Equipment History

My first telescope. A Jason 313 454x. Referred to by amateur astronomers as a Christmas Scope or Christmas Trash Scope* this was my first and only from Christmas in 1979 (I think) and 2002.

I saw the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars, the Orion Nebula, Halley's comet, Hale-Bopp and at least one shuttle launch through this thing. I really didn't know how to find anything else. I needed to get a few books and join a stargazing club.

*they are advertised as having magnification powers well beyond their resolution ability (a rule of thumb for a scope is that it can't effectively resolve beyond two times it's diameter in millimiters. for example this 60mm scope would be limited to resolving to 120x. Because they include a 2mm eyepiece on a 900mm focal lenght, that resolves to 450x. Useless at that power). They tend to be overpriced, and have really cheap components, especially the eyepieces (which are 0.96 inches in diameter rather than the industry standard minimum of 1.25 inches). Don't buy a telescope with 0.96 inch focusers.

Ironically, this was one of the better Christmas scopes. I just saw somebody seeking a mint one and willing to pay over $300 for it. Unfortunately I gave it to Goodwill during a Garage Purge last year.

In maybe early 2002 I bought a little Meade 60mm GoTo and was amazed at what a computer could show you, but the scope was too small to really see anything. I took it back and at some point somewhere I bought a slightly larger Meade ETX-70. I used it maybe twice, but again too small to wow you. I still have it in the garage, waiting for Dash to be old enough to abuse it only moderately (at 4, his abuse would be a little too much). He'd also need to learn to read first (menu-driven).

The scope that re-ignited the "Explore the Universe" bug that had laid dormant for so long: a Celestron Nexstar 8i. Big glass, 8-inch), computerized, high power, portable.

I bought this on impulse walking through Fry's Electronic. It was on sale.

I saw more in one night with this puppy than in the previous 35 years.

It got me hooked and now I'm lost.

These are great First (Serious) Scopes.

I sold this to buy the 11" scope below.

Note how bright the backyard is. Very difficult to see the "faint fuzzies". Only the planets and very bright deep sky objects are visible. Need to head east to Tierra Del Sol (75 minutes away) to see the deep stuff...

I'd buy this one again if I were to find one used for around $700 (buy the SE version).

This a great first serious scope: big glass, easy setup, accessories apply to bigger scopes...

Cool Four Years ago (June 2005)

This was my second big scope, which I bought shortly before Dash's birth. A C11-SGT. You get what they call "Aperture Fever" where you want a bigger mirror. Sold the N8i for this 11-inch "upgrade."

An equatorial mount is good for astrophotography but takes a long time to set up. I never used this much: having little free time and a long set up time is a bad combination.

I bought a Nexstar 6 SE tube and was so impressed with it, it inspired me to immediately resell it and sell the C11 and its cumbersome equatorial mount to buy the used Nexstar 11 GPS that I see keeping for a very long time.

Nexstar 11 GPS

Another one bites the dust. 2004 - Nov. 2011.

This was my third big scope. 11" Go To with really fast set up (compared to Equatorial Mounts).

My highest quality, most versatile scope. On paper, my favorite.

It was certainly easier to use than an Equatorial Mount.

Problem was I essentially stopped observing at home and always chose a dob to travel with. I stopped using it.

Famous last words:

I have a hard time thinking about a scenario where I'd sell this. It's about as portable as a big scope can get. Any bigger driven scope wouldn't be very portable.
If I ever got a big (non-driven) reflector, I'd hang onto this one as a photography platform...

I sold it to finance a bigger Solar Telescope.

My First Newt: my SCT killer

4/4/10: The new addition: an Orion XT12i. The Nexstar 11 above sets up faster than an equatorial mount, but it takes a long time to cool down and a really long time to pack up and transport. Once you throw a piggyback scope, a dew shield, dew heaters, dew heater controllers, a 12v battery pack, extension cords, counterweights for the piggyback, wheels on the tripod to move what was once luggable... It adds up.

The 12" dobsonian gets to the car in two trips (plus a third trip for the chair). Breakdown/setup consists of de-mating/mating the tube. The computer, when needed, runs on a 9-volt battery which fits inside the handset. It cools down very fast.

The scope you use the most is your best scope. Big glass for the money, really good value, and it weans you from the computer).

Very happy with it.

Note: it's gone, replaced with its GOTO sister, the XT12g.

We were heading to Tucson to see Leigh's parents. She says to me "Aren't you bringing a scope?" I said "No, I'll pick one up when we get there." She laughed, thinking I was kidding. :)

Jon deserves credit for moving me to Newtonians.