Hi folks. I’m thinking about rearranging my scope line up once and for all. I do a mix of dso’s and planets with a little time on double stars. I run a high school astronomy program where there is plenty of imaging equipment to use. 95% of my telescope time at home is spent with an eyepiece in the scope, although I can see more web cam projects on the horizon as my kids get older. Over the years, I’ve owned scopes of many designs and in many sizes. When I lived in a big city, I settled on a 4” apo on an alt az mount. I could take it outside and view planets or load it in the car and be observing dso’s in 2 hours. It was a great solution. I’ve been in Vermont now for 7 years where the 4” didn’t seem so ideal anymore, or at least one size no longer seemed to fit all. Standing in my driveway on good nights, M33 is a naked eye object. These new conditions triggered an amazingly time consuming trial of many scopes in search of an ideal combination that fit my budget. It was fun to try all that equipment though. Several years ago, I ordered a 5” f/12 achromat and I thought I was pretty close to done. I have it on a very nice gem and can be observing with it in about 5 minutes. It’s wonderful. Add a quick look scope and something big and I’m done, right? Guess not. Aside from having too much money in scopes, my big scope sat unused. Too big for me to bother with. Guess that makes me lazy, because it was a truss scope I could leave assembled and roll out the door in seconds. Turns out I’m not a ladder guy. I’m thinking about a two scope line up. Currently I have a 78mm apo and my 5” achromat. Nice, but something is missing. The 5” does a great job on dso’s but it is still a 5”. I’m getting a hankering for a 10” f/6 newt that I could move between an alt az mount and a gem. This diameter and focal ratio seems ideal to me. Not huge, not expensive (as these things go) and great views. It also would not require a wildly huge and expensive gem. I’m pretty intrigued with Bob Royce’s conical primaries. I would really enjoy building up a scope around one. Here is the problem: I would need to sell one of my current scopes to make this happen, so which one? I suspect a well set up 10” Royce will do nearly everything that my 5” will do but better. I can still see a roll for the 78mm apo for quick peeks and nights when I’m in the mood for fishing with light tackle (fairly frequent). I never thought I’d say this, but I might sell my 5” f/12 achromat. If I’m wrong about this, then I’ve sold a scope that is very difficult to replace, one that I enjoy using every time I go out, and also a sentimental favorite. I suppose I could sell several eyepieces which are more easily replaced after I have a chance to make a more informed choice. That would almost be a solution, but funds would still be a bit short.
Sorry for the ramble. I welcome your input.
Thanks,
Glenn
Sorry for the ramble. I welcome your input.
Thanks,
Glenn
