GPS is not about keying in these days but about fully auto alignment.
I sold my old Nextstar 8 to a nice gentleman to look out for a GPS model.
Basically what you do is switch it on and it does the alignment. The latest meade models is 100% auto while the celestron simply need you to point at 2 stars and it does the rest.
I like to catch the fish...not wait for it...
The Boldly Go Where No Meade Has Gone Before Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R United Federation of the Planets
Airconvent wrote:GPS is not about keying in these days but about fully auto alignment.
I sold my old Nextstar 8 to a nice gentleman to look out for a GPS model.
Basically what you do is switch it on and it does the alignment. The latest meade models is 100% auto while the celestron simply need you to point at 2 stars and it does the rest.
I like to catch the fish...not wait for it...
Nice to hear comments from you bro, definitely another POV to consider seriously. Boils down to user preferences and methods.
From what I see the Celestron/Meade GPS setup is beneficial only in omitting the keying in the time. Someone said you can just key in fixed coordinates for the whole of SG and it would work (google earth, nokia handphone, whatever)..... alignment with 2 stars is where it matters.
Anyway I'll need to see for myself how normal alignment works, shouldn't be too much of an issue here.
I used the same set of Singapore lat long stored in my old ETX for my ob sessions in Sg and as far north as Mersing and have no trouble getting the scope aligned. GPS does saves you the trouble of entering the date and time every time but I think many non-GPS GOTO scopes now come with their own internal clock.
We do it in the dark...
Portaball 12.5"
Takahashi Mewlon 210
William Optics 110ED
...and all night long!
Basically you just want mobility and quick set up time, also with the condition that the mount can track good. The trade off is that precise equatorial tracking mounts are heavy, with the counter weight and tripod.
I suggest just getting an ioptron minitower and stuff everything scope and all into an orion backpack (it costs 50USD now).
I put my starblast and eq2 + tripod in it. It has a strap for the tripod itself. Managed to bike through east coast park carrying it without much difficulty.
As for GPS, it is not worth it. You will still need to do drift alignment anyway if using an equatorial mount. As for Altitude azimuth mounts, a few degrees off won't matter.
OTAs come with different adaptors. Very hard to say... because depends on what dovetail the celestron OTA comes in.
But nevertheless, the adaptor dovetail can be changed if it doesn't fit.
I won't recommend throwing a C11 on it though. The scope is heavy and chances are that you will need to use counter weights to prolong the lifespan of the gears. Plus, C11s have long focal lengths, which becomes obsolete when using an altitude azimuth mount for astro imaging.
Try getting an apo refractor which is compact, has shorter focal length and boasts better contrast. You can refer to Meng Lee's 'astrophotography primer' for more information.
Can't recall but the IOptron Mini Tower comes with 2 dovetails (in case you wanna mount 2 scopes). I know one is a Vixen type bracket....can't remember what the other one was. The mini Tower is rated for 25lbs payload...but thats on paper and it always is a case of over-achieved...lol!
A computerized Alt Az would probably offer you at most 30secs max for AP...bearing in mind the more you pointed East/West, you have a chance for a good 30sec exposure. Get nearer North/South and you have much less time. Field Rotation is an issue with AltAz mounts,...but software's can nowadays are able to re-rotate, center and stack. There are some great shots of DSO's using the mini tower on the web with lots of 30sec subs!!
Basically it's just taking what you have and doing it! Nothing is impossible,...just a matter if how with the limitations.
And yeah,...a refractor is more forgiving with long exposures. Start getting close to the stars and trails appear all over...the more your nearer the faster things are! Hence why many have 2 scopes minimum...lol! I use an 8" SCT and 80ED refractor. Kinda best of both worlds (for now).
As Chris mentioned, need to see what dovetail the scope has so u can assure it all works. Portability is a consideration. Alot will depend on your time and effort into the hobby in the long run. I use an EQ at home from the balcony and rarely lug it to the next door MSCP. For grab and go, it's the 80ED in a store bought bag and Voyager AltAz. If I wanna practice imaging, it's mastly at home cos of wires, battery, laptop, camera, CCD guidecam and everything else I need....definately not for the feint hearted...lol!
Good that your enquiring more and more....gets rid of the spiders!! haha!
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!
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