comments:
Here is a copypasta I made comparing the 8SE to an 8” dob: I currently own the 8SE and enjoy it very much. It has been my primary scope for few years. But I learned on an 8” dob when I was young and just finished building a 10” dob. The 8SE is a great scope, that being said, its drawbacks include: Needs to be aligned every time you use the scope. This takes a few minutes and requires being precise to get good results. And if you bump the scope or it looses power, then you have to re-align it. The initial setup requires a bit of menu diving and settings: setting GoTo approach, antibacklash, slew limits, finding the scope’s balance point, etc… The scope cannot be used without a power source. Not being able to be aimed much above 70° when properly balanced (so as to not strain the gears) The mount is a tad wobbly/has vibrations when focusing at higher magnifications (although this really isn’t a bother once you get used to it) EDIT: the wobbles are very annoying at 250x The mount for the hand controller sucks, I would recommend getting a 3D printed one (again costs about $20 USD) The backlash is annoying. The worm gears of the Evolution series are supposed to be better. Powering the scope with AAs is not convenient and using a power cord can cause issues (there were 2 recent posts were people broke the female power port and fried the electronics). I run my 8SE off this $40 battery The hand controller doesn’t work well in the cold. The maximum FOV is not that large and will require a focal reducer or 2” visual back to increase it. You will more than likely need to buy a dew heater and controller. SCTs love to collect dew. And a bunch of other little things that might not be really important but fixing them makes the user experience a bit better. 8SE pros: Once aligned, finding objects is super easy. Just type in the ID and it slews right to it. This is helpful when trying to observe difficult targets or from light polluted skies. Cause you know that the scope will be pointing at the right area, so then you can spend time/effort trying to see the target. Vs with a manual scope not being sure if you are aimed correctly or just can’t see it. The tracking feature is great for high power observing, sharing the view with others, swapping out filters/eyepieces, and sketching. You can look at an object, then talk to a friend for 10 minutes and when you look back, the object will still be in the FOV. The scope can be broken down into smaller parts which can make transportation and storage easier. It rarely needs collimation. I have collimated my 8SE once in 10 years. It was a bit tricky/fiddly, but not that difficult. But the AD8 (or any manual 8” dob) is a great scope as well. Here are some pros of a manual dob: More aperture per dollar, meaning you can spend more of your budget on accessories. Easy to setup. Just put the base on the ground and the OTA on the base, and you are ready to go. Easy to use, just point at what you want to look at. Collimation is fairly easy. Also relatively portable. Can easily be put in a small car. Requires less accessories (especially the AD series which come with some great stock accessories) Larger FOV. Can literally last a lifetime. No electronics or gears that can go bad. Dob cons: Need to learn how to star hop. This is not difficult, but practice makes perfect as it does have a learning curve. You have to manually track objects. This can be annoying at high magnifications, when sharing with others, or when swapping out eyepieces/filters. Also can collect dew, there are heaters you can buy. But it is not a dew magnet like an SCT. More regular collimation needed. Some people make small adjustments each time the use it. And others might only make adjustments every few sessions. Is generally more bulky. Also consider the Apertura AD10 over the 8”. More aperture is almost always better. And the 10” scope is still relatively portable. The 12” version is where things get awkwardly bulky and heavy. So in summary: The 8SE is a great scope, but has a lot of drawbacks that may dissuade you (more tinkering, needed accessories, and inherent limitations). But the GoTo and tracking are super convenient. A manual dob is simpler to use and faster to set up, but requires you to manually find and track objects. Ideally you would get both scopes. For context, the 8SE is currently my main scope. But I am getting (actually building) a 10” dob so that I can have both. I love the 8SE for its tracking and GoTo capabilities, but I wanted a scope with more light gathering capabilities and a quicker setup time. So depending on my mood I can use one or the other. The 8SE will be my scope for sketching, sharing the views with others, when I am too lazy to star hop, and if I want to bring a scope with me on vacation. The 10” dob will be for when I want the best views and when I am too lazy to align the 8SE. Oh, and consider joining a local astronomy club if possible.
Sir, why did you not read the manual for 20 years!?!?!?!!? Also, running the scope off AAs is not a fun path forward. Just get this and all your problems will be solved (assuming you didn’t strip the gears manually moving the scope): https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C
I will try to answer some of your questions and will send some info: If I can put a smartphone adapter for a mobile phone instead of my eye You can always get an adapter to attach a phone to take pics through an eyepiece. The results are always “ok” at best and I personally don’t think it is a worthwhile use of effort. Instead I prefer to simply look through the eyepiece, take notes, and sketch the view if I am in the mood. “Robotic” - the term you are looking for is “computerized” or a scope with "GoTo and tracking". This feature is not needed for visual astronomy, but can be useful if: you are sharing the views with others, like to swap out eyepieces/filters regularaly, plan on viewing at very high magnifications regularly and find the constant nudging of the scope annoying, or like sketching. Imo, GoTo mounts can be nice for these reasons, but they are also annoying in that they require more effort to learn and setup/break down. Because of this I personally have 2 main scopes, one with GoTo and one manual. Depending on my mood or the type of observing I plan on doing, I can use one or the other. For visual observing (especially the type of objects that you describe), you will want as much aperture as you can afford, store, and easily transport. I think nebulae will be out of reach Not at all. From Bortle 8-9, the only nebula really visible is Orion. But even from Bortle 7 and better, there are tons of nebula and galaxies visible (even with binoculars). As for what to expect, here are some sketches I made of DSOs from Bortle 5/6 with an 8” scope. The nebula and galaxies are brighter in the sketches than they are in real life, but it at least gives you a rough idea of what DSOs will look like (more realistic than astrophotos). Also feel free to search this sub for “sketch” to see more examples. Here is a copypasta I made comparing the 8SE to an 8” dob: I currently own the 8SE and enjoy it very much. It has been my primary scope for few years. But I learned on an 8” dob when I was young and just finished building a 10” dob. The 8SE is a great scope, that being said, its drawbacks include: Needs to be aligned every time you use the scope. This takes a few minutes and requires being precise to get good results. And if you bump the scope or it looses power, then you have to re-align it. The initial setup requires a bit of menu diving and settings: setting GoTo approach, antibacklash, slew limits, finding the scope’s balance point, etc… The scope cannot be used without a power source. Not being able to be aimed much above 70° when properly balanced (so as to not strain the gears) The mount is a tad wobbly/has vibrations when focusing at higher magnifications (although this really isn’t a bother once you get used to it) EDIT: the wobbles are very annoying at 250x The mount for the hand controller sucks, I would recommend getting a 3D printed one (again costs about $20 USD) The backlash is annoying. The worm gears of the Evolution series are supposed to be better. Powering the scope with AAs is not convenient and using a power cord can cause issues (there were 2 recent posts were people broke the female power port and fried the electronics). I run my 8SE off this $40 battery The hand controller doesn’t work well in the cold. The maximum FOV is not that large and will require a focal reducer or 2” visual back to increase it. You will more than likely need to buy a dew heater and controller. SCTs love to collect dew. And a bunch of other little things that might not be really important but fixing them makes the user experience a bit better. 8SE pros: Once aligned, finding objects is super easy. Just type in the ID and it slews right to it. This is helpful when trying to observe difficult targets or from light polluted skies. Cause you know that the scope will be pointing at the right area, so then you can spend time/effort trying to see the target. Vs with a manual scope not being sure if you are aimed correctly or just can’t see it. The tracking feature is great for high power observing, sharing the view with others, swapping out filters/eyepieces, and sketching. You can look at an object, then talk to a friend for 10 minutes and when you look back, the object will still be in the FOV. The scope can be broken down into smaller parts which can make transportation and storage easier. It rarely needs collimation. I have collimated my 8SE once in 10 years. It was a bit tricky/fiddly, but not that difficult. But the AD8 (or any manual 8” dob) is a great scope as well. Here are some pros of a manual dob: More aperture per dollar, meaning you can spend more of your budget on accessories. Easy to setup. Just put the base on the ground and the OTA on the base, and you are ready to go. Easy to use, just point at what you want to look at. Collimation is fairly easy. Also relatively portable. Can easily be put in a small car. Requires less accessories (especially the AD series which come with some great stock accessories) Larger FOV. Can literally last a lifetime. No electronics or gears that can go bad. Dob cons: Need to learn how to star hop. This is not difficult, but practice makes perfect as it does have a learning curve. You have to manually track objects. This can be annoying at high magnifications, when sharing with others, or when swapping out eyepieces/filters. Also can collect dew, there are heaters you can buy. But it is not a dew magnet like an SCT. More regular collimation needed. Some people make small adjustments each time the use it. And others might only make adjustments every few sessions. Is generally more bulky. Also consider the Apertura AD10 over the 8”. More aperture is almost always better. And the 10” scope is still relatively portable. The 12” version is where things get awkwardly bulky and heavy. So in summary: The 8SE is a great scope, but has a lot of drawbacks that may dissuade you (more tinkering, needed accessories, and inherent limitations). But the GoTo and tracking are super convenient. A manual dob is simpler to use and faster to set up, but requires you to manually find and track objects. Ideally you would get both scopes. For context, the 8SE is currently my main scope. But I am getting (actually building) a 10” dob so that I can have both. I love the 8SE for its tracking and GoTo capabilities, but I wanted a scope with more light gathering capabilities and a quicker setup time. So depending on my mood I can use one or the other. The 8SE will be my scope for sketching, sharing the views with others, when I am too lazy to star hop, and if I want to bring a scope with me on vacation. The 10” dob will be for when I want the best views and when I am too lazy to align the 8SE. Oh, and consider joining a local astronomy club if possible.
Here is a copypasta I made comparing the 8SE to an 8” dob: I currently own the 8SE and enjoy it very much. It has been my primary scope for few years. But I learned on an 8” dob when I was young and just finished building a 10” dob. The 8SE is a great scope, that being said, its drawbacks include: Needs to be aligned every time you use the scope. This takes a few minutes and requires being precise to get good results. And if you bump the scope or it looses power, then you have to re-align it. The initial setup requires a bit of menu diving and settings: setting GoTo approach, antibacklash, slew limits, finding the scope’s balance point, etc… The scope cannot be used without a power source. Not being able to be aimed much above 70° when properly balanced (so as to not strain the gears) The mount is a tad wobbly/has vibrations when focusing at higher magnifications (although this really isn’t a bother once you get used to it) EDIT: the wobbles are very annoying at 250x The mount for the hand controller sucks, I would recommend getting a 3D printed one (again costs about $20 USD) The backlash is annoying. The worm gears of the Evolution series are supposed to be better. Powering the scope with AAs is not convenient and using a power cord can cause issues (there were 2 recent posts were people broke the female power port and fried the electronics). I run my 8SE off this $40 battery The hand controller doesn’t work well in the cold. The maximum FOV is not that large and will require a focal reducer or 2” visual back to increase it. You will more than likely need to buy a dew heater and controller. SCTs love to collect dew. And a bunch of other little things that might not be really important but fixing them makes the user experience a bit better. 8SE pros: Once aligned, finding objects is super easy. Just type in the ID and it slews right to it. This is helpful when trying to observe difficult targets or from light polluted skies. Cause you know that the scope will be pointing at the right area, so then you can spend time/effort trying to see the target. Vs with a manual scope not being sure if you are aimed correctly or just can’t see it. The tracking feature is great for high power observing, sharing the view with others, swapping out filters/eyepieces, and sketching. You can look at an object, then talk to a friend for 10 minutes and when you look back, the object will still be in the FOV. The scope can be broken down into smaller parts which can make transportation and storage easier. It rarely needs collimation. I have collimated my 8SE once in 10 years. It was a bit tricky/fiddly, but not that difficult. But the AD8 (or any manual 8” dob) is a great scope as well. Here are some pros of a manual dob: More aperture per dollar, meaning you can spend more of your budget on accessories. Easy to setup. Just put the base on the ground and the OTA on the base, and you are ready to go. Easy to use, just point at what you want to look at. Collimation is fairly easy. Also relatively portable. Can easily be put in a small car. Requires less accessories (especially the AD series which come with some great stock accessories) Larger FOV. Can literally last a lifetime. No electronics or gears that can go bad. Dob cons: Need to learn how to star hop. This is not difficult, but practice makes perfect as it does have a learning curve. You have to manually track objects. This can be annoying at high magnifications, when sharing with others, or when swapping out eyepieces/filters. Also can collect dew, there are heaters you can buy. But it is not a dew magnet like an SCT. More regular collimation needed. Some people make small adjustments each time the use it. And others might only make adjustments every few sessions. Is generally more bulky. Also consider the Apertura AD10 over the 8”. More aperture is almost always better. And the 10” scope is still relatively portable. The 12” version is where things get awkwardly bulky and heavy. So in summary: The 8SE is a great scope, but has a lot of drawbacks that may dissuade you (more tinkering, needed accessories, and inherent limitations). But the GoTo and tracking are super convenient. A manual dob is simpler to use and faster to set up, but requires you to manually find and track objects. Ideally you would get both scopes. For context, the 8SE is currently my main scope. But I am getting (actually building) a 10” dob so that I can have both. I love the 8SE for its tracking and GoTo capabilities, but I wanted a scope with more light gathering capabilities and a quicker setup time. So depending on my mood I can use one or the other. The 8SE will be my scope for sketching, sharing the views with others, when I am too lazy to star hop, and if I want to bring a scope with me on vacation. The 10” dob will be for when I want the best views and when I am too lazy to align the 8SE. Oh, and consider joining a local astronomy club if possible.
https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_pp?crid=1S6AN2NLFHVJE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SyYnvK8p8atZi6t5pK19jazLPXvIZ0tw9RoVLBWJwslO-uuy_c9-IAqI8BEA6yEHe3DqXUp_5dJ5905-VvFz_ClctcMX1udB1dB4Q_w_Wq_9lFwkvhAyC7BCv7pUeZS-N0kPIZcE-VWIpO-Q_UE3ICUTnQ_nkghMCxS4EV-8Ah2rI30h9Xq-NGxbcUnYr_wjQqAgREbq49aP0nhpAddD_Q.tS98p8MPhcz9VyE3K_aMGEYRmpUbu79x1w68ek8Xgi8&dib_tag=se&keywords=talentcell+12v&qid=1776786586&s=electronics&sprefix=talentcell+12%2Celectronics%2C206&sr=1-1
Oh gotcha, the open design explains the frost issue. I use this battery for all my telescope power needs. And I have used heavy duty Velcro to mount it to various scopes: https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C Definitely look into getting a secondary heater.