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| Me with my kit at the GSSP 2012, it's sunset, but my face is pretty red from four days of sun |
- Orion XT 8 - My workhorse telescope
- 8" f5.9 Dob with crayford focuser
- Telrad
- 9x50 RACI Finder
- Flocked and upgraded with ebony star and teflon azimuth bearing
- Celestron C6 XL - My travel scope
- 6" f10 Schmidt Cassegrain OTA
- Red Dot Finder
- 9x50 RACI Finder
- Astro-Tech 99% di-electric diagonal
- Desert Sky Astro DSV-1 alt/az mount on surveyor tripod
Each scope has a story behind it, why I decided to buy it and what I hoped to accomplish. Owning and using both will help inform my decisions as I go forward designing my new telescope. If you enjoy long rambling stories of telescope purchases and use, then read on!
Orion XT 8
This scope is what got me back into astronomy. Since I was a kid, until eight or so years ago, I owned a 4.5" newtonian on an un-driven german equatorial mount. It was second hand when I got it, and looking back, I'm sure it could have used a new coating on the mirror. However, it was my reference point, and when I wanted to get back into astronomy I knew I wanted something bigger. Then, as now, I had a limited budget and a dobsonian seemed like a good, cheap way to jump back in. At around $350, the XT8 seemed to fit the bill. It had almost four times the aperture of my 4.5" scope, came with everything I would need to start, and had good reviews. I knew it would not be a top-notch scope, but it would be solid and reliable.
It's a basic 8" Synta dob... It's got optics that don't have any obvious defects, the mount is solid with an interesting spring tension system on the altitude bearings, and a fairly nice Crayford style focuser. It came with a 25mm plossl eyepiece and a red dot finder. After I unpacked it and set it up, it was ready to go. It's proven to be a solid performer and is small enough to handle easily, getting it into and out of the car is a not too difficult, and it's got a good amount of aperture. I'd recommend it as a great scope for anyone looking to get into astronomy.
After observing with it for a couple of months, I found a few things that I thought could be better. The first addition was an Orion 9x50 RACI finder. It was a wonderful addition, and really helped when observing from less than perfect locations. It's got a nice wide field, about 5 degrees, and enough light gathering to actually see some of the brighter deep sky objects.
About the same time I got the new finder, I purchased some Protostar flocking material. I went with the Flockboard light trap sheets which are a thin plastic sheet with the flocking material on one side. It's not adhesive, you just use the natural tendency of the plastic sheet to flatten out to hold it against the side of the tube. It installed easily and I held it in place by running the spider bolts through it. This keeps it in place and it is certainly much better than the somewhat black paint that was inside to start with.
To round things out, I added a nice knob on the bottom of the scope to make it a bit easier to push around the sky. I observed with this scope for over two years, just like that. I purchased some eyepieces and other accessories not directly attached to the scope, but only recently did I feel the need to change anything.
Before the Golden State Star Party 2012 (GSSP) I decided to upgrade the azimuth motion with an ebony star kit from Scope Stuff and to purchase a Telrad. These were both great decisions. I had a Telrad on my first scope, and the red dot finder is just no substitute. If you have a scope big enough to support it, get one. They are inexpensive and a joy to use. I can't believe I held out for two years. The ebony star kit comes with a precut circle of ebony star laminate and three new virgin teflon pads. Installation was pretty easy, I used spray contact adhesive and should have been a bit more careful, but it worked wonderfully. The amount of force to move in altitude and azimuth is now roughly equal and the scope is much nicer to use for extended periods, especially at high power.
Celestron C6 XLT
A little over two years ago I had an opportunity to travel to Hawaii with my company, Maui to be precise. I read stories of the incredible skies and lack of light pollution on Haleakala and I decided I needed a travel scope. A lot of people would have decided on some sort of short tube refractor, and they would have been very wise. I, however, decided I wanted as much aperture as I could fit on a carry on.
Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes are somewhat light-weight, compact, and have generally good optics. I did some checking, and figured I could JUST fit a 6" SCT in a carry-on suitcase with enough room for a mount and tripod. High Point Scientific was having a great sale on Celestron C6's and I jumped right in. I did not have a mount picked out, or a tripod, but I wanted it. I convinced myself I needed that scope.
I did a bit more research and decided on a Bogen #3047 tripod head, flipped over on it's side, to mount the scope in an alt-az configuration. I found one on eBay for $30 and I purchased it. To keep the whole arrangement off the ground, I bought a Benro A2190T tripod. It's a nice tripod and it has a unique design which allows it to fold flat for more space in my bag. It seemed like I was all set for my trip.
The first time I took the scope out under the stars it was painfully obvious it was under-mounted. The tripod was passable, but the photographic head was outmatched and focusing was a nightmare, even at low power. The entire field would shake for 10 or more seconds any time I touched the scope. On top of this, the clamps had to be so tight to support the weight of the scope that pointing it was an ordeal. I only used it this way once, for maybe half an hour. It became pretty clear why small, light refractors are generally favored for travel scopes.
I was determined to make the C6 work as a travel scope, so I started searching for a new mount. The Desert Sky Astro DSV-1 seemed to be a good choice. It was not super-expensive, it seemed solid, and was not the absolute heaviest mount. I like alt-az mounts in general, so it was a good choice. Ordering was simple, and the mount arrived quickly. It was great! Solid, simple, with good motion. If I did not expand the tripod legs all the way and used the scope sitting down it was pretty stable. I tried it out a few nights before the trip, figured out how to pack everything away in a single carry-on and I was ready to go!
There was a surprising lack of interest in the telescope/mount/tripod bag as I travelled though security, and before I knew it I was in Hawaii. I only had one night for actual observing... my total stay was short and the drive up to the volcano is long. When the evening arrived I drove the rental car up the mountain with my C6 travel kit. I got up to the top before sunset and watched the sun set as I was above the clouds; Pretty incredible. The sky was clear and it seemed perfect.
As the sun set the temperature dropped and I started to setup the scope in a parking lot near the top of the mountain. I waited anxiously for the remaining tour buses to leave or turn out their headlights so I could have some darkness. After a frustrating hour or so the parking lot cleared out and I could start observing. Before I could even get fully dark adapted some unusual high-altitude clouds rolled in, completely obscuring the sky. My one night in one of the best places to observe in the world was at an end before it even started. Who knows what wonders I could have seen! Before the clouds rolled in it was incredible... transparent skies and oh, so dark. Since Hawaii is further south than my normal observing locations, and I was at the top of a volcano, I could easily see Omega Centauri, one of the best globular clusters in the sky. When I say easily, I mean easily with my naked eye; Direct vision easy. Right there, like any other star. I managed to get the scope on it before the clouds covered it and was rewarded with a wonderful explosion of stars, but as soon as it started my first observing outside of California was at an end.
Despite the clouds, the C6 performed wonderfully! I ended up buying another 9x50 RACI finder for it and upgrading the tripod to a beefier surveyors tripod from Desert Sky Asto. It won't fit on an airplane, but I can use it extended enough to stand up and observe comfortably with very little shake or vibration. The scope performs so well I ended up leaving the big scope at my observing site in Joshua Tree and I use the C6 anytime I do observing around the Los Angeles area, short trips to Malibu, camping, etc. I hope one day to take it back to Hawaii, or to Australia to see the wonders of the southern sky.
Odds, Ends and the Future
I've accumulated a variety of other things, chairs, eyepieces, charts and the like. I'm sure I can use just about all of these with the new scope, and I'll inventory them in a future post. I'm not sure which scope I might sell, but at this point I expect it would be the XT8. It's a great scope, but it will end up in a strange middle spot. Not my most portable scope, but not my largest either. Why truck it around when I can go for something with 2x the aperture for only a little more effort? I'll be sad to see it go, but if it finds another good home it's got years of service ahead of it!
I'm not sure which scope I might sell, but at this point I expect it would be the XT8. It's a great scope, but it will end up in a strange middle spot. Not my most portable scope, but not my largest either. Why truck it around when I can go for something with 2x the aperture for only a little more effort?
ReplyDeletePermit me a little unsolicited advice? The scope you should sell is...neither. For several reasons. First, sometimes it's just convenient to have a mid-sized scope, whether it's for a public outreach or to pull out for guests after a barbeque or to throw in the car on the spur of the moment. For about a week I owned an XT6 (my first scope), an XT10 (next big scope), and an XT12 (biggest scope so far). I was planning to sell both the XT6 and the XT10, but the guy who sold me the 12 advised me to keep at least one of them. He was so right. I did sell the 6--it was basically the same size as the 10, just smaller in diameter, and I wasn't using it after I got the 10. And I eventually sold the 12, having learned that big solid-tube dob was not my dream scope after all. I will own a bigger scope someday, hopefully a 14" to 16" ultralight, but I'll probably have the XT10 until I die.
Also, almost everyone I know who has a Big Scope also has an 8" or 10" scope for nights when the want to do some serious observing but don't want to haul out the big gun.
Finally, there's no financial payoff in selling either of your existing scopes to fund your dream scope--the amount you'd get for either of them is peanuts compared to what you're saving up for.
That's all IMHO and YMMV, of course. ;-)
Great blog, keep it up, and if you're ever out to the east edge of LA county, look me up!
Hi Matt,
DeleteThanks for your kind words about my blog. You've given me something to think about here. Three scopes seemed like one too many, but I checked around a bit and the return on selling the scope would probably be minimal. Looks like the mid-size, economy scopes don't hold value all that well, even if they are in good shape.
There are times when I have my nephews or other interested guests along and having another largish, easy to use, telescope might be a big plus. I was thinking that the C6 might serve that 'I want to observe, but not put together a telescope' role, but almost every time I have the choice I end up taking out the 8" for that extra bit of aperture it affords. I suspect that would not change in the future.
For now it's all just planning, but is saving 5% on the new scope by selling the XT8 worth it? I'm beginning to think not!
This is timely stuff, given that I've been slimming down my own telescope collection this year by selling off unused scopes, and thinking more and more about what I really want down the line.
ReplyDeleteUltimately I want a 14-16" light or ultralight Dob. That will be big enough to be a significant gain over my XT10, but not so big that I get into planning my life around my scope (buying a van or trailer, etc.). I will probably have the XT10 forever as well, for nights when I just want something with two pieces that I can throw together, with enough aperture that I won't feel I'm compromising. I'll also want something compact, that puts a lot of aperture into a small volume, for trips where there's no room in the car for one of the bigger scopes. Right now that's an Apex 127, but it might be a C8 someday. Maybe. I like not having to collimate the Mak, but as I'm getting into the habit of collimating the XT10 every time I drive it somewhere, collimation is losing its ability to intimidate me. It's like changing a poopy diaper--the first couple of times are awful, and the next few thousand times are just routine. And finally I want something small enough to fly with or carry downtown for some sidewalk astronomy, which is currently a 90mm Mak.
Your long-term goal in terms of a big scope is about the same as mine. And you already have the other bases covered with your current scopes. So neither of us have any excuses to keep us from saving up for our dream scopes. But I also think that our dream scopes will not put our current scopes out of business. I could be wrong, but wait until you've had the bigger scope for a year or so and see if you don't still pull out the XT8 on occasion.
If anything, I admire your restraint. You've got two great scopes with complimentary strengths. I auditioned about two dozen to get where I'm at--I'd probably be happier if I'd just gotten an XT8 and a C6 myself, and cut out a lot of faffing around.
"If anything, I admire your restraint. You've got two great scopes with complimentary strengths. I auditioned about two dozen to get where I'm at--I'd probably be happier if I'd just gotten an XT8 and a C6 myself, and cut out a lot of faffing around."
DeleteWhat looks like restraint from the outside is somewhat the opposite! Over the last couple of years I came up with ideas and desires for so many scopes I never had time to actually purchase any before I saw some new shiny piece of kit I wanted.
I've had my eye on short tube refractors, folding/suitcase dobs of various design, and bino-scopes of all types, including a wild idea to buy another C6 and build a mount to use them as a bino-scope. I could have very easily pulled the trigger on some of these if something else had not come along to distract me :-)
I'm going to do a post soon about my other pieces of kit, including eyepieces, which I've done a bit of cycling through. I know for me it's easy to lose focus, particularly if it takes a while to save up money, but now that I've taken some time to look back on my observation habit and think about what I'd really like out of a telescope, I'm hoping I'll stay on track.
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