. It can take absurd mag if seeing permits and it is BV ready straight thru sans a corrector/barlow. I have the CNC model which I prefer to the LW OTA. But on the flip side, the LW OTA is probably easier to transport and you can't argue about the Feathertouch focuser. You can get nice wide views with an f8 but any FL shorter than that, I think would compromise lunar/planetary and doubles viewing.

Have fun surfing the learning curve on APOs, (I've never looked thru one that I didn't like)

Owen

I concur Herb, his timing is impeccable and the sustain he gets on his acoustic leads are to die for...on the flip side, have you seen Roger Waters' DVD concert, "In the Flesh"? Not as etheral as Gilmore's but a lot of good Floyd music.
Enjoy, Owen

Mike,
Personally, I think the "process" of surfing the learning curve involves three issues that you must resolve for yourself.

1. How do you know what you should end up with without the requisite life experiences of going thru several scopes to set the benchmark for what you really want...just don't burn down the house to roast the pig.

2.Tempering your maximum propensity to consume to the financial reality of diminishing returns...don't spend more than you can possibly afford, but then again, don't spend less. Buy the most for what you can manage and be happy with it.

3. Enjoying the scope (or scopes) you settled on without lusting for more in terms of quality and aperture...the scope you will use the most should be the scope you keep.

The bottom line is to not to fall victim to the "process". For instance, we all have heard of the person who went for the most aperture only to find out that the Dob was too big for them to transport in their car. We have also heard of the scope junkie who has come full circle after dropping tens of thousands of dollars only to end up with what they started out with in the first instance.

It sounds like you are at that point to commit to a quality scope. I would advise that you should just pull the trigger. If you don't, you will continue to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Good Luck, Owen

I have my Sky 90 on a telepod head which sets on a Davis and Stanford Compact C tripod. It is light, is rated for 30lbs and collapses down to 22" It fits with the telepod head in the cordura nylon D&S tripod bag and is very portable. I believe their site is www.tiffen.com

Good Luck

Chris, you are perfectly correct, but the question asked for something more compact and lighter than a 3036. Mine weighs 5.4lbs, is rated for 30lbs and with the Telepod attached is less than 32" folded down. (it fits in my suitcase for air travel) It will maintain a fairly stable platform for a NP 101 if you don't fully extend the legs and view sitting down. But then again light weight grab and go setups are always a trade off.
Regards, Owen

Paul,

$3k is a lot to spend for a used 4" APO (even though I haven't heard anything but great reviews on the NP 101). I have a TMB 100/800 and just replaced my AT1010 with a Sky 90 and found that the Sky 90 gives great lunar/planetary views when the seeing will only support mags to 175x. (which is beyond my current EP collection anyway). On DSOs with a 31 Nagler, the views given the wide FOV are great. At 3.5" it almost acts like a 4" and with a telepod you are set to carry on for airline travel. Given it's f5.6, it would also be great for imaging. They can be had used with some accessories for about $1600.

If you have your heart set on a used 4" APO, personally I would go for a TMB 105 LW, or a 100/800 LW. They sell for hundreds of dollars less, is BV ready, has a FeatherTouch, and they are optically, IMHO the best 4" APO money can buy.
The Tak FS 102 is right behind the TMBs (not by much) and are hundreds of dollars cheaper than the NP 101 and the TMBs.

Good Luck, Owen

I have heard rumor that they were cheaper zooms for Nikon spotting scopes. Not sure if they are outsourced or not, but if you see pictures of the Nikon 7-22 zooms, they sure have an uncanny resemblence.

Peter,
Did you ever check with any of the members of Chiefland to see if he was a member or whether anyone knew him. If he's into astronomy and lives by Chiefland someone should know him. Their website is www.c-av.com/ I would do my own background check on him before doing anything. If no one there has ever heard of him, that in of itself will tell you something.
Good luck on your scope and the upcoming birth of your child,
Regards, Owen

I have Naglers and one Apogee 7.4-22mm zoom that I paid a whopping $49 for. It works great in an APO refractor but I'll have to defer to others who have used it in a Dob. The best out there IMHO for the price is the Leica zoom. The main problem with them like all zooms are the narrow FOV at the lowest settings but they are great for dialing in the best magnification on certain objects. My cheapo zoom works great at public outings.