Saganite

Hi Lewis, Welcome to SGL..... If you are not in a hurry, consider a used Orion Optics VX12L Dobsonian. I have one with a 1/8th, almost 1/9th wave mirror which is a very good quality, and I bought it in excellent used condition for £650. I am 5' 8" tall but my eye level is 2" higher than the eyepiece of the scope when it is vertical. The tube is aluminium and so light that I can carry it comfortably ( I am 68 years old ). The base footprint is also less than 18". I have used the Skywatcher 12" and the Meade Lightbridge 12" prior to the OO VX12, and whilst they are very capable scopes, they are as heavy and large as has been mentioned. I will not need another 12" Dob for the remainder of my observing life. Hope that helps

Thanks John, I always felt, from the moment I saw it at Dave's home that it was a lifetime scope.

Cheers Dave, I don't know why it took me so long to try it really, but it works and is a solution to a problem, so all is well now.

Hi Rob, The Denks work perfectly. A pair of 24mm Panoptics give me 111X, 158X, and 198X , at the flick of a switch, but I can go much lower and higher with powers from a range of eyepiece pairs, 35mm to 10mm. These I have put together because until recently I had scopes with focal lengths ranging from f5.3 , f7.4, and f15, and I probably will eventually replace the Tak with a Vixen at f7.7.

I bought this mount back in June of this year, and very quickly discovered what a superb and solid piece of engineering it is. My Tak FC100, until it departed recently to a new owner, was carried by this mount , and while I wait hopefully for a Vixen ED103S to appear, it occurred to me that I might as well try my big refractor on it since it could be that or nothing for some time. I got quite a surprise at the ease with which it handles the D & G 5" f15 ! The weight of the OTA plus finder, electric focuser, binoviewer and eyepieces came in at circa 12 kg, so well within the single side payload of 20 kg, but the length of the assembly at over 2 metres was my concern. This big refractor has spent the last 5 or so years operating on a solid steel pier bolted into a concrete block with an NEQ6 on top. It is an extremely solid pier, but the long OTA still takes 3 to 4 seconds to settle. When I first got the scope I mounted it on an EQ6 and Skywatcher 2" s/s tripod, which was even worse at around 5 or 6 seconds, so I was not expecting too much. On the AZ100 and Berlebach UNI 18, with the tripod set so that the OTA rides at 56 " above the ground, the settle time is a little over 3 seconds, almost the same as the pier /NEQ6 combination...quite remarkable. Of course a little effort is required to balance the scope but once done and the friction clutch on the altitude is adjusted, the slow motion control raises and lowers this leviathan with ease. Disengage the azimuth friction clutch, level the scope, and the gentlest push with a finger will see the scope complete at least a full circle, as smooth as you like. This set up resides where it is shown and is just a few steps from being outside, and I joked with Dave ( f15 Rules), the previous owner of this scope, that I still have a 'Grab N go '. I spoke with Derek at Rowan Astronomy about the development of the drive motors and he said that they produce sufficient torque for this set up so I very much look forward to that option. A shoulder injury 12 months ago which is stubbornly refusing to heal completely ( 68 year old components ) , has reduced the frequency of the pier/ NEQ6 use with Andromeda, and I was beginning to think that the time was approaching when I may have to consider parting with this beautiful telescope, but that has now changed ! The question for me now is do I need the 4" frac option to accompany my 12" OO VX Dob ? I am not sure that I do, but I fear that is an itch I will have to scratch.

Hi Rob, I used the WO binoviewers for several years and they are very good, as are the 66 deg 20mm eyepieces supplied with them. I know nothing about the OVL or Baader Hyperions, never having used either, but I heartily recommend the WO .

My NEQ6 stands year in year out on a pier protected by a bicycle cover. At the beginning of this year I discovered , after a night of strong wind and rain, that it had torn and the mount was soaked ! I took it into the garage and dried it and left it in the warm for a couple of days, and it worked flawlessly and has continued to do so since that time. It often exhibited condensation when I would use it. So long as it is covered, I have to agree with Andrew. I don't leave the controller or power lead under the cover however, even though there is power to the weatherproof box at the foot of the pier.

A good effort Dave . The images shown by Chiltonstar show how closely you captured the feature.

I agree.

Working well for me also.

A year or so ago , after being caught in a rainstorm, my binoculars looked as bad as that, in spite of my best attempt at protecting them, even water on the prisms, but 3 days in the boiler cupboard in a bag of rice fixed them. I hope you have a good result.

Welcome, from a very wet Cambridgeshire....

Hi Russ, A few years back I had an 8" Skywatcher on an EQ5 and that was quite adequate, but I agree with Stu, an Alt/ Az would be easier.

Superb eyepiece ! if only I could use a pair of them....

Hi Richard, welcome to the forum....

Welcome Les....

Excellent ! It was pretty special for planetary viewing.....

Cheers Nick. You are right about fiddling with the focuser. I did eventually focus on the ice cap and sat back to enjoy ! Rotate your sketches to put the polar cap at the top and that is what I could see. A fantastic night of planetary observing, even nabbed Uranus just for a break. I need now to look at images of Mars to decipher the ' land masses ' that I could see.

Mars has improved as expected, showing plenty of surface detail now. I took a break from Mars and had a look at Uranus. A beautiful pale blue orb at 254x , it is the first time through binoviewers.

It was very definitely " one of those nights " on Saturday. Apart from the poor seeing, a power failure and being generally 'ham fisted' all conspiring against me.... Tonight though is making up for it in bucket loads.

Exactly my experience tonight, although I had some very nice glimpses of the GRS during 45 minutes or so. Saturn though was better as it often is, taking 198X to give a very pleasing image. Now on Mars and already it is quite good but a little wobbly. A bit more altitude I think. This is the third outing in 7 days for the f15 5".

Superb image Peter !!

I gave up because the seeing was so poor on Saturday night John, but tonight is different again, with Saturn presenting a lovely image at 198x. I hope it is better for you tonight.

Andromeda again, tracking Jupiter with Io and Callisto very close, and the GRS. I thought that, as the Pier is so high ,I would bino straight through tonight and it is actually very comfortable. I may change my mind later of course as Mars climbs ever higher into the sky. The seeing is much better than it was on Saturday.

Cheers Rob. I have had some good sessions with this scope recently, but tonight definitely was not one of them, the seeing was awful. Apart from that ,a temporary power loss and just things not going right, brought the evening to a swift close. Enough is sometimes enough......