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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4643
Loc: Illinois, US
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Well, I can agree with Alexis and Albert and perhaps some others when they say that a small Mak might be the way to go. I can also compare it to the AT66ED, and tell you that you are likely to get better planetary views from it. Mine is 90mm, and surprises me with excellent views sometimes when looking at planets.
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 895
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Quote:
I had not considered Meade goto Mak kits,mainly because I don't like the extra set up involved in using goto. My 70mm Meade refractor has goto of a sort, and I have never gotten it to work right - finally gave up and went "old school" with charts and finder. - but attaching a Mak with fork to a home made table - what an ingenious idea.
I can appreciate that. The goto on the larger ETX's works pretty well (or at least it does on mine), and mainly you get tracking, which is nice for observing the planets at high power. It's not like you really need GOTO for finding the moon and planets though!  In any case, if you don't like it, you just don't, so no more about that.
I definitely think you should consider a permanent observatory of some sort. Definitely check out the observatory forum. I can appreciate your limitations - I'm ambulatory, but my knees are completely shot, and standing for any length of time at the eyepiece is just agony. So I designed my observatory to be used entirely while remaining seated.
The big advantage of a permanent observatory is that it greatly reduces the limits on the size of the scope you can use. If you never have to set it up, who cares how much you can lift? (I can't lift the scope in my observatory, at least not alone.) Obviously your budget is the limiting factor here, but there are a variety of things you can do in a permanent observatory to improve the comfort and usability of your scope.
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john D
All you have to do is ask!!
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 4941
Loc: Midlothian, VA
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i have a orion 90mm mak-cass. i really like it. i just upgraded to a etx-125 so i'm not using it anymore. its a great telescope. and got some really nice views from it. i got to see some dso with this telescope even with all the LP. and the views on Jupiter are really nice. this small scope will sure surprise you.
BTW for anyone interested i'm currently selling my 90mm mak, and a 60mm refractor on a goto mount. and giving away FREE meteorites with the telescope. PM me for more info about the telescope and prices. 
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Meade ETX-125
Meade LXD55 mount
Philips SPC900NC webcam
Seymour Solar filter
Backyard Observatory
 -Midlothian VA
--Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave--
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leo9
member
Reged: 06/17/08
Posts: 70
Loc: Western Oregon, USA
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That combo looks like one solution. Thanks for the link Patrick.
john D - nice to know it works ok...
Oh, I googled "telescope mounts for wheelchair access" and discovered some interesting information. I am going to post the links on the mounts bulletin board so everyone can benefit.
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Nikon 12x50 Action; Pentax 8x40 PCF WPII
Bogen 3220 w/3way+qw
Trico SkyWindow
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7619
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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I haven't heard about the total investment in terms of dollars and cents the OP can sink into this setup.
Beware of that cheap EQ tabletop mount as it makes balancing the telescope like the short tube 80 acro a really chore. IMO a 102mm Mak is too much scope for it,period.
I really like the idea of a 102mm Mak on a quality/sturdy photo tripod or better yet on something like the Vixen Portamount. I've yet to have a more compact,intimate setup for close quarter,comfortable viewing. Focuser/diagonal position is critical and an OTA only about 12 inches long makes using one a snap,with little extra movement from a seated position needed. In this circumstance IMO such a combo would work well without "breaking the bank".
Works great on double stars as well.  The only issue is these little scopes need time to reach ambient temperature. Set one outside for an hour with the meniscus lens facing down and the diagonal removed. You'll be good to go.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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Jim Haley
sage
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 252
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What about something like this? Perhaps clip the wheel chair to a lazy susan platform.
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=609
or this
http://www.homebuiltastronomy.com/binochair/BinocularChair.html
I guess I am also wondering if you could "attach" a mount to a wheel chair and then turn the wheels to get azimuth motion. I could be all wet on this of course!
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Jim Haley
12.5" f6 Starsplitter Dob
Orion 8" XTi (with computerized object locator)
Orion 114EQ reflector
80mm f6 refractor
Edited by Jim Haley (09/23/08 07:52 AM)
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leo9
member
Reged: 06/17/08
Posts: 70
Loc: Western Oregon, USA
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Jim, I seriously considered these designs earlier, and they both have merits. Main strengths are the "all in one" movements where the binoculars or small scope is "attached" to the observer. The second one looks more like a torture device, but still a good concept.
Vibration from the person moving about seemed likely...
The turntable needs to be very stout to allow some of those power chairs to roll on/off - many weigh 200+ pounds without the occupant. Need an engineer.
Direct attachment of a mount to the wheel chair may be possible, powered azimuth motion is built in! Unfortunately, I have been warned that mods to power chairs may void warranties (they cost $1500 to $3200) Clamp on system maybe ok.
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Nikon 12x50 Action; Pentax 8x40 PCF WPII
Bogen 3220 w/3way+qw
Trico SkyWindow
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