On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:54:47 +0100, "tomcosgrave"
wrote:

Hi all,

I'm seriously contemplating what sort of small refractor I should get.

Here's the criteria -

It has to be small, as it's intended as a "grab and go" type scope - I'm
going to Africa (right on the Equator!) next year,
and I imagine there'll be trips around Ireland (where I'm from) as well.

The minimum size is 80mm, the maximum size is 100mm. It's got to be as near
to an all rounder as it can,
looking at the deep sky, the planets, the sun (I intend to use it to watch
Venus next June) and the moon.

The tube assembly itself can't cost more than ?600 (EUR 525) - I'm trying to
factor in the cost of the mount, the tripod, eyepieces etc as well.

Scopes I have in mind -
AT1010N Nighthawk, reviewed in the latest edition of Sky&Telescope - is the
review there on the mark?
Orion ShortTube 90mm Rich-Field Refractor - is this up to much?
Helios Startravel 80T Rich-Field Refractor - I've not found anything about
this scope on the web, aside from the BC&F people and an Irish dealer
selling it, which makes me wonder if it's much good.

Your best bet might be the new Orion 80ED refractor. Focal length
is 600mm, and it has a two inch focuser. What reviews I've seen have
been favorable. It has a camera tripod socket and could be mounted
most likely on the Orion EQ-1 or better yet, the EQ-2 mount. Motor
drives are available from Orion. Ditto for eyepieces, althought I
think you'd get a better deal buying from "Hands on Optics" with
their GTO line of Plossls.

I don't think I'm going to get a chance to examine any of these hands on
before I buy - there's no dealer in Ireland for these, the Helios scope
excepted.
My gut instinct tells me the Nightawk is the one to go for. Obviously if I
had the cash, I'd go for a Takahashi, but that ain't gonna happen!

What would you do? Are there any other scopes I should have a look at?

Advice from veterans would be welcomed with open arms...

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Tom
--

Jerome Bigge

Member of Muskegon Astronomical Society.
Author of the Warlady & Wartime series of SF
novels at "http://members.tripod.com/~jbigge