849 replies to this topic

[Jon Isaacs]

A few comments:

 

-  A 4 inch refractor like the TV-101 on an ALT-AZ mount with slow motion controls.  Finding stuff shouldn't be too difficult, pop in the 31mm Nagler and you have a 4.45 degree TFoV.  The slow motion controls make centering and tracking quite easy. It's a quick setup, I carry mine out the door with the tray loaded with eyepieces.  

 

 

-  Jordan suggested an 8 inch Dob.  I would go with a 10 inch, that is not would, that is I go with a 10 inch.  But Dobs are not for everyone.  I get nice sharp stars at high magnifications but it takes good seeing as well as care and attention to detail.  A proper vibrationless fan, precise collimation every time.  Quality eyepieces and a coma corrector and one can get nice round stars across the field and split doubles far beyond the reach of a 4 inch anything. But this doesn't seem to be your style nor does the seeing probably support the aperture.

 

- My gut feeling is that a C-6 with it's 37% CO is not going to provide the aesthetically pleasing views you are interested in.  

 

- The objective of the TV-101 is around F/11.5, I would not expect much difference between it and a 100 mm F/9.

 

- I think you would find a scope like the Astro-Tech 115EDT, the 125EDL or the 130 EDT a good fit.  Or a used Skywatcher 120 ED or an Orion Eon.   These all have very good optics and will perform nicely on doubles with the hassle of the Dob and the compromises with the SCT. 

 

My Orion 120 Eon (120mm F/7.5 FPL-53 doublet) was definitely a better double star scope than the NP-101, the added aperture is hard to beat.  In my situation, I just never used it because my 10 inch was more capable on both the planets and doubles but they were very nice scopes and nice looking., With the diagonal and rings etc, it weighed right at 15 lbs so it was still grab and go, one trip out the door with the mount and eyepieces.

 

 

Jon

 

 

 

[Fiske]

Thank you, Jon! 

[Echolight]

 

The NexStar 6SE is due here on Monday. 

 

The StellarVue does look like a beautiful refractor. 

Mine didn't come with the little tripod. But it's pretty steady on this old 2 inch legged Nexstar HD tripod.

[aznuge]

My choice for a supporting telescope so far has been the classic Celestron C8 (1978 vintage) SCT.  It was actually a gift from a friend, so it was an opportunistic choice, but a really good one.  It first cut its teeth on the moon, familiar tight star clusters and then on Saturn and Jupiter for some outreach sessions.  But it is really proving its worth for observing Barnard's star at high power (286x) in an ongoing effort to plot its movement over time against nearby stars in the FOV. I am usually mounting this telescope on a HAZ31, but sometimes on a 612.  This observation is for a solar neighborhood project, where all the other elements in the project have already been completed with BTs and binoculars - so definitely the C8 is in a minor, but very important supporting role for this project.

 

I have since added another supporting telescope - the Vixen VMC 200L Mak-Cass.  I intend to take care of some unfinished asterism business with this one, which I could never quite accomplish with BTs - the Virgo Diamond and the Bookworm.  In addition it will see use in tandem with the C8 at outreach sessions, where having telescopes on two different solar system objects, i.e. Jupiter, Saturn or Luna, will be a big hit with the guests.

 

Some other supporting telescopes I would consider adding in the future would be one of the Tak Mulon Doll-Kirkhams like the 180c or 210.  And there is always the addition of a 4-5" refractor to make a place for on the team.  Compatibility with 612 or HAZ31 mounts seems to be my upper limit on supporting telescopes for size and weight, at least for the time being.

 

Edited by aznuge, 24 November 2023 - 12:57 PM.

[Scott99]

I always give the same answer, I like refractors, I like binoculars because they're refractors, I would just get a bigger refractor.  No hablo collimation, cooling fans, or central obstruction here!   The three C's of mirror scopes 

 

Recently I've put together a telescope setup that has blown me away for its ease of use and observing power.  It's a 5-inch f/8 apo, a 14-pound one, riding on a Supermount W-Master and T-pod 130 tripod.  Everything very lightweight and sets up incredibly fast, just a couple minutes.  Mount head less than 10 pounds, tripod 16 pounds, absolutely rock solid w/ the Star130 tube.  5 inch apo is a really nice upgrade over 4-inchers.

 

I don't like using binoviewers with a non-tracking alt-az mount however.  If I had to use a binoviewer I would want a tracking mount.  Not sure if you're open to single-eye viewing or not?

Edited by Scott99, 24 November 2023 - 01:15 PM.

[michael1959]

In my case, a Tak FC-100DZ would be most suitable. Light for a 100mm. Superb optics. And f/8. Works well on a DM4. Not sure whether it will work on a Sightron, but I'll give it a try. 

[Fiske]

I always give the same answer, I like refractors, I like binoculars because they're refractors, I would just get a bigger refractor.  No hablo collimation, cooling fans, or central obstruction here!   The three C's of mirror scopes 

 

Recently I've put together a telescope setup that has blown me away for its ease of use and observing power.  It's a 5-inch f/8 apo, a 14-pound one, riding on a Supermount W-Master and T-pod 130 tripod.  Everything very lightweight and sets up incredibly fast, just a couple minutes.  Mount head less than 10 pounds, tripod 16 pounds, absolutely rock solid w/ the Star130 tube.  5 inch apo is a really nice upgrade over 4-inchers.

 

I don't like using binoviewers with a non-tracking alt-az mount however.  If I had to use a binoviewer I would want a tracking mount.  Not sure if you're open to single-eye viewing or not?

Yeah. Single eye viewing. I'm not thinking of binoviewers.

[MT4]

In my case, a Tak FC-100DZ would be most suitable. Light for a 100mm. Superb optics. And f/8. Works well on a DM4. Not sure whether it will work on a Sightron, but I'll give it a try. 

 

I recently downgraded from a Tak TSA-120 to a Fak FC-100DZ to due to my local seeing being so poor.   The FC-100 feels like a featherweight and it cools down real fast.   It's a joy to use.

[sevenofnine]

Well, if you want power in a small package that yields pin pointy stars then a Mak will do it for you. The 5" is very grab-n-go. On a go-to mount with tracking, it's a lot of fun. It could be worth considering...maybe 

 

https://www.skywatch...ymax-127-az-gti.

[Fiske]

Well, if you want power in a small package that yields pin pointy stars then a Mak will do it for you. The 5" is very grab-n-go. On a go-to mount with tracking, it's a lot of fun. It could be worth considering...maybe 

 

https://www.skywatch...ymax-127-az-gti.

Please just stop...

 

 

(Is this how Terra ended up with 30 scopes? Or was it 60?)

 

 

Okay, the skymax-127 looks like a beauty. 

[jrazz]

A µ-180 is ~$1350 shipped from Kyoei...

 

Just sayin...

[Fiske]

A µ-180 is ~$1350 shipped from Kyoei...

 

Just sayin...

Thank you, Ms. Helper! 

[Echolight]

I feel like I need to use my 6SE now. I never really have. I mainly bought it for the $300 case it came in, to put my C8 in.

I actually thought the mount was broken when I got it. Then I figured out for the the first alignment star you have to manually slew to it. 

[Fiske]

I feel like I need to use my 6SE now. I never really have. I mainly bought it for the $300 case it came in, to put my C8 in.

I actually thought the mount was broken when I got it. Then I figured out for the the first alignment star you have to manually slew to it. 

  

 

And I thought I had issues. You bought a telescope for the case?

 

 

[Echolight]

  

 

And I thought I had issues. You bought a telescope for the case?

 

 

Well, it was cheap. And I used it a couple of times. On a Bogen 3068 with 116 head.

 

Then decided it was a little too big for ultra easy grab and go. The 3068 and 116 head are about 20 pounds on their own. If I gotta use two hands, I might as well use a C8. ..... So I got a C5,.. and promptly dropped the C6 when I was rushing to get ready to sell it,... and cracked the corrector. Now I'm stuck with it.

It still seems to work fine though. It's just a single crack.

I thought I was going to start using it when I stumbled over a Versago II mount. Because it was now one hand out the door on the mount. But I couldn't get used to the focuser on top.

Edited by Echolight, 24 November 2023 - 08:36 PM.

[MT4]

A µ-180 is ~$1350 shipped from Kyoei...

 

Just sayin...

 

I've been wanting a Mewlon 180 for a long time.   Small, lightweight and 180mm in aperture.   Only issue is my poor local seeing not allowing high mags.

 

I may still get one next year as I find it so hard to resist it...

[sevenofnine]

 

I only have three scopes. A Dob for the dim stuff. A Mak to go deep. A Frac to go wide. Then there's a few binoculars 

 

 

[Echolight]

Can't you mount on the other side of that AZ-GTi?

[sevenofnine]

Echolight...Not without a firmware update. It failed to work from my PC. It's not that much of a problem since it's a go-to mount. What you can't see in the photo is a GLP bottom mounted on the other side. Usually, a 2 star alignment

and I'm good to go 

Edited by sevenofnine, 24 November 2023 - 11:53 PM.

[dnayakan]

I’ve been on this kick of late. No backups - pick an instrument and enjoy what you are able to see with it that night. Sort of a weird offshoot of an experiment in photography I tried long ago - leave with one sheet of film and walk around till you find something to expose the film to, no backtracking allowed - you gauge the likelihood of something better coming along later against the quality of what was in front of you. It was admittedly a strange exercise but weirdly interesting and instructive in how it made me contemplate my internal focus.  

 

When I do take a backup, I want something as different as possible in terms of what it would show me, without giving up the portability and simplicity of binoculars. The Questar fits that bill nicely. Excels at the high magnification end and at lunar/planetary/double star work leaving the BT free to deal with clusters, galaxies, nebulei. As a bonus, I can leave high power eyepieces in the Q and leave low power eyepieces in the BT - less messing around with eyepieces etc. It would be perfect if it wasn’t for the fact that I love looking at the moon in the BT.

[Scott99]

A Mewlon is always tempting - awesome scopes but they don't have the low power of f/8 refractors.  That's what I"ve always liked about mid-sized, f8ish apos, it's basically like having a pair of bincoulars out with your scope.  You can put in a 50mm eyepiece and get a nice low-power view whenever you want.  There is no coma issue or a limit due to the CO or anything else.

 

A 5" f/8 apo with a 50mm Masuyama gives you 20x.  There's no reason to bring 15x or 18x binoculars, you get those views along with 250x.  You don't need a finderscope, it's "point and shoot" like a simple camera.  A big reason I stopped with a 6" f/8 apo many years ago and didn't get into bigger scopes. 

 

Even with my current 6" f/9 I can sit in my chair, sight along the tube and point it at stuff.  With a 2 degree field, usually I can point the scope and the object or a field star is already in the FOV of my XW40.  Just like binoculars.  Can't do any of that with a cat-type scope.

Edited by Scott99, 25 November 2023 - 12:03 PM.

[aznuge]

It sounds weird to think of a Telescope at 20x.  Especially when binoculars and BTs can cover al that and up into the mid-range of 100-150x.  But then I realized that the AL's Galileo project I worked on was patterned after the original 20x or so Telescopes that Galileo used.  And to completely fulfill the requirements, one had to use a "cyclops".  I had no telescopes at the time, so I got permission to use my Leupold 12-40x60 spotting telescope to fill the bill (reported here).  So I guess I have had support for my binocular and BT observations all along, in the form of spotting telescopes, for low power on up to ~100x.

[Fiske]

A Mewlon is always tempting - awesome scopes but they don't have the low power of f/8 refractors.  That's what I"ve always liked about mid-sized, f8ish apos, it's basically like having a binocular out with your scope.  You can put in a 50mm eyepiece and get a nice low-power view whenever you want.  There is no coma issue or a limit due to the CO or anything else.

 

A 5" f/8 apo with a 50mm Masuyama gives you 20x.  There's no reason to bring 15x or 18x binoculars, you get those views along with 250x.  You don't need a finderscope, it's "point and shoot" like a simple camera.  A big reason I stopped with a 6" f/8 apo many years ago and didn't get into bigger scopes. 

 

Even with my current 6" f/9 I can sit in my chair, sight along the tube and point it at stuff.  With a 2 degree field, usually I can point the scope and the object or a field star is already in the FOV of my XW40.  Just like binoculars.  Can't do any of that with a cat-type scope.

Apart from the minor detail of not being binocular vision... 

 

(But why quibble?)

 

[sevenofnine]

I've always thought of binoculars supporting my telescopes   My scope goes out first then I choose a binocular that will add something to my experience. Often the scope is prime time but there have been times when the binocular was the star player. Occasionally I get tired of the telescope and just want to enjoy the night sky from the comfort of my zero gravity chair  

Edited by sevenofnine, 25 November 2023 - 08:56 PM.

[Fiske]

I've been wrestling with something for over a year and finally realized how to articulate it. I need to find the right telescope to support my binoculars.   

 

It's an ironic problem to have because the common scenario is the reverse -- a binocular used as a finding aid to support telescopes. We are occasionally reminded of this by helpful telescope aficionados.  Binocular enthusiasts may ask, do we really need telescopes? Why? Well, certainly not as a finding aid, given how much easier navigation is with binoculars. But telescopes do have possible edge case uses. 

 

. . .

 

I've always thought of binoculars supporting my telescopes   My scope goes out first then I choose a binocular that will add something to my experience. Often the scope is prime time but there have been times when the binocular was the star player. Occasionally I get tired of the telescope and just want to enjoy the night sky from the comfort of my zero gravity chair  

 

Very helpful. 

 

I got tired of telescopes and most(!) of the time just want to enjoy the night sky with the comfort of both eyes.

 

 

But now that darn Jon Isaacs has me pondering a 120-127mm refractor.

 

Astro-Tech 125 EDL or Sky Watcher EvoStar 120...

 

Edited by Fiske, 26 November 2023 - 08:23 AM.