owning a telescope

[skyglow1]

just wondering who here has a telesocpe and who deosn't. if you fo, pleas epost how big and what type or if you can give more specifications aout it.

I have a 4 inch (102cm) f/5 orion refractor with 500mm focal lenght and 2 eyepieces, a 2x barlow and a 6x30 finderscope

skyglow1

[Musashi]

No scope for me, not enough cash :(

[ChesleyFan]

8-inch Dobsonian

3.5-inch Mak-Cass

[Farmer Tim]

I own a late 80's version of the Celestron Powerstar 8" "cat" scope. I have done some (fairly successful) astrophotography with a "T" adaptor and by piggybacking a 35 mm camera on top of the scope. I am looking forward to the close approach of Mars.

[Glom]

A have one, sort of, it is of the Christmas Trash Scope variety. A 4½ inch Newtonian advertised as a 375X telescope.

I discuss it here (http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6514).

[ToSeek]

I have one of those cute little 4-1/4" Edmund Astroscans. Very portable.

[pmcolt]

I have the C4.5 (4.5-inch Newtonian) that my parents got me as a kid, and an 8-inch Newtonian which is still new enough that it continues to conjure rainclouds on a nearly nightly basis.

[The Supreme Canuck]

The only thing that I have that even approaches a telescope is one of those plastic dealies from a box of Captain Crunch. :( I really need a real scope.

[kilopi]

An old Meade ETX and I own a share in several others, but there are a lot of other owners, so I don't get much time with them. Like this one (http://chandra.harvard.edu/about/spacecraft.html). It's a big club.

[man on the moon]

there's no button for "my parents have one"!

if i remember correctly, it's about a 4 inch with a wooden tripod, nice little rack between the legs for holding extra eyepieces, lenscaps, etc. it says Orion (i think...it's been a few years :oops: ) on the tube...that would be the brand. it does a decent job for looking at the Moon and the naked eye planets. beyond that it's about as good as a pair of strong binocs though.

[Kaptain K]

I had to answer "no", since I am currently "between scopes". :( I have owned several in the past and will own more in the future. I am making do with a pair of 10x50 binoculars.

[Pi Man]

I have a pretty nice telescope. Although, I haven't taken it from its packageing since 2000. I think it's because I'm more of an astro-physics, cosmology, particle physics... type of guy.

[gethen]

I have an 8" Newtonian (Orion) on an equatorial mount. Have had it for a few months and am still learning to use it, but am overall delighted with it.

[Dickenmeyer]

Mine is a Meade 8'" Schmidt-Newtonian. I ordered it last October (it arrived in February) after my o-l-d no-tech 4 1/2 " Newtonian finally crapped out for good. I have 8 eyepieces, various filters, 2 barlows, a variety of photographic accessories ( I have to date shot up one roll of film which was a near total failure), and just this week I got my electronic eyepiece from Orion and in about four hours I'm going to try to shoot some video of the Moon with it.

[ocasey3]

I have a Bushnell Newtonian CTS. The images are pretty decent but the mount sucks. :evil: Never stays steady. Any suggestions on where I could get a new mount at a decent price or possibly how I might be able to shore up the one I've got?

[Charlie in Dayton]

Lessee here (pun intended)...

10x50 binoculars
Tasco 50mm(or so) 20-60 zoom spotting scope (from my target shooting daze)
Tasco 3" f/9 reflector
Orion 130mm f/7 reflector (new inna box - arrived last Friday, haven't unpacked/assembled it yet)

Friday, June 18, 2003, I passed my qualification test to run the big 20" aperture Dall-Kirkham style scope at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery here in town ( www.boonshoft.org ).
http://www.mvas.org/archive/ao/ao20.jpg
Next stop, qualifying for the 12" optical and 12" CCD camera positions at the club dark-sky site
http://www.mvas.org/archive/jbspo/jbpicnic.jpg

Check us out here (.pdf file) (http://www.mvas.org/archive/aa/!Introductory_issue.pdfhttp://www.mvas.org/archive/aa/!Introductory_issue.pdf).

[Kaptain K]

I have a Bushnell Newtonian CTS. The images are pretty decent but the mount sucks. :evil: Never stays steady. Any suggestions on where I could get a new mount at a decent price or possibly how I might be able to shore up the one I've got?
If your problem is a shaky or unsteady mount. Try hanging weight from the center of the tripod. Barbell weights or a bucket of sand. Some say that it helps.

[girlgeek]

Not enough $$$ for a scope, but am planning to purchase a good set of binoculars when my next paycheck comes in at the end of July. I'm not sure what brand or size, but I know there is a relevant thread on this board I can refer to. :wink:

Of course, any and all suggestions on this would be appreciated. :P

girlgeek

[pmcolt]

If your problem is a shaky or unsteady mount. Try hanging weight from the center of the tripod. Barbell weights or a bucket of sand. Some say that it helps.

I've heard of that (with a jug full of water suggested as a weight, as well). I don't know how well it works; I'd try it but I think rain's in the forecast as far as the local meteorologists can see.

[mike alexander]

Meade 10" GPS. My birthday present for the last 10 years (next 10, too).

What a lovely thing. The Autoalign and GOTO are godsends for people like me. I've been observing on and off for the last 30 years and I am constitutionally incapable of finding anything in the sky. I mean, I have trouble finding the Moon. I finally saw the Ring Nebula with this thing.

(For the cognitive neurologists out there, is there any relationship between acute acrophobia and the inability to find celestial objects in a scope?)

Seeing from my home is usually terrible, but one weekend I intend to pack the scope over the Cascades and find some good, dark sky on the high desert.

[ChesleyFan]

Not enough $$$ for a scope, but am planning to purchase a good set of binoculars when my next paycheck comes in at the end of July. I'm not sure what brand or size, but I know there is a relevant thread on this board I can refer to. :wink:

Of course, any and all suggestions on this would be appreciated. :P

girlgeek

Check out www.bigbinoculars.com or www.burgessoptical.com. Both good products at good prices.

[girlgeek]

:P :P Thanks ChesleyFan... going there now

You know you gotta love a job that let's you surf the web virtually unencumbered.... :P

girlgeek

[gethen]

If your problem is a shaky or unsteady mount. Try hanging weight from the center of the tripod. Barbell weights or a bucket of sand. Some say that it helps.

I've heard of that (with a jug full of water suggested as a weight, as well). I don't know how well it works; I'd try it but I think rain's in the forecast as far as the local meteorologists can see.

This is the sort of stuff I love about the BABB. What a great idea. I sometimes think my scope could use a beefier mount, and I just might try this one of those nights when things just seem too wobbly. Thanks!

[skyglow1]

I would like GPS and a moderate sized telescope but it'll have to wait. :(

skyglow1 :(

[Chuck]

I have 35mm (1.377952755905511811 inch) binoculars.

[A.DIM]

Only a few weeks ago I acquired a Criterion Dynascope RV-6; father in law had it stored away for 20 some years. It's a beaut!

[Hamlet]

I have a Meade ETX-90. It's a great little scope, but I'd really like to move up to a nice 8 or 10 inch model.

[mutant]

I have:

10 X50 binoculars
25 X100 binoculars -- with a forklift to help me attach them to a tripod
Meade ETX 90
Meade 8 inch SCT
ALso have misc equip. to allow me to take photos with a digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 4500)

I love looking at the night sky, but live in the state of Washington so I can be seen dragging this stuff around the state quite often looking for clear skies and good seeing. My photos of the moon and planets are getting a bit better but have not yet ventured into deep sky photography.

[snowcelt]

No. Sold it and bought drugs. 8-[

[jkmccrann]

Nope, just the binoculars for me, the only issue i have with buying a telescope is, is it likely to produce images that are more interesting and more amazing to look at than those beamed homeward by tremendous spacecraft like the Voyager probes? I have to say no, so i think i'd be bound to be disappointed with getting a telescope, there's only so many times one can look at the Moon.

[Rocketstu]

Skywatcher 130M
(SK1309EQ2)

[gethen]

I started to post my answer again and then realized this is one of those ressurected threads. I have to start checking the initial post date on everything I guess.

[Tensor]

Orion 10 x 50 binoculars

Tasco 60 mm refractor (Christmas present over 15 years ago.)

Meade 152 mm refractor (Alternates with the scope below as the main scope depending on the object I'm observering).

Orion 250 mm dob (see above.)

[Big Brother Dunk]

An old 8" Celestron SC.

[JohnW]

Stellarvue 115mm refractor. Arrived just in time for the rainy season.

[m13_higgs]

6'' meade newtonian reflector. My dad got it in the '80s, so it has a wooden tripod that's rather unwieldy, but it's a great scope.

I'm also in charge of my school's 8'' Orion dobsonion reflector, and I'm currently lobbying the powers that be to get a motorized tripod and astrophotography equipment for it.

[tmosher]

Celestron Celestar 8 with a smattering of Vixen eyepieces.

[tlbs101]

6" F/5 Newtonian, converted from a cheap short-tube (F/3) (same hardware -- new mirror & tube), with motorized equatorial mount.

8" F/8 Newtonian, home-built from purchased mirrors. Original mount broke -- working on building a Dob mount (hopefully before Mars gets away).

Nice set of Celestron 1.25" Plossl eyepieces.

[Zachary]

I have an f/5 6 inch refractor, though my repeated attempts to collimate it are like a bad joke and I live in London anyways, so basically the biggest white elephant I've ever bought.

Though it does make an excellent showpiece :D

[Arneb]

8" Newtonian on a very sturdy equatorial mount (no GoTo) with steel tripod.
For travel, 4" wide field refractor on an equatorial mount that just about carries it, plus wooden tripod. Will make it into a plane at no extra charge if companies are generous.
10x50 binoculars.
Galileo dustbin (don't do it (http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/hsn.html)!!), which was my initiation in to astronomy, currently parked at my parent's home.

[jt-3d]

Oh so it is a resurrected thread. Oh well, mine's a 10" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain. Very nice once I get it set up.

jkmccrann I hope you're done with this forum necrophelia. It's quite tiresome and can be confusing.