Telescopes

Antares XT10 10" Dobsonian

I needed a scope for a moment-notice observing sessions, when I didn't have time to set up CGE1400 (in the days before observatory) - just for a few objects, or when the weather is not that promising. 10" classical Dobsonian is almost perfect in this regard, especially that I am a deep-sky observer. I bought Antares XT10 used off Astromart for only $200 - I just had to drive 3 1/2 hours to pick it up (from NYC). The scope was in a very good condition and it performed very well for me. I bought an Orion laser collimator for fast collimation - needed especially when moving it around a bit. I enjoyed star-hopping experience with it and it helped me to remember how to do it - CGE1400 made me a bit lazy here. Now, if it only was bigger ... After 14" SCT anything smaller was not bright enough .

After building an observatory in 2008 my CGE1400 was turned into imaging scope and I bought 18" Obsession Classic Dobsonian for visual use. XT10 was no competition for it, so I stopped using it, and after a while I sold it to a friend in Ithaca. It apparently has a good resale value (and my friend wanted to be fair to me): I sold it for the same $200 I bought it for ... It clearly shows the potential of Astromart and used astro equipment: buy it used cheap, use it, and then sell it with minimal loss when moving on to new hardware.