79 replies to this topic

[highfnum]

Wife wanted telescope after divorce?

[greedyshark]

No regrets…I own a phenomenal RV-8 that has kicked every scope on my “Past Scopes” signature list. It’s not the destination…It’s the journey.

 

Cs,

Charles

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Edited by greedyshark, 18 August 2024 - 11:57 AM.

[Kasmos]

Last November I had multiple tears in my right retina (age 63) that required two sessions of laser repair. My right eye still has somewhat blurred vision and floaters, and an early but noticeable cataract too. Fortunately I am "left-eyed", as I found out the time I went sheet shooting.

In my case I shouldn't have called them retina tears. I couldn't remember the proper name, what it really was is a Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD). As this link says, it's said to be normal with age (about 60 years old).

 

https://www.asrs.org...ous detachment.

 

Nobody ever prepared or warned me for stuff like this as we age. So a warning to all, if it hasn't yet, there's a good chance it will happen to you. So enjoy your best vision while you can and without regrets!

Edited by Kasmos, 18 August 2024 - 12:17 PM.

[BIG]

While astronomy is certainly an equipment journey for many, I have read so many posts over the years about sold scope regrets that I have been hesitant to sell any of mine, even though I could use the funds and space for other wish list items. Guess I'm just ironically mired in regret avoidance.

[tcifani]

When I was a kid, my dad gave me a small Meade 60mm refractor (early 1980's, Japan...). I regret loosing this scope more for nostalgia reasons than actually not having the scope to use now. My fond memories of observing with this scope are probably better than the telescope actually was as an optical performer. Our family made annual late summer and fall pilgrimages to a friend's family farm in western Illinois near Galena. I recall (and maybe not so accurately) viewing the Pleiades cluster and seeing blue nebulosity with this little refractor. The skies were very dark back then.

Edited by tcifani, 18 August 2024 - 06:00 PM.

[oldmanastro]

I have sold a few telescopes over the years but the one I really regret selling is my old Coulter 8" f/7 Dobsonian. It was a nice scope with great optics. Back in the mid 1970s I sold my Sears 76mm f/16 refractor. I regretted selling that one for years but was able to get it back in the mid 90s. My least regrettable telescope sale was that of my Criterion BL8000. It went to someone who wanted it for deep sky observing. That was all it was good at. Regrettably this one went with a Tuthill isostatic tripod. I think that there's always a bit of regret when we sell a telescope.

[Retentive]

I really got a lot of use out of a Lafeyette 4.5 inch equatorial reflector that I bought as a kid and took it around with me for years. I miss that scope.

[Deep13]

I haven't sold many. I sold a Discovery Truss Dob 12.5" with Ostahowski mirror that I had for a long time. Still, the 15" Obsession Classic I have now is actually a lot better, even if it's slightly less portable and has a Galaxy mirror rather than an Ostahowski. Otherwise, I'm good. I sold a lemon of a 9.25" SCT once, but I don't miss it.

[bobhen]

I can only think of 3 telescopes out of the 26 that I owned that I miss.

 

1) My 1989 Astro-Physics 152 F9 triplet refractor. Although long, that scope was remarkably lightweight. Just a superb lunar/planetary refractor that was also excellent on deep sky, within the limits of its aperture. That scope was replaced by a faster Astro-Physics 155 F7 triplet because I did EAA and imaging for some 16-years.

 

2) My University Optics 80mm F6.25 refractor. This refractor had a superb Japanese lens with a reported special flint lens element. In any case, there was minimal CA and the scope was very sharp. After 15-years, the UO 80mm was replaced with a larger 4" achromat.

 

3) My early Stellarvue SV105 F6.2 apo refractor with a LZOS triplet lens. For a short time, Vic imported Russian LZOS lenses. These lenses are superb and have an outstanding reputation. The 105mm is a prime example. I sold that scope 15 years ago to purchase a Takahashi TSA 120, which a still own today.

 

A special nod also goes to my 1989 Losmandy GM-100 mount. What a great mount for visual astronomy. More capacity than the later G11 and with excellent Losmandy machining. That mount would be too much for me now but people that have them really love them.

 

Bob

[CHASLX200]

I can only think of 3 telescopes out of the 26 that I owned that I miss.

 

1) My 1989 Astro-Physics 152 F9 triplet refractor. Although long, that scope was remarkably lightweight. Just a superb lunar/planetary refractor that was also excellent on deep sky, within the limits of its aperture. That scope was replaced by a faster Astro-Physics 155 F7 triplet because I did EAA and imaging for some 16-years.

 

2) My University Optics 80mm F6.25 refractor. This refractor had a superb Japanese lens with a reported special flint lens element. In any case, there was minimal CA and the scope was very sharp. After 15-years, the UO 80mm was replaced with a larger 4" achromat.

 

3) My early Stellarvue SV105 F6.2 apo refractor with a LZOS triplet lens. For a short time, Vic imported Russian LZOS lenses. These lenses are superb and have an outstanding reputation. The 105mm is a prime example. I sold that scope 15 years ago to purchase a Takahashi TSA 120, which a still own today.

 

A special nod also goes to my 1989 Losmandy GM-100 mount. What a great mount for visual astronomy. More capacity than the later G11 and with excellent Losmandy machining. That mount would be too much for me now but people that have them really love them.

 

Bob

Not sure why they dumbed down the GM100 to a G11.

[bobhen]

Not sure why they dumbed down the GM100 to a G11.

Because The GM-100 used a tangent arm drive and wasn't capable of GOTO without a redesign. There might have been other economical/production reasons as well.

 

I also had a G11 and it was a workhorse mount. But for the mainly visual observer, the GM-100 was the more robust mount.

 

Bob 

[k5apl]

I miss my StellarVue 80/9D.  I have owned several, but one was exceptional.  I should never have sold it.

 

I also miss my TAK FS-128.  It was light weight with memorable views.  

 

Wes

[deSitter]

I miss my StellarVue 80/9D.  I have owned several, but one was exceptional.  I should never have sold it.

 

I also miss my TAK FS-128.  It was light weight with memorable views.  

 

Wes

I can't believe anyone would sell an FS-128 - I wish I didn't already have a fine 5" refractor so I could fill that niche with the Tak. Might be the perfect scope.

 

-drl

[k5apl]

Sold the TAK FS-128 because (1) I went broke buying adapters and accessories for it, and (2) the TEC140 was calling me.  Then a TEC160FL called me. Next came an A-P 130edfGT.  And now I have landed on an

A-P 92Stowaway, and 3 or 4 old vintage, small refractors.  I am at the end of my rope, and I still think often about the FS-128.

Wes

[MarkMittlesteadt]

In addition to my old ETX105, my biggest regret was selling the first serious scope I bought, brand new from Astronomics, (prior to the ETX105)...

 

My Meade LX50 8" SCT...

 

[CHASLX200]

I can't believe anyone would sell an FS-128 - I wish I didn't already have a fine 5" refractor so I could fill that niche with the Tak. Might be the perfect scope.

 

-drl

I sold my 128 fast. A 5" is a 5" no matter how ya cut it and in 2003 i had a 11" Zambuto and a 15" OMI that just killed it for planets. I mean sure it was nice and sharp but once past 330x pow wow jupiter is getting dim while i could use 600x to 1100x on the bigger Newts.  I have a limit on what i will spend on a scope so that leaves out fancy APO's and fracts.  Only one 5" fract i am gonna go over 15k for.

Edited by CHASLX200, 20 August 2024 - 05:52 AM.

[starman876]

Still have a few 5" refractors left and I have no idea where they came from or as to their quality.    One is the Vixen NA120.  Great scope.   

[CHASLX200]

Still have a few 5" refractors left and I have no idea where they came from or as to their quality.    One is the Vixen NA120.  Great scope.   

I had one and liked it back in 03 when i came into money.

[Bomber Bob]

Pretty much still have every scope I've had.

 

My biggest regret is being too lazy to set up a scope on the many clear nights when I sort of drifted from the hobby. Especially since my eyesight was so much better then (as in very little vitreous gunk!) 

I hate parting with the good scopes!   Two stand out for me:

 

- 1978 Tasco 15K that I won in the JTMA (Japan Telescope Manufacturers Association) Contest.  I probably wouldn't have used it after 1988, but as a blast from the past, I should've kept it.

 

- 2017 APM 152ED - the only time I chose a reflector over a refractor (yeah, Meade 826, I'm lookin' at you!).

 

Tons of others departed, and I still have more Keepers than I can use in a typical year (well, "typical" seasons before 2017).

[Kitfox]

This is a very simple pitfall to avoid…never sell anything. That does create a bevy of other issues, however 

 

I am slightly concerned about a couple of older Vixens and an AP Mach 1 I let one of our esteemed Administrators borrow, tho…but I know where he lives…he just thinks he’s safe behind that gate 

Edited by Kitfox, 20 August 2024 - 08:02 PM.

[Scott in NC]

[mdowns]

[98105dude]

That RV-8 is the stuff that dreams are made of.

[CHASLX200]

That RV-8 is the stuff that dreams are made of.

The OTA i had was a killer but why did they slap it on a small mount?

[Terra Nova]

As much as I have loved many of the scopes that I have sold, I have no regret in selling them because others that I loved even more replaced them or more importantly, they just no longer fit either my lifestyle or my observing style. Ie. They just didn’t work for me any longer. Yes, some of were hard to let go of, two in particular: my wonderful 4” F15 Edmund and the 6” reflector that I made myself from the mirror up in 1966. I have wistful, loving memories of them, but I don’t miss either one because they absolutely wouldn’t work in my condo and I love my new, simplified life. I thankfully had the good sense to keep the three Japanese classics that do still work for me and I know I would have truly regretted letting go of. The only other exception was selling my 1988(?) Questar Standard. After moving, I really regretted selling that, but happily I was able to replace it with a year that I wanted more- a 1969, year of Apollo-11 model with the original globe or beehive eyepieces, Cer-Vit mirror, and the English leather case. It’s the same make as the first Questar I ever saw back in the 1960s, the one I really fell in love with. So destiny worked in my favor. Regrets? No. I’ve moved on.