Hardin,Orion,Synta,GSO....WHICH IS BEST?!?

[AGMI]

help! i dont know what brand i want :S im a dob guy with some interest in short tube refractors and MCTs....cheap second hand SCTs too hehe..

[kayheem]

help! i dont know what brand i want :S im a dob guy with some interest in short tube refractors and MCTs....cheap second hand SCTs too hehe..

Orion's scopes are from Synta/Skywatcher while Hardin is from Guan Sheng (GS).

For portability, get a Synta MCT.

Kay Heem

[VinSnr]

help! i dont know what brand i want :S im a dob guy with some interest in short tube refractors and MCTs....cheap second hand SCTs too hehe..

Let me summarise it for you:

Hardin : From Guan Seng. Good thing is the focuser and price. Bad thing is the azimuth bearings. Need more friction.

Orion XTi : From Syntha. Good thing is it has an optional computer locater. The Balancing mechanism also pretty good. Bad thing is the focuser and price.

So which one you choose will depend on how you use the scope. Pure starhopping use Hardin. If you want to have DSC, get Orion so that you save some installation work later.

[anat]

In my opinion, all brands are OK. However, please think carefully about how you will move the scope to observing sites. DSC is not important if you want to starhop. The unit with DSC costs about US$250 more. You can use that money to buy or make a DSC later with better mounting locations. The Altitude encoder in Orion XT is prone to be knocked when installing an OTA.

Anat

[fizzy123]

Can the DSC by Orion be mounted on any scope, even a GEM? :idea:

[anat]

fizzy123:

It is possible but you need to buy two sets of controllers to get another encoder. The reason is that the azimuth encoder comes with the scope but the altitude encoder comes with a controller. It will cost totally about US$300. So, it is cheaper to buy the Lumicon DSC. Please refer to http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~de-smet/intelliscope.html for more information.

Anat

[kayheem]

fizzy123:

It is possible but you need to buy two sets of controllers to get another encoder. The reason is that the azimuth encoder comes with the scope but the altitude encoder comes with a controller. It will cost totally about US$300. So, it is cheaper to buy the Lumicon DSC. Please refer to http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~de-smet/intelliscope.html for more information.

Anat

According to knowlegeable sources from other newsgroups, the encoders are magentic and proprietary i.e. not readily available from 3rd party or OEM currently. You can try to get the parts yourself and attempt a DIY.

If you want other DSCs, you can consider the Sky Commander:

http://www.skyeng.com/

Kay Heem

[VinSnr]

fizzy123:

It is possible but you need to buy two sets of controllers to get another encoder. The reason is that the azimuth encoder comes with the scope but the altitude encoder comes with a controller. It will cost totally about US$300. So, it is cheaper to buy the Lumicon DSC. Please refer to http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~de-smet/intelliscope.html for more information.

Anat

According to knowlegeable sources from other newsgroups, the encoders are magentic and proprietary i.e. not readily available from 3rd party or OEM currently. You can try to get the parts yourself and attempt a DIY.

If you want other DSCs, you can consider the Sky Commander:

http://www.skyeng.com/

Kay Heem

Yes..Kayheem is right. Those XTi encorders and computer is designed for the XTi only.

But I believe that with some modifications, it should work on other scopes. Just have to spend a lot of brain power.

[fizzy123]

How abt those Magellan1 or 2 DSC tat Meade produce tat is obsolete now? 8)

[VinSnr]

How abt those Magellan1 or 2 DSC tat Meade produce tat is obsolete now? 8)

these are for their LX50 scopes....very old liow...no point la.

If want, get the sky commander.