Telescope Reviews: The one product intro that got you excited

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David Pavlich
Transmographied

Reged: 05/18/05

Loc: Mandeville, LA USA

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Bart]
#5182501 - 04/20/12 10:36 PM

I've been at this for a relatively short time (2005) so my perspective is fairly short. For me, a mount junkie, the introduction of the Paramount MX. A mount that weighs 50lbs, but has an imaging capacity of 90lbs is pretty impressive.

The other is the product line from companies like Astro Tech. No, they aren't Taks or APs, but a 5" triplet with a pretty good focuser and good optics at that pricepoint has introduced a lot of observers and imagers to refractors that would have only been a dream not so many years ago.

And let's not forget the very affordable RCs now available.

And last but certainly not least, the hyperfast Newt mirrors. If someone would have said that they were going to make a commercially available 20" Newt that would have the focuser height of 60 or so inches at zenith 5 years ago, you would have to ask what pharmacy they buy their vitamins at.

David

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yweln
member

Reged: 08/05/11

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Eddgie]
#5182673 - 04/21/12 02:19 AM

I have to agree with Mike about GoTo. Probably just because I'm lazy, but I like having the entire sky catalogue at my fingertips.

Second to that was the ACF telescope design. It brought the venerable SCT into the 21st Century. The telescope of the future, and the future is now.

Edited by yweln (04/21/12 02:20 AM)

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Richard McC
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/31/04

Loc: Australia

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: yweln]
#5182773 - 04/21/12 07:47 AM

First: Dobsonians becoming popular leading to larger aperture scopes becoming relatively much more affordable. Sure, you can pay a lot of money for a premium large scope ("Can I have a look please?"

) but you can also buy a decent 10", 12" or 16" for a reasonable sum as Carol pointed out above.

Second: Excellent long eye relief `wideish' apparent field of view eyepieces, e.g., Pentax XL/XW, TV Radian/Delos, Vixen LVW, etc, becoming readily available (I wear spectacles and prefer oculars with an apparent field of view of >= 60°).

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JoeMc
sage

Reged: 11/08/05

Loc: North Carolina

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5183180 - 04/21/12 12:46 PM

Teeter's 8 inch STS solid tube scopes. Love mine. Can carry everything in one trip without straining my weak back, adequate aperture, outstanding craftsmanship, best customer service I have experienced, top-notch quality, lots of options available, looks cool, and did I say I love mine?

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rigel123
Postmaster

Reged: 06/29/09

Loc: SW Ohio

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: JoeMc]
#5183458 - 04/21/12 03:56 PM

Mine was the ETX-LS6. Not knowing anything about AP I figured what a great way to get into AP with a scope that aligned itself and then tracked your object! Now that I know what I know, I still love my LS6 and use it for visual while I'm imaging with my real setup!

It got me started and I'll always remember how excited I was when that thing arrived!

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Sean Puett
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/06/10

Loc: always cloudy, washington

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: rigel123]
#5183970 - 04/21/12 10:48 PM

I don't know if this counts but, the explore scientific sale that lasted a year or so and the televue 20/20 sale. It took my eyepiece collection up about 2 levels and i bought a paracorr. It really changed my appreciation of equipment and widened my views. The paracorr made me a low mag ultrawide field junkie.
The downside is that i really notice off axis issues now and they bother me more.

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PJ Anway
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/04/03

Loc: North Coast

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Sean Puett]
#5184280 - 04/22/12 07:39 AM

Coronado H-alpha solar filters

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hottr6
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 06/28/09

Loc: 7,500', Magdalena Mtns, NM

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: PJ Anway]
#5184563 - 04/22/12 11:26 AM

Quote:

Coronado H-alpha solar filters

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Al Canarelli
Post Laureate

Reged: 12/06/07

Loc: Central New Jersey

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: hottr6]
#5184610 - 04/22/12 11:53 AM

The Lunt double stacked dedicated H-alpha solar telescope. What made me so excited about this telescope is that I previousely owned a Coronado solar filter, which I used with my TV Pronto...and I loved it! In those days, the Cononado cost about $3,500 new and, in spite of the high cost, was more than worth it. Unfortunately, I ran into a financial bind and had to sell the scope.

Several years later, Lunt Solar Systems was formed (by the family who had sold Coronado to Meade). They were selling a whole line of solar telescopes at VERY attractive prices compared to the price of the Meade owned Coronado scopes. They had a double stacked telescope that I just had to own, so I ordered one and paid for 1 third the cost up front!

I waited about 13 or 14 months before receiving the scope but it was all worth it. The scope was built like a tank, quite beautiful and optically FANTASTIC!

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Alph
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 11/23/06

Loc: Melmac

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: johnnyha]
#5184815 - 04/22/12 01:46 PM

Quote:

Televue barrel undercuts!

The worst idea ever for compression rings.

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DoctorNoodle
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 07/14/07

Loc: Lawn Guyland, NY

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Richard McC]
#5184825 - 04/22/12 01:54 PM

Quote:

First: Dobsonians becoming popular leading to larger aperture scopes becoming relatively much more affordable. Sure, you can pay a lot of money for a premium large scope ("Can I have a look please?" ) but you can also buy a decent 10", 12" or 16" for a reasonable sum as Carol pointed out above.

YES!!!

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astro_baby
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 06/17/08

Loc: United Kingdom

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: DoctorNoodle]
#5187459 - 04/24/12 02:24 AM

Maybe I am in the weong hobby as I never get excited about hardware....it might be cos I used to work in marketing and had to at least look excited about the latest soft drink or bottled water or new design shampoo bottle

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StarStuff1
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/01/07

Loc: South of the Mason-Dixon Line

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: astro_baby]
#5188523 - 04/24/12 05:17 PM

2nd place: Lunt Ha scope.

1ST PLACE: a 3rd Gen Image Intensifying EyePiece (IIE). This has changed my observing habits more than anything else. Imagine seeing the Horsehead Neb and California Neb from your yard in surburbia with an 80mm refractor. Plus there are MANY other faint/elusive targets that were almost impossible to see before that now are easy picken's.

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Pod
member

Reged: 04/17/12

Loc: An American abroad

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: StarStuff1]
#5190101 - 04/25/12 03:32 PM

Quote:

2nd place: Lunt Ha scope.

1ST PLACE: a 3rd Gen Image Intensifying EyePiece (IIE). This has changed my observing habits more than anything else. Imagine seeing the Horsehead Neb and California Neb from your yard in surburbia with an 80mm refractor. Plus there are MANY other faint/elusive targets that were almost impossible to see before that now are easy picken's.

Hmmm without wanting to drift off topic too much, tell me more about this IIE it sounds amazing

Edited by Pod (04/25/12 03:32 PM)

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Stew57
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 05/03/09

Loc: Silsbee Texas

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Pod]
#5190459 - 04/25/12 06:54 PM

I think the mallincam is the one astro purchase that has really excited me. It makes every scope act much larger so it helps cure aperature fever and allows my old eyes to still enjoy the hobby.

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gary-sue69
sage

Reged: 07/19/07

Loc: Maybee MI.

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Stew57]
#5190616 - 04/25/12 08:32 PM

I would have to say my first would be the mallincam ex, then my WO 132 FLT APO, and now is the new meade LX800.

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StarStuff1
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/01/07

Loc: South of the Mason-Dixon Line

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Pod]
#5191903 - 04/26/12 03:24 PM

/quote]

Hmmm without wanting to drift off topic too much, tell me more about this IIE it sounds amazing

It is pretty amazing.Go to the Video and Electronically Assisted Astromy forum for observing reports. About 3 or 4 years ago a CN article by Lindsey (?) alerted me to what could be seen with these devices when combined with a photographic Ha filter. Without the filter globular and open clusters are busted wide open. People complain about the cost but the total cost is nearly the same as an astro photo set up. Plus, no wires or moniter or computer are involved.

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Steven Aggas
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 04/15/08

Loc: Arizona

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: StarStuff1]
#5193882 - 04/27/12 06:52 PM

1983 Orion Catalog. All of about 20 pages, newspaper quality 8"x10" listing quality eyepieces like Kellner, Modified Orthoscopic, and the drooled-after Plossl's....

But the wish list started with the 8"f6 mirror and 1.52" secondary, eventually crafted into Elements in Harmony I, and along with that mirror set came the 28mm and 9mm Ortho's.

I think I still have that catalog.

Steven

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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster

Reged: 06/16/04

Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Steven Aggas]
#5193962 - 04/27/12 07:56 PM

Here is a few:

- The ED-80... who could believe one could buy a true ED/APO for $500.

- Digital Deepsky cameras. I had tried my had at film with some success but it was so much work. Digital cameras were such an improvement but it was still too much work for this lazy bones.

- The original Orion XT-8. I had a 12.5 inch Discovery and an 8 inch F/6 Pirate Instruments Dob. I saw a black XT-8 on the floor at OPT. It was pretty, much more sophisticated, much more attractive than the Pirate Instruments..., I was used but the XT-8 had only been out for a year or so... I had to have it...

jon

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5195196 - 04/28/12 03:43 PM

Quote:

All the hoo-hah about the new Meade scopes and mounts, with threads here running into the dozens of pages, reminds me of other product roll-outs in the past that stirred folks up. There are literally eons of combined astronomy experience here on CN. Looking back, what announcements or debuts of new astro-gear or products got you the most excited in the past? I would have to say the introduction and refinement fo go-to technology did it for me.

1970: Celestron Orange Tube C8. The thought I might be able to afford an SCT was CRAZY (the Blue and Whites had been way, way out of my league). I was a youngun, still, and it took about five years, but I did get one and never looked back.

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