Small telescope for use on holiday?

I am in the lucky position of owning a holiday home in the British
Virgin Islands, and I'm thinking of buying a telescope to use there.

I have an LX90 at home in the UK, which is a little bulky for taking on
aeroplanes and such, so I was thinking of something smaller like an
ETX125 or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.

My main concern is how to actually get the thing there. Buy it mail
order in the US and have them ship it straight there? Buy it in the UK
and transport it myself the next time I go? Don't know how much safer
that's likely to be - the box is still likely to be big enough to need
to go in the hold and we all know what airport baggage handlers are
like.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tim

On 2006-06-14, Tim Cutts wrote:
I am in the lucky position of owning a holiday home in the British
Virgin Islands, and I'm thinking of buying a telescope to use there.

I have an LX90 at home in the UK, which is a little bulky for taking on
aeroplanes and such, so I was thinking of something smaller like an
ETX125 or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.

My main concern is how to actually get the thing there. Buy it mail
order in the US and have them ship it straight there? Buy it in the UK
and transport it myself the next time I go? Don't know how much safer
that's likely to be - the box is still likely to be big enough to need
to go in the hold and we all know what airport baggage handlers are
like.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tim

In the past I have taken my ETX125 as hand luggage as it squeaked in
just under the 10kg limit of some airlines. With the tripod and EP case
in my main luggage. I did have one disapproving comment from the
check-in desk of Iberia once, but they let me through.

Pete

--
.................................................. .........................
.. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
.. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
.. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

In article ,
Peter Lynch wrote:
In the past I have taken my ETX125 as hand luggage as it squeaked in
just under the 10kg limit of some airlines. With the tripod and EP case
in my main luggage. I did have one disapproving comment from the
check-in desk of Iberia once, but they let me through.

That's useful to know, thanks. I just checked out the prices though,
and I think I might be better off buying it in the US mail order. The
price differential is outrageous. Â799 vs. $900. That's, what, about
300 quid cheaper in the States. Sigh. That price difference is more
than enough to make it worth paying a lot for courier delivery, with
appropriate insurance.

Tim

Hi there Tim,

I have taken a Borg Eco 78 3-inch refractor in my main pack, on trips from
the UK
to Chile and back and, more recently, to Libya and back.

This scope is a bit heavy for use with a standard camera tripod but it will
just about manage with a better quality tripod such as 'Eclipse' (a
Manfrotto clone).

The Borg scope costs around £380 for the OTA and then you need to add the
bits
you want (such as a 2" star diagonal - I use an Intes Micro costing around
£80)
and you may also need a few OTA tube extenders/adaptors if you want to use
an 1.25" SD.

The Borg OTA already comes with adaptors to attach to a Pentax Screw (42mm)
SLR camera - but again I think you may need tube extensions as I have never
yet found the right
combination to achieve focus with my Zenit camera.

Hope this helps.

Robert

"Tim Cutts" wrote in message
...
I am in the lucky position of owning a holiday home in the British
Virgin Islands, and I'm thinking of buying a telescope to use there.

I have an LX90 at home in the UK, which is a little bulky for taking on
aeroplanes and such, so I was thinking of something smaller like an
ETX125 or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.

My main concern is how to actually get the thing there. Buy it mail
order in the US and have them ship it straight there? Buy it in the UK
and transport it myself the next time I go? Don't know how much safer
that's likely to be - the box is still likely to be big enough to need
to go in the hold and we all know what airport baggage handlers are
like.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tim

"Robert Williams" wrote in message
...
Hi there Tim,

I have taken a Borg Eco 78 3-inch refractor in my main pack, on trips from
the UK
to Chile and back and, more recently, to Libya and back.

This scope is a bit heavy for use with a standard camera tripod but it
will
just about manage with a better quality tripod such as 'Eclipse' (a
Manfrotto clone).

The Borg scope costs around £380 for the OTA and then you need to add the
bits
you want (such as a 2" star diagonal - I use an Intes Micro costing around
£80)
and you may also need a few OTA tube extenders/adaptors if you want to use
an 1.25" SD.

The Borg OTA already comes with adaptors to attach to a Pentax Screw
(42mm)
SLR camera - but again I think you may need tube extensions as I have
never yet found the right
combination to achieve focus with my Zenit camera.

Hope this helps.

Robert
Similar for myself but a Borg 101ED in the pack and a Manfrotto tripod.
Paul

On 14 Jun 2006 16:36:44 +0100 (BST), in uk.sci.astronomy , Tim Cutts
wrote:

That's useful to know, thanks. I just checked out the prices though,
and I think I might be better off buying it in the US mail order. The
price differential is outrageous. Â799 vs. $900. That's, what, about
300 quid cheaper in the States. Sigh. That price difference is more
than enough to make it worth paying a lot for courier delivery, with
appropriate insurance.

Bear in mind that if you buy offshore, the warranty is invalid and if
you're getting it delivered to the UK or a UK territory you will pay
VATand import duty, which adds several hundred bucks back on.

--
Mark McIntyre

I've got an 8" LX200, and a TV Pronto (semi-apo). Guess which one gets
used the most, and has been with me to the US and Europe on holidays?
The Pronto case is easily small enough to take as carry on luggage, and
the Panoramic tripod and alt-az head will fit inside my suitcase.
Problem solved!
The Pronto was discontinued a while back and replaced by the TV-76
(full apo). This is a marginally better scope, but if I was buying
again, and wanted max. portability and quality, I'd go for the TV-85
anyday. A couple in our society have one of these, they make the etx's
look like discount store toys. Image quality is outstanding at all
magnifications, and they are a way more versatile scope than anything
in that price bracket. I envy you the wide field views you will have of
the southern milky way from the BVI's. Take it out there with you when
you go, then impress your friends with it at the local club when you
get back. Also well worth a look are the various William Optics small
refractors. I know several people with a selection of these in 66 -
80mm apertures, the ED ones seem to perform almost on a par with the
APO ones for about 1/2 the price. Either way, you won't regret it if
you get a small refractor.


Tim Cutts wrote:
I am in the lucky position of owning a holiday home in the British
Virgin Islands, and I'm thinking of buying a telescope to use there.

I have an LX90 at home in the UK, which is a little bulky for taking on
aeroplanes and such, so I was thinking of something smaller like an
ETX125 or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.

My main concern is how to actually get the thing there. Buy it mail
order in the US and have them ship it straight there? Buy it in the UK
and transport it myself the next time I go? Don't know how much safer
that's likely to be - the box is still likely to be big enough to need
to go in the hold and we all know what airport baggage handlers are
like.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tim

Originally Posted by Tim Cutts

I am in the lucky position of owning a holiday home in the British
Virgin Islands, and I'm thinking of buying a telescope to use there.

I have an LX90 at home in the UK, which is a little bulky for taking on
aeroplanes and such, so I was thinking of something smaller like an
ETX125 or something similar. Any suggestions are welcome.


Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks Tim

What you need in your hand luggage is http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=6854
but only joking!

Nytecam

In article .com,
davehowes wrote:
The Pronto was discontinued a while back and replaced by the TV-76
(full apo). This is a marginally better scope, but if I was buying
again, and wanted max. portability and quality, I'd go for the TV-85
anyday. A couple in our society have one of these, they make the etx's
look like discount store toys. Image quality is outstanding at all
magnifications, and they are a way more versatile scope than anything
in that price bracket.

They look very nice, but I think they're out of the price bracket my
wife is likely to accept. :-)

I envy you the wide field views you will have of
the southern milky way from the BVI's. Take it out there with you when
you go, then impress your friends with it at the local club when you
get back. Also well worth a look are the various William Optics small
refractors. I know several people with a selection of these in 66 -
80mm apertures, the ED ones seem to perform almost on a par with the
APO ones for about 1/2 the price. Either way, you won't regret it if
you get a small refractor.

Those look more in the sort of price range I was thinking of. Both
ranges are for sale at my local astronomy shop, so perhaps going to have
a look in person is called for.

Thanks for the thoughts...

Tim

My 'travel' scope is the humble ST80 which I have just taken to the
Philippines for the second time (it's also been to Tuscany and recently
to Turkey). The scope, eyepiece and other accessories all go as hand
luggage with the tripod going in the hold.

For this last trip I bought the new Portamount from Vixen. I really
like it! Much easier to use than the EQ1 I used for the other trips and
really sturdy. But it is not as light as I'd hoped - I partially
dis-assembled it for this trip putting the heavy metal 'head' in my
shoulder bag and just checking in the tripod itself. The net result is
that the entire set-up only cost me 4kg of check in allowance.

I did have to cobble together a way of attaching the Vixen dovetail
plate to the scope which I'm going to need to improve on a bit.

cheers

Jeremy

P.S. Didn't see much on this trip as the only clear nights coincided
with the full moon! But I did get to see the Jewel box cluster and
Omega Centauri.