Jay: Here is a little information that may help. First there is a huge difference in price from an Orion XT14i at $1,799.95 plus shipping and a used Obsession, Teeter or Starmaster. The last 15" Teeter listed on Astromart was listed at $3,000.00 with some optical challenges. (chip) (recoating). 15" Obsessions have sold for $4,200.00 to close to $6,000.00 depending on how they are equipped. Obviously ArgoNavis and ServoCat raise the price substantially. I can't find a recent AstroSystems Telekit that has been listed there. There was an 18" Obsession Classic that was listed by a fellow in Lehi a little over a month ago. He had it listed at $4,000.00 and as near as I can tell it did not sell. It is not listed any longer but it was never marked sold either. I'm sure he could be reached if that is something you are interested in. I hated carrying around solid tube 12" scopes years ago. They are just awkward. Anything over 12" in a solid tube would be unthinkable to me and I haul around 6' and 8' long refractors. What are the eventual goals? Astrophotography? Good dark sky scope? I know portability and weight are issues but what else enters in? Let me know if I can help. Steve
To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com From: jayleads@gmail.com Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:05:14 -0600 Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Scope Upgrade Advice
Ok, now's the time. I am beginning the process to upgrade to what I hope is the first of second major purchases over the next five years in the hobby. This one will be a dob, and I'm looking for a truss design. I have a bad back, deteriorating disc at L5/S1 so weight is an issue. I know Ron Ford has Bill Cowles Coulter Dob for sale and I'll be sending him email to take a look at it, but is there any other recommendations (thoughts on Bill Cowles Dob)?
Here is where I am leaning. I have a 10 inch so I think upgrading to a 12.5 won't give me much bang for my buck. So I'm thinking a 15 inch and I am willing to go used or new (probably prefer used). A used Starmaster or Teledit comes to mind. An Obsession 15 inch comes to mind but they do have a rep for the upper cage to be small causing in some scopes a vignetting issue. I have also thought of a used Discovery, I won't go new with them because of what is going on with that company lately or the Orion XXi14. The XXi14 I like because of the intelliscope feature, if I don't want to star hop I can simply input and go. So I would love input into these or other choices others may have:
15 inch Obsession 15 inch used Starmaster 15 inch Teeter (see Teeter Telescopes, they are back east) XXi14
Thougths? Thanks for the input ahead of time.
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