55 replies to this topic

[JOEinCO]

I am toying with the idea of asking the seller if he might show me the scope under clear, dark skies, but the weather lately has been back and forth, and I feel as though if I go to see the scope a second time, I am almost committing to buying it.

 

 

Absolutely get this idea out of your head. 

 

You are about to fork over a pile of money in a cash transaction. No warranty. No guarantee. You should be given a full demonstration at night, and if the seller hems and haws about this, walk away. Any legitimate seller should actually enjoy showing you the scope.  

[starcanoe]

Joe is on the mark on this one.

 

If the owner can't / won't show you what it can do....then walk away....because the best case is the owner doesn't have a clue (not good) and the worst case is the optics or the goto system sucks and well....its a lemon you don't want.

 

Interested in the scope? If the owner is an honest bloke offer to bring a pizza and a six pack of beer and you two spend an hour or two tooling around with his scope....

[JOEinCO]

.......offer to bring a pizza and a six pack of beer and you two spend an hour or two tooling around with his scope....

Even BETTER!  

[macdonjh]

I'll jump on the aperture fever bandwagon and say I am happy I bought a 14" scope to replace my 10" scope; for all the reasons stated thus far.  My 14" scope is in an observatory, though.  I could transport my 10" in my car, my 14" would need the bed of a truck.  But then it's a classical Cassegrain and not meant to be disassembled into smaller pieces like so many Dobsonians.

[starcanoe]

Even BETTER!  

 If there is EVER a place/time in the universe where a pizza and cheap beer don't make things better...AND A BIG TELESCOPE...well I don't know what to say...

[chrisbourque]

Absolutely get this idea out of your head. 

 

You are about to fork over a pile of money in a cash transaction. No warranty. No guarantee. You should be given a full demonstration at night, and if the seller hems and haws about this, walk away. Any legitimate seller should actually enjoy showing you the scope.  

 

Oh yes, there is no WAY I'd purchase without seeing everything in action first! No ifs ands or buts about that.

 

I guess what I meant was... I don't want to impose more time on the seller if I myself am still very much "on the fence" about buying. I just want to be 99% sure I even want the scope before I take more of his time, then I gain that last 1% once he shows me that everything works.

 

As it stood before I started this thread, I was probably only 50%, as I wasn't very clear what advantages $3K + an additional 6" of aperture would bring to the table...

 

I'm getting closer to 99 now though :P

[chrisbourque]

Joe is on the mark on this one.

 

If the owner can't / won't show you what it can do....then walk away....because the best case is the owner doesn't have a clue (not good) and the worst case is the optics or the goto system sucks and well....its a lemon you don't want.

 

Interested in the scope? If the owner is an honest bloke offer to bring a pizza and a six pack of beer and you two spend an hour or two tooling around with his scope....

only a six pack?

[Napp]

At this point I feel like I am just piling on. I have a 16” DOB, a 10” DOB and an 8” SCT. Needless to say the 16” blows the others away. It reaches objects the others can’t touch. But it also gives views of the big bright objects like M42 and M31 that are jaw dropping. Eta Carina at the Winter Star Party was spectacular.

[Chesterguy1]

I had a 10" and now have a 15" and has been mentioned, there is no comparison on DSO or anything else when the seeing supports it. I use my 8" much more simply because it is a solid tube thus requiring less set up than the 15" truss, but when I set up the 15" I never think, "Gee, I wish I had chosen the 8".

 

Chesterguy

[starcanoe]

only a six pack?

1.75 liter vodka bottles come in six packs right?!

[25585]

Joe is on the mark on this one.

 

If the owner can't / won't show you what it can do....then walk away....because the best case is the owner doesn't have a clue (not good) and the worst case is the optics or the goto system sucks and well....its a lemon you don't want.

 

Interested in the scope? If the owner is an honest bloke offer to bring a pizza and a six pack of beer and you two spend an hour or two tooling around with his scope....

But be aware booze can impair your judgment enough, even not realising it. Arrange Paypal or bank transfer, for later, if you shake hands on the deal. No drinking before trying out the scope.

[KerryR]

One thing that's worth considering:
Even under dark skies, a light-dome is often visible in one direction or another. Light from this light-dome can pretty easily reach the focal plane on truss-style Newts-- many have secondary cages that are too short to completely block stray light, above and/or below the cage. This can be a significant concern when observing high over head, with the shaft of the focuser oriented towards the light dome, unless specific attention has been paid to baffling/shrouding (which has it's own complexities relating to vignetting, balance, wind, and dew). Under such conditions, my 11" SCT can come dangerously close to my (minimally baffled) 16" strut-Newt. So, one should be prepared to address the issue, even under the conditions many of us would term "dark sky". (Joshua Tree and Anza Borego come to mind as prime examples...).

[Feidb]

I've been lugging around a 16-inch in one form or another since 1987 and haven't looked back. I've looked through plenty of smaller apertures along the way but they just don't compare when it comes to deep sky.

 

Period.

[bunyon]

If/when you test drive the sco, make set up and take down part of it. The only reason not to move to higher aperture is if the scope becomes too unwieldy.

Given that you’ve been using a 10 inch Sct and observe from home, I doubt this is a problem. But you never know.

[ed_turco]

The 16" wins, every time  The OP has pointed out that his 10'' is difficult to use at times and it sounds like the 16'' is designed to be used.  Given that  the 16" may be easier to use than the 10",  the 16'' wins as the best telescope is the one that an observer uses the most!

[CrazyPanda]

The upgrade from my 12" to my 15" was absolutely worth it, so the upgrade from the 10" to the 16" is no contest.

[CHASLX200]

If you get a top end made Dob with super optics it will just kill a 10" SCT and even a 16" SCT. Not even close. Good smooth motions and super optics make all the diff in the world from a mas made Dob bob.

[JoeBlow]

I encourage the upgrade since you state you live under dark skies where it will be very worthwhile. If you had lived under moderate-heavy light pollution, staying with a smaller more portable telescope might have made more sense depending on the circumstances.

[starcanoe]

I want to reiterate one important point. You need to make sure that the fair market value of this scope is in the ball park of what the guy is asking. For that I really don't have any valuable input (besides it doesn't sound so low priced its a STEAL....and it does not sound so high priced that it makes me go HMMMMM).

[Jon_Doh]

There will be a huge difference, but do you have a ladder?   

[Spartinix]

I was actually quite annoyed with the idea of a ladder but once I used it a few times it's okay. I'm sure I like it more than bending over and even sitting in some chair. I put my ladder with the steps towards the focuser and I lean my whole body against the ladder for observing..very easy and it even adds to the hovering over an object and floating in space experience. If I ever get to building a 30" I'm pretty sure it will be an F3.6-4, not any shorter.

Edited by Spartinix, 18 September 2019 - 09:44 AM.

[Jon Isaacs]

I was actually quite annoyed with the idea of a ladder but once I used it a few times it's okay. I'm sure I like it more than bending over and even sitting in some chair. I put my ladder with the steps towards the focuser and I lean my whole body against the ladder for observing..very easy and it even adds to the hovering over an object and floating in space experience. If I ever get to building a 30" I'm pretty sure it will be an F3.6-4, not any shorter.

 

For me, it's about the right chair, the right ladder.  An adjustable chair like the Starbound allows me to quickly adjust the seat height so it's just perfect. The advantage of viewing seated is that my upper body and head very stable.

 

For a ladder scope, a ladder with rails to lean against and wide, deep steps works best for me. An Eyepiece rack and accessory tray saves time and effort.. Wheels make positioning easy. 

 

Jon

[azure1961p]

It really depends on what the observer expects of the aperture.  It's real as rocks but if the observer isn't a match for the bigger scope, it's mostly for naught.

 

That's truly the bottom line.

 

The biggest waste of a nice big scope is staying with brighter Messier type brightness objects and ignoring the big gains at the 16s threshold.  Still even in it's comfy default messier applications it's definitely showing more on galaxies and so on.  Fringey things in the 10 just sit there with a 16.

 

Things to consider:

 

If you are plagued by poor seeing the 16 is going to soft bloated stars, blurred planets and globulars clusters will look flat.  Under good seeing, really good like 8 Pickering or better it's in another realm entirely and globulars are beyond words.

 

Pete

[chrisbourque]

I want to reiterate one important point. You need to make sure that the fair market value of this scope is in the ball park of what the guy is asking. For that I really don't have any valuable input (besides it doesn't sound so low priced its a STEAL....and it does not sound so high priced that it makes me go HMMMMM).

Yes! This is an important point.

Actually, I think this may be in "STEAL" territory, as the prices I have quoted are in CAD. This scope (new) appears to retail for $3400.00 USD which, with conversion, equates to $4500.00 CAD right off the top. As well, purchasing new would not include accessories that the seller will include in the sale. I.e. the shroud, collimation laser, battery tank, and electric dew heater.

[vertex2100]

Get it. Take good care of it and it will serve you for a lifetime. I went from a 12.5" to a 16" twenty years ago. Big difference. I have also keep a 17.5", that I've also had for about twenty years, at my other home. Absolutely stunning views in a dark sky. Both are big and heavy enough so no need for anything larger. I keep smaller scopes for quick viewing.