136 replies to this topic

[gnowellsct]

Say you have a five inch refractor....you see one for sale that you've always thought was cool....Pentax 125, FS128....but you already *have* a wonderful five inch apo,

how do you STOP from buying another?

 

Or you have great three, four, five inch refractors....and there's a 4.5 inch!  how do you STOP

 

Or you have an f/7.5 but always hankered for an f/6, how do you STOP

 

Or there's a 6 inch, you know you wouldn't use it much, but you find yourself plotting to sell your current refractors in order to buy it...how do you STOP

 

TV's boring, it' s a cloudy night and full moon, and you are cruising astromart for refractors how do you STOP

 

 

[City Kid]

Although I only have two refractors I would like more. I've found the easiest way to stop myself is to look at my bank statements. Looking at my available storage space helps too.

[rkaufmann87]

I look at the balance in my checkbook and my projected expenses and then I can make a decision. The ultimate in simplicity.

[fishmike]

Get married. Then tell the Mrs. everytime you are mulling over buying another scope. Then duck. I find that keeps my checks and balances in order.

 

Also a 2nd hobby is great... for example its been forever since I bought any guitar gear, now next time I do it will be "time."

Edited by fishmike, 07 September 2016 - 11:26 AM.

[MarkGregory]

Glad to hear someone else feels my pain. Misery loves company.  LOL 

[Ac2aj]

That's easy.I look down at my left ring finder and remember how much I like having a ring on it.....

[aa5te]

Field STOP, collaborate and listen.

[Richard O'Neill]

Take up transcendental meditation.

[Amart020]

I have a 3 inch and 5 inch refractor. Since I live in an apartment building, it's all about carrying/setup effort.  No point in getting a 4 inch refractor if it requires me to bring out the same mount I use for my 5 inch refractor.

[t.r.]

Don't ask me...I own a 40mm, two 60mm's, a 70mm, an 80mm, sold one 80mm, sold three 90mm's, own two 100mm's, sold one 101mm, own a 120mm, a 130mm and finally a 140mm...well can't really say "finally" I guess judging by my track record!   I think I need to add a 50mm, 110mm and a 150mm in the interest of completeness!!!

Edited by t.r., 07 September 2016 - 12:48 PM.

[junomike]

I would only buy a duplicate scope (same size/F/L, Etc) as a replacement. My current three have differing purposes to warrant keeping them (IMO)......

 

Mike

[Star Ship]

OCRD.  Obsessive Compulsive Refractor Disorder.  Subcategories of Apertureis graspis and Focal Lengthis graspis.  Little to no help with drug therapy, but wives and check book balances slow the disorder.

[Jon Isaacs]

The easy answer is I just keep in mind the wonderful views my 10 inch Dob provides.  That's part of the answer.

 

The rest of the answer is that I am happy to spend a few hundred dollars on any interesting telescope that comes along but I am very cautious about spending much more, it might take me a year to decide that another fancy scope would fit nicely in my collection and some months more to decide to go ahead with it.  

 

And then too, I am a practical sort, strange as it might seem, refractors and reflectors are primarily tools for observing the night sky.. The latest and greatest doesn't give me a rush.. Thinking about it doesn't give me a rush..

 

As an example of how my mind works.. I am an 80 mm WO F/7 FPL-53 doublet, I also have an AT-72.  I ponder whether I should replace the two into a single 80 mm F/6 FPL-53 doublet.. My analysis is the shorter focal length of the AT-72 offers views not possible with the 80 mm F/6..

 

 

Jon

[rseven]

I hold a meat cleaver in my left hand and if my right hand fingers try and touch a buy button my left hand swings into action. 

 

More seriously, I agree that wives are a natural inhibitor to buying too many scopes. The rule here is no buying a new scope till you sell one of the old ones. I can live with it.

[Peter Besenbruch]

Say you have a five inch refractor....you see one for sale that you've always thought was cool....Pentax 125, FS128....but you already *have* a wonderful five inch apo,

how do you STOP from buying another?

 

Or you have great three, four, five inch refractors....and there's a 4.5 inch!  how do you STOP

 

Or you have an f/7.5 but always hankered for an f/6, how do you STOP

 

Or there's a 6 inch, you know you wouldn't use it much, but you find yourself plotting to sell your current refractors in order to buy it...how do you STOP

 

TV's boring, it' s a cloudy night and full moon, and you are cruising astromart for refractors how do you STOP

 

​So when are you going to get the Pentax?

[Lt 26]

Diversify. A couple of binoculars, a monocular, high and low power microscope.

After that I can't help.

Dereck

[clearwaterdave]

Although my scopes are on the very opposite end of the $$$ scale.,their numbers do keep creeping up,so I'm listening here.,hoping to learn.,

[Disciplus55]

I don't, I have right now the 3 best 4" frac of the history of Astronomy... And about to trade one for a 4.7"... Or sell one of them... Getting headaches 

[Markab]

Honestly, I think for me a big part of it is not wanting to deal with the hassle, low-ballers, shipping companies, and drama associated with selling a telescope. So I keep what I have and (try to) stay content.

Edited by Markab, 07 September 2016 - 03:15 PM.

[The Ardent]

Disciple,
You have the new Tak FC100 DF?

Edited by The Ardent, 07 September 2016 - 03:16 PM.

[jlmanatee]

Cold showers help.  It's kind of like eating Skittles, isn't it.  One is just not enough.

[Disciplus55]

Nope, but a DL yes :-)

[The Ardent]

Close enough , Your claim is valid. Congrats

[Jared]

Say you have a five inch refractor....you see one for sale that you've always thought was cool....Pentax 125, FS128....but you already *have* a wonderful five inch apo,

how do you STOP from buying another?

 

Or you have great three, four, five inch refractors....and there's a 4.5 inch!  how do you STOP

 

Or you have an f/7.5 but always hankered for an f/6, how do you STOP

 

Or there's a 6 inch, you know you wouldn't use it much, but you find yourself plotting to sell your current refractors in order to buy it...how do you STOP

 

TV's boring, it' s a cloudy night and full moon, and you are cruising astromart for refractors how do you STOP

 

I have bought and sold quite a few refractors over the years, but there was always a "dream scope" that represented refractor nirvana for me.  I bought and sold three or four 80mm refractors till I found one I really liked.  I bought a 60mm that I loved from the start.  I had a 102mm scope for a very short while that I never bonded with--it wasn't enough of an improvement over the 80mm scope considering the additional mounting requirements.  Nothing wrong with 4" scopes, but that one never suited me.  I had a 127mm scope for several years that I liked, but it had serious problems with an element de-centering.  Got rid of that one.  I bought a 152 mm triplet that I thought would be nirvana; everyone I talked with said that 6" is where planetary performance in a refractor really becomes something special.  While that may be true, I found the scope too big and awkward to be a pleasure to use.  I downgraded to a 130mm triplet a few years ago as my main refractor and that's where I intend to stay.  I've been lucky in that whenever Astro-Physics comes out with an upgrade to their refractors, they tend to find a way to retrofit to the older model.  That allows me to satisfy my urge to have the latest and greatest without all the cost (and wait) of a new scope.  For example, my EDFS GT is about to become a GTX model with the addition of a 3.5" focuser and quad tele compressor.  I can even have my field flattener put into a new mount if I want to allow it to be used with the new focuser.  I really don't want a different refractor.  There literally isn't anything out there I would rather have than the three I've already got.  

 

That doesn't mean I'm not suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), of course.  I'm primarily an astrophotographer, so there is always more "stuff" to acquire, but I think the desire for new refractors has finally faded.

[TH1]

Sold an 80,100. It's easy to stop. Just focus on solar mostly. Solar you just need an Lunt scope, a 152 for CaK, and a regular 80-90mm for White Light. Bandwidths covered, and just about everything but aperture. Then go big.