Can't Decide 8SE or CPC 800 GPS SCT

[Flyhigh7]

Also,I am limited by the small amount of space in my little corvette which is the only car I have.

Back when I had the 6" a friend of mine looked thru it and got into astronomy and went out and bought an 8" SC and he showed me greater detail with the planets and galaxies. I don't remember how much better it was but I remember thinking 'I should have went with the 8". LOL.

[gregl]

Something that hasn't yet been mentioned is if there is a club near you, spend some time at some of their observing sessions, looking through the various scopes there. It's a free way to try before you buy. Talking to the various owners will also give you lots of insight as to why they bought what they did and the pros and cons of the various rigs. And you might find someone with a scope to sell. That's how I got my 8SE. The local astronomy professor is a scope addict and has some 18 or so of them in all their various iterations, and sold me his 8SE at a very good price.

[Flyhigh7]

That is excellent Telescope Buying advice 101 gregl. Thanks and hard as it is to believe I haven't found a open club in my area of Texas. There is one I found but it is a closed club by invitation only.

[OzEclipse]

That is excellent Telescope Buying advice 101 gregl. Thanks and hard as it is to believe I haven't found a open club in my area of Texas. There is one I found but it is a closed club by invitation only.

I've never heard of that before. I do hold private gatherings of personal friends at my dark sky property by invitation only but I've never heard of an astronomy club that closes its doors to new members.....WOW

Joe

[gregl]

Also,I am limited by the small amount of space in my little corvette which is the only car I have.

Whoa, whoa. If you are going to pack this into a Corvette, then you most certainly want to stick with either the 8SE or the 8-inch Evolution. Keep in mind that if you are driving to an observing site, the scope, mount and tripod are NOT the only things you will need. You'll add an eyepiece case, a battery (I take an 18AH utility battery), probably a folding table for the eyepiece case and the other detritus you'll have, some snacks or more, perhaps a coat, possibly a folding chair of some sort.

Here's a pic of what I typically take. Clockwise from top: the OTA in it's bag, a book bag with some books that I give to kids at public outreach events, folding table and jacket, binoculars in their case, tripod, below that the eyepiece case, another box with some tools, spare power cords and various adapters, a glasses case containing my infinity glasses, water jug and granola bar (and much more food than that for long evenings), a box with a few teaching aids to show kids the relative size of the earth and sun and a few other things, stepstool for kids (which would be swapped out for a chair if not a public outreach event), an 18AH battery for mount power (and for dew heaters when needed), and the mount in an old gym bag. And for the Corvette, since it will be full of astro gear, you'll need some bungee cords to hold your significant other onto the hood of the car.

[gregl]

That is excellent Telescope Buying advice 101 gregl. Thanks and hard as it is to believe I haven't found a open club in my area of Texas. There is one I found but it is a closed club by invitation only.

This might be because they do not do public events. Insurance could be an issue; I know our club does have to have coverage, which is not cheap. I'd think if you contact them and they knew your interest and your past scope ownership they'd be open to a visit.

[Flyhigh7]

gregl says ' some bungee cords to hold your significant other onto the hood of the car. " Too funny gregl! I'm divorced from the significant other which is why I'm free to get another telescope and also why I have the money to buy one cuz she could max out a credit card in a day.

Great info on the additional trip accessories.

I am still leaning toward the Evolution 8 while still collecting more research.

As far as the closed Club it was a year ago and I think it could have just been a small private club or it may even have been part of a college club for students only.

So I'd like to understand why I would purchase 1.25 eyepieces if I'm going to get the 2" diagonal and buy only 2" eyepieces. It seems if the 2" gives a wider view and lets in more light and detail why would I spend money on 1.25 stuff instead of putting it all towards 2" stuff. You guys are smart so I'm sure I'm missing something stupid and I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.

[Bigzmey]

Joining local club is a great advice in general. It helped greatly since I have gained access to a safe dark site for observing. I do enjoy meeting fellow astronomers and made a few friends over the years. Ironically though it did not help much with equipment selection. Former AF and TSS forums or even CN are/were more instrumental in making my decisions. The reason for that is that I never seem to come across equipment I am interested in at our club site.

In several years I never saw members using mounts which I use, or EPs, or diagonals, or nebula filters. I can keep going.

Also, our club is heavily dominated by AP people. There are plenty of SCTs, but I could not even look through them since most are configured for AP. People don't even bring EPs or diagonals.

[Bigzmey]

So I'd like to understand why I would purchase 1.25 eyepieces if I'm going to get the 2" diagonal and buy only 2" eyepieces. It seems if the 2" gives a wider view and lets in more light and detail why would I spend money on 1.25 stuff instead of putting it all towards 2" stuff. You guys are smart so I'm sure I'm missing something stupid and I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.

If you look at any popular EP line you will discover that it would typically be populated by 2" EPs at the lower range and 1.25" EPs at higher range. Let's take 82 degree EP set for example. In 3mm to 15mm range there is no need for 2", since 82 degree field of view can be achieved in 1.25" format. It is only starting around 19-20mm one would need 2" to deliver 82 degree field.

Some lines with narrower field of view don't even contain 2" EPs since they can achieve desired performance in 1.25".

[Flyhigh7]

If you look at any popular EP line you will discover that it would typically be populated by 2" EPs at the lower range and 1.25" EPs at higher range. Let's take 82 degree EP set for example. In 3mm to 15mm range there is no need for 2", since 82 degree field of view can be achieved in 1.25" format. It is only starting around 19-20mm one would need 2" to deliver 82 degree field.

Some lines with narrower field of view don't even contain 2" EPs since they can achieve desired performance in 1.25".

Thank you and....
So in the case of 3mm to 15mm range where the 2" is not needed, would I lose any detail if I used 2" eyepieces in those ranges or are those EP ranges not available in 2". Sorry but I don't yet understand what the 82 degree field is. And 'populated by' Lower or Higher range is this the value of the EPs in mm or Magnification or am I totally clueless.

[Bigzmey]

So, going back to the mount selection. It is hard to tell from the Celestron site since they don't provide mount capacity, but it seems that Evolution mount is beefy enough to carry 8" SCT. However, if you eventually decide to diversify and get your self a scope of different design, Evolution does not have enough clearance to carry refractor, newt or even Mak.

So, I am putting for your consideration iOptron AZMP. It has what you are looking for (payload capacity, built-in battery), built in WiFi to control the scope from your phone in addition to traditional handset. But it is an universal platform which can carry scopes of different design. You can eve run two scope side by side like I do.

https://agenaastro.com/ioptron-az-mount ... -8903.html

if you buy 8" SCT OTA
https://agenaastro.com/celestron-c8-a-x ... 4-xlt.html

It will be in the same price range as Evolution 8" combo you are considering.

I don't have a pic of AZMP with 8" SCT, but I will take it next time. Here is my AZMP deployed with 7" Mak (which is actually heavier than 8" SCT) and 4" refractor

[Bigzmey]

If you look at any popular EP line you will discover that it would typically be populated by 2" EPs at the lower range and 1.25" EPs at higher range. Let's take 82 degree EP set for example. In 3mm to 15mm range there is no need for 2", since 82 degree field of view can be achieved in 1.25" format. It is only starting around 19-20mm one would need 2" to deliver 82 degree field.

Some lines with narrower field of view don't even contain 2" EPs since they can achieve desired performance in 1.25".

Thank you and....
So in the case of 3mm to 15mm range where the 2" is not needed, would I lose any detail if I used 2" eyepieces in those ranges or are those EP ranges not available in 2". Sorry but I don't yet understand what the 82 degree field is. And 'populated by' Lower or Higher range is this the value of the EPs in mm or Magnification or am I totally clueless.

EPs can have field of view from 40 to 100 degrees. At the same focal length/power EP with larger FOV will show you larger area of sky. This is helpful when you are observing large objects or scouting the area for targets. This is the only reason to have 2" EPs to have wider field compared to 1.25". Otherwise image quality would be the same.

For any given FOV there will be a portion of the EP lineup populated only by 1.25" EPs. Like in my example there are no 2" 82 deg EPs in 3mm to 15mm range since 82 deg FOV can be achieved in 1.25" format. I should have said lower power range (19mm to 30mm) for 82 deg FOV is populated by 2" EPs and higher power range (3mm-15mm) is populated by 1.25" EPs. Sorry for confusion.

[Flyhigh7]

Nice Setup Bigzmey. Interesting recommendation. I like the mount. I like that it has a battery and a internal GPS and quiet motors. Does your mount use the Go2Nova software also? How might the Go2Nova compare to Celestron's software? Wow, it even includes an aluminum case. Excellent find Bigzmey. Funny you just recommended this as before I saw this I was saying to myself why don't I just beg the Forum to tell me what to buy. LOL

By the way, how do you compare the performance of the 7" Mak to the 8 SCT?

EPs can have field of view from 40 to 100 degrees. At the same focal length/power EP with larger FOV will show you larger area of sky. This is helpful when you are observing large objects or scouting the area for targets. This is the only reason to have 2" EPs to have wider field compared to 1.25". Otherwise image quality would be the same.

I've read several reviews about 2" EPs bringing in more light and more detail along with the wider view. This is why I'm so stuck on 2" EP system. But I hear what you are saying and I could still keep the 2" attached permanently as the Baader 2" Diagonal also includes an adapter to 1.25 I could just screw in.

OK, you definitely sold me on the mount even though the link says it's back ordered. So 8 SCT or 8 EV or 8 Edge EV tube? All comments welcome. You guys are great! Thanks!

[Flyhigh7]

Interesting: Celetron's 9.25 Edge HD comes with a 2" Diagonal but it is 6 lbs heavier than the 8 EV HD weighing in at 20lbs so the ioptrom mount can handle it. It's $3K though.

[gregl]

Flyhigh:
As I wrote above, the eyepiece focal length and field of view determine the barrel diameter. You do not pick eyepieces based on barrel diameter. Here's a good article and discussion on eyepieces: viewtopic.php?t=19850

[Flyhigh7]

Thanks gregl. I woke up thinking about your picture of all the STUFF you load into your car for a Stargazing trip. That picture is a good idea as it can serve as a checklist to make sure you got it all before you leave.

[Flyhigh7]

I found the specs on the Evolution Mount:
Head weight = 16 lbs
Tripod Weight = 12 lbs
Total Weight = 28 lbs
Tripod Leg Diameter = 1.5 Inch
Weight Carrying Capacity = 25 lbs

Comparing this to the iOptron AZ Mount Pro
Mount Head Weight 13 lbs
Tripod Weight = 18 lbs
Total Weight = 31 lbs
Counterweight 10 lbs - I wonder if the counter weight is included in the Mount weight?
Tripod Leg Diameter = 2"
Payload Capacity =33 lbs
Secondary Payload Capacity = 10 lbs - Not sure what this is

EV Mount includes a Battery and WiFi and is Gear driven

iOtron Mount includes a Battery and internal 32 channel GPS and WiFi and is Belt driven

[Bigzmey]

For iOptron counterweight is not included in the weight of the mount.

Secondary payload means that you can substitute the counter weight with second scope up to 10 lb in weight.

2" legs tripod offers better stability than 1.5".

Also, in my experience scope-on-the-side design (like iOptron) produces less vibrations than one arm design (like Evolution). However, I don't have personal experience with Evolution mount.

As for iOptron been out of stock, unfortunately the whole astro industry still experiencing post COVID supply issues. When I got mine three years ago I got tired of waiting and purchased used. Mike Q however has managed to buy one new recently, so they do come back in stock.

[Bigzmey]

AZMP is in stock at BH Video. I believe this is where @Mike Q purchased his.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... apEALw_wcB

Just saying...

[Bigzmey]

They got 8" OTA to.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... minum.html