[Chaos-l] Buying a scope

[Robert Nielsen]

Matt,

I just want to "second" a couple of things Michael said, with an 
addition ...

First, please stop by an observing session and try out eyepieces from 
other club members.   The reason I say this is that I wish I had tried 
out some 2-inch eyepieces early on.   For some reason, I REALLY like 
them.   Some people don't, but I very much prefer the "porthole" 
experience of seeing a larger swath of the sky.   Some of that is due to 
the field-of-view of the eyepiece (for me, the bigger the better).  Some 
of it is due to the actual amount of glass at the point where I'm 
looking in the eyepiece.  So you should try out different eyepieces with 
your scope and get a feel for what you like!

Second, really do purchase the scope at the right time, because this 
"curse" of bad weather after buying a new "toy" really does seem to 
happen!  :-)

Robert

Michael Hrivnak wrote:
>
> Matt,
>
> I went through this not long ago. I ended up with a used Orion 8" dob 
> as my first scope. To start, I encourage you to check out 
> http://astromart.com. You can get great deals there on used equipment. 
> I've bought quite a few things from there myself. When I don't see 
> quite what I'm looking for, I'll check back once a day until it shows 
> up. Also check out http://cloudynights.com which has fewer classified 
> ads than astromart, but enough that it's worth keeping an eye on.
>
> As for accessories, here are my thoughts in no particular order:
>
> 1. A good resource for finding objects. I started with the book "Turn 
> Left at Orion" and was very happy. It literally brought me from zero 
> knowledge of the stars to being a proficient star-hopper.
>
> 2. Telrad. I have a red-dot finder on my 8" dob, but I wish it were a 
> telrad. More and more software is supporting the telrad by projecting 
> its actual shape and size onto star charts. Telrad is the standard.
>
> 3. 8x50 finder. I personally like the right-angle-correct-image (RACI) 
> ones, particularly the one made by GSO. It was only about $55 a year 
> and a half ago, which I think is the best value out there. I'm using 
> it very happily now on my 18" starmaster. I suppose if you're planning 
> to rely very heavily on the intelliscope features, a powered finder 
> might not be necessary. However, I personally find it very rewarding 
> to find things on my own. 
> http://www.agenaastro.com/GSO-8x50-mm-Right-Angle-Correct-Image-Finder-p/ofin-gs-850cf.htm
>
> 4. Eyepieces really make a huge difference. I'd start by investing in 
> one high-quality eyepiece at a good general-use focal length. I find 
> that with a scope around that size, I usually end up observing most 
> objects with one eyepiece that is a "sweet spot" between 
> magnification, contrast, and brightness. With the XT10 having a focal 
> length of 1200mm, a Nagler 17mm would give you about 70x 
> magnification. You could easily observe for an entire evening with 
> only that eyepiece and be very happy. In any case, some 
> experimentation is probably in order. Collectively, the members of 
> this club own a lot of very good and very different eyepieces that you 
> could try out with your new scope. Then you can get a feel for what is 
> most comfortable and where you want to invest first.
>
> 5. Red flashlight.
>
> 6. Adjustable-height chair. Sitting comfortably at the scope makes a 
> HUGE difference. I use this chair and am very happy with it: 
> http://www.buyastrostuff.com/store/Metal-astro-chair-frame-page.htm
>
> Keep us posted. Also, if you don't mind, please schedule the delivery 
> of your new scope for about a week before full moon. There is a 
> well-documented correlation between the purchase of a new scope and 
> the onset of extended foul weather. On the day I bought my 18" dob, we 
> got multiple inches of rain. It was then cloudy for a solid 3 weeks. 
> It won't be so bad if we can ride out your post-purchase weather while 
> the moon is ruining the party anyway.
>
> Michael
>
> On Sunday 19 April 2009 11:02:47 Matt Lochansky wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone -
>
> >
>
> > Hope you had fun at Farrington or Medoc on Friday. It was one of the
>
> > best nights I've had in the 10 months I've been observing - I made it
>
> > to my backyard about 9:30 (hence why I wasn't able to get to
>
> > Farrington - a 30 minute drive). It did get a bit chilly later in the
>
> > evening, but I was exhausted by 11:30pm and came inside. I had such a
>
> > good time, but so limited by my aperture, that I decided now is the
>
> > time. I've been talking about buying a nice scope for quite a while
>
> > now, but wanted to tool around with the Meade ETX-90EC I've been
>
> > loaned. It clearly has some limits with deep sky objects I enjoy
>
> > finding, but I have been able to see some of the common fainter
>
> > objects, even if they are just dark smudges in the eyepiece.
>
> >
>
> > Looking for comments, tips, or suggestions...
>
> >
>
> > I've pretty well decided on the Orion XT10i (with the intellicope
>
> > add-on). Great value for the price and the "intelliscope" feature is
>
> > just what I want. What accessories would you recommend for someone
>
> > who has never owned a newtonian previously? On my list I have a laser
>
> > collimator, variable polarizing filter, a single 2" eyepiece (the
>
> > scope comes with an adapter so I can use my 1.25" eyepieces and
>
> > filters) - even going to buy a solar filter. I have a few other
>
> > things on the list, but not related to the telescope directly. Any
>
> > other must-have accessories for a first-time buyer? I"m sure this is
>
> > in the archives somewhere, but they are hard to search!
>
> >
>
> > Thanks,
>
> > -Matt
>
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