Get Me Started (again...)

Hello All

As a kid, I was always looking up. Folks bought me a "cheap" scope from
Sears and I used it for many years. Had a great time with it, but once I
went in the U.S.A.F., lost interest. I'm 43 now and my 5.5 year old
daughter is showing an interest - I'm thinking it's time to get started
again. I've researched and researched...and now it's time to ask the folks
who know (and who don't stand to make any money off me when I ask them!!).
A few questions if I may....

A few notes first....
A) I have around $1300-$1500.00 to spend..1500 is on the high side, but I'll
swing it if I need to. This, of course, is the limiting factor.
B) I have a decent general knowledge of the night sky, but while I try to
decide what to buy, I have a pair of 7x50 binocs I'm playing around with
(darn hard to track with those things....). So, while I intend to get
better aquainted, I want GOTO. Kid is very impatient and I don't want her
to loose interest (yea, sounds like a good excuse, huh??).
C) Not too worried about the weight - it'll probably never leave my back
yard.
D) That said, be aware I'm in a fairly dark area - nearest city of any size
is about 35 miles, and only 1 night light within a 1/2 mile of me. Light
isn't a major issue, but there is a small amount of glow from Charlotte,NC,
38 miles s.sw

With those said, here I go:
1) I want decent light-gathering -6-8". Nothing smaller; did that years
ago.
2) I'm looking at a Meade 6 or 8" Schmidt-Newtonian, or possibly a Celestron
6" Schmidt-Cassegrain (it's roughly the same price as the 6" meade...).
Here I need help. I like the idea of 8" for light. But I'm told that
there is a bit of distortion or coronal affect at the edge of the fov in a
S.N scope that's not in the S.C., and to go to an 8" SC breaks my budget.
Is this VERY apparent and is it really an issue? I like the SC, but I've
found on some sights that the SC does not gather the light that a same-size
SN does. I don't want to loose any significant amount; again, is it
noticeable and appreciable?
3) I don't see any mention of what eyepieces either scope comes with..do
they come with any at all, or do I buy the extra "kit"? I'm looking at the
Meade "deluxe observers kit". It has a 9.7, 15 and 26mm eyepiece - should
cover what I need. It also has a 2xbarlow, Moon Filter (though it's not
the variable type I'd LIKE to get) and a Color Filter Kit. Any major
accessories I'm missing here (as a starter)?
4) Although I'm not into photography yet, I might experiment, and the Meade
comes with the LPI - what's everyones experience with this? Good for
planets and moon; what about beyond that?
5) Oh, and as far as the XLT/UHTC coatings, do they REALLY work as well as
the Astronomy magazines and manufacturers say? If so, would a 6" with
UHTC/XLT give me as much light as an 8" without??
6) Can anyone point me to a website that compares Solar filters and images
using them? I might experiment here as well....
7) What else am I missing here? Anything that should be obvious?

Wew....

As you can see, I've got a lot of questions and a little cash burning a hole
in my pocket. I've held off for a few months now, and can wait a hair
more, but I'm a bit on the edge now and ready to go. I THINK I like the
Meade a bit better than the Celestron, but I've just read an article from a
guy who made the switch from Meade to Celestron and said he'd never go
back, so now I've backed off a bit. It's just that Meade seems to give
just a hair more for the buck.

Oh, and that said, what's the experience with Tech support on these two
manufacturers?

Sorry so long, but I want to do this right and would appreciate any help all
you "amateur-experts" out there can give this "total-amateur"!

Thanks in Advance
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Get Me Started (again...)
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  • Re: Get Me Started (again...)
    ... The Dob I had was a 6" size and I later added digital setting ... Folks bought me a "cheap" scope from ... > the variable type I'd LIKE to get) and a Color Filter Kit. ... > Meade a bit better than the Celestron, but I've just read an article from ...
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