Scopes, more scopes, still more scopes.

[Mark Wagner]

What am I writing about now?  Guesses?

I have a friend who is always buying telescopes, trying,  selling, buying, buying buying.  I jokingly remarked he's going to need a bigger house.   We all know about getting a car to fit one's telescope.

Another guy I knew didn't buy just any scope.  An insatiable need to buy AstroPhysics.  I think he may have had six OTAs my last count including a 180 that he had trouble getting into a mount.  Crazy?

So, how many telescopes is too many telescopes?  I have two working, a 10 and 18.   No idea how many in parts.  I'm always discovering something forgotten in my astro boxes.

How many is too many, in your living situation?

Mark in the Dark

[Akarsh Simha]

So, how many telescopes is too many telescopes?  I have two working, a 10 and 18.   No idea how many in parts.  I'm always discovering something forgotten in my astro boxes.

How many is too many, in your living situation?

I have four telescopes — 6, 12, 18, 28 — and two binoculars, plus I’m storing one OTA for a friend. This is definitely too much, and you’ll see me put something up for sale at some point.

Regards

Akarsh

Mark in the Dark

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[Richard Navarrete]

I’ll have you know I was given two scopes . 😜

Richard

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[Camerabooks.com Support]

No amount is too many...

Tom Duncan

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[Richard Ozer]

I have an 11" SCT, a 5" Stellarvue, a 10" Dob, a 6" Dob, an 80mm refractor, an 8" SCT, a moonwatch telescope, and a boatload of unfinished projects.  I have no more room and now have to sleep in the bushes.

On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM Mark Wagner <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Richard Ozer]

Tom, I figured he was talking about you.  You fit the profile!

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[Peter Santangeli]

Not sure I can remember all the ones I have...

16" dob

13.1" astrograph

C11

Meade LX55 SN 10 (and mount)

Original C8

Meade LX75 6" achromat

Coronado PST

Orion ED80

Orion ST80

Orion 80mm refractor

My original Sears 60mm refractor

Most of my original home built 6" newtonian on Meade 826 equatorial mount

Edmund Scientific Astroscan

I've probably owned and sold a dozen others over the years, and I've probably missed a few. Basically, telescopes expand to occupy all available telescope storage space. Looking at downsizing our house now and... it's an issue.

On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM Mark Wagner <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Mark Wagner]

Pete, you're going to need a mover just for the telescopes.

[Surya Rao]

I have a 14 inch dob, 24 inch dob, 11 inch SCT, 8 inch SCT and 120mm binos. That is too many...

Want to sell the 14 inch dob and 8 inch SCT whenever possible as I use them the least :-)

Surya

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[William Luk]

Interesting thread. Most of my scopes are inherited from my late father-in-law. But, here it is:

Astro-Physics 206mm Starfire EDF

AstoWorks 12" AstroMak (just sold to a guy in Washington state who has the dark sky for this telescope)

TEC 10" f/20 Maksutov

Celestron EdgeHD 11"

Takahashi TOA-130F

Takahashi MT130 Newtonian

William Optics FLT-98

Astro-Pyhsics 92mm Stowaway

AstroTech 72EDII

Orion 80mm short tube

2 x awesome Takahashi Astronomer Binoculars

William

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[Richard Navarrete]

Hah! You thought I had a lot of scopes.

AT80ED - just picked up a few days ago for wide field views

Celestron 5SE - I’m interested in selling this one

Celestron 6SE - I use this with a binoviewer for backyard lunar and planetary

AR 127 achromat - nice 5” refractor for my current observing project

Orion 8” f/4 - this was given to me as it has a scratch on the mirror (still gives great views,)

Orion 10” Intelliscope - bought this last year as it was almost cheaper than re-coating my old 10” which I then sold.

18” Obsession - my main scope for the past 20+ years

Not so many and they all have their uses!

Richard

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[Akarsh Simha]

It reminds me of Mel Bartels' approach: change telescopes instead of eyepieces

https://actualastronomy.podbean.com/e/331-ultra-fast-telescope-maker-and-visual-observer-mel-bartels/

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/750101493.1155853.1754957620644%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Mitchell Koerner]

I bought my first scope - an orion XT10" dob -  in May of 2024 not even 1.5 years ago.

I now have:

That original XT10

CarbonStar 150

AT72EDII

SarBlue 60mm mak (toy scope, shockingly adequate optics)

4 pairs of binos

And of course the night vision doohickey

It's ok though - I can stop whenever I want... right?

In all seriousness, it's a fun hobby and I have slowed down quite a bit on the acquisitions to take time with the sky. If my apartment were bigger I could totally see a big dob joining the mix though.

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[Jeff Crilly]

>
> On Aug 11, 2025, at 5:12 PM, William Luk <wil...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Astro-Physics 206mm Starfire EDF

Wait …. the 206 counts for 4 telescope points.

When someone asks about getting a telescope and deciding what to get…
I tell them this: Telescopes are like golf clubs…
You can’t expect to play golf very well with just one golf club.
And it doesn’t hurt to have extra drivers and putters in your bag.

I’m going to refrain from checking the inventory.
(Too much to list.)

-jeff

[Mark Wagner]

Funny, I expected the number of telescopes, not lists.  But even better!

Mark in the Dark

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[David Staples]

For me, 5 scopes, and 3 big binocs.  No more room left for more :)

Dave

On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM Mark Wagner <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Mark Scrivener]

I can tell you precisely how many scopes you need......just one more!

And I want to thank everyone for listing their scopes, I no longer feel guilty about having a SVX152 and ordering a SVX180  (among several other high end scopes, mounts, eyepieces, and cameras). To the contrary, I feel like I have some catching up to do!

Mark (we are everywhere, not just in the dark)

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[microflite]

On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 5:12 PM William Luk <wil...@gmail.com> wrote:

Interesting thread. Most of my scopes are inherited from my late father-in-law. But, here it is:

Astro-Physics 206mm Starfire EDF

Damn, I'm super envious! :)

-Ashok 

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[Jay Freeman]

On Aug 11, 2025, at 15:46, Mark Wagner <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> What am I writing about now? Guesses?

Pardon my sloth in replying, I had to regroup the crates of eyepieces in order to see the console.

> I have a friend who is always buying telescopes, trying, selling, buying, buying buying. I jokingly remarked he's going to need a bigger house. We all know about getting a car to fit one's telescope.

The thought of actually selling any of my telescopes gives me a noticeable nervous twitch.

> Another guy I knew didn't buy just any scope. An insatiable need to buy AstroPhysics. I think he may have had six OTAs my last count including a 180 that he had trouble getting into a mount. Crazy?

Tie score, but *I* have a 10-inch Maksutov and he doesn't, so neener, neener, neener.

> So, how many telescopes is too many telescopes? I have two working, a 10 and 18. No idea how many in parts. I'm always discovering something forgotten in my astro boxes.

The phrase "too many telescopes" does not parse into a semantically meaningful statement in any known language, including C++, Python, and

> How many is too many, in your living situation

My house has over three thousand square feet and all the cats stay in the master bedroom suite. Seriously, you did not ask and you do not want to know.

> Mark in the Dark

If I move the stack of JMI cases away from the window I can maybe let in a little light, but then I would lose dark adaptation.


-- Jay Reynolds Freeman, Deep-Sky Pack Rat
---------------------
Jay_Reynol...@mac.com
http://JayReynoldsFreeman.com (personal web site)

[John Pierce]

i'm down to pathetic leftovers...

coulter 10" red tube dob, partially improved

Celestron/Vixen SuperPolaris 80mm f/11.3 achromat with its SP mount.

Meade 8" LX3, except I think the drive electronics are dead.

APM 10x50ED larger binocs

APM 6.5x32ED smaller binocs

Opticron 8x42 Monocular Explorer WA ED-R  - everyday carry, lives in my car's armrest (12 ounces)

Vixen monocular, Altes HR6x21 - wife's opera glass (5 ounces)

btw, that Opticron is a darn nice little optic, it was $150 when I got it in January.   there's no place to attach it to a tripod, but I figure a clamp or strap cradle or something should work, I use it handheld.   It has eyeglass friendly eye relief with a twist-in/out rubber eye cup, and a nice wide (70 degrees apparent)  bright sharp clear field.  The focus is very stiff, but once you've set it, you can pretty much leave it alone unless you want to look at something really close.  good coatings.

the Vixen is a very nice little optic too, 52 deg. AFOV,  but its too small for night sky use.   its also can be found for about $160...  you typically have to order it from Japan, its hard to find here for a good price..

[Aris Pope]

12" Meade LX200 GPS(@f/10)

10" Orion Atlas Newtonian (@f/3.5)

8" Skywatcher Quattro Newtonian (@f/3)

6" GSO Imaging Newtonian (@f/3)

All riding on my iOptron CEM60

Aris

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[Ted Hauter]

In reality the sacred telescopes we use daily on the outside to the common man are assets to be used as an always visible (except to Pete) and tangible money storage.

Greater than car, house or home. 

Which are not.

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[Joel Lee]

I got at least one of each main imaging scopes type except an RC I think. Need to add a mak to round out the visual scopes but I’m not sure if I’ll ever get one. 

Imaging:

Refractor: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED @F7 and @F5.39

Newtonian: Skywatcher Quattro 250P 

SCT: Celestron EdgeHD 9.25

Camera Lens: Samyang/Rokinon 135mm F2 x2

Visual:

Dob: Orion XT8 from like 15 years ago. 

Do binoculars count? Vortex Diamondback 10x42mm

The imaging scopes share 2 mounts an AM5 and a UMi20S. The Esprit is the hardest working and the most reliable. The EdgeHD I’ve recently had and it’s doing well but is retiring for the season while I work on the Quattro. The Samyangs are an eternal I’m working on them project since I need to 3D print parts but I’ve been too lazy. I used to have a small refractor but I sold that a couple months back and would probably only go back to shorter FL with something like a Stellarvue or an SQA. There just aren’t too many targets at the shorter FL for me to get them yet so I’m building up that catalogue. 

I’m at the point where I’m banning myself from a new scope till I get another mount first or actually fix the Quattro and Samyang pair. 

Browsing classifieds is still a great past time even if I’m not going to buy anything though. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAL-cFaEvZkyg4W74QwBxDFLDTkuWzcX9o4pNVGfuu7_NR8PHaw%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Cooper]

I’m definitely in the too many category. From small to large aperture:

AT72EDII

AT90CFT

Stellarvue SVQ100

AP130EDF

AP155EDF

Takahashi Mewlon 210

New Moon 16” Dobsonian

Not to mention mounts and lots of cameras, filters, guide/finder scopes, and misc. space junk.  Some stuff has got to go someday!

[Rod Brown]

Seven in my house, but only two are mine. And four of them are 8" SCT's. :-)

I manage our club's loaner pool and maintain our library's telescopes. I think I had 13 in the house at the peak about eight months ago. That was definitely too many for me. I'd like to find homes for three of the loaners I still have, too; it seems like a shame they are not getting used. We offer members free loan for a year, and nine folks currently have loans.

Rod

[Richard Navarrete]

What is the club?

Richard

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[Rod Brown]

The club is Nevada County Astronomers, https://ncastronomers.org/

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[Stacy Jo McDermott]

Hmm, let's see, the current inventory is:

50mm Tasco Made in Japan refractor

80mm StellerVue refractor

6" Orion Shorty reflector (table top)

12" Orion intelliscope reflector

7x35 binoculars

I found a StellerVue 101mm refractor with mount/tripod at a pawn shop for $850 which I put on layaway.  Getting it in October. 

That's enough for me due to space.

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[Mark Wagner]

I think The Club s an anti cartheft device that locks a steering wheel.

Oh wait.... I just joined one!

Mark 

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[Richard Ozer]

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

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[Ted Hauter]

I'm down to four. Plus some Galileo scope experimentations.

I try to use my Tele Vue 85 almost every day (solar).

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[Jaimie Henderson]

I'm down to three (or four, depending on how you count), having found a home for my Orion xx14g -

- "ol' faithful," my Orion XT8 that over the past 2 decades taught me the sky, showed me how to star-hop and opened the door to deep space exploration;

- Obsession 18UC, upgrade/replacement for the Orion 14;

- Lunt 100DS solar workhorse, convertible to night use (which I've not yet tried);

- my son's tabletop Orion Starblast 6"

I guess I'm an outlier, but somehow this feels like a good number. It covers my current needs, and there's still space in the garage for other useful things! Now eyepieces on the other hand...

Jaimie

[Richard Navarrete]

Hi Jamie,

How does your son like the Starblast?

Richard

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[Brad Templeton]

The mythical ideal mate is the one who says...

"Honey, do you have enough Telescopes?  I think you need more..."

[Ted Hauter]

Ha!

When I find out how many Barnards I can see with a 7 inch scope will determine my 5th scope.

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[Mark Wagner]

I for one would have no problem saying that to her.

Mark

On Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 1:18 PM Brad Templeton <bra...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Muriel Dulieu Holzer]

I have a 10" Dob generously donated by someone at one of my astronomy clubs and my favorite one, 

an 8" Dob I got from a neighbor for my daughter for $50,

and then my most expensive and less exciting telescope, a Seestar S50, but I guess it is helpful to find out what I am trying to look at with the Dob is supposed to look like.

The ideal mythical mate does not ask you if you need one more telescope, he/she makes you a custom one. 

That is true love.

-Muriel

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[Jaimie Henderson]

Well, my wife literally said, "quit waffling, get the Obsession and don't cheap out." 😳

Jaimie

[Jaimie Henderson]

Hi Richard,

He used it a fair amount several years ago, but since he moved to a more populated spot (and no longer has a table outdoors to put it on), he's essentially storing it in my garage. Don't tell him, but I cannibalized the finder mount to use with a guide scope for my yet-to-materialize experiment in astrophotography...

Jaimie

[Kurt Kuhlmann]

AP160 EDF 

Custom Taurus 20" dob (Zambuto quartz primary)

C14 EDGEHD  (mostly unused now)

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[Paul Alsing]

Perhaps this is not the place to say this, but speaking of too many telescopes, time and age have demanded that I divest myself of my 25" f/5 Obsession telescope. Many, many people on this list have had views through it; it is a fine telescope. Anyone who might be interested is encouraged to give me a shout for all the details, of which there are many..

pnal...@gmail.com

I live in the San Diego area, but will be at Calstar this fall, if someone wants to take delivery there. Bring your own trailer, because I still need it for Deb's 20"!!

$8,000, unless there is a bidding war :>) 

Keep in mind that a new 25" mirror is well north of $12,000, as far as I can tell!

\Paul

[Ted Hauter]

I'd say you're good Paul. Hope you get what you want.

I'd add we're not CN, so we have liberties,  a Republic of laws, not men.

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