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danielrpa
member
Reged: 09/03/07
Posts: 27
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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Here's my scenario: baby at home, long work hours, get home at night and I don't have more than 1 hour (in the good days!) or so to look at the stars. 10-15 minutes to take scope out/in and all I have left is some 45 minutes of star observing. While I'm not too bad with star maps, it can take some time to find objects by star hopping through faint stars in washed out city skies.
The question is: I want to get the most of my limited observing time with my 8" dob (which I love and is super easy to carry and setup), so is the SkyScout for me?
I hope it would help me find things really quickly so I can just point my dob and observe. At $179 it looks like a steal - as long as it can help point at things quicker. I thought about a goto telescope, however I never found a good balance between price, aperture and ease of setup that would fit my scenario, so I'd like to hear some thoughts from current users.
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Daniel
8" Meade Lightbridge Reflector
4" Celestron Achromatic Refractor
7x35 Meade binoculars
10x25 Nikon binoculars
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Michael Cox
member
Reged: 12/24/08
Posts: 50
Loc: Barstow, CA
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Daniel:
I have a Sky Scout and use it to identify which stars I use to align my NexStar 6SE & 8SE. This little device works as advertised but can go through batteries fast depending on how long you leave it on and how long your viewing secesson will be. For me, the batteries last about a week and then I need a fresh bunch to do more viewing. The Sky Scout has helped me identify stars and even planets and given me the confidence I need to do a two star alignment with my scopes. For many of us, we don't have the time or friends with knowledge to teach us the night sky so this little device does the trick. The only issue I have had was a gps error due to being close to metal that was magnetic and the Sky Scout made me aware of this problem. Moving a couple of feet away from the metal source (my car) and I was in business enjoying the night sky. One other thought, do get some star charts and let the Sky Scout teach you the night sky.
For the price, you can not go wrong.
Michael
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Michael Cox
Member High Desert Astronomical Society
Nexstar 8SE (For At Home Viewing)
NexStar 6SE (Grab & Go)
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danielrpa
member
Reged: 09/03/07
Posts: 27
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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I do know how to read the sky, but it gets way harder when you have little time, limited sections of the sky or generally washed out skies, so I'd be interested in the SkyScout for sheer speed of identification. I usually plan sessions ahead, so I pretty much know what I want to observe before my telescope is out. Then I go there and it's painful to find out things as the sky moves and I only see little parts of it.
About the batteries... I hear people saying different things. I never seen someone saying "the battery life rocks", but I've heard people saying things like 90min of life to "several weeks under light usage". I don't care about audio,text and little animations, I want just the raw pointing ability of the device. Can I disable the fancy stuff so I can get more life?
About the GPS... For me it would be painful if I needed to wait several minutes for a GPS fix if i want to go to another object. I also heard it's not possible to leave the device on or in some sleep mode, and every time you turn it on, another gps fix is needed. Is this ever a problem for you?
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Daniel
8" Meade Lightbridge Reflector
4" Celestron Achromatic Refractor
7x35 Meade binoculars
10x25 Nikon binoculars
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4575
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Answer? It depends. The SS might get you in the general vicinity, but only within a degree or two, likely. If you want something that will land you on objects, I suggest the Sky Commander digital setting circles.
Don't want to spend much or any money? Try this:
http://uncle-rods.blogspot.com/2009/08/digital-setting-circles-on-cheap.html
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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