Start small??

[weehan]

I just got my first serious scope last month (8" Dob) and was 'warned' in advance by Yang Beng of its size. It's a tad big but I reckon that I can afford to call a cab and fetch me to and fro to the darker sites. Portability is definitely an important factor but it's really the enthusiasm and patience of the observer that will determine whether the scope gets used(ona regular basis)....

There are many who have advised that starting small and portable would be the way to go for a starter...but the other end will be that large apertures will keep the beginner going as they will be addicted really soon!

[VinSnr]

I just got my first serious scope last month (8" Dob) and was 'warned' in advance by Yang Beng of its size. It's a tad big but I reckon that I can afford to call a cab and fetch me to and fro to the darker sites. Portability is definitely an important factor but it's really the enthusiasm and patience of the observer that will determine whether the scope gets used(ona regular basis)....

Ok..i want to see if you would still say the same after a year. if it is just a month, i can understand the enthusiasm. But I will really applaud you if you are willing to bring out that scope, calling for cab and all each time when there is a clear sky for one whole year!

We will see. Sorry for the pessimism but I have seen too many cases where the enthusiasm couldn't outlast the portability factor.

I hope you are an exception though

[acc]

Like many said, it all boils down to the individual on what is the largest portable scope. Of course, it will be foolhardly for a beginner to start off with a monstrous 16" dob. On the other hand, an 80mm scope or a 5" SCT like the Nexstar 5 is not necessarily more portable than an 8" dob once you factor in a good tripod and mount. At least when you bring out an 8", you can be assured of gorgeous views, quite superior to what any 80mm scope can show. Given the rare nights when sky conditions are good in Singapore, just bring out the biggest gun you can ya?

BTW, an 8" dob is an amazingly robust, cost-effective, portable and simple-to-use instrument. I have owned and used at one time or another a Nexstar 5, 2 x ETXes, 2x SCTs, 4 x refractors on various mounts, 2x portaballs but none of these beat my humble 10" Orion dob for ease-of-use and setup. No messing with counter-weights, tripods, electronics, batteries, alignment, finicky GOTOs, dew-heaters etc etc. A "small" 8" dob would serve both a beginning or experienced observer well.

[weehan]

VinSnr,

I know where you're coming from and I agree with you on enthusiasm being dampened by unrealistic eqpt. I do however find the 8" very manageable and the ease of setting up is a plus that encourages me to get out more.

I must add that the lack of clear skies (as compared to places like Mersing and Bridgetown, near Perth) is also a major factor in turning off starters. If great views are not so much of a rarity, Im sure there will be many more starters who are here to stay.

Cheers

WeeHan

[Canopus Lim]

There is no need to actually debate about this. Anyway, it is up to the individual. I have gone stargazing many times alone be it in USA going up the mountains in the night and coming down from the hazardous mountains in the dark and driving for hours just for a few hours of stargazing time. I don't think that many beginners will do that even if they drive. If there is a passion in it, there is no hindrance of portability. If I call a cab and I have money to do it, hey why not? It is even easier than driving there. If you intent to stay there the whole night, calling a cab is ok for those rare nights.

There are very few nights that are transparent in Singapore. I feel that if I have a bigger scope, I will definitely see more. Given so few nights out there that are good, I would prefer to have that few nights enjoying myself with a scope capable of doing so (especially for the bright skies in Singapore) even at the cost of less portability. There is always a trade off, less portable for brighter and better views verses more portable for less satisfactory views. Also, trading with so few nights in a year that are good, why use that kind of precious time to see less satisfactory? I am not saying that small scopes are useless; they are excellent for widefields and some for planets, but a bigger scope open up the horizon for more things to see during these precious nights.

Lastly, there is no need to challenge Wee Han. Even if he gives up this hobby (which I hope he doesn't), he had got off with a very very good deal. An 8 inch for cheaper than a 5 inch or a good bino. I sold it off so cheaply because I want someone to use it and to get an interest in astronomy too.

[VinSnr]

Lastly, there is no need to challenge Wee Han. Even if he gives up this hobby (which I hope he doesn't), he had got off with a very very good deal. An 8 inch for cheaper than a 5 inch or a good bino. I sold it off so cheaply because I want someone to use it and to get an interest in astronomy too.

No..not challenging but to give very realistic views.

I have been in this hobby for 23 years and was with Remus, Kayheem, and a few others at the start of the Yahoo group singastro. I have seen a fair share of people giving up interest due to the portability factor. The skies are normally not co-operating too, so that adds to the issue. People who go into this hobby need to be very realistic and patient. If you stay in a landed area, then it is not much of an issue. But when you stay in the flat, that 50lbs scope will slowly weigh like 100lbs as the months go by. Think about this...we even have a member who is so enthusiastic about this that he started his astro business and now he totally give up and went into bird watching instead. What more about most people?

This hobby is not just about enthusiasm. It is also about expectations. If you don't get that expectation right from the start, whether from the equipment factor or the sky factor or maybe even monetary factor, then it wouldn't be long before that unrealistic expectation kills off the enthusiasm. I have seen too many of this.

I do not want to dampen anyone's spirit in getting into astro, and not many will want to bring this up. Set that expectation right and build up slowly as much as your finances and interest/enthusiasm allows will at least gurantee a long-live approach to this hobby. Many singastro members that I meet today at gatherings or ob session were in this forum since the Yahoogroup Singastro days and they started really small. On the contrary, those who started big with 8/10" scopes and joined much later were not even seen again after once or twice at obs sessions. I don't even know now where is the guy who bought my LX-90 cheap. Or where is another forumer who once came to my office with his 10" f/6 dob in a van.

So it is not to challenenge.....but to set the expectations right.

[Airconvent]

in a hobby where you cannot choose when but wait for opportunity, attrition rate would be high. I guess there are 3 types here :

1. Shooting Stars Type - Those who come here with enthusiasm, fill the forums will many posts within a short time and then disappear, never to be seen again.

2. HaleBoppComet type - They swing in once in a blue moon, make their presence felt, only to disappear for a long time before re-appeaing again later.

3. The Moon types. Appear almost every day, Hardcore and always there at any opportunity without fail...like weixing! :-)

BTW, the 10" owner with the van has upgraded to a Honda Jazz so he can travel to malaysia which his van can't do. strangely, he bowed out after that...

[VinSnr]

in a hobby where you cannot choose when but wait for opportunity, attrition rate would be high. I guess there are 3 types here :

1. Shooting Stars Type - Those who come here with enthusiasm, fill the forums will many posts within a short time and then disappear, never to be seen again.

2. HaleBoppComet type - They swing in once in a blue moon, make their presence felt, only to disappear for a long time before re-appeaing again later.

3. The Moon types. Appear almost every day, Hardcore and always there at any opportunity without fail...like weixing! :-)

BTW, the 10" owner with the van has upgraded to a Honda Jazz so he can travel to malaysia which his van can't do. strangely, he bowed out after that...

Bro....and you belong to the sun type....hardcore nearly every hour...

[Tachyon]

Hmm.. interesting. My view is: a hobby does not have to last a life-time!

Like religion, we have people who:

1. Attend a few obs sessions to see if they like it. If not, they move on to something else.

2. Dip their toes into it and make some purchases, but then their studies, work or girl/boy-friends take over their time and they give up.

3. Got into the hobby, bought some equipment, joined for a while, and then find that they learned all they wanted to about the hobby, and moved on.

4. Got into the hobby, really loved it, and stick to it till they die.

5. Got into the hobby, really loved it, then put it aside for other priorities in life, come back again after a few years, etc. - the cyclical type.

I see this not just in astro, but in other hobbies as well - aquarium keeping, pets, flying model planes, wind surfing, hi-fi, etc.

Sounds familiar?

[acc]

Hmm.. interesting. My view is: a hobby does not have to last a life-time!

...

I see this not just in astro, but in other hobbies as well - aquarium keeping, pets, flying model planes, wind surfing, hi-fi, etc.

Sounds familiar?

Well said!