Packable Scope Advice Requested

[Larry Curcio]

Twelve years ago, before I was involved in

Astronomy, I gave my son an eight-inch

Dobsonian. My ex-wife immediately put it in

the basement and there it stayed. On a recent

visit at the age of 26, he returned the scope and

asked to trade it for something more portable.

By this he means backpackable in Hawaii, where

he lives. I suggested binoculars, but he wants

a scope.

Orion would have me buy the GoScope, but I can

find no reviews on it. Anyone know about it? (Yes

it's only 70 mm. OTOH he's got some great skies on

some islands. M81 is borderline naked eye.)

Also, is a light photographic tripod really

adequate with an ST-80? I have a fine-adjustment

mount I can give him. Such a setup would be

barely small enough.

Any other suggestions that don't involve

Apochromatic optics?

Thanks and Regards,

-Larry Curcio

[Starlord]

Are you on Oahu? You could go to a meeting of H.A.S. at the Bishop
Planetiaum and talk to some of them, I forget if the club had anything but
dobs the membership could use.

I used to do Sidewalk Astronomy up on the Leeward side with the 12.5 dob I
had at the time, mid 90's.

--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html

"Larry Curcio" <lcu...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:p0jnh.5267$IT2.4179@trnddc06...

[Don't Be Evil]

I'd suggest a small Mak on a tabletop tripod. That's a very small
setup with pretty good optical qualities. Even an EQ mount to make
tracking easier. At 14 pounds it's kinda heavy for true backpacking.
You can cut that in half by using a small plastic photographic tripod.

http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=454&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=10&iProductID=454
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=787&memberId=12500226

Greg

[Florian]

> Twelve years ago, before I was involved in
> Astronomy, I gave my son an eight-inch
> Dobsonian. My ex-wife immediately put it in
> the basement and there it stayed.

Why would you let your wife do that??

.Florian

[Starlord]

Odd thing is, I'd never seen a house in Hawaii with a basement.

--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html

"Florian" <st...@seeyouinthedark.com> wrote in message
news:459dcca1$0$9636$4c36...@roadrunner.com...

[Larry Curcio]

Hmmm... Seems I've been ambiguous in my request. Apologies.

1) I live in Pittsburgh; my son lives in Hawaii;

2) My ex-wife was my ex-wife even then; and

3) FWIW, she and my son lived in Baltimore.

Hope that helps.

Will consider the Mak.

Thanks!
-Larry C.

[wsne...@hotmail.com]

The ST-80 and the Starblast tube assembly weigh about the same. If
having to recollimate isn't a problem, maybe the Starblast on a small,
lightweight home-made Dob mount is an option?

[tony_f...@yahoo.com]

Larry Curcio wrote:

> On a recent visit at the age of 26, [my son] returned the [Dob] and

> asked to trade it for something more portable.
> By this he means backpackable in Hawaii, where
> he lives. I suggested binoculars, but he wants a scope.

I assume that you mean a *seriously* backpackable telescope --
something that you can take along on an overnight camping trip
many miles from a road. That puts very serious constraints on
how much weight and bulk you can or want to carry. My
lightest fully serious astro rig is about 4.5 lbs. for scope,
soft case, and eyepieces plus another 5.5 lbs. for the tripod
legs and head. That's more than I want to carry on a backpacking
trip where hiking is the primary motivation. Then again, when
hiking is the primary motivation, I'm too tired to do much
astronomy at night anyway.

If you're talking about something you can stuff in a pack to
wander off-road for a few hours, but come back to civilization
to sleep, the constraints are much less severe.

> Orion would have me buy the GoScope, but I can>
> find no reviews on it. Anyone know about it?

The GoScope is OK -- can't really complain for the money --
but the 45-degree viewing angle isn't optimal for astronomy,
and the tripod isn't robust enough for steady views at high
magnifications, especially if it's windy. More useful as a
daytime spotting scope with minor astro capability than
as a full-fledged astro scope.

> Also, is a light photographic tripod really adequate with an ST-80?

Depends what you mean by a light photo tripod. A Bogen tripod
with a video head works beautifully -- and is priced accordingly.
The kind of tripod you pick up for $50 in your local photo shop
isn't adequate.

In any case, the key to stability is to stay as low as possible.
Ideally, sit on the ground so you can keep the legs fully retracted.
If that's not satisfactory, you can buy a low stool that packs into
a bundle about 10 inches long and 3 around, and weighs 1.5 lbs.
To achieve equivalent stability while standing, you'd need to add
3 or 4 lbs. to the weight of the tripod.

If you're willing to spend a little more, you can buy a scope with
significantly better optics than the ST-80 in an equivalent,
or even smaller, package.

- Tony Flanders

[Starlord]

Ah! That makes more sence, as I lived on Oahu for almost 20 years and
basements and not done over there in homes. Ok get word to him that the
Hawaiian Astro.Sco. meets at the Bishop Mus. Planetiaum on Oahu. They also
have a star party every month up on dillingham airfield on the north shore,
just about the darkest area on oahu.

It's a good club too.

--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html

"Larry Curcio" <lcu...@verizon.net> wrote in message

news:lsqnh.2756$PN2.1955@trnddc07...

[Stephen Paul]

Don't Be Evil wrote:

> Larry Curcio wrote:
> > By this he means backpackable

> > Orion would have me buy the GoScope

> > Also, is a light photographic tripod really
> > adequate with an ST-80?

> > Any other suggestions that don't involve
> > Apochromatic optics?
>

> I'd suggest a small Mak on a tabletop tripod.

I would advise against the Mak for at least the following three
reasons:
1- Long focal length
2- Cooling
3- Dewing of the corrector (once cooled and radiating to below ambient)

Also, per inch of aperture, one should consider weight (is the Mak
heavier?.. I think so, but don't know for sure).

The ST-80 is probably a better choice if apochromatism (wrd?) is not a
goal, but follow Tony's advice about keeping the tripod at it's lowest
setting for stability. This will most definitely be true for a long
focal length Mak. I had a C5 on my ultralight mount and it worked, but
the higher the tripod was set, the lower the useful power. Because I
was being relegated to low power in the end, I pulled the C5 and stuck
with the ST80 (which I've since sold).

I'm now going to try the Astro-Tech / William Optics 66ED for a "go
scope", because I want subdued color with the moon and planets (mostly
moon, but Saturn is coming up, so what the hay). For wide field viewing
of the brighter open clusters, it should be satisfactory, and for
globs, well, anything under 6" is pretty much just going to show them
as a fuzzy ball of light anyhow, with maybe some stars resolved on the
outer fringes. I'll try to post a review once I have it in hand. I
have a Unistar Light Deluxe mount on a Davis and Sanford Compact Short
tripod (folds down to 24") and the whole package should weigh in at
about 12 lbs. (Universal Astronomics discontinued the modification of
the D&S Compact tripod though, so the 24" is no longer available.) Of
course, this whole package is a bit on the expensive side compared to
an ST80 on a photo-pod.

Anyway, that's nickel.
-Steve P.

[Starlord]

One thing to remember, the son is in HAWAII, and it also depends on which
island he's on or going too. Oahu only has one area that could be called
"Cool" and it's not open to public either. It's almost fogged in a lot too.

It depends on which island he'll be hicking on and what area is open. Only
the Big Island gets the snowed on and you all know what's up there.

Plus remember how humid it is there too.

--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html

"Stephen Paul" <smarsh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168034147.2...@q40g2000cwq.googlegroups.com...