Re: Refractor vs. Reflector?

From: Jon Isaacs (jonisaacs_at_aol.com)
Date: 09/07/04 

Date: 07 Sep 2004 17:25:38 GMT

To respond in reverse order, important things first...

>Then
>again, I thought that my arguments in favor of the 6" Dob were rather
>convincing, too (grumble, grumble :-) ).

The big picture is that you are right, a 6 (or better yet) an 8 inch DOB is
going to be a better scope for astronomy. And since DBA is still selling that
8 incher for $299 plus $35 shipping, its pretty hard to pass up...

As far as using the EQ-1 in the Alt_Az mode with the ST-80, it works like a
charm. There are a few surprises too...

1. It works great with only one tube ring, plenty stable up to 150X. This
allows for from to back balance.

2. Photo tripods are fine for spotting scopes stuff but once the target is at
an appreciable altitude, the scope tries wants to flip over. Either the "side
saddle" mount or the EQ=>ALT-AZ solve this problem as do the Unistar and
Telepod. My experience with Orion Slow Motion adapter is that it is quite
shaky..

jon

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