laconicsax
super member
Reged: 10/05/10
Loc: Portland, OR
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: csrlice12]
#5496859 - 10/30/12 08:44 PM
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It doesn't end...ever.
We all have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to what we own, but I doubt that anyone would decline an opportunity to look through a bigger scope.
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Asbytec
Guy in a furry hat
Reged: 08/08/07
Loc: La Union, PI
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: laconicsax]
#5497053 - 10/30/12 11:02 PM
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Had aperture fever most of my life. The fever finally broke. Two things ended it for me: retirement and satisfaction with the 150mm Mak.
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omahaastro
sage
Reged: 08/30/06
Loc: Omaha, NE
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Asbytec]
#5497656 - 10/31/12 12:06 PM
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I'm actually afraid what retirement might bring me in terms of telescope fantasies... although they'll have to be 'static', as my back probably won't be able to handle much more of a mobile telescope.
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pstarr
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/17/04
Loc: NE Ohio
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: omahaastro]
#5497773 - 10/31/12 01:29 PM
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I'm actually afraid what retirement might bring me in terms of telescope fantasies... although they'll have to be 'static', as my back probably won't be able to handle much more of a mobile telescope.
Unfortunately, when you get old enough for retirement, you will be wishing for better eyes, not a bigger scope. 
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tezster
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/14/09
Loc: Missisauga, Canada
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: omahaastro]
#5497843 - 10/31/12 02:20 PM
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I'm actually afraid what retirement might bring me in terms of telescope fantasies... although they'll have to be 'static', as my back probably won't be able to handle much more of a mobile telescope.
Jeff Huston
Obsession 30" f/5 (#102)
Obsession 18" f/4.5 (#264)
Sooo.... a 30" Obsession is starting to seem a little inadequate to you? 
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RAKing
Postmaster
Reged: 12/28/07
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: apolloadama]
#5497938 - 10/31/12 03:17 PM
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When does aperture fever end? 15"? 22"? 30"? Empty bank account? Grave? Never?
I do not think there is a cure, so aperture fever never ends. We just try to control it the best we can and that might be with a lack of money, time, health, or whatever.
I also think a lot of us use the "Two O'clock Rule" when considering a bigger scope. Anyone can set up a bigger scope at 8 PM -- but it's how you feel when you have to pack it up at 2 AM that often dictates how you feel about that scope. 
I wish I could have a bigger scope, but even though I have the money I do not have the health to handle anything bigger than what I have right now. But I'll just keep saving and maybe someday.................
Cheers,
Ron
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Bill Weir
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/01/04
Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: pstarr]
#5498694 - 10/31/12 11:29 PM
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I'm actually afraid what retirement might bring me in terms of telescope fantasies... although they'll have to be 'static', as my back probably won't be able to handle much more of a mobile telescope.
Unfortunately, when you get old enough for retirement, you will be wishing for better eyes, not a bigger scope.
Right, which is why I got my retirement scope a good 1/2 decade ahead of the proposed date. I work in health care and see so many people who don't do as well after retirement as they thought they would. I don't expect to be one of those people but then again who does?
When my wife insisted and forced me into buying the scope I really wanted ahead of schedule I only argued a little. I was planning on waiting until my severence package but decided to bury the cost into a reno loan. In a couple of months it will all be paid off so it's win-win. I also made the choice to get the scope in a focal length where at the zenith I only have to stand on my tippie-toes. This negates the need for those pesky ladders or step stools. This is of course as long as osteoporosis doesn't set in and I shrink.
So I'm in the camp where if you do get aperture fever get it reasonably early in the hobby (after you've gained a reasonable amount of observing skill) while you can still enjoy that aperture. I mention the gaining observing skill because I fully recognize aperture isn't everything.
Bill
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: apolloadama]
#5498827 - 11/01/12 01:20 AM
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For me, aperture fever ended about 2 years ago. I'd used an 8" SCT for over a decade and wrung every photon out of it that was humanly possible  so when i got the financial chance to increase my aperture, i figured 'what the heck' and decided to double it and go for the 16"LB - best thing i ever did.  Would i ever get a larger scope? In all honesty, no. Even though the 16LB is on wheels, it's all i can physically handle but it makes me happy - can't ask for anything more than that.
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panhard
It's All Good
Reged: 01/20/08
Loc: Markham Ontario Canada
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Carol L]
#5498832 - 11/01/12 01:25 AM
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The fever stops when the body wears out or the wallet is empty and no hope of refilling it.
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csrlice12
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/22/12
Loc: Denver, CO
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: panhard]
#5499112 - 11/01/12 09:58 AM
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The fever stops when you no longer have need of the toys...
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Bill Weir
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/01/04
Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: csrlice12]
#5499851 - 11/01/12 08:12 PM Attachment (20 downloads)
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The fever stops when you no longer have need of the toys...
So you mean when we're dead. Toys = Fun, so my reasoning is when I no longer need toys I guess I'm no longer having fun so I might as well be dead.
Right now I'm having so much fun with my toy.
Bill
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BigC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/29/10
Loc: SE Indiana
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: whirlpoolm51]
#5499867 - 11/01/12 08:27 PM
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You could just replace apeture fever with dark sky fever!!!
If it wasnt for light pollution i do not think apeture fever would be much of a problem to some as it is these days. If i could walk out my back door every night to see the milky way and a a sky full of stars , i would still have my 4" starter refractor!!!!
I believe that is why the old-timers were somewhat satisfied with their modest 3" refractors and 6" reflectors.A dark sky just lets you see so much.And no doubt the economics of what scope one can afford is another limit.
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fnowat
member
Reged: 06/12/12
Loc: Cleveland, USA
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Tom Clark]
#5500264 - 11/02/12 12:41 AM
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Out in the middle of no-where and NOT have those contrails stretching overhead!!
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Theres a few amateur astronomers missing in Florida that were last seen viewing in the Everglades...oddly enough, the gators are getting fat...coincidence?
And some of those Florida amateurs got tired of the clouds and hazy skies and moved to the desert of New Mexico. For me aperture fever ends here…
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Mike Harvey
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/01/04
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: fnowat]
#5500340 - 11/02/12 02:04 AM
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It MIGHT end...or, at least, the symptoms may become manageable.
In my avatar is my 28" f/3.66 that I've had for over 7 years now!
Trust me when I tell you that this is a 'record' that anyone who knows me finds hard to believe. I moved up the aperture ladder, discarding smaller scopes for larger, at near warp speed!
But, 28" has been the "sweet spot" for me. Instead of more aperture, I just want DARKER SKIES!
Even at my dark-sky observing site (Chiefland Astronomy Village) the once jet-black skies are showing some gray.
Fifteen years ago, a 20" would show comparable views to the 28" today..
I can't afford the divorce that a move to New Mexico would include, so my hope is to just have the time off to take the 28" to darker skies.
In all fairness, I should also say that getting a Mallincam has probably helped reduce my "fever" the past few years. Using a high definition monitor, the deep sky views are "Hubble-esque"! In real-time (for all practical purposes) observing it shows images that simply can't be seen at the eyepiece of ANY telescope!
Come to Chiefland for the November new moon! There's a week-long star party on one of the observing fields. You'll find LOTS of aperture (including a 36"), many Mallincams, and a bunch of new friends who'll be happy to share scopes.
Mike
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omahaastro
sage
Reged: 08/30/06
Loc: Omaha, NE
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Mike Harvey]
#5500374 - 11/02/12 03:41 AM
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Sooo.... a 30" Obsession is starting to seem a little inadequate to you?
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Unfortunately, when you get old enough for retirement, you will be wishing for better eyes, not a bigger scope.
How about a Ritchey-Chretien sitting atop a Paramount, relaying images via CCD to warm viewing room nearby.
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csrlice12
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/22/12
Loc: Denver, CO
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: omahaastro]
#5500553 - 11/02/12 08:45 AM
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...and don't foget the remote control!
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: csrlice12]
#5500656 - 11/02/12 10:18 AM
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Heh, heh, I gotta tell you, a remote controller telescope can be nice, and at least a partial cure for aperture fever. My aperture fever has crested at 16.5", and has even dropped back a bit to 16". Scopes this big just get to be a handful to manage and my 16" LightBridge has hit a sweet spot (my 16.5" is the crown of my ATM days). However, I also have an itch to scratch on the imaging side of things and as an aside I also use my cameras to observe with in real-time. For this I control my cameras and telescopes from inside my house where it's comfy comfy and I can play with the real-time images on my computers all night. I can also reach really deep using small scopes. I can easily 'see' far more with a 4.5" f/4 Newtonian than I can with my 16.5". No contest, at all. However, the visual experience is decidedly different than the camera experience and I enjoy them both.
Have fun!
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: omahaastro]
#5500657 - 11/02/12 10:18 AM
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Sooo.... a 30" Obsession is starting to seem a little inadequate to you?
Quote:
Unfortunately, when you get old enough for retirement, you will be wishing for better eyes, not a bigger scope.
How about a Ritchey-Chretien sitting atop a Paramount, relaying images via CCD to warm viewing room nearby.
But then, why bother, why not just google "Hubble" and be done with it? Faster, cheaper and the images are better....
Jon
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Starman81
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/06/08
Loc: Metro Detroit, MI, USA
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5500705 - 11/02/12 11:01 AM
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For me, maybe when seated observing is no longer possible. Bill Weir's f/3.3 20" looks great. I am thinking that would be the end of the aperture-fever road for me. For now, I am dreaming of an inexpensive 12" (read: Intelliscope or Skywatcher dob) scope as the next step up from my 8". IIRC, 8" to 12" will give me a 1 magnitude gain and then 12" to 20" will give me another magnitude gain. Being financially reealistic, I think a 16" Lightbridge is where I might max out.
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kfrederick
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/01/08
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Re: Aperture fever, when does it end?
[Re: Starman81]
#5500720 - 11/02/12 11:12 AM
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http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/owl/ this might help
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