Seamaster Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) You see I don't have the time to spend 15+ minutes setting up when I fancy a cheeky little ganders at something. My viewing is likely to be spur of the moment for 15-20 mins or so most of the time. I think I want something I can basically point and shoot, without all the GoTo and computerised faffing about. That may class me as some sort of Philistine or such like but there you go! I am now considering selling or trading my Celestron SLT127 Mak GoTo for something of similar capability, mainly for planets and the "easy" DSO's. Something I can just think "hey Jupiter looks good tonight, I'll pop out for a looksey before my tea"! What scope would you recommend for the kind of cash I'd get for my scope (as new used a couple of times) and the 8ah polymer lithium battery pack (again, used once)? Cheers Neil. Edited February 27, 2015 by Seamaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 An 8" dob is a perfect pick up and go scope, you could be set up in minutes. And you will see more then your 127 shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 As Mick says above, the 8" dob would give a quick set up and substantial upgrade. I'm not familiar with your 127 mak, but can't the axes be unlocked for manual positioning, or could it not be more quickly aligned with a little practice, or just buzzed around with the controller until the object is centred manually in the finder. Just a thought to get you by in the meantime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Of course the quickest would be a good set of binoculars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Got to be a dob, 8" or bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm afraid there's no easy answer to this Neil, for a grab and go set up your going to have to compromise in some way If your after grab and go that will give you quick decent views then a Mak is not really the choice I'm afraid as the Maks have quite long cool down periods. For decent views from my Mak 127 I had to ensure it was outside cooling down for at least an hour before I did any serious planetary stuff. The Mak 180 is even worse. BUT when cooled and in the right atmospheric conditions Maks can give stunning views. Newts/dobs are a little better but you still have to let the mirrors acclimate before you can get the best on planetary. An 80 or 102mm refractor is a good grab and go and wont take as long to cool but if your after quality views of planets then you need some decent optics and that means paying more. If your into DSOs as well as Jupiter on the other hand then an 8" Dob may be the way to go as suggested by the reflector fans above , take it outside, observe DSOs for an hour then turn it to Jupiter when its cooled to get the best views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's a tricky one to recommend something that one person might be suitable, but won't do it for another. This could be down to how quick you want to be set up and how long you want to stay out. Storage is something else to consider, a Dob is a bit bigger than the 127 set up. A 8" Dob can be plonked out, and set up without polar alignment and after half an hour will produce acceptable views. The down side of a Dob is it dews up fairly quickly. A decent home made dew shield will help, but if you want to stay out longer then you will have to consider heaters for longer sessions. A Refractor on a Alt Az mount is probably the next best, but again an extended session will need dew prevention. If you get an EQ mount, then you are into polar alignment and some interesting postures. The benefit of this is it can be manually tracked or a motor added to keep the object in the eyepiece. A simple EQ and tracking motor,is probably the most convenient option. If you want a look at a Dob, you are welcome to have a squint at mine, and see what you think. PM me if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Hi Neil. Do you have somewhere cool you can store the scope? If, like mine, it has to stay in the centrally heated house, then a smaller instrument would probably be better as it would cool much quicker. My SW 120 ED (120 x 900 fl) seems to take about an hour before it gives its best. The ST 102 (102 x 500 fl) is much more forgiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 For the type of observing that you mention above I think the 8" dob is a sound suggestion. But all scopes have a cool down time - something you just can't get away without. That said - all scopes can be used straight away - they just won't be operating at their best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 You could always stick a cooling fan on a 8" dob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 You could always stick a cooling fan on a 8" dob. Like this..... BAZ and tuckstar 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stash Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Ron Clark kindly showed me Jupiter(including bands) thru his spotting scope on a very windy night - that is quick to set up , as its on a tripod the image is steadish. Not sure what make or price but looked good to me. Might be the compromise between Bins(even on a tripod) and a Dob as I suspect the price,for this spotting scope, is not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Spotting scopes produce pretty good views, I often use my Hawke endurance 85mm spotting scope, but as you say not cheap for a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamaster Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the replies guys. A Dob is out for me as I don't have the room to store it and feel it would also be a bit of a faff to use for quick, short "spur of the moment" viewing? If a fully manual (not even bothering with polar alignment) Mak / Schmidt Cass would be irksome due to cooling down time then what does that leave? I appreciate that all scopes need to cool down but which type typically requires the least cooling time before performing satisfactorily? Refractor? What would I expect to pay for whatever I end up with? Also I would have to buy new accessories such as the solar filter but would my eyepieces (the ones I purchased separately from the scope) fit most other scopes? I think they are all 1.25? I would also have to sell the battery pack as I wouldn't need it! Thanks for the advice and like it coming. Edited March 1, 2015 by Seamaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi, unfortunately there is no such thing as 1 scope for all occasions. Also, a dob really is simple to use, I don't see how it can be a faff, for example, you place it down, remove the dust caps, insert an ep and your done, granted they do take up a bit of room. It sounds to me like you need a pair of binos, no cool down time, small enough to store in a draw and can be set up in seconds. All scopes require some initial setup, so I would go for a pair of decent quality bins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I wouldn't get rid of your battery unless you really need to. You might still need dew prevention on a small frac, this is dependent on the weather conditions on the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamaster Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 I've put the Celestron 127 GoTo up for sale or trade....along with the power pack (I doubt I will use a heated dew shield, Inwont be out long enough!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi Neil. I enjoy the simplicity of my little Sky-Watcher ST 102 ( 102mm aperture, 500mm focal length). I use it on an Alt Az mount so it's just a case of plonking it down and pulling the caps off. I generally leave it on the mount with an eye piece fitted and it lives in the living room (where else!). It makes quite a nice looking piece of furniture (I think). With a 32mm EP I get about 15 x mag which gives lovely wide field views. At this mag it doesn't really matter that it hasn't cooled. Nice on things like the Double Cluster and Pleiades. With this FOV a red dot finder is ample and I've found some quite faint objects, M1, M106, M27, M81 / 82, to name a few. The Alt Az kit comes with a 45 degree prism diagonal so things appear right way up right way round so will match star and moon charts. Nice for terrestrial as well. I also bought a 90 deg prism diagonal as my neck was suffering on higher altitude objects. Being fairly small it cools quickly so I can ramp up the mag after 20 mins or so. A new one will set you back £200 ish. It's not all good news though. This is an achromatic refractor so there's quite a bit of color fringing. I use a Baader fringe killer filter on bright stuff like Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. I think about 100 x is the max. I still get a nice view with a quality 7mm EP. Shame I'm away down south. You really need to have a look for yourself. Glad to answer any questions. Alan. BAZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamaster Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Thanks for the advice guys. The SLT127 has been sold so I'm on the lookout for the best Incan get for around £300? Nothing that involves collimation or long cool down times. Refractor? What would give me good planetary views whilst still be ok for DSOs ? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Check my reply on your other thread. I think a 90mm Maksutov with suitable accessories could be the answer. Beware of one thing: the astrophotography bug will get you sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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