197 replies to this topic

[skysurfer]

In the profile of many CN'ers a list of equipment is published and some have even ten or more scopes and several binos. It seems like they are collectors rather than observers and / or astrophotograpers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, but just curiosity why there are so many scope / bino collectors.

 

[scotsman328i]

In the profile of many CN'ers a list of equipment is published and some have even ten or more scopes and several binos. It seems like they are collectors rather than observers and / or astrophotograpers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, but just curiosity why there are so many scope / bino collectors.

Some like lots of scopes, some like just one.

 

Personally I own 5 scopes right now, but I use my refractors more than my Dobs. Some of it is many of us have a surplus we would like to sell off, like my 12” Explore Scientific Dob. I want to sell it, but it’s the hassle of finding boxes, finding the right packaging, the cost to ship like 4 heavy boxes, etc.

 

I’ve tried selling locally but no one bit. I’ll wind up trying again in another few months and see if anyone in the area is interested. 

 

Apart from that, when hobbyists have been engaged in Amateur Astronomy for 20+years, we do end up accumulating lots of equipment and gear. 

[Keith Rivich]

For me personally its just my progression as I have advanced in the hobby plus I have never sold anything so the scopes have accumulated. I leave these in my signature so folks with similar interest and equipment can relate. 

 

I do have a few friends that are just as you describe: collectors and not observers. But that's what makes them happy so I am all for it!

[Astrojensen]

It's eminently possible to be both a collector, observer and astrophotographer at the same time. Some of us has just slowly collected a huge pile of junk equipment over the years, and for some reason or another, find it useful to have a lot to choose from - or hard to get rid of. I have a lot of old scopes that I have some form of personal connection to, and don't really want to sell. But I might want to give them away one day, if I can find a suitable heir. As I have already done with some of it. A lot of it has low intrinsic value, and is really not worth the effort to write ads and ship it long distances. I use it for spare parts, basically. 

 

And then it's simply fun to collect scopes and eyepieces. It can be highly educational to try out many different designs and test them against each other. Every time I see a scope I don't have, I want to try it out, just to see how it performs. 

 

If I was a billionaire, I could keep several well-stocked telescope dealers busy all by myself. 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[NinePlanets]

After 55 years of active observing and telescope making, there are bound to be a few items piled up lovingly stored here and there around the hacienda. Much of it goes through phases of being useful as different observing projects and interests come and go through the years.

 

But I don't list it with every post as some are wont to do.

[dswtan]

Mine spark my joy. Another 55+ yrs here (Apollo!). Again only active is in my sig. Automated imaging enables concurrent rigs vs. visual only. Also solar vs. night.

 

See human nature: https://www.psycholo...ven-to-buy-more

 

See also, Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). Want to hear about my synths? ;-)

[fftulip]

I have "only" around 8 scopes (not counting homemade copyscopes): 5,6, and 8" refractors, 4x 5-6.5" Mak-Cass, and 1x 8" SCT.  The refractors and two of the Maks I bought because they were unique and once in a lifetime buys (for example an Astrophysics refractor and a couple of homemade Maks).  Two of the Maks (commercial units) I bought to compare to the homemade ones.  I got the SCT mainly for outreach with a church group, also out of curiosity (doesn't compare to a well made refractor or Mak but does have a lot of light grasp for its size and weight).

 

I have accumulated hundreds of binoculars - here I would call myself a collector.  Again, some of them were one of a kind or "pinnacle" models (examples: prototype units, German 8x60's B&L 7x50 WF).  Many of the others are inexpensive vintage Japanese wide angle models because I do enjoy good cheap binoculars as well as the rare as hens teeth models.  I also enjoy fixing up or modifying telescopes and binoculars, so, many binoculars were obtained for spare parts.

 

Yes I do observe with my optics (most of them).  One exception is a plastic 6x42 binocular from the 1940's.  Very interesting design but not really interesting optics to view through, and too rare to use in the field.

 

That's my tale.

[Don W]

No different than any other hobby. Ever see a car collector with just one car? How about a fisherman who only owns one fishing pole?

[deSitter]

In the profile of many CN'ers a list of equipment is published and some have even ten or more scopes and several binos. It seems like they are collectors rather than observers and / or astrophotograpers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, but just curiosity why there are so many scope / bino collectors.

 

Because honestly, it's cheap and fun. E.g. I found a Vixen 80/900mm f/11 achromat that is a superb telescope and in perfect condition - total outlay? $10. Astronomy may seem like an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. I don't suffer telescopes that don't perform. If you are alert and ready, you can find incredible bargains, and that's just plain fun. And you learn an enormous amount along the way.

 

-drl

[Jon Isaacs]

In the profile of many CN'ers a list of equipment is published and some have even ten or more scopes and several binos. It seems like they are collectors rather than observers and / or astrophotograpers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, but just curiosity why there are so many scope / bino collectors.

 

Everyone has a different story, every telescope has it's story.   I am not a collector, I am an observer.  I'm 77 years old and try to observe as often and for as long as possible.  These past two years, I have had some caretaking responsibilities that have limited my time under the night sky but typically, I am able to get out under the stars for 160-185 nights a year and average around 3 hours a night. 

 

I have six refractors and five Dobs..My wife and I have two homes, a place in San Diego where the seeing can be excellent but the skies are bright and a place in the high desert where the skies are much darker. At 77, my energy level varies.  Sometimes, I am raring to go, sometimes, I just want a casual night under the stars.  Having a number of telescopes allows me to match my energy level as well as my interest to the scope.  It is part of my strategy to observe as often as possible.

 

Beyond that, each scope has it's own particular set of abilities.  The 70mm ED is handy and provides wide fields of view and serves as terrestrial/birding scope.  It weighs 5 lbs with a 2 inch diagonal and I can carry the scope, eyepieces and tripod/mount out the door with one hand.  The 6.3 degree field possible, it's something special.  The 4 inch refractors take considerably more effort.  The Dobs, they take it to the next level..  I could get by with fewer refractors but as they say, variety is the spice of life.  The "scope room" San Diego.

 

 

I have two Dobsonians that stay in San Diego for planetary/double star stuff as well as brighter DSOs.  These are the 10 inch and the 13.1 inch.  The 10 inch is quite capable and an easy setup, I just wheel it out on a hand truck, it takes a minute or two. The 13.1 inch F/5.5 Starsplitter is a tall scope and quite formidable.  It takes a while to set it up. But it's definitely more capable than the 10 inch.. They make a good pair.

 

The other three, the 12.5 inch, the 16 inch and the 22 inch, stay at our place in the high desert.  Not having to haul larger scopes back and forth between the high desert and San Diego makes life much easier.  Each one of these scopes has it's niche.  The 12.5 inch and 16 inch also travel when I got to darker skies, the 22 inch stays in the garage.  The 22 inch used to be the workhorse but these past years, I am using the 16 inch more often, it's not as much work.   

 

Under dark skies, I normally setup one or two refractors plus a Dob.  This was an unusual night as I had two Dobs setup.

 

 

Some darker skies:

 

 

Telescopes are tools.. I enjoy looking through telescopes at the night sky.  I really don't enjoy collecting telescopes for the purpose of collecting, the goal is always observing.  If a telescope goes unused, I either sell it or more often, find a new home for it with someone who can appreciate it and use it.

 

Jon

 

P.S.  If you look at the first photo, you will see some stuffed donkeys.  I do collect stuffed donkeys.

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 17 May 2025 - 01:02 PM.

[Takuan]

As Jon says, everyone has their own story. I often think I'm a lucky man to have a fairly average (on the low side) salary and limited storage space.
Consumerist/collector temptations and material attachments don't have it easy on me.

[scotsman328i]

Because honestly, it's cheap and fun. E.g. I found a Vixen 80/900mm f/11 achromat that is a superb telescope and in perfect condition - total outlay? $10. Astronomy may seem like an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. I don't suffer telescopes that don't perform. If you are alert and ready, you can find incredible bargains, and that's just plain fun. And you learn an enormous amount along the way.

 

-drl

Very true! With the prices on the used gear on classifieds, there are fantastic deals to be found. Also, the gear in this hobby is optics based and the vast majority of hobbyists take meticulous care of their equipment. It is rare to receive a used item that is banged up, scratched up and overall not taken care of. This is a hobby that you sell into as well as purchase from, with the understanding between both parties that the gear involved is well taken care of. 

[hyiger]

I now have 7 scopes, running out of space to keep them and have been putting off selling them because it's a PITA. There are 3 that I don't use anymore. But now with tariffs having kicked in, probably best time for me to downsize. 

 

Current scopes in order of most used

 

1. RC71 (by far gets the most love but is packed away for galaxy season)

2. GT81 WIFD (lives on the East Coast and gets used mostly in the winter)

3. Edge 925 (sits in the closet until Galaxy season, occasionally bring it out for PNs and planets)

4. EvoStar 100ED visual only (solar and night time with my PiFinder)

5. AT130 (sits at an awkward focal length and has been collecting dust)

6. C11 (occasionally take it out for planets in opposition but will be up for sale soon since the 925 is more convienent) 

7. GT81 IV (straight to Classifieds as soon as I make a trip out East)

Edited by hyiger, 17 May 2025 - 02:51 PM.

[Jon Isaacs]

As Jon says, everyone has their own story. I often think I'm a lucky man to have a fairly average (on the low side) salary and limited storage space.
Consumerist/collector temptations and material attachments don't have it easy on me.

 

 

I was a staff research engineer at a major university.  I have been a dedicated cyclist for many years.  There was a young professor who was also a dedicated cyclist.  I made the following observations with which he agreed:

 

- As a professor he can buy any bicycle he wanted but he never had the time to ride it.

 

- As staff, I could ride my bike every day but I had to buy it/them at a garage sale.. 

 

Jon

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 17 May 2025 - 01:45 PM.

[harpo80]

Each one has its mission.  They come out for different gigs.  A couple (4" Meade and Granddad's old B&L) are more sentimental than needs.

[johnsoda]

Because we can…

[jcj380]

I like trying / comparing scopes.  They accumulate for awhile and then I sell some off, only to buy another one. 

 

And now there are roboscopes to try.  And more binos! 

[TOMDEY]

Popular hobbies tend to attract obsessive compulsive ~collectors~, at least on the vocal side of the fence. No surprise that we find many of them here. Another affective is psychological: A fairly common stated inquiry from beginners is that they want to buy their "forever scope" right out of the blocks, thus eliminating all the expense and wasted time progressing up from modest to extravagant that other foolish hobbyists have for some reason endured. Reality sets in and they ratchet up over months and years... enjoying several or more scopes before the first decade is out. But our community here comprises (by definition) those amateur astronomers who are sufficiently engaged to post and comment on the most active international astronomy website. No doubt that the "average average amateur astronomer" (AAAA) has --- one telescope, a modest bino, and maybe Eclipese Glasses ~just in case~ --- and doesn't obsess over it or spend hours posting lists and pictures of their telescopes.    Tom

 

PS: I don't list mine because --- I'm actually quite modest, despite rumors to the contrary --- and I don't want to crash the server or fry the grid.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[truckerfromaustin]

Several people are like me. They want a scope for every occasion. I have 2 scopes that are rare, so I only use them for special occasions. Therefore, I need a scope of similar ability to use the rest of the time. Once you add scopes for astrophotography, you can end up with a fairly large number of scopes. I'm planning to add a 15 inch dob at the end of the year and probably getting a C9.25 for astrophotography in the next few years. Once I semi retire I'll think about getting a 22 inch Ultra Compact Obsession for chasing the truly faint fuzzies since I will be in a Bortle 1-2 area in west Texas. I've been lucky enough to travel the country as part of my job, so I can find great deals on used equipment since some things are too big to ship and some sellers won't ship.

Clear Skies

[Airship]

After over 60 years as an active amateur astronomer I have accumulated a lot of stuff. Every piece of it represents an itch that I needed to scratch, and I want it to stay scratched! Now that I am (semi) retired I am slowly spending time with each piece deciding which items could be returned to the wild. I’m in no hurry… my buying days are over and what I have is all paid for. The time has come to slow down and enjoy each day.

[daveb2022]

...I’ve sold a few scopes, and seem to be a pack rat, but most of my scopes serve, (or once served) a specific purpose. Same with mounts… most are specific to some need.

A few are loner scopes people borrow. There are a few refractors geared for my off road travel adventures.

I have my favorite setup that lures me into using it on a nightly basis, but often find having more than one mount setup at the same time has advantages. I enjoy the flexibility of what an APO and SCT can provide on a single mount, but sometimes a second design sitting on the patio makes observing easier. 

 

 

 

Ergonomics and ease of setup goes a long way in my world.

 

 

I do have a couple of old rusty anchors in the closet.

I rarely use my heavy fork mounted go-to scopes much anymore. I can get more observing done with my more modern setup. But the future is always changing what I think is my favorite. Who knows what's next?

Edited by daveb2022, 17 May 2025 - 02:25 PM.

[GADify]

Guilty. 13th OTA on the way. 

 

For AP, the scope's focal length along with the sensor size determines FOV, so it's like changing prime lenses on a DSLR. I can't use my C11 for Andromeda and my SVX90T isn't my first choice for planets, for example. And then there's situations like where I bought my SVX127D and then an SVX140T became available through SV CPO and I couldn't resist. And all of that happened after I'd had my AT115EDT for a while, so I'll eventually sell off the 115 and 127. Probably.  

 

Honestly, though, I could probably do with maybe four: Widefield refractor, longer focal length refractor, SCT and Dob, but the hyperfocus is real (me, not the equipment) and I can afford it and enjoy them, so no harm done. I am also a serious gear-head and love to tinker and build things so assembling different rigs for different purposes appeals to me. 

 

TL;DR: Mental illness. 

Edited by GADify, 17 May 2025 - 02:38 PM.

[hfjacinto]

I’ve had more scopes than today, but I sold most off a few years ago, I might eventually get a C11 or C9.25 Edge but that will be in a few years, what I kept can keep me happy for a while.

[Sketcher]

I'm sure each person has their own stories.  Here's mine:

 

Yes, I'm guilty of possessing several telescopes.  I purchased 4 Galileoscopes when they first hit the market -- at $15 each plus shipping.  Why 4?  Well, they were remarkably inexpensive, and I thought I might want to pass some off to others as gifts at some point in time.

 

I received my first "serious" telescope on a Christmas morning -- probably in 1967 since I recall dating several of my earliest observations "1968".  My next telescope (an 8-inch SCT), the first that I purchased myself, was purchased in 1977 -- yes, nearly 10 years later.  My next telescope was purchased as parts that I assembled into a finished 10-inch reflector in maybe 1987 -- after another 10 years.  Then my Astro-Physics 130mm apochromat arrived in 1995, give or take one year.  From 1995 through the present point in time I added the previously mentioned Galileoscopes, an 80mm f/5 Short-Tube refractor as a "grab and go" telescope, a 12-inch reflector (to see what I was missing out on in the larger aperture department -- I concluded that I wasn't missing out on anything of any significance to me).  My last telescope was purchased in 2015 -- because that was basically the telescope that I had really wanted back in 1995 (but no one made one back then) -- when I had decided to "compromise" by purchasing that 130mm Astro-Physics apochromat.

 

At least three other telescopes came to me as "freebees".  One was won as a door-prize at a star party.  The other two were discarded by their previous owners (and many would label those two as "department store trash telescopes" -- especially the one whose refracting objective was a "singlet" -- not even an achromat.

 

Out of all of those telescopes, the first one "vanished" after I left home to attend a university.  The SCT got traded off for a couple of (TV Nagler) eyepieces at a star-party.  All of the others I still have, even though I had offered to give away (free of charge) the 10-inch to a neighbor, but the neighbor never came to pick it up.  So, I still have it.

 

I also have three binoculars that were purchased several years from one another -- an 8x42, a 20x80, and a 25x100 -- each very different from the others in aperture, magnification, and weight.  Each having substantially different capabilities -- not a very extreme number of binoculars, if I do say so myself, considering the overall span of time.

 

I also happen to have the luxury of being in possession of two observatories and living under a "seriously dark" sky, but I now use only one of the observatories.

 

So, why so much stuff?  It was accumulated from 1967 through the present day -- a nearly 60 year period of time with only two telescopes that have departed from my possession.  My home, for the past 40 plus years, has been pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  It's not easy to pass old telescopes on to others from such a location, and I find it difficult to take a telescope to the nearest dump.  I mean, a telescope is a telescope.  They deserve to continue to see light from various celestial bodies or at least remain lovingly stored until they can next do so.

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

In the profile of many CN'ers a list of equipment is published and some have even ten or more scopes and several binos. It seems like they are collectors rather than observers and / or astrophotograpers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, but just curiosity why there are so many scope / bino collectors.

Why do you think that "ten or more" is "many" ... ?   :-)  :-)  :-)

 

Clear sky ...