Grab and Go definition

[Mike Q]

On another forum you see great arguments on what exactly is a grab and go telescope. Should it be something you can just grab and walk out the door with carrying it in one hand, or is it something that you can easily load up in a car and go somewhere. To me, the term grab and go means something i can deploy quickly to grab a quick peak at something. For me its my 10 inch dob that lives on a cart. I can easily be observing in 5 minutes. I roll it outside and point it up. Doesn't get any easier then that.

So what does Grab and Go mean to everyone else on here. There are probably no wrong answers to this question

[KingClinton]

For me, grab and go means a scope that I can get outside and set up within 10 minutes and be ready to view.
It also needs to be a grab and go for travel, it needs to be easily transported and set up at a remote location within minutes.
So the scope I use to grab and go outside in the yard also needs to be compact and light enough to take to the outskirts of town or on longer trips and be quick and easy to set up.

Like you say, no right or wrong answers here.

[Ylem]

For me it's about doing it all in one trip.
Whether it's a smallish OTA and tripod or a Dob on a hand cart.

It's all about one trip out the door for me

[Bigzmey]

I am a bit conservative in grab and go definition. For me it is a compact and lightweight setup which is easy to carry in one go and fast to setup. Here is one of my grab and go rigs. It is not just small and lightweight, but also the case contains everything I need to observe: the scope, mount head, finder, diagonal, EPs, barlow, filters. I can grab the case and mount legs and I know that I am all set to fly, drive or step out and start observing.

I know some people use "grab and go" as "easy and fast to deploy". But I don't feel they are the same.

To give you an example, some folks in my astro club have remote access observatories. They push a key on their laptop at home and the roof on their observatory opens, another key and their mount comes out of hibernation and their 16" SCT is ready to take images. This is as easy and fast as it gets, but I don't believe anyone would call it grab and go.

However, I would not go into a battle over the term.

[KathyNS]

My sense of the meaning of "grab and go" is not so much that you can deploy it quickly in your back yard. It is more that you can grab it, throw it in the back of your car, drive to a site, then deploy it quickly at the remote site. Emphasis on the "go" part. At least that is how I use it and interpret it.

[helicon]

For me, a mount/tripod that can be carried easily with the OTA attached and set up in one trip. The rig literally is grabbed and hand carried to its place of use with minimal fuss, moreover the weight is easily handled.

[AstroBee]

For me, if I can fit all the gear in my SUV, it's grab & go...
But seriously, I have an AWB OneSky that I consider to be my Grab & Go scope.
Between my two big rigs, the CEM70EC and the Astro-Physics Mach 1, the CEM70 is much more portable and easier to travel with.

[John Baars]

Grab and Go used to mean for me that I could pick up telescope, mount and tripod with one hand and "swing" it outside into the backyard. I needed no more than a minute or so for it. Since I am a bit older by now I prefer to do the same in two stages. Tripod and mount is stage one, telescope is stage two. It is the same setup though. I need a bit more than two minutes nowadays. The same telescope goes along to star-parties, outreaches and so on. So it must be quite transportable as well.
The weight of it all has become more and more important over the years. My 102mm F5 telescope weighs about 8.8 lbs and the mount/tripod about 13.5 lbs.

[Mike Q]

I am a bit conservative in grab and go definition. For me it is a compact and lightweight setup which is easy to carry in one go and fast to setup. Here is one of my grab and go rigs. It is not just small and lightweight, but also the case contains everything I need to observe: the scope, mount head, finder, diagonal, EPs, barlow, filters. I can grab the case and mount legs and I know that I am all set to fly, drive or step out and start observing.

Onyx 80ED on UA MicroStar.jpg

Onyx 80ED travel kit A.jpg

I know some people use "grab and go" as "easy and fast to deploy". But I don't feel they are the same.

To give you an example, some folks in my astro club have remote access observatories. They push a key on their laptop at home and the roof on their observatory opens, another key and their mount comes out of hibernation and their 16" SCT is ready to take images. This is as easy and fast as it gets, but I don't believe anyone would call it grab and go.

However, I would not go into a battle over the term.

So just out of curiosity. How long does it take you to set that up? Say from the time you stand up to go get it, to looking through the eyepiece?

[messier 111]

For me, it's quite simple.
my 80 lunt mt,
on an easy-to-carry tripod.
I can use it either to look at the sun or use it to look at the night sky.
everything should be setup in less than about 5 minutes.
Obviously everyone has their version of grab and go.
If for them their setup is easy to transport and assemble, it's a grab and go.

[Bigzmey]

I am a bit conservative in grab and go definition. For me it is a compact and lightweight setup which is easy to carry in one go and fast to setup. Here is one of my grab and go rigs. It is not just small and lightweight, but also the case contains everything I need to observe: the scope, mount head, finder, diagonal, EPs, barlow, filters. I can grab the case and mount legs and I know that I am all set to fly, drive or step out and start observing.

Onyx 80ED on UA MicroStar.jpg

Onyx 80ED travel kit A.jpg

I know some people use "grab and go" as "easy and fast to deploy". But I don't feel they are the same.

To give you an example, some folks in my astro club have remote access observatories. They push a key on their laptop at home and the roof on their observatory opens, another key and their mount comes out of hibernation and their 16" SCT is ready to take images. This is as easy and fast as it gets, but I don't believe anyone would call it grab and go.

However, I would not go into a battle over the term.

So just out of curiosity. How long does it take you to set that up? Say from the time you stand up to go get it, to looking through the eyepiece?

If it in the case, then under 5 min. On occasion I keep it all ussembled on the mount, then I can carry it in one hand and start observing the moment the legs touch the ground. Lately I have been using it with Mark IV zoom and don't need to bring the case.

[Mike Q]

I am a bit conservative in grab and go definition. For me it is a compact and lightweight setup which is easy to carry in one go and fast to setup. Here is one of my grab and go rigs. It is not just small and lightweight, but also the case contains everything I need to observe: the scope, mount head, finder, diagonal, EPs, barlow, filters. I can grab the case and mount legs and I know that I am all set to fly, drive or step out and start observing.

Onyx 80ED on UA MicroStar.jpg

Onyx 80ED travel kit A.jpg

I know some people use "grab and go" as "easy and fast to deploy". But I don't feel they are the same.

To give you an example, some folks in my astro club have remote access observatories. They push a key on their laptop at home and the roof on their observatory opens, another key and their mount comes out of hibernation and their 16" SCT is ready to take images. This is as easy and fast as it gets, but I don't believe anyone would call it grab and go.

However, I would not go into a battle over the term.

So just out of curiosity. How long does it take you to set that up? Say from the time you stand up to go get it, to looking through the eyepiece?

If it in the case, then under 5 min. On occasion I keep it all ussembled on the mount, then I can carry it in one hand and start observing the moment the legs touch the ground. Lately I have been using it with Mark IV zoom and don't need to bring the case.

I roll my 10 inch out of the garage and grab an eyepiece case in about the same amount of time. It's whatever works right.

[Lady Fraktor]

My idea is a small telescope/ mount that can de moved quickly to take advantage of less than good skies or just a quick look around.
My current setup is a Stellarvue 80 mm with a Stellarvue M2C mount/ Vixen 130 tripod.

[Bigzmey]

So just out of curiosity. How long does it take you to set that up? Say from the time you stand up to go get it, to looking through the eyepiece?

If it in the case, then under 5 min. On occasion I keep it all ussembled on the mount, then I can carry it in one hand and start observing the moment the legs touch the ground. Lately I have been using it with Mark IV zoom and don't need to bring the case.

I roll my 10 inch out of the garage and grab an eyepiece case in about the same amount of time. It's whatever works right.

You have a nice arrangement there Mike. Our house is on the hill, so anywhere I go there is at least one flight of stairs. When I deploy my big guns I need to brake the rig in a few pieces to easily carry and also pass a narrow door.

[Mike Q]

If it in the case, then under 5 min. On occasion I keep it all ussembled on the mount, then I can carry it in one hand and start observing the moment the legs touch the ground. Lately I have been using it with Mark IV zoom and don't need to bring the case.

I roll my 10 inch out of the garage and grab an eyepiece case in about the same amount of time. It's whatever works right.

You have a nice arrangement there Mike. Our house is on the hill, so anywhere I go there is at least one flight of stairs. When I deploy my big guns I need to brake the rig in a few pieces to easily carry and also pass a narrow door.

Being handy enough to make a cart has made grabbing and going much easier

[OzEclipse]

My idea of grab and go is something that I can pick up and carry pretty easily. Minimum setup time.

A lightweight 80mm refractor: SW ED80 3.5kg
Solid professional photographic tripod : Manfrotto 475B & #160 triaxial head. 7kg

I can carry that arrangement with legs extended, out into the yard or onto my front deck, or put it into the car with tube detached from the tripod. My front deck has a good view to the NE, E, and SE horizons.

For example, I used this setup to observe the eclipse of Europa by Io in 2020 using a Pentax XW5
viewtopic.php?f=6&p=150597#p150597

For general deep sky scanning, I use a 30mm 80 deg eyepiece.
Moonfish UW 30mm 500g or Nagler 31mm 900g both yield a nice sharp 4 degree true field.

For planetary, I typically use the Pentax XW5 (120x).

Joe

[jrkirkham]

I will agree that "Grab and Go" may mean something different to different people. I also have a 10" dob on a garden cart in my shed. I press the garage door opener button and wheel it out. That is about as grab and go as they come. My car is an SUV with back seats that fold down. I noticed I can load my cart, scope, and base quickly into the back and take it when I travel. It is easier to set up than my smaller scopes on mounts. If I go someplace that is too difficult to take the dob, my backup grab and go is a simple pair of binoculars.

[pakarinen]

Since I don't travel to dark sites very often, GnG for me is a one-hand carry out the back door with the ability to start observing within a couple of minutes.

This morning it was my 50/250 on an AZ Pronto with an EP already in the scope. Good thing too because a cloud bank rolled in within 30 minutes after I went out.