Posts Made By: Joe Krzizike

Any recommendations on a good photo head/tripod combination that will work well with a TMB 80/480? I'd like something robust that is still super portable, but will still solidly hold the scope and be usable at high powers.

My other option is to go back to a UA Microstar. I owned one of these mounts before and liked it, but I'm thinking a photo head might do a great job too.

Do photo heads come with slo mo controls? I've never owned one so I have no idea.

Thanks!

Now time for some questions, if you don't mind : )
I have the following eyepieces and diagonal:
- 32mm Orion Sirius Plossl
- 20mm Vixen Lanthanum
- 17mm Orion Sirius Plossl
- 7.5mm Vixen Lanthanum
- 2X Orion Shorty Barlow
- Vixen prism dia. (I have a WO 2" on order)

Would better eyepieces and barlow improve the already stunning images? I also thought I could have pushed the mag over the approx 220X I was using.

Also, my skies in my apt complex are terribly light polluted (read: a light post ever 10 feet). How much more detail would I be able to see in a darker sky?

The images of Saturn did bounce at high mag but I was unable to determine if this was because of seeing or because of my mount. I haven't perfectly balanced the OTA on the mount and vibrations were in the 2-3 second range. In other words, would seeing cause an image to bounce a little?

I'm not really looking for specific answers to some of the questions, I'm curious as to how much better this could possibly get! I had a GREAT night observing and both the scope and the heavens FAR exceeded what I was expecting to see!

Thanks for reading this!
JOE
"Still Amazed!"

Thanks for the responses!

Aaaah!!! The Nagler does seems like a sweet choice! Does it suffer in contrast or brightness compared to the others?

Even thought the eye relief stinks on the Orthos, the price sure is appealing!

Thanks!
JOE

Being a newbie myself, I suggest "Turn Left at Orion". It covers the easiest objects to find in the sky with a small telescope and gives pointers on what to look for with each object. The book also has drawings of what the objects look like through a small telescope's EP. I find the book to very helpful and a nice addition to the books already listed.

You can get both "Turn Left at Orion" and "Nightwatch" for a hefty discount on Amazon.

If you haven't already, check out skyandtelescope.com. There is an interactive star chart that is VERY useful for beginners such as us.

Hope this helps!
JOE

Drat! I wish I would have seen this scope before I bought my FS 102! Looks like the FS 102 is going back.

Unforunately the shipping for that beast costs more than an FS102 on an Em-10 mount

Hey Chas,

Did you end up with the Temma 110/24v Power Supply from Anacortes? I might purchase one of these down the road.

Thanks!
JOE

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I am seriously trying to save money on this purchase by considering an achromat I don't see it, though. Like the old adage....once you go Tak, you never go back...I don't know how I would feel about false color. I need to keep my budget well under $2000 or I'll never pony up for a HA filter.

The TV 76 is my front runner as I have read good reviews and have never owned a TV scope (curious on how they compare to other scopes I have owned). Also, fit and finish, as well as mechanical integrity, is a big must for me. I really like the SV products as well!

Interesting story (and one of the reasons I don't like Orion products):
I was at a star party and some gent had one of the really cheap Orion refractors set up. He was incessantly bragging about the quality and views to some would be aspiring astronomers. He went to the extent of saying that people who buy more expensive scopes in the same aperture range are just wasting their money. Understand that this was to a bunch of kids and adults new to astronomy. I took a look through this alleged "Magic Scope" for $150 or whatever he said it cost, and took a glance at Luna. I saw more colors through this scope than what's in a bag of Skittles. I would have said something to the gent, but my eye hurt from looking at the rainbow in his eyepiece. I guess the fact that it seemed he was misleading these people rubbed me the wrong way. (I wake up in cold sweats over this story.)

I have also looked at the Megrez II option. I dig the "punk" look I would sport with the fancy backpack carrying case it comes with. I'd like to see more user reviews on it before I'd really consider buying it.

There was also a comment on the Traveler. I'd probably sell my soul to the devil for one of those (figuratively speaking, of course).

I hate buying telescopes, toooo many good choices.

Thanks again for the help!

Clear skies!
JOE

It seems like the 6" is a winner. Good stuff, I've never owned one before. If the views are indeed as good or better than my old FS102, then the few extra minutes allotted for cool down time/collimation are worth it in my opinion.

Equipment decisions....always tough.

Thanks for all of the replies thus far! I've unsuccessfully searched high and low for the extensive information posted by you folks in the last few hours!