Hello,
First off, even though I've been into astronomy a long time, I don't know much about what is available aftermarket for scopes so this question might seem like a silly beginner question to some. I beg your indulgence.
A few years ago my Dynamax 8" was stolen and the insurance company allowed me to replace it with a Meade 10" LX200, the non-GPS unit.
The insurance paid for a complete set of Meade plossl eyepieces, Lumicon deep-sky filter, 6.3 focal reducer and various other accessaries including a Lumicon OIII filter and a dew shield.
Now, I've since added a Scope-saver so I can easily mount the scope to the tripod, a Telrad, and a few other items.
I've recently become an active member of the local astronomy club and I would like to improve the performance and portability (if that is possible) of the scope as I find the 60#+ scope a bit unwieldy.
So, my question to you is if you were in my situation, what would you do to upgrade the scope? I am interested in visual use only and not photography, btw.
The optics are pretty good for a CAT, I am told and I agree with that although the scope has never been tested.
I guess if I had to list what is important to me, portability/protection during transport would be first, followed by optical performance (I just bought a Speers-Waler 10mm and a 16mm Konig II from the classifieds, btw), followed by durability of scope parts.
Thanks in advance, I've learned more about scopes since I found this site a month ago than I have the last 10 years.
See you and good seeing.
Tom B.
First off, even though I've been into astronomy a long time, I don't know much about what is available aftermarket for scopes so this question might seem like a silly beginner question to some. I beg your indulgence.
A few years ago my Dynamax 8" was stolen and the insurance company allowed me to replace it with a Meade 10" LX200, the non-GPS unit.
The insurance paid for a complete set of Meade plossl eyepieces, Lumicon deep-sky filter, 6.3 focal reducer and various other accessaries including a Lumicon OIII filter and a dew shield.
Now, I've since added a Scope-saver so I can easily mount the scope to the tripod, a Telrad, and a few other items.
I've recently become an active member of the local astronomy club and I would like to improve the performance and portability (if that is possible) of the scope as I find the 60#+ scope a bit unwieldy.
So, my question to you is if you were in my situation, what would you do to upgrade the scope? I am interested in visual use only and not photography, btw.
The optics are pretty good for a CAT, I am told and I agree with that although the scope has never been tested.
I guess if I had to list what is important to me, portability/protection during transport would be first, followed by optical performance (I just bought a Speers-Waler 10mm and a 16mm Konig II from the classifieds, btw), followed by durability of scope parts.
Thanks in advance, I've learned more about scopes since I found this site a month ago than I have the last 10 years.
See you and good seeing.
Tom B.
