Where and how to buy...

I saw a post a few days ago from a guy who was 'called up' by AP - he first went on the list at the start of 1999! I went on the list at the start of 2003 so I guess I still have four years to wait at least!

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Hi Dave,
4 years !! :shock: You'd need to have the patience of a saint. !!
It would want to be a brilliant scope to be waiting that long and what are you going to do until then ?? I cant imagine there would be a whole lot of differance between a Tak and Televue, I've never tested both side by side, but they both have excellent reputations.

I had a similar experiance to Albert when I bought my scope 5 years ago interms of cost benifet and shipping costs when comparing prices in the US and London, but the currency conversion rate then was not as it is now which at the moment is very much in our favour for the (US $).


Just a word of advice, if possible try and get a look at the planets through an equivilant scope, just so that there are no surprises or unrealistic expections.
Let us know how you get on.

OK Folks - I've had a ton of really good feedback and I really appreciate it. You've all given me some more food for thought and I've now booked my ticket to the US.

What I'm going to do for now is go over for a holiday with the other half and at some point hit one of the astroshops. I'm going to take a look at the kit and get the lowdown on sales, shipping, warranties etc.

Then I'm going to buy a camera for my Celestron C8. The refractor (or otherwise) will wait until next year whilst I research the best deal I can taking all factors into account and the feedback I've been given.

So, a new conundrum - a very small one all the same... I'll eventually get an FL or SBIG or whatever but for now, a Meade LPI or Deep Sky Imager will fit nicely in the hand luggage. Can anyone give me advice on which one to buy? Cost is not a factor but I want best bang for buck. I've done no research other than visit the Meade site - one question I'd have is using the guiding software - will it work with my C8? No harm if it doesn't I guess....?

Thanks

Dave

ps - we are staying at Star Hill Inn (private observatory with plenty of scopes), New Mexico for three nights. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Meade LPI and deep sky imagers are both pretty good.
You'll be able to do imaging through either but I dont think you'll be able to do auto guiding with them as they're built for the Meade scopes.
If you have an CCD autoguider or PC interface on your scope, see if its compatibale with either of the above
Apparently, the philips Toucam pro 1 or 2 webcam is better then the LPI, so I hear.

The LPI and the DSI are two very different beasts.
The LPI is primarily aimed at lunar and planetary imaging which requires hundreds of millisecond exposures stacked together to get one very good image. The LPI has a max exposure of 30 secs. However, at this exposure, the image quality wouldn't be the best from what I understand.
If you want a camera to takes shots of the moon and planets, there are none that I know of that are better than the Philips Toucam Pro or the Philips Toucam Pro II. If you do get it, it HAS to be the PRO version as the other versions have a much cheaper chip in them and are of little use.

Having said all this, I recently got the LPI. However, I already have the Toucam Pro for my planetary work and will continue to use it. I got the LPI as it can work as an autoguider and a PEC trainer for my Meade LX90.

The DSI on the other hand is more a deep sky camera - long exposures. For the price, the DSI looks very interesting, judging by the sample images on Meade's ads. However, a word of caution - can those images be taken by the average punter or by experts with large scopes at 10,000 ft??? Something to consider.

On the subject of tracking; long exposure (DSI) - guiding of some sort. On the other hand, a Philips Toucam Pro or the LPI won't need an autoguider. Once the scope has tracking it'll be fine.

Let us know what you think of Star Hill Inn - I'd be interested to hear about it.

BTW, I hope you enjoy your trip. If you're feeling generous you can bring us all back a 6" Tak!

Michael - I forgot to add in my last post that I had sent in an order for 6" Taks for all those on this board.

Now, will it be an NJP or Temma II mount with the APO's.... Let me know and I'll be into OPT immediately

Dave

Dave,

I'm a little disappointed in you! :evil:
I thought I would have been offered the EM-500, at the very least!
www.buytelescopes.com/product.asp?t=13&pid=1744&m=
However, I would be willing to compromise for one of those "inferior" mounts you mentioned!!

Clear skies,