requesting advice
Rohan & Kristin Coxon
I am hooked on Starry Night Backyard and have been keen in astronomy for
many years (I blame Carl Sagan and his briliant show Cosmos in the early
eighties and to a lesser extent - Dr Who) so now I am ready for my first
telescope.
At this stage I am looking at the York ( www.yorkoptical.com.au ) Sky Rover
N114 @ AU$695 (about US$385). It is a 4.5" (114mm) reflector, equatorially
mounted on a sturdy aluminium tripod with a 6x30 finderscope and two Plossl
eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) as well as a motor drive (link to scope info
http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/skyrover_n114.htm) - any thoughts?
Thanks for you interest.
Rohan Coxon.
Melbourne, Aust.
Michael A. Covington
Rover
> N114 @ AU$695 (about US$385). It is a 4.5" (114mm) reflector,
equatorially
> mounted on a sturdy aluminium tripod with a 6x30 finderscope and two
Plossl
> eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) as well as a motor drive (link to scope info
> http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/skyrover_n114.htm) - any thoughts?
> Thanks for you interest.
I presume that is the same as the telescope that is imported a lot of places
under a lot of different brand names. It's not bad -- particularly the
eyepieces -- and is a popular beginner's telescope. However, let me suggest
you consider a Meade ETX instead. It's a little smaller but is of excellent
optical quality, very portable, and can be computerized. My reasoning is
that you will eventually have another, larger, telescope, and when you do,
the small one should be one that you want to keep for portable use.
I do not know about York's mount but have known a lot of people who weren't
entirely happy with the equatorial mount on telescopes of that general type.
Disclaimer: This is all without having seen the York telescope.
Phillip Smith
store today and it was
$2000 AUS thats about $1100 US and another $600 for the Go-to hand pad.
Phillip Smith
Darwin Australia
"Michael A. Covington" <See http://www.CovingtonInnovations.com for address>
wrote in message news:8s4klj$heh$1...@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
> > At this stage I am looking at the York ( www.yorkoptical.com.au ) Sky
> Rover
> > N114 @ AU$695 (about US$385). It is a 4.5" (114mm) reflector,
> equatorially
> > mounted on a sturdy aluminium tripod with a 6x30 finderscope and two
> Plossl
> > eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) as well as a motor drive (link to scope info
> > http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/skyrover_n114.htm) - any thoughts?
> > Thanks for you interest.
>
Frank Bov
Your first telescope is what you make of it. Almost anything sturdy will show
you things you've only seen in magazines/TV/etc., and you'll know you're looking
at the real thing. The exact choice isn't as important as your desire to do
things with it.
That said, consider that equatorial mounts aren't very intuitive even if they'll
track easier once you're found something. A similar sized Dobsonian would likely
be less expensive and easier to use, or of larger aperture if at the same price.
These are very intuitive, and you can't appreciate the advantage of aperture
when you start out. If planets are your thing though, go equatorial and have a
blast!
HAve fun,
Frank, the DSO observer
"Rohan & Kristin Coxon" <ro...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:AabF5.63$e5....@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
Bendito
>I am hooked on Starry Night Backyard and have been keen in astronomy for
>many years (I blame Carl Sagan and his briliant show Cosmos in the early
>eighties and to a lesser extent - Dr Who) so now I am ready for my first
>telescope.
Ha, ha, Dr Who, cool! :) Shouldn't you be investing in scarves instead?
;) But seriously, if I were you, I'd be looking at a Dobsonian. I know they
look primitive, but it's (nearly) all about aperture-size, and Dob's offer
the biggest bang for the buck in terms of light gathering capability. Of
coures it all depends. Maybe you wish to keep the option of astrophotography
open. Then an equatorial mounted reflector would be better.
By the way, Yorke's Explorer D150 (150mm Dobsonian), with 73% more light
gathering ability than the N114mm equatorial reflector, retails for $795,
while the D200 (207% more than the N114) retails for $995.
Bendito;
Maurice & Norma
telescope for less money that will be easier to use and very quick to set
up.
Also I would check around a few places, including purchasing direct from the
US yourself. This frequently works out much cheaper than York who tend to be
very expensive even by Australian standards!
"Rohan & Kristin Coxon" <ro...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:AabF5.63$e5....@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
Cousin Ricky
<ro...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>At this stage I am looking at the York ( www.yorkoptical.com.au ) Sky Rover
>N114 @ AU$695 (about US$385). It is a 4.5" (114mm) reflector, equatorially
>mounted on a sturdy aluminium tripod with a 6x30 finderscope and two Plossl
>eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) as well as a motor drive
Sounds like ad copy. The adjective "sturdy" is a favorite.
My suggestion: 6" (150mm) Dobsonian reflector.
- 75% more light
- Mount will be sturdier than any equatorial for the price.
The most light for the least money is what sold me on a Dob.
Disadvantages:
- No motor drive or single-axis tracking. You'll have to weigh ease
of setup (Dob advantage) versus ease of tracking (EQ advantage).
The Dob won't do long-exposure photography either, but i won't count
this as a disadvantage over a AU$695 equatorial. If you're looking for
astrophotography, my window shopping suggests that US$385 isn't nearly
sturdy enough.
If you do go the Dob route, remember to shop as carefully as you did for
the Sky Rover N114; when it comes to Dobs, manufacturers don't seem to
be putting a priority on craftsmanship. Depending on the brand, there
may be zero, one, or two eyepieces, which may be Plössl, Kellner, or
trash, and the finder may be a decent 6x30, or a plastic toy stopped
down to 12mm. Caveat emptor. My personal choice was Orion, which has
bundled accessories similar to those of the N114. I went with 8"
(200mm) instead of 6", but then my budget was a little bigger.
--
---------------- Richard Callwood III -----------------
~ U.S. Virgin Islands ~ USDA zone 11 ~ 18.3°N, 64.9°W ~
-------------------------------------------------------
I regret that I will no longer leave an active e-mail
address, as the spammers have pushed me past the limit.
Brian Tung
> Sounds like ad copy. The adjective "sturdy" is a favorite.
There ought to be a handy mini-dictionary for reading telescope and
accessory ads.
Sturdy: Will ring like a bell.
Color-free: Achromat.
Totally color-free: Achromat.
Maximum brightness: Better than using a garbage can lid as a primary.
Guaranteed best: So long as you're willing to deal with our CSR.
Multi-functional: Jack of all trades, master of none.
Unique: We seem to recall hearing of a couple of competitors that did
it differently.
Brian Tung <br...@isi.edu>
Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
Axel
course, that's additional cost....
Ritesh
In article <13rpuskbp19vogvh5...@4ax.com>,
Cousin Ricky <cousi...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Oct 2000 14:54:40 +1000, "Rohan & Kristin Coxon"
> <ro...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>
> >At this stage I am looking at the York ( www.yorkoptical.com.au )
Sky Rover
> >N114 @ AU$695 (about US$385). It is a 4.5" (114mm) reflector,
equatorially
> >mounted on a sturdy aluminium tripod with a 6x30 finderscope and two
Plossl
> >eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) as well as a motor drive
>
> Sounds like ad copy. The adjective "sturdy" is a favorite.
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
gmus...@my-deja.com
"Bendito" <lone...@deletethis.tig.com.au>
wrote:
> Rohan & Kristin Coxon wrote in message ...
>
been keen in astronomy for
> >many years (I blame Carl Sagan and his
briliant show Cosmos in the early
> >eighties and to a lesser extent - Dr Who) so
now I am ready for my first
> >telescope.
>
investing in scarves instead?
> ;) But seriously, if I were you, I'd be looking
at a Dobsonian. I know they
> look primitive, but it's (nearly) all about
aperture-size, and Dob's offer
> the biggest bang for the buck in terms of light
gathering capability. Of
> coures it all depends. Maybe you wish to keep
the option of astrophotography
> open. Then an equatorial mounted reflector
would be better.
>
> By the way, Yorke's Explorer D150 (150mm
Dobsonian), with 73% more light
> gathering ability than the N114mm equatorial
reflector, retails for $795,
> while the D200 (207% more than the N114)
retails for $995.
>
> Bendito;
>
>
Cousin Ricky
>Dobs can track quite well when placed on an Equatorial Platform.
Which begs the question: when is a Dob no longer a Dob?
> Of
>course, that's additional cost....
Which is probably why he's looking at the N114 instead of the N150.