What telescope/spotting scope do you have?

[dennilfloss]

I used to have a Celestar 8 with a short-tube Celestron 80EQ riding piggyback on top of it during the late 90s

but sold the kit a few years ago as it was too heavy and therefore rarely being used once I moved to a new apartment without a veranda (I have chronic fatigue syndrome and no vehicle). Got the itch to get back into the hobby a few months ago and decided to go for a moderately-priced grab n' go ED doublet refractor, purely for casual, visual use at the moment (may do some afocal photography later) mainly on the Moon, Jupiter & Saturn. This is a gift from my dad, with a budget of $2000 and I managed to stick with the budget after taxes.

Ordered my new gear last week from Focus Scientific (the local brick-and-mortar store; they star-test everything and make sure all is compatible, reaches focus, etc...). Only thing left to show up is the optical tube assembly (which should happen sometimes next week).

Here's what my grab n' go kit will be:

Lunt Engineering 102mm/714mm ED doublet F/7 refractor OTA on steel-legged Skywatcher AZ-4 altazimuth mount
2" William Optics dielectric diagonal
Baader Hyperion Aspheric 36mm 72° 2" widefield (& 'finder') eyepiece (yields 3.5 degrees true field of view with that OTA)
Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Mark III 2" clicktop zoom eyepiece
Celestron 2.5x 2" Luminos barlow & Celestron 2" UHC nebular filter

I'll probably get a 2" moon filter too. Just want to make sure the moon really is too bright and it's needed before I buy this. I did not feel the need for one with my former 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain.

As for spotting scopes, I'm using an angled Celestron Ultima 80 (20x-60x) on my old Solidex Excel video camera tripod & mount. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1mx6lyPngw

So what's your astronomy/birding gear?

 

[Arcadio]

This is mine:

Orion XT8:

Eyepieces, barlow lens, filter, collimation cap:

 

[Fritzo]

 

[IronWing]

Yo dawg, I heard you like a spotting scope on your telescope so...


I used to have a small Jason when I was a kid. It didn't work very well so I gave it away at some point. Reflecting, I realize that there was nothing wrong with the scope but that I needed glasses. I'm more into microscopes. I have four of them.

 

[silverpig]

I got to use the university's 42 cm aperture scope a few years ago. That was good fun. We had a peltier cooled ccd for it as well.

I'd love to get back into it, but really would like to get a special astro ccd and learn how to use IRAF again.

 

[Gillbot]

 

[Angry Irishman]

Don't own yet but will soon....unless someone has a compelling reason to talk me out of it.

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ECLIPS™ Module. The ECLIPS color CCD camera (640x480 resolution) lets you capture images of your favorite celestial wonders and display them in real time on an external (user supplied) monitor or store them on a (user supplied) SD card so you can do CCD imaging your very first night out.
AutoStar III. The included AutoStar III GOTO keypad computer has an over 100,000 object library and guided tour functions.
Optional 3.5" Video Monitor. The Meade 3.5 inch LCD display monitor will enhance the use of any Meade telescope with Astronomer Inside™ technology by allowing the user to view the informative video presentations built into the telescope. With the display monitor connected to the telescope, you can learn the secrets and details of the objects you observe while you are viewing them. The Astronomer Inside will tell you about the planets, stars, constellations, clusters, nebulae, galaxies and more in a fun and interesting way. With the Meade 3.5 inch display, you will explorer the universe in a way you never have before.


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Meade's best Advanced-Coma Free optics deliver performance only seen previously in systems costing thousands of dollars more. With its standard Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) the LS gives you the sharpest, brightest optical system for its size available at any price.
The included AutoStar III GOTO keypad computer has an over 100,000 object library and guided tour functions. Includes Meade ECLIPS color CCD camera (640x480 resolution) which lets you capture images of your favorite celestial wonders and display them in real time on an external (user supplied) monitor or store them on a (user supplied) SD card so you can do CCD imaging your very first night out.
The included “Astronomer Inside” feature delivers over four hours of fun and informational audio presentations which can be heard over the built in speaker, and 30 minutes of video presentations and animations plus hundreds of still images which can be watched over an external (user supplied) TV or monitor. Imagine being given a brief and entertaining video presentation on Saturn while viewing that planet and its fabulous rings for the very first time. This telescope truly does it all.
Eight (user supplied) C cell batteries will run the telescope for 3-5 hours, with a Meade Universal A/C power supply available separately for longer observing sessions. (See recommended accessories, below.) Includes a highly rigid single fork mount featuring aluminum construction with massive 4.875" precision worm-gears. Standard equipment also includes a sturdy, adjustable height tripod with steel legs for great stability and vibration damping and a Series 4000 Meade 26mm Super Plossl eyepiece (77X magnification). Additional eyepieces available separately, compatible with all Meade and other brand 1.25” barrel size eyepieces.
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[dennilfloss]

Yo dawg, I heard you like a spotting scope on your telescope so...


I used to have a small Jason when I was a kid. It didn't work very well so I gave it away at some point. Reflecting, I realize that there was nothing wrong with the scope but that I needed glasses. I'm more into microscopes. I have four of them.

I had a finder on a wide-field scope on a narrow-field scope.

This time, I'll have just a wide-field refractor that can still go to a decent magnification ~250x, not even a finder on it (saves weight).

 

[dennilfloss]

Don't own yet but will soon....unless someone has a compelling reason to talk me out of it.

The most sophisticated, easiest to use telescope anywhere.

...

Here's a review of it on Cloudy Nights.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2538

The LS Series appears to have had some teething problems though. Not sure if they are resolved.

I suggest you sign up with us at Cloudy Nights and ask in the Cats & Casses forum before buying.

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/Cat/0/C/4

 

[jagec]

Yo dawg, I heard you like a spotting scope on your telescope so...

You stole my post, bastard.

 

[Spacehead]

I have an Orion 8" like the one Arcadio posted a pic of. I also have a 16" Meade reflector also on a dobsonian mount.
So far not the best summer for astronomy, weather wise around here

 

[dennilfloss]

Too many people buying new scopes, attracting clouds.