Best Grab & Go Scopes?

I've been thinking about getting a scope(& mount) that would be more easily dealt with on a camping trip than my C9.25 CPC. My initial thoughts were leaning towards an ETX 127 or something similar. I know there are some nice refractors of about the same size that might work too, but I'd like to keep the price below $700. What small scopes will give me the best views of DSO's? I just spent a few weeks in an area with amazing skies, armed only with a small pair of birding binocs. Never again.
We can continue the refractor vs reflector fight here, I suppose.

To me Grab and go means just that...grab it and go no muss no fuss...no electrons, no cool down, a single cheap Hyperion 8-24 zoom EP rather then my collection of EP

I use a 100 mm Orion /6 refractor on a manual alt/azm mount as my Grab and go... its an Achro But for the price and what I use it for I can live with it not being an Apo...from dark sites it pulls in enough for me to smile allot ...and that is how I measure a scope...smiles per night! IF I personally traveled more then I currently do and had a great darkl site I'm have myself a Good APO and just write the darn check...

Bob G

I too have a 100mm F6 achro on a simple alt-az mount. It is great for low power sweeping in dark skies. It is a disappoinment for high power viewing of anything. If I had the funds, I'd go for an apo about the same size to improve contrast and up the high power capabilities.

clear skies,
daqn

Another 100mm Orion F/6 on astrotech voyager mount. Very well-built for the price and excellent for star hopping with wide field views. Thinking about the new Explore Scientific 127mm F/6.5 achro for a bit more aperture.

John Agnew said:

I've been thinking about getting a scope(& mount) that would be more easily dealt with on a camping trip than my C9.25 CPC. My initial thoughts were leaning towards an ETX 127 or something similar. I know there are some nice refractors of about the same size that might work too, but I'd like to keep the price below $700. What small scopes will give me the best views of DSO's? I just spent a few weeks in an area with amazing skies, armed only with a small pair of birding binocs. Never again.
We can continue the refractor vs reflector fight here, I suppose.

John:

I also suggest a smaller, relatively fast refractor, somewhere between 80 and 102 mm. I want my "grab and Go" scope to be a compliment, a companion, to my larger scopes, I want it to be competent at all types of viewing but I also want it to do the things a small scope can do that a big scope can't:

1 Easily Portable

2) Provide spacious Widefield Views

3) No thermal stability issues.

A small refractor seems to fit that bill nicely.

I did have an ETX-125, it was a decent scope, and relatively compact. However, for me, it is severely restricted by it's 1900mm focal length and 1.25 inch focuser, this limits the True Field of View to something like 0.85 degrees, hardly the scope to take in the Veil or wander around the Milky Way just taking in the sites. It also does take it time to cool down and be ready. With that long focal length, the ETX-125 is essentially a small scope best suited for planetary and double star viewing.

In comparison, an 80 or 100mm refractor at F/6 or F/7 will provide a nice wide field of view, at least 3 degrees and maybe 4 or even 5 degrees. For me, these are some of my favorite views and are not possible with something along the lines of the ETX-125... Such scopes are about the most thermally stable one can get.

For good performance on a budget, that Orion 100mm F/6 is hard to beat, I enjoyed a 100mm F/6 for a year or so, moved up to the ED-80 eventually ended up with an Astro-Tech 102ED. Probably a bit over your budget (~$700 used) but IMHO, it's a wonderful compromise, enough aperture to provide satisfying views of most targets and yet still relatively compact. Of my several scopes, it gets the most use, both as a scope for a casual evening in the back yard or a companion up in the mountains.

Another scope worth considering is the Orion SpaceProbe 130ST or the Vixen variant. This is a 130mm F/5 Newtonian so it has a nice short focal length, I think it's about 24inches long and capable of some wonderful views, both widefield and high power. The downside is that, like any reflector, it does take it some time to cool down and it does suffer from the various fast Newtonian issues, coma, likes good eyepieces... But cooled down, with a 2 inch focuser, a Paracorr and some nice eyepieces, it seems like I am looking through a refractor...



The bottom line is that there are a lot of choices to try, many of us have tried most of em and found out what works best for our particular needs. Personally I think the place to start your search is with something along the lines of a used ED-80. It gives a way a bit to the 4 inchers in terms of absolute performance but the optics provide pristine views from the lowest magnifications right up to the limit and the price is definitely right...

Jon

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John Agnew said:

I've been thinking about getting a scope(& mount) that would be more easily dealt with on a camping trip than my C9.25 CPC. My initial thoughts were leaning towards an ETX 127 or something similar. I know there are some nice refractors of about the same size that might work too, but I'd like to keep the price below $700. What small scopes will give me the best views of DSO's? I just spent a few weeks in an area with amazing skies, armed only with a small pair of birding binocs. Never again.
We can continue the refractor vs reflector fight here, I suppose.

I've got an ETX125, but I would NOT call it a grab 'n go. It's not much more grab 'n goish that a C8 as a matter of fact.

Small refractors? Can work, but the stickin' point is usually the mount. Anything you'd care to use usually makes 'em less portable than you want.

My solution? A StarBlast, a stand I made for it in an afternoon, and a pair of inexpensive 15x70 binoculars. They stay in the back room by the back door and are what keep me observing all through the hot, humid, buggie, sucker-hole-laden summer. Deep Sky power? Seeing the whole Cygnus Loop through the 'Blast one summer night damn sure made a believer out of me. Plus, did I mention? It's C-H-E-A-P!

You can see my StarBlast setup here:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=93

If it wasn't for the 'Blast and the binocs, I would have missed many of the little minor comets that have drifted through the summer skies for the last few summers, and I wouldn't have looked at Comet Holmes half so often.

John,

I have two grab-n-go setups, depending on where I'm going:

1. TV76 on a TV Gibraltar mount. ($pendy)

2. TV Pronto on a TV Telepod head on a heavy bogen tripod. (All used, cost me less than $700)

Each takes less than 5 minutes to set up and provides quality viewing.

Randy Holst
Boise, Idaho

Another vote for a small newt.
My 6" f5 clearly out resolves my 3", 4" and 5" scopes.
At 9 lbs it's pretty easy to mount alt az.
The ota is 27" long so it will sit upright in any corner of the vehicle if desired.

For camping, one other thought is a suitcase dob. Unfortunately, I don't know of any company that makes a moderately-priced instrument of this sort. There is the Uti, which is quite nice, but also quite expensive. I have seen some nice homemade 6" and 8" travel dobs, but it takes tools and time to make that happen.

I guess there's not a very big market for such a item?

Duane

John Agnew said:

I've been thinking about getting a scope(& mount) that would be more easily dealt with on a camping trip than my C9.25 CPC. My initial thoughts were leaning towards an ETX 127 or something similar. I know there are some nice refractors of about the same size that might work too, but I'd like to keep the price below $700. What small scopes will give me the best views of DSO's? I just spent a few weeks in an area with amazing skies, armed only with a small pair of birding binocs. Never again.
We can continue the refractor vs reflector fight here, I suppose.

I have at my disposal 4 telescopes from 20" down to 90mm and consider none of them grab and go. Banging through the patio door with even just a 90mm Mak I do not consider ease of use. For me a grab and go scope is not even a scope, but binoculars. When I am in the grab and go mood I head for the closet where I keep my collection of astro binoculars. Have you thought about augmenting your birding binoculars with a good astronomical binocular? An excellent Fujinon 16X70 FMT-SX binocular coupled with a collapsible lawn chaise for reclined observing will lead to delightful views and instant gratification with virtually no set up. Think about it.