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DCStars
member
Reged: 06/27/09
Posts: 13
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Hello, I live in the metro-dc area, and I have an Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic (the style before Orion started putting reflex sights on the Classics instead of the right angled correct-view 9X50 finders).
I do a lot of camping in Southern Virginia, about 6.5 hours away from my home, and it's a pain loading the XT8 into the backseat of my car. I end up having to disassemble the tube from the base, and doing this weird balancing act with the equipment. It's going to bust out my window one day, I swear. Anyway, more times than not when I get to the camp I'm tired, and it's dark, and I don't feel like getting the stuff out of the car, and then when I do get it out of the car and set up, for various reasons I dont get a lot of time with it.
Now, I love the XT8. It gets used almost every clear night at home, but as a portable scope for someone with a small car, it can be done, but it's not the greatest setup. So, I was wondering, which ETX scope would give me compareable views in a more portable package? Also, are the problems that have been reported with the ETX line not aligning consistantly, etc. really as big of a deal as I've read in some places? All comments and opinions are welcome!
Thanks in advance,
Shane
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4557
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Quote:
Now, I love the XT8. It gets used almost every clear night at home, but as a portable scope for someone with a small car, it can be done, but it's not the greatest setup. So, I was wondering, which ETX scope would give me compareable views in a more portable package? Also, are the problems that have been reported with the ETX line not aligning consistantly, etc. really as big of a deal as I've read in some places? All comments and opinions are welcome!
Thanks in advance,
Shane
The 125 comes close enough. Aperture rules, no doubt about it, but in my experience the 125 satifies for the times when I need portability or the skies don'e encourage foolin' with anything bigger. The straight poop on these scopes:
http://uncle-rods.blogspot.com/2008/05/two-and-half-years-after-honeymoon.html
http://uncle-rods.blogspot.com/2009/06/etx-love.html
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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DCStars
member
Reged: 06/27/09
Posts: 13
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Thank you! I'll read over the links and check the budget(which is the biggest thing right now).
Any other imput is still appreciated. 
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Here's where such subjective criteria as "comparable views" is going to net a wide array of opinions. All other things being equal, the old 'scopers axiom of "aperture rules all" always applies. However, things are obviously not equal here. You're looking for portability and (unless I'm mistaken) ease of use. Here's where you'll probably have to compromise a bit. Nevertheless, there's no reason why you can't get perfectly acceptable (and dare I say, enjoyable) views from a smaller scope.
As Rod said, the 125 is in the "close enough" category. I think for you the aperture would be adequate while presenting a much smaller "footprint" than the Dob. Setup time, once you get used to the ETX system, goes pretty quickly, and once you have it set up will slew/track objects pretty accurately over the course of a viewing session. Acclimation doesn't seem to take as long with a closed tube scope like a Mak, SCT, or refractor (this is my opinion, others may differ.) The main limiting factor as I see it compared to your XT8 is the current cost of a new ETX-125. They've gone up about $200 since a year ago for a new scope. You might be able to score one on ebay or Astromart for a decent price, but if you go new, plan on parting with the better part of a grand.
Now if you want super-portability along with the a wide field view and the GoTo capability, perhaps the ETX-80 might be more to your liking. The whole enchilada (scope, mount, tripod) only weighs about 12 pounds and is very compact. You won't see nearly the faint fuzzies you do with the Dob, but if portability is a key feature, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more affordable ($250-ish) scope than the 80.
So it's largely going to depend where on the spectrum of portability, affordability, and capability you want a scope to land. Having owned the 125 for nearly a year now, I can vouch for its reliability and quality. There was a time, as you alluded, where there was some questionable QA in the motors and gear train, but I've had nothing but rock solid performance from mine right out of the box.
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Tim
Champion of small aperture scopes everywhere!
Meade ETX-125PE
Meade ETX-80
Celestron FirstScope 76mm Mini-dob
 Updated: 09/16/2009
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Duck Dodgers
journeyman
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 7
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Hi Shane,
Your story is similair to mine. I have a 10" Starfinder, and wanted something portable as well as something the kids can easily observe through. I rolled the dice and bought a used ETX-90. I am seriously more than pleased with it. Going from a 10" reflector to a 3" Mak, I figured I wouldn't be happy. I was wrong!
I don't worry about collimation. I now have a GOTO, which is excellent. Considering I have about $180 invested so far, I can't complain. Considering I've only been out in a fairly light-polluted area (about a half hour from the Twin Cities), the views are very nice.
Comparing them side by side, of course the Starfinder offers better views. But, for what I have in the ETX, I'm more than happy.
I don't know if a 125 would be too much for camping, but the 90 would be fine.
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Joe Lalumia
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/24/07
Posts: 3600
Loc: Rockwall, Texas, USA
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I have a ETX90 that I use as a grab and go when I am too lazy to setup one of the bigger scopes.
Might I also suggest some Big binoculars and a Bogan tripod with fluid head for camping.
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LX90 8" LNT, SV Nighthawk & TelePOD, SV 80/9D & M4 mount, ETX 90, Orion XT10i, 20x80 binoculars, SV-BV3s-- www.texasastro.org
"Great minds discuss ideas;Average minds discuss events;Small minds discuss people." Unknown
Edited by Joe Lalumia (07/01/09 07:38 PM)
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6751
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I specifically bought my ETX-125 as a visual grab'n go scope since my main gear (my LXD75 SN6/SC8) is usually tied up imaging. The ETX-125 has performed superbly in this role; compact, lightweight, easy to setup, and with enough aperture and great optics to show what the GoTo is pointing at. I haven't had a chance to get it out under really dark skies yet, but I'm looking forward to taking it with me the next time I get down to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Nothing beats stargazing from Cades Cove!
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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DCStars
member
Reged: 06/27/09
Posts: 13
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Well, I appreciate all of the advice and answers, but I have one more question before I make a decision.
I can get a very good price on an ETX-80, so my question is, how much of an improvement is the ETX-90 over the ETX-80? Is the extra little boost in aprature make a noticable difference, or will the 80 be sufficent to view the planets and the brighter Messier objects?
Thanks again everyone!
Shane.
Edit: And is there a big difference between the ETX-80 and the ETX-80 backpack edition?
Edited by DCStars (07/02/09 12:15 AM)
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Treehopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Upstate NY
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Both the 80 and 90 are good instruments. With regard to aperture, theoretically you have the extra 10mm. However, the 80 is a refractor, the 90 is a Maksutov-Cassegrain. There is a small secondary mirror built into the center of the front corrector plate. This does have an affect on overall light transmission, so with regard to light grasp, it's probably a wash or pretty dang close.
The 80 is an f/5 focal ratio, fairly fast and good for the Messier catalog and some of the other, relatively brighter, DSO's. The 90 is an f/13.8. Higher magnification due to the longer focal length, and higher contrast. Probably best suited for lunar/planetary work, although I've seen some decent AP's of clusters that are pinpoint sharp.
So depends on what you want to concentrate on. In actuality, both will probably do passably well on the majority of your basic observable stuff.
As far as the difference between the standard and backpack editions of the 80: the backpack edition comes with a backpack to stow the scope, and features a slightly lighter tripod (it does, however, have a hook underneath to hang a weight to improve stability if you desire.) The standard 80 has a somewhat beefier tripod and no backpack. Otherwise, near as I can tell, they are identical in every other respect.
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Tim
Champion of small aperture scopes everywhere!
Meade ETX-125PE
Meade ETX-80
Celestron FirstScope 76mm Mini-dob
Updated: 09/16/2009
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 6751
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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It would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of the ETX-80 and -90. From what I've seen through my ETX-60 and -90 the ETX-90 just gives much sharper images and much higher contrast. The challenge of the ETX-60, 70, and 80 is you can only do so much with a fast achromatic; CA and the accompanying loss of contrast and sharpness is unavoidable. For low power, wide field views the little refractor works fine, but it makes a lot of difference when you put all of the light where it belongs. The only problem I had with my -90 was I'd run out of light before I ran out of resolution making it difficult to use it at really high magnifications which is a big reason why I eventually picked up a 125.
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-John
================================================
Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I, II, & III), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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