Time to move up a scope.

Hi,
I am moving up from my 114gt. Here are my choices. Any suggestions on what to go for?
Hardin 12" DSH Dobsonian.
Orion XT12 Intelliscope.
Celestron c10-ngt.
I have already spoken to Dale from DBA about the Hardin. It costs $849 and he will ship it to Dublin for $242. What and how much tax am I liable to pay at the airport?
Anyone have any experience with these scopes.
The Celestron should be good for Astrophotography as its a Newtonian computerscope, right??
Thanks.

Stephen,

As far as import duty is concerned you will have to pay the current VAT rate (20% i think) on both the cost of the scope and also on the shipping charges. Basically you pay import duty on the goods and on the cost of getting it into the EU.

As far as astrophotography is concerned you have a couple of things to think about. All of those scopes you mention ar alt/az scopes (even the computerised ones). That means that they move up/down left right rather than having one axis aligned with the earths rotational axis. The upshot of this is known as 'field rotation' this means that after long exposure astrophotography the area you are photopraphing will appear to rotate slightly around in an arc. The phonomenon becomes more noticeable the longer you shoot for and also the part of the sky you photograph. There are a couple of ways around this. First if you choose something like the celestron ngt you can get a wedge to turn this into an 'equatorial' mount. Effectively tilting the scope until its main rotational axis is aligned with the earths rotational axis. With the dobsonian you can get an 'equatorial platform' (expensive) which also tilts the scope in a similar way. Thirdly you can buy (or if your good with electronics, make) a 'field derotator' this is a device which rotates the camera (or entire focusser) in the opposite direction to the field rotation. This option is of course the most complicated option.

My best advice is to consider your priorites. If photography is your main goal then a scope on a 'german equatorial mount' is essential with dual axis drives is essential. If visual astronomy is what you primarily want to do then get the biggest dobsonian you can afford. If you go down this route also consider if your happy to move around a big scope.

Good luck with your choice.

Clear skies,

Dave.

Hi,
I am moving up from my 114gt. Here are my choices. Any suggestions on what to go for?
Hardin 12" DSH Dobsonian.
Orion XT12 Intelliscope.
Celestron c10-ngt.
I have already spoken to Dale from DBA about the Hardin. It costs $849 and he will ship it to Dublin for $242. What and how much tax am I liable to pay at the airport?
Anyone have any experience with these scopes.
The Celestron should be good for Astrophotography as its a Newtonian computerscope, right??
Thanks.

stephen.
from expirence you pay vat + customs + airport handling charges + vat on top of all of this. it works out at least 25% of your total cost.
stephen.

The c10ngt, and the Meade lxd75 10" on German equatorial mounts already.

Hi Stephen,
As a regular importer here are the costs one can expect when importing from outside the UK:
Duty: 6.7%
VAT: 21%
Customs handling fee: €65.00
Airline Handling fee: €40.00
VAT & Duty Fee: €25.00
Airline Attendance fee: €25.00
I checked with my shipping and import agent if these fees still stand if importing for personal use, and they do.
Hope this is helpful to all.
Bill H

Sorry, that should read, from outside the EU into Ireland, not the UK.
Bill H.