Scopes that I have owned. Add your list after mine!
Gil
Criterion RV-6
Dynamax 8 (I built this one myself!)
Criterion 6" F/6 Newt on GEM (built with fellow Criterion employee)
Edmund Astroscan
12-1/2" F/6 homebuilt DOB with Cave optics
Edmund Astroscan (again)
Criterion Dynamax 4 (great telephoto lens, poor telescope)
Meade 10" Starfinder on GEM
Tasco 4-1/2" F/4 newt on GEM with Astroscan optics (grab and go!)
I only own the last two scopes on the list now. Best scope was the
Dynamax 8, because I built it myself when I worked at Criterion.
What's your list look like?
Starlord
1st telescope if you can call it that is an optical right angle viewer that
has 3 filters built in and two targeting targets, is white in color and I
think it's a 4inch front lens, was used at White Sands Proving grounds. So
it just might have seen early rockets and also abomb testing, has electical
pins on it's base. Was given to me years ago, still have it. It's about 7x I
think.
2nd scope, Orion 12.5 f4.8 DSE dob I had in Hawaii, I do miss that scope,
had to sell it to help pay for my move back to mainland after mother passed.
3rd scope Stargazer Steve f9 4.25inch Dob, donated by SAA user, first scope
used as Sidewalk astronomy scope in Rosamond. Still have it.
4th scope ... The Year was 2002, the last best chance for a bigger
telescope, Babylon 8, a f8 8 inch Dob that I built out of parts donated by
other Astronomers. It is still in use to this date.
--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net
"Gil" <gilbert...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:1128815339.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Stephen Paul
Gallileo 70mm F11 (HSN POS)
After that it was all down hill (in chronological order)....
Tasco StarGuide 4
Celestron Ultima 8-PEC
Celestron FS-80EQ WA
Orion XT10
Celestron C5 on UniStar Light Deluxe
Meade 12.5" Starfinder Dob
Orion StarMax 127
Celestron C102-HD (F5)
Meade 12.5" optics transplanted into a 14" Discovery PDHQ structure
Celestron GP-C102-ED
Orion 80ED on UniStar Light Deluxe (same mount as above)
Celestron AS-CG-5GT mount for the following....
Konus Konusky 200 (8" F5 Newt) OTA
Hardin Optical StarHoc 8-4 (200mm F4 Newt) OTA
Losmandy G-11 to replace the CG-5GT
Celestron AS C9.25GT (sold the mount to get the OTA cheap)
What I'm left with after selling off all the unwanted stuff:
Losmandy G-11 w/DSCH and Argo Navis
C9.25 (from the GT) w/Astrozap aluminum dewshield and a DewBuster
Orion 80ED w/red dot finder, piggy backed on the C9.25
Losmandy mounting hardware for the OTAs
ScopeBuggy
PowerTank
Here's a picture of my personal Holy Grail:
http://home.comcast.net/~smarshallpaul/index.html
(Love the 80ED as a super finder with 2.5 degrees of field in the 24mm Pan.
The orange bricks in the background are Hawker 12VDC 26AH SLA batteries that
I get for free from the scrap pile at work. Sorry, I won't ship them so
don't ask for one. However, if you're local, I'd be happy to grab you one.)
The eyepiece collection:
35mm Pan
24mm Pan
13mm NT6
9mm NT6
Celestron Ultima barlow
TV BinoVue (for planet viewing, and bright globs)
2x18mm Celestron Ultimas (156x)
2x12.5mm Celestron Ultimas (225x)
2x9mm UO HD Orthos (313x)
Photographic Equipment:
Rebel 300D unmodified with TC-80N3 and necessary telescope adapters
F6.3 R/C for use in both scopes
ST-4 autoguider, with parfocal eyepiece
STI Stilleto IV focuser for Canon Digital EOS cameras
I know this is sacrilege to some out there, but I enjoy just looking at this
setup almost as much as I do looking through it. It's a monument to my
miniscule personal achievements in the hobby, as well as an inspiration to
achieve even more, by getting the most out of it. Certainly with all that's
invested here, I can't help but be driven to get outside at every
opportunity, even if only for an hour.
It was great to part with all the other stuff, and invest into something of
high quality, versatility, and useability. My new motto, when it comes to
the equipment, don't f*ck around with the cheap crap, unless it's all you
can afford (Disclaimer: "cheap crap" doesn't necessarily equate to "useless
crap". I had a lot of fun with every piece of equipment I experimented with,
except that damn 70mm F11 refractor from HSN).
"Gil" <gilbert...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:1128815339.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
Doink
Doink
"Stephen Paul" <smarsh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3L6dnfXPuL7...@comcast.com...
joni...@aol.com
You pose an Interesting question.. I had planned on being in the
mountains this evening but it does not look good so I here waiting for
the Padres (not my Padres) to play St. Louis.
I have a fairly long list. I tend to buy anything that seems like a
good deal and then keep the ones I like, either give away or sell the
rest.
The order is somewhat vague and I am sure there are some I have
forgotten. I have included a few symbols. The * means I still have
it. The G after a scope means I gave it away, sometimes to a friend,
sometimes to a club, the S means I sold it. TG means I have promised
it to someone as a gift but not shipped it yet.
1. Garage Sale 60mmF15 refractor, don't remember the name (Stolen)
2. Garage Sale 60mm (?)
3. Orange Tube C-8 First serious scope.(S)
4. Meade 97-ER (G)
4 1/2. Monolux 60mm F15 refractor (G)
5. Cometron Jr. 125mm F8 (G)
6. Pirate Instruments 8 inch DOB, my first DOB. I believe PI changed
its name to something better known. (S)
7.* 12.5 inch F4.06 Discovery DOB It's been an experience getting this
scope to work the way I want it to. But with the Novak mirror cell,
the refigured mirror and a Paracorr, it does the job and it's not much
bigger than an Asian 10 incher. When tested the mirror was decent but
since it was out, I had the work done.
8. Orion XT-8 (G)
9. Meade ETX-70EC (S)
10. Orion 120mm AstroView F8.3 (S)
11. Meade ETX-90 RA (S)
12. Apogee Inc (Ganymede 185) ST-80 Clone (G)
13.* Celestron C-5 OTA
14.* Orion Space Probe 130 ST (130mm F5 Newtonian)
15. Jason Comet Catcher 480 (sent to Uncle Rod) (G)
16.* TeleVue Pronto
17.* OPT Starhunter 10 (GSO 10 inch F5 DOB)
18. Meade ETX-125 (S)
19. Blue Tube Coulter 13.1 inch (G)
20. Celestron 80mm F5 EQ widefield refractor (G)
21. Celestron First scope 80mm EQ (F11.4) (G)
22.* Konus 200mm F5 Newt, currently on ASGT mount
23.* Tasco Starguide 60 (Part of a Tsunmi relief deal-TG)
24.* Burgess Optical 102 F6, objective was replaced with an Orion
100F6 objective with very pleasing results.
24 1/2 Edmunds 6 inch F8 Newtonian on EQ mount. (G)
25.* Meade 12.5 inch F6 Research Grade Newtonian + Mount Wife says,
this one will never be sold. Takes a ladder to use and lives in the
Garage.
26.* RV-6 #1 Good condition, nice images.
27.* Baytronix 150/1400.* The classic EBay 6 inch Short Tube Newt
that comes in a variety of colors.. This one was Maroon. Bought it to
review for Cloudy Nights. I do not recommend this scope, sad optics.
(T-G)
28.* Celestron C-102HD Looking for a home
29.* RV-6 #2 Better condition and only $40, what could I do. (TG)
30./31* Tasco Rocket scope/Orion Funscope. Under $50, these are
clones of the AstroScan, 76mm F3.7 Parabolic Newts. Slight mods to the
focuser allow slip and slide focusing with 1.25 inch eyepieces, nice
images.
32. Jason Comet 480 (tentative G)
33.* Meade 1020. This is an ~1980 Meade 102 mmF10 SCT made in Japan
with a Helical focuser. Nicely made but big CO and well, I am not a
cat fancier, it is looking for a home, someone who would use and
appreciate it.
Some late recollections
24 1/4 Infinity 4.5 inch F8 EQ mounted Newt (G)
24 3/4 Meade 4500 (G)
26 1/2 Meade 60AZ-A "Fifty Dollars at Walmart" for Skywatch (G)
2? 1/2 Sears/Towa 76mm F15 Eq. Mount (S)
1? 1/2 Tasco 76mm refractor (G)
------
I like fooling with scopes, making friends with them, enjoying them for
what they are and then letting someone else enjoy them. When the price
is right, I will buy most anything. The Coulter 13.1 was $100 and in
decent condition with a new premium secondary.
But I also like observing and when the skies are dark, it will be
either the 10 inch or 12.5 inch DOB along with either the Pronto or the
100F6 achro. For the back yard, my favorites are those plus the 130ST
and the first RV-6. If I had to choose one scope, it would be either
the 10 inch or 12.5 inch DOB. Two scopes, one of the DOBs and a
refractor.
Best wishes, clear skies
Jon Isaacs
Uncle Bob
1974? 3" Unitron refractor
1987 Edmund Astroscan reflector
1999 10" Meade Starfinder EQ(!)
2001 Celestron C8 Black Tube(!!!) *, Takahashi FS 102(!!!), G-11 mount
2003 18" Obsession clone with an incredible mirror* (!!!), Meade 6"
Schmidt Newt (an oldie).
2005 9.25 Celestron SCT (!!!)*, Intes MN 66* GM-8
mount*
(!!!)=favorites of the bunch
(!) =worst telescope I've ever owned.
* = still in the quiver
Of these, the worst was the Starfinder EQ (decent optics, everything else
sucked).
The best was the Tak (perfect star tests), and my favorite is the 18" Dob,
which does an incredible job every time I bring it out. The Tak just
didn't have enough light grasp for my tastes, but it was perfect in every
other way.
I just bought the Intes today from astromart, btw. ;-)
Can't stay away from them scopes.
Regards,
Uncle Bob
Bob
Tasco POS 60mm refractor from the 1950's. But I've heard that the
newer ones are
much worse....
As my skies are badly light polluted, and with poor eyesight, a better
scope seems pointless...
CHAS
It would take me hours to type in my list of scopes! Lets just say
over 160 scopes since 1976.
My top 5 scopes, that were my favorite are,
15" Obsession, the best built Dob i've ever owned bar none, and the
best on the planets of any scope i've owned! It had the OMI- Torus
mirror, 1100x plus on the planets with super seeing.
Five Starmasters from the 11" to the 18", all with the Zambuto optics,
again all jaw dropping images of the planets. Guess i would pick my
1st 14.5" Starmaster as the best out of the five others, 1150x one nite
in dead still seeing, i ran out of power could have gone higher!
Older AP-6" F/9 blue tube, best refractor i've owned.
Meade 12" LX-200 i've had four of them, but one was by far excellent,
almost Zambuto like, with sharp pinpoint star images.
Tak FS-78 another killer, the best under 80mm refractor i could ever
use.
One day i will list my top five worst scopes...
Chas
md
My list is very short:
1983: 80 mm home built refractor on home built alt/az mount. extremely primitive scope, but I
used it for several years for planetary observations , until 1987 when I left home to study
math.
2002: ETX105
2004: 10" LX200
I do not have the refractor anymore, both other scopes I still have.
--
Martijn (astro-at-pff-software.nl)
10" LX200GPS-SMT
ETX105
www.xs4all.nl/~martlian
Marty
constellations, and realizing maybe I could see some of that other stuff
I'd read about. A wonderful, exhilarating, experience! I was hooked
for life!
Then, somewhere in the late '60's, got an old, brass, leather covered
spyglass, 1.3 inch aperture. Six bucks at a flea market. Explored the
moon, a few bright DSO's with more magnification.
1975... a 20x50 Jaeger's monocular. Kinda cool, but limited. Shoulda
got the 7x50 version.
1975... a 60mm Jason refractor. Bought it on a whim, but SAW SATURN'S
RINGS! Didn't get a lot of use, but I still pull it out sometimes for
solar projection.
1976... Celestron 11x80 binoculars. LOVE these! Still use 'em all the
time!
1977... My C8. A wonderful scope, and all I've ever needed. :)
Marty
CHAS
Chas
Rich
John Carruthers
6" f8 homemade 1/12th wave.
10" f6.1 ditto 1/25th wave. Truss Dob.
several donated EP's and some e-bay specials (TV 15mm wide, 6mm ortho)
jc
Roger Steer
and
1965 6" f6.6 newtonian home built fork mount (spherical optics!)
then a long wait when I gave up observing.
1995 8" Celestron Powerstar
then
1999 10" Meade Starfinder (didn't work out!)
then
2001 8" Celestron C8
then
*2002 Celestron 11 GPS alt az
and
2002 Celestron 80 GT
and
2003 Borg 76 (stolen by burglar) Vixen GP
and
2003 102mm Helios refractor (stolen by burglar) Vixen GP
and
*2004 102mm Vixen Achro Vixen GP
and
*2004 TeleVue 76 Apo Vixen GP/Telepod/80GT NexStar mount
The three * are my present lineup.
Roger
Shawn
> What's your list look like?
A toy refractor with plastic lenses and cardboard tube. I think I was 10.
Tasco 60 mm with the wobbliest mount in the universe a couple years later.
Had the good fortune of access to someone else's observatory for about
15 years under very dark skies (especially early on). 6" refractor and
16" Cass.
Then I had to buy my own scopes:
Edmund Astroscan
Celestron C8
Sellarvue Nighthawk
Still have the last two.
Somewhere on the horizon is a 12.5-15" Dob.
Shawn
Brian Tung
> What's your list look like?
Homemade 30 mm f/30 refractor
4-1/2-inch Orion Newtonian
Celestron C5+
Tele Vue Ranger
StarSplitter 10-inch Compact II
10x30 Canon IS binoculars
--
Brian Tung <br...@isi.edu>
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt
Shawn
Oh yeah
8x25 Pentax Binos (a gift)
8x56 PIS* Orion Binocs
*Passive Image Stabilization-A 1'x4' wooden rectangle that they mount
on, that sits on my shoulders while observing (as seen in recent S&T)
Works too!
Shawn
Martin R. Howell
> 1977... My C8. A wonderful scope, and all I've ever needed. :)
Back in late sixties, I had a former high school science teacher, (Grady
Woodall), who became my friend years after I graduated. He too was into
amateur astronomy and had an orange C8. He shot and processed his own
images through the scope which impressed me much at the time and was
probably in his mid to late 40's then. He loved that scope and I bet if he
is still alive, now somewhere in his 80's, he still has it and uses it on
occasion.
--Martin
Tom Polakis
2.4" Jason refractor (one week in 1977)
3" Edmond reflector (1977)
4" Superior Optics reflector (1977-1978)
6" Criterion RV-6 reflector (1978-1980)
4" Home-built RFT reflector (1979-present)
8" Celestron SCT (1980-1986)
13" Coulter (mod. by Pierre Schwaar) reflector (1986-present)
8" Pierre Schwaar RFT travel reflector (1988-present)
20" Pierre Schwaar reflector (1996-present)
10" Mike Spooner reflector (1998-present)
2.7" TeleVue Pronto refractor (2000-present)
...and the 10" and the Pronto currently see the most use.
Tom
Galileo
never did figure out the deal with Saturn though (seemed to be 3 bodies
in a row that turned into justone every 15 years)...
Sam Wormley
>
> What's your list look like?
>
1957? 1.25" single objective lens refractor (gave to my brother early 60s)
1966 Edmond 7x50 binoculars (gave to my sister in early 80s)
1979 Canon 300mm F2.8 (105mm) Fluorite camera lens
1987 I fashioned an adapter to attach 1.25 inch eyepieces to that
Canon lens and used it with one or two 2x doublers. That
combination served me well for ten years till an AP 133 F8
became available to me in 1997. Still use on a camera, but
not for astronomy.
1988? 13" Coulter (about two weeks)
1992 Fujinon FMTR-SX 7x50 (currently use: general, solar, teaching)
1997 AP 133 F8 (loaner -- currently use: general, teaching)
2002 Ordered AP 155/160 (mount being delivered in 2005)
Part of the time the new AP will be online for teacher/students
as a demonstration project to justify funding for, and
putting one-meter research grade robotic telescope online to
enhance science education.
-Sam Wormley
Mike
"Sam Wormley" <swor...@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:KWn2f.415798$x96.285546@attbi_s72...
lies, all lies
Len Philpot
gilbert...@sbcglobal.net says...
> What's your list look like?
4.5" f8 Cometron CO-114 Newt (Celestron Japanese import) *
10" f5.5 homebuilt Dob *
Small f8 homebuilt Newt with Gilbert mirror (hey, it was a scope! :-)
40mm Japanese refractor that I "re-engineered" into an astro scope
Tele Vue Genesis (pre-SDF, f5) *
Short Tube 80 f5
8" f4 Meade MTS Schmidt-Newtonian
14.5" Sky Designs Dob --> reborn as a TeleKit *
8" f6 Hardin Deep Space Hunter *
...and to stretch the definition of "scope" to encompass binoculars as
"two parallel mounted scopes" <g> :
Sears 8x50 el-cheapos
Orion 10x70 Little Giants
Celestron 8x40 Pro
Celestron 10x25 Enduro
I won't go into finder<Scopes>... :-)
* These have seen the most use over the years, but I don't still have
them all.
--
-- Len Philpot -> l...@philpot.org <--
------ ><> -----> http://philpot.org/ <--
Richard Carlson
> In article <1128815339.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> gilbert...@sbcglobal.net says...
>
>> What's your list look like?
Here's my list:
>
4.5" f/9 Tasco
7X50 Binoculars
20X50 Binoculars
16X80 Binoculasr
20X80 Binoculars
30X80 Binoculars
25X100 Binoculars (presently)
6" f/8 Cave
10"f/7 Cave
14.25" f/6 Coulter Optical Optics, Home made Scope
25" F/5 Nova Optical systems Dobsonian.(presently)
127mm Orion Starmax Maksutov (presently)
4" f/9 Celestron Refractor
6" f/8 Celestron Refractor (presently)
5" F5 Orion Refractor (presently)
6" f/12 Orion Maksutov (presently)
Richard
Gil
laura halliday
I saw Saturn as it moved through Taurus. Jupiter was low
in Scorpius and a challenge to observe at such a northerly
latitude.
* Antares (Synta) 115mm Newtonian
My first "adult" scope.
* Bushnell 7x50 binoculars
* Antares (Synta) 127mm achromat (with Vixen-spec optics)
A nice scope that showed me how crucially important a
good mount was; it came on an EQ-4, which was fine for
visual observing, but painful for photography. I placed
my order for a Losmandy G-11 within a year.
* Apogee Inc. 90mm achromat (guide scope)
* Sky Watcher (Synta) 100mm f/5 rich-field refractor
* Celestron 8" SCT with Lumicon Sky Vector DSCs
My grab and go scope. I can set it up in about 2 minutes,
including aligning the DSCs.
* Orion 20x80 binoculars
* Takahashi TOA-130F
My serious observing scope. It now lives on my G-11.
The views through it are stunning and textbook-perfect,
but for what it cost they had better be... :-)
Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte