Posts Made By: Danny Lesandrini

Well, I've got an itch to get a better telescope, and I've been looking at a couple of models. I really like my Celestron 5i with NexStar, so upgrading to an 8" seemed logical. I've been told to stay away from the single fork, so the question is, which would you prefer, the Double-Fork mount or a GEM mount?

Now, I think the Celestron is an f10, right? I've also been looking at the f4 Meade LXD75 SN-10 (Schmidt Newtonian). I would like to do some imaging some day, but probably never anything to extreme. Still, I have these concerns about the Meade. Can anyone confirm or deny ...

1) The Meade mount with this 36" tube SN-10 might be susceptible to vibration
2) I could replace the Meade GEM with a portable pier to mitigate the vibration
3) The Meade AutoStar GoTo works great but is very noisy.

I could get a used Meade SN-10 for $1000 or a Celestron Nexstar 8" GEM for $1500, both advertised locally on Craigslist. A little research suggests that I'll end up spending $500 on the Meade to get a new focuser and spotting scope, so consider the prices to be comparable. Which would you prefer, and why?

Ok, I've got this idea and I want to know if it's realistic.

I just got a Celestron 8" with NexRemote, so I can ostensibly remote control where it points from my basement on cold winter nights. However, how does one look through the eyepiece remotely? Ahhh, the Orion StarShoot II DeepSpace Color camera just went on sale for $300. So if I get about 50 ft of USB cable and 50 ft of whatever cable my NexRemote requires, I'm golden ... right?

How would I focus the StarShoot from my basement? Would I ...

a) Set the focus once and forget about it
  (does this require back-and-forth between basement and
   telescope multiple times until I get it right?)

b) The StarShoot has a focuser
  (MaxIm DL Essentials software offers live focusing aid)


Additional questions:
  Will the signal degrade over the 50' distance it has to travel to my laptop?

  Am I going to need an extension to provide the "additional 15mm of in-focus travel"?

Any advice or insight you have to give will be appreciated.

Danny