Suffering from Apeture Fever...

Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever (damn
those (in an 8") undetectable 13th magnitude planetary nebulae)

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. Ford Fiesta)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK.
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?


Hi:

One word: Nexstar 11.

It's bigger and heavier, but eminently transportable and is easily erected by
one person. I don't think you'll be overly happy with the dob after the nice
LX90.

I find that my two most used scopes are the C8 and the NS11. When skies are
good, it is NOTHING to take the NS11 out. Takes all of 10 minutes to have it
setup in the backyard/garden. When skies ain't so good, the C8 is perfect, as,
yes, it is a little easier to manage (though my Ultima 8 is distinctly
overweight as C8s go).

If this broken-down 50-year-old hillbilly doesn't have any trouble setting
up/transporting an NS11, a young feller like you shore won't! ;-)


Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

"Morgoth" wrote in message
...
Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever (damn
those (in an 8") undetectable 13th magnitude planetary nebulae)

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. Ford Fiesta)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK.
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html

I started to write some suggestions for you, but then I looked a bit closer
at your post and found that you live in the UK and that your budget is
$1,500. I was going to suggest (seeing as how you already own an LX90) a
large SCT, but that's out of the question. Besides, American made
telescopes are a bit more expensive in the UK. But, if you run into some
money, a CGE 1400 may be what youre looking for. I own a C-14 and can tell
you that it certainly cures aperture fever.

Al

A couple of fellows with SCTs have suggested that you might not be happy with a
DOB. Myself, I am very happy with my DOBs and have no interest in buying
another SCT. For me it not a cost issue, it is a complication issue. I
already have enough complicated electro-mechanical equipment in my life in my
job overseeing a research lab.

I like to keep my pleasures simple.

That is just that way I am, you might be like I am and prefer the simplicity
and elegence of the DOB design, or you may prefer something else.

I propose the standard solution, find you local club and get out and look
through some scopes, consider the views, the operation, the setup, the expense,
the overall experience of using the scope.

Then decide.

jon

Morgoth wrote in message . ..

Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever ...
I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. Ford Fiesta)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK.
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Hm, you're in a tough spot. Frankly, I don't really think that your
budget is enough to satisfy your needs, but it is hard to say without
knowing the price of telescopes in the U.K.

First of all, if it was me, I would *not* sell the LX-90. It's a
pretty nice scope, quite small, provides GoTo now and not some
indeterminate time in the future, and supports photo and imaging
if you ever decide to get into those. And for a lot of purposes,
such as viewing the planets, it will be a rare night that a
bigger scope will out-perform your little LX-90.

Second, if it were me, I would *not* follow Rod Mollise's suggestion
and spring for a bigger SCT. Face it, once you start to get aperture
fever, you rapidly get into the arena where Big Dobs are simply the
only choice. Might as well go there sooner rather than later.
Moreover, my rule of thumb is that to get a true mind-blowing
increase in deep-sky performance, you must increase your aperture
at least 50%. Going from 8" to 11" comes close, but no cigar.

Third, if you can fold down the seat of your Ford Fiesta, you can
fit a mighty big scope into that car. I would think that a 12.5"
F/4.5 solid-tube Dob would be no problem, although I can't tell
for sure without measuring. Ideally, you really want a truss-tube
Dob, for various reasons, but cost may prohibit that.

Seems to me that you have to shop around both on the new and on
the used markets, and see what you can get for that price. I betcha
somebody over there on the other side of The Pond has a pretty-big
Dob that he or she is looking to replace, and would be happy to
sell at a reasonable price.

And if it takes too long, maybe your budget will have expanded
by the time you actually make the purchase.

I might also point out that under dark skies, an 8" scope can do
pretty well on some of the Abell galaxy clusters and Palomar
globulars, although obviously not as well as a 12.5" scope.

- Tony Flanders

Morgoth wrote in message . ..
Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever (damn
those (in an 8") undetectable 13th magnitude planetary nebulae)

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. Ford Fiesta)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK.
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html

Hmmm. I have a custom-built 22" dob that easily fits into my Mazda 323
hatchback, with equatorial platform, camping gear, ladder, chairs and
tables, accessories, etc., as well as a pair of 25x100 binoculars with
parallelogram mount and tripod. Up to a few months ago, I had an 18"
Sky Designs dob that also fit in my hatchback. If you can find a
mirror, you can build - or have built - a truss dob that is capable of
providing views of Abell clusters and Palomar globulars. I can't speak
to the cost, however. But good design will allow for compact
transport.
Clear skies,
Shneor Sherman

The "hybrid" 14.5" Starmaster is probably perfect. It meets all of your
requirements but price. I have an SCT (N11), but think if you owned a 14.5
Starmaster you'd be hard pressed to find a reason to look thought your LX90
again ....

"Jon Isaacs" wrote in message
...
A couple of fellows with SCTs have suggested that you might not be happy
with a
DOB. Myself, I am very happy with my DOBs and have no interest in buying
another SCT. For me it not a cost issue, it is a complication issue. I
already have enough complicated electro-mechanical equipment in my life in
my
job overseeing a research lab.

I like to keep my pleasures simple.

That is just that way I am, you might be like I am and prefer the
simplicity
and elegence of the DOB design, or you may prefer something else.

I propose the standard solution, find you local club and get out and look
through some scopes, consider the views, the operation, the setup, the
expense,
the overall experience of using the scope.

Then decide.

jon

Third, if you can fold down the seat of your Ford Fiesta, you can
fit a mighty big scope into that car. I would think that a 12.5"
F/4.5 solid-tube Dob would be no problem, although I can't tell
for sure without measuring. Ideally, you really want a truss-tube
Dob, for various reasons, but cost may prohibit that.


I agree with what Tony has said here, don't sell your LX-90, that a truss tube
DOB will be your best bet for fitting a large scope in your car.

12.5inch F4.5 Tube DOBs are pretty bulky and pretty long as well. I could
barely fit my 12.5 inch F4.1 tube DOB in a Nissan Sentra which I believe is
larger inside than the Ford Fiesta.

Another more affordable alternative to the Truss tube DOBs are the Split tube
dobs. While the Split tube takes no less space, the length of the tube which
is the killer, is seriously reduced.

There have been some rumours about the new 12 inch F5 GS DOBs being available
as split tubes, it would certainly be easy at the manufacturing level for the
GS to do this and it would be a great move IMHO as it would access a much
greater marketplace.

jon

There have been some rumours about the new 12 inch F5 GS DOBs being available
as split tubes, it

HI Jon:

Unfortunately, it appears this is not going to be the case afterall...

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

"Chuck Scappaticci" wrote in message
et...

The "hybrid" 14.5" Starmaster is probably perfect.

Chuck--

except i don't believe Rick Singmaster will export outside the US.

clear, dark skies--

mark d.