Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hello helpful folk!
I'm hoping to buy a used LX200 tomorrow if it's in good condition when I see it. I've been thinking a lot about this kind of scope and doing some research as I've only ever used Newts before, and there are an awful lot of SCT accessories out there in the marketplace. Some I see a use for, others look like gimmicks to me.
After buying the scope I will not have any money to buy accessories straight away, but I can already see some that I will find very useful.
For example, the scope has Bob's Knobs on it, and this is something I would have thought very useful. I am also thinking that a dew shield of some sort will be of great help as well, not only in reducing dew but also in reducing stray light entering the OTA. The Meade dew shields look very expensive so I'd opt for a BC&F one instead.
This may prompt a broad range of answers, so what SCT accessories could you not live without?! If you had to buy them all again, one by one, what order would you buy them in?
Thanks for your advice and ideas,
Jason
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Echo
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/29/03
Posts: 3320
Loc: So Cal
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Jason,
A dew shield will be a good investment in your humid climate. To be honest I have not bought very many things for my scope. I have a nice power supply and finally had to buy a carrying case when the box wore out. You may want to start looking into a 6.3 focal reducer. I actually prefer the Celestron as the Meade brand required 25 turns to tighten on the visual back. Didn't you say this was already on a wedge?
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Queen of GOTO
Life is short.... get a massage!
Edited by Echo (11/14/03 12:09 PM)
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Yes Echo, well remembered!
It's already on a wedge but you've prompted me to consider a power supply. I'd like to power it from my shed rather than having to use batteries. A 6.3 focal reducer would also be good as I'm used to f/6 views! Thanks Echo.
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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Echo, how do focal reducers work on 10"+ SCTs? I've heard they suffered from vignetting. Is it a thing of the past, or is just a problem for astrophotography?
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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They sell power tanks over here for about $65 I think (remembering off the top of my head), but if you have access to power I wouldn't worry about it just yet. I've seen people use old trunks for storing their scopes so you don't have to pay premium prices...I'd go to the local office supplies store to see what they had and then get creative.
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Echo
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/29/03
Posts: 3320
Loc: So Cal
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Matt,
I've not had any problems with vignetting. I do believe many people use them for astrophotography. I'm bad enough with taking daytime photos and would not even consider subjecting you guys to any shots of the moon or planets I'd take. 
I hope to work out a time with a friend who wants to borrow my scope for some pics. I'll get him to try some shots with the reducer and see what happens. Have you had any luck at all with the weather lately?
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Queen of GOTO
Life is short.... get a massage!
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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Margin: whenever you can locate one, the #1 accessory for SCT users is an eyepiece turret  . It's quite expensive, but it makes things so much easier... and it will convince you you don't need 435 eyepieces as you will always use the same 4 or 5. They're dire when new, but pounce when you find one on the used market.  Mine is a Celestron 4-eyepiece prism model, optically not that great, but I can't believe how I lived without it.
Tina, thanks for the hint.
Weather's been ok for a while onight, I've just been clouded in. I reported on the deep sky forum my failure to see Encke tonight.
I'm going to the countryside for the week-end (my family owns a few acres in Central France, in Nançay, across the road from the second-largest (to Arecibo) radio telescope in the world. You can see my kids love going there!
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Echo
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/29/03
Posts: 3320
Loc: So Cal
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Matt,
Have a good weekend. Must be nice! I'd kill for a relaxing weekend in the French countryside. Great photo. I've never seen that kind of scope before. How old are your kids?
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Queen of GOTO
Life is short.... get a massage!
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wilash
Fairy Godmother
Reged: 09/30/03
Posts: 5746
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The dew sheild is number one. The Sky and Telescope web site shows a very nice hand made one.
If you usually stand with your Newtonian, I would get a stool for your SCT. It is more fun when sitting comfortably. A definite number two purchase.
I assume you have eyepieces. But if you are an old Newt CAT (catoptric - aka a mirror lens) user, you may not have any long focal length eyepieces. I would consider a good 40mm or even 50mm eyepiece - the views can be quite cramped in an SCT.
I would also think about the diagonal. If it come with a good diagonal you will be OK. Will the diagonal use 2" eyepieces?
You will also need patience. You will have to let the scope cool down for the best views. Unfortunately, I don't know of any suppliers.
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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Quote:
The dew sheild is number one. The Sky and Telescope web site shows a very nice hand made one.
If you usually stand with your Newtonian, I would get a stool for your SCT. It is more fun when sitting comfortably. A definite number two purchase.
I assume you have eyepieces. But if you are an old Newt CAT (catoptric - aka a mirror lens) user, you may not have any long focal length eyepieces. I would consider a good 40mm or even 50mm eyepiece - the views can be quite cramped in an SCT.
I would also think about the diagonal. If it come with a good diagonal you will be OK. Will the diagonal use 2" eyepieces?
You will also need patience. You will have to let the scope cool down for the best views. Unfortunately, I don't know of any suppliers.
If you use the scope at home (with access to the power grid), a blow hairdryer can be a simple alternative to the dew shield (I avoid the dew shield myself to have fewer cables dangling around).
As for patience, I think Orion Optics in the UK did at some time a little fan you plugged in the visual back of SCTs to have them cool down quicker.
Wilash is right about both the long fl eyepiece and the 2" eyepieces. Typical 40mm 1 1/4 eyepieces (plossls) have a 40° or less fov; making the field now wider than a 30mm with 50° fov. So you might want to invest in a 40mm 2" ep, even if it's not a high end one.
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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Quote:
Matt,
Have a good weekend. Must be nice! I'd kill for a relaxing weekend in the French countryside. Great photo. I've never seen that kind of scope before. How old are your kids?
How relaxed can a week-end with 2 pre-school-aged children be? 
the young astronomers are now 4 (Gwenaelle) and 3 (François) (the photo is from last year)
http://www.insu.cnrs-dir.fr/documentation/Insu_doc/nancay.html
this is the observatories website.
It's a little Arecidbo-like because it has a fixed antenna. You can see on the picture that there is a flat reflector (which moves only in altitude) to reflect radiation to the spherical (aargh! spherical aberration!) refelector which appears as a 1000feet wide by 120 tall. So it only looks around the meridian. The instruments are in the "house" in between.
I once had an opp for a VIP visit but at the moment I was stupid enough to pass it  .
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Wilash and Matt,
Thanks for your help. I'm now a firm believer that a dew shield is the first thing I should get. I could use the hairdryer option because I get power from my shed, but what's swaying it is the opportunity to reduce stray light with a dew shield and solve two problems with one solution.
The scope came with a Meade diagonal Prism, I'm not sure how good these are but having seen the position of the scope when looking at zenith I can see I will need it!
I'm glad you mentioned the long fl eyepiece as it's something I was wondering about. The scope is f/10 and I'm used to f/6 wide views. I know I can buy a focal reducer but I need to now give more consideration to my eyepieces.
Wilash, I can see what you mean about the stool!! With my Newt I had to stand up, contort my body, stand on tip toes, jump up and down and sometimes dance about like a fool before I rotated the OTA to bring the eyepiece back to my eye level. With the SCT, the tripod is a fixed height, and I can see I'll be able to sit on a stool for hours on end and not have to move about much!Fantastic!
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Victor Kennedy
Pooh-Bear
Reged: 05/22/03
Posts: 9838
Loc: Slovenia
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The stool, I think, is essential, but the most fun things I have bought are a solar filter (I got it for my refractor, not the SCT), and a binoviewer.
Sunspots are fascinating, and in England you won't have to worry about getting sunburn  . The binoviewer is expensive, but I don't regret buying it. Many people buy several sets of eyepieces to use with theirs, but I'm happy with a pair of 25 mm eyepieces and a barlow.
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To err is human; to moo is bovine.
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39708
Loc: Phx, AZ
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That would be an interesting poll; as one gets older I think the stool gradually increases in importance. You can put up with a lot if you are sitting down.
A bino-viewer was on my top three list until I got sucked into the ToUcam thing. It's in my top ten list now.
Try to borrow a diagaonal from someone else before you spring for an upgrade. I have a similar unit on my Celestron and it functions very well. Compared it to a TeleVue Everbright and I saw little difference. I'm not sure if that says alot about my eyes or the hardware. In any event, that money went to some filters instead. Where I could see a difference.
One of the first things I trashed was the straight thru finder. Gawd I hate them! Picked up a replacement unit from orion usa that works much better (on my neck - visually it's OK).
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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wilash
Fairy Godmother
Reged: 09/30/03
Posts: 5746
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As you can see the most essential accessory is money. Even though you end up trading it all in. 
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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So rboe,
are you saying then that your stool is gradually increasing then  ? Dave
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39708
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I really got to watch what I write! I think many would agree with that assessment; and are dieing to say so.
Yes is the short answer and we'll leave it at that.
(Mondays can be wicked around here!)
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Has to be the Bino
Recently got a Celestron one , found it a bit awkward at the outset (try it with a JMI focus and you'll know what I mean) but am use to it now.
Man, 3-D ! well nearly...........
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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rboe,
Yes, I was dying to say so! Hahahahaha.....! You usually get in the jabs first and I saw an opening that had to be filled fast. Keep up your humor, I always look forward to reading your posts, you have a way of making fun of everything but always in a polite sensible way. Dave
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39708
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Dave;
With this hobby you have to have a sense of humor or it will eat you alive!
and this is a family site.....
I second the bino's, they are very seductive!
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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