Posts Made By: Victor Kennedy

I'm surprised only one person has recommended an Nextstar 8. I have a C8 on an eq mount and it's a good all-round scope, and a complete system would fit nicely within your $1000 budget. I must admit I haven't looked through any of the Russian scopes that have been mentioned so can't say how they compare, but I have compared the C8 to an EXT 105 and the images are comparable, with the C8 being a bit brighter.

Even though cooldown time may not be a problem where you live, dewing might, but that can be minimized with a dew shield.

I can lift the C8 and eq mount with one hand, and I'm not Arnold Schwartzenegger.

My limited experience is that inexpensive Meade eq mounts are an exercise in frustration. I used to have a really cheap Meade eq mount that came with a 1980s Schmidt-Newtonian; it literally fell apart. I currently use an LXD300 mount; the head is ok but the aluminum tripod is a catastrophe. I ordered a motor drive which was dead on arrival. I replaced the tripod with a Vixen pier, which is much better. Even so, it's only passable for visual observing with a small refractor or 8" SCT; forget imaging, no matter what the Meade ads ("all most amateurs will ever need") say.

My only other experience with Meade mounts is having observed through a fork-mounted LX200 at a couple of star parties. The mount, with a big steel tripod, is stable, but it's not low-cost.

I have a Vixen GP-DX on order. At first I ordered a Synta HEQ-5, but decided to change my order after reading several negative reports of a similar mount, the EQ6, on sci.astro.amateur. It seems to be the consensus on Astromart, Cloudy Nights, and sci.astro.amateur that the GP is about the entry-level for a stable imaging platform for small scopes. You get what you pay for when it comes to eq mounts.

I just had first light with a pair of BW-Optik binos on my C8 last night. They work very well.

Josh, you have been getting a ton of good advice, but I don't think it's necessarily an either/or situation. The two scopes you are considering have different strengths and weaknesses, and it is difficult to know in advance which will suit you best. As you mentioned, if it is your first scope, you probably don't know yet which objects and what kind of observing you will prefer. I started off with a small refractor and later got a larger SCT, and enjoy using them both, although I now use the refractor more often.

Whichever one you get, you will probably eventually own one of the other type too. I think everyone here will agree, because I think most of the people who have responded to your question own several scopes themselves.

I also think that the scopes you are considering are each of quite good quality and either will give you great satisfaction. Maybe you should just fire up the old credit card and buy one of each. Mount them in tandem and use the refractor as a finder for the MCT: best of all possible worlds ;-)

Stuart, my BW Optik binoviewer comes to focus in my AT1010 with a Meade 140 Barlow, and gives a nice crisp, clear view. I haven't tried an OCA/OCS, but probably will, sometime, when my bank balance recovers.

Astronomy is an activity fraught with peril. Not only can you rip your forehead open on a finder, you could also:

-drop a Nagler on your foot
-blind yourself looking at the sun after forgetting your solar filter
-get sucked dry by mosquitoes
-ditto blackflies and ticks
-catch all manner of unpleasant diseases from said mosquitoes and ticks
-incur the wrath of your spouse when she discovers how much your latest astro-gadget cost
-go bankrupt buying astro-gadgets
-go bankrupt paying divorce lawyers after your spouse...
-go stark raving bonkers waiting for the sky to clear
-go stark raving bonkers after your spouse gets sole custody of your telescopes
-catch aperture fever
-fall off the ladder of your 36" reflector bought after you caught aperture fever
-expire in a fit of apoplexy brought on by reading the latest idiocy on s.a.a.
-expire in a fit of apoplexy brought on by reading the word "aperture" spelled wrongly for the n+1th time

M51 is not one of the easiest ones, Trotwood. If you can see M51 with Heep, you should be able to see M81 & M82 and, of course, M31 & M32.

Yours truly, Micawber.

SV AT1010 - got one, like it. Get a 2" ep, 34 - 40 mm.

I use one of those foam rubber sheets you get for putting under your sleeping bag while camping to sit, kneel, or lie on. Many folks recommend getting an observing chair. Some use an adjustable height drummer's stool.

Do you really need the full set? When I was young and inexperienced (about a year ago) I bought the full set of Tak orthos, but after a while I found that I just use the ones in the middle of the range (mostly the 7 and 9 mm, occasionally the 5). The short focal length ones (2.8 mm and 4 mm) provided too much magnification for the scopes I own. The long focal length ones (18 and 25 mm) provide a nice view, but I prefer other eyepieces with a wider field of view at low powers.

My advice (as usual, worth what you paid for it) is, since you really like the Pentax, get another one or two at the magnifications you think you are likely to need most. Better to have 3 eyepieces that you really like and use often than 6 or 7 that you seldom use (says the guy with 13 eyepieces).