Hi, I’m new!

[JonH]

Hi all, my name is Jonathan.
I currently live a bit of a distance away the other side of East Grinstead but as of next month will be quite close ish Eccles.
I got my first telescope about 6 years or so ago when I spotted it in the paper for 40quid, needless to say it's not very good and breathe to heavy near it and you lose what you were looking at! But it was enough to get me interested.
I'm quite lucky to work in Sevenoaks at the optical payload facility of Surrey Satellite Technology as an engineer, well....CNC programmer and machinist but I call it engineering!
Have been there a little over a year and all it has done is make me more interested in all things spacey!
And thus I am here, I'm thinking about joining the club and looking to get my first "proper" scope, although so far the range of choice is a lot to figure out!
I was interested in maybe coming along to one or two of your observing evenings as a guest if it's possible and getting a proper idea of what it is all about, as of yet the only telescope I have ever looked threw is my rickety cheep one!
Just not quite sure how to go about it? I noticed the dates and times etc on the site but should I just turn up? Is there a guest fee? Will someone let me look threw their scope?

So...err...Hi and that's me in 253 words.

Jon

[Carole]

Hi Jon, and Welcome.  Eccles is still quite a way from Orpington, but you're more than welcome to come along to a couple of meetings and Observing evenings before you decide to join, no guest fee is necessary.

We always meet in the Change of Horses in Farnborough Village before the observing evening, and if the weather is not good enough we just stay in the pub.  

Let us know when you are planning to come so hopefully there will be a variety of scopes for you to see and look through.

Lucky you working in Surrey Satellite Technology.

Carole

[doug]

Hi Jon.  A warm welcome to you and yes..... come along to an Observing evening and as Carole has said, we meet at the Change of Horses pub in Farnborough, Kent village. If its nice we will go up to the field at High Elms nearby and you can peer through somebody`s telescope at no extra charge..... I jest ......

Look forward to meeting you.  The next Observing evening is on the 11th September.  Let us hope that the weather is kind to us. You can receive lots of advice about purchasing telescopes from the members.. the most important thing is a sturdy strong mount.

Doug.

[JonH]

Hi and thanks for the welcomes.

Well I will certainly try and make the next observing evening, its one thing to look as scopes online and read about them but something else altogether to take a proper look and talk to people about them!

I know I am defiantly interested in photography, mainly deep space stuff and have a bit of money to spend, albeit not a huge amount, something in the region of 1 – 1.5k at the very most. Been saving up for a while to treat myself to something but not quite sure what, I figure this will do nicely
I been reading about it online and here and slowly getting a grasp of all the stuff I need, just not sure exactly what stuff, I have a slight idea but it is just an idea...

Jon

[doug]

     You need to talk to those people who do the imaging, Jon.  They are the ones to give you excellent advice about what to buy and not overspend on unnecessary equipment.  Some scopes are better to use for imaging and some better to use for viewing only.... I just like looking. Hope to see you at the Observing evening.

     Doug.

[Carole]

I know I am defiantly interested in photography, mainly deep space stuff and have a bit of money to spend, albeit not a huge amount, something in the region of 1 – 1.5k at the very most.

That will do for starters, but unfortunately imaging is a bottomless pit and as you go on you'll find more and more things you need or want.

The most important thing is to get yourself a sturdy equatorial mount that has a guide port, without that you won't be able to do long exposure imaging, or at least the long exposures required for a good result.

Mounts:
HEQ5 (£750 ish)
NEQ6 (£920 ish) this will take a heavier load than the HEQ5
Telescope:
ED80 Aprochromatic telescope is a good all rounder and good for a beginning imager.  (£450 ish)

You'll need a laptop, an imaging camera and guiding set up.
Cheapest imaging camera is a DSLR (2nd hand/reconditioned - around £270) (will need modifying later on).  Canon's are best supported, and do get yourself one capable of longer exposure than 30secs (or you'll need to use adapters which are a bit of a pain), plus live view is a useful function for alignment and centering objects.
CCD cameras are much more expensive, but better sensitivity and less noise than a DSLR, but several of us use DSLRs, some use both.  

There is a good 2nd hand market as well, lots of imagers upgrade their kit and so often items are for sale little used and in good condition.  
Try UK Astro-Buy-sell.

You won't get to see this kit at an observing evening as you really need a different scopes for observing.  Best thing is to come along to an imaging session, I think there is one coming up this Friday at Mike's.  You'll need to PM him for his contact details.  Or come to one of our Deep Sky camps where you will find several imagers with all their various kit.  

Hope this helps

Carole

[JonH]

Thanks, that helps quite a bit, will pm him now.
I know it's just a drop on the ocean compared to what many of the imaging folk are spending on kit but I need to get a new car too, or do I? Hummmmmmm haha

Jon