Piero

Planetary nebulae should be spectacular with that scope I feel, and the sky commander will serve you well on this.

Nice data, Gerry. The MTF is almost perfect. My mirror didn't come with an interferometer test as John Nichol doesn't give you one. It's a PV 1/8 guaranteed and I trust his words, particularly given the fact that I haven't found one single negative comment about his mirrors, instead only very very positive statements. It's made of Suprax and is 1.46" (37mm) thick. I didn't want something too thick due to the increase in cooling time, nor too thin as this can be more demanding on the mirror cell. It is also easier to make, also considering that is an F6. David Lukehurst and I decided to make three holes behind the mirror to increase air circulation. A fan was also installed, if cooling time is still too long or temperature changes occur.

Congratulations, Gerry. I'm glad that you had a fantastic view. Thanks for sharing this report.

Stunning scopes! Both!

Thanks, Paul! I should be okay at high powers. My zoom plus VIP can go to more than 570x. Then there is the HR 2.4mm (755x) and in the most extreme case I could VIP barlow the two HRs and go above 1000x. Will need to practice with tracking on the moon, first.

Thanks, Paz. Yes, it is stored in the living room, although dismantled, as this is easier to take it out. Plus, the whole gem is almost 2m tall!

Thank you, John! I realise my lack of clarity . What I meant was those 4 eyepieces plus the VIP barlow. Absolutely, I want to go beyond 270x, seeing permitting! The docter plus VIP will give slightly more than 300x, similarly to your Pentax xw.

There is also a difference in cost. When one starts adding customs and shipping cost a premium dobson can be quite expensive.

I'd like to thank everyone for the very kind comments. I am lucky to be able to afford a telescope like this. David Lukehurst did a great job and I'm looking forward to giving this scope a first light.

Thank you, Stu! Too kind! About the observing, I hope so!

I can measure this this evening when back from work. For the time being, I can say that CO is 20.3%. When talking with David about altitude bearings, we opted for a diameter of 15" which was about the diameter of the UTA. Therefore, the distance from the centre of secondary to the plane where the Moonlite is installed should roughly be 7.5" plus about 1" due to a) the UTA side (which is thicker on the focuser side), b) short Moonlite spacer, and c) metal plane to attach/detach the focuser+finder. To this distance the focuser travel is added.

This evening I tested how the telescope holds collimation with my Glatter's tools. The secondary mirror was slightly off but it was recentred in a couple of seconds. The primary was also adjusted quickly. I pointed the telescope at different angles with the laser on in order to check any alignment changes. Nothing. I therefore moved the telescope from 90 deg to 0 deg altitude a few times. The reflection of circle on the primary mirror didn't change position on the tublug. Very glad that the Glatter's sling was installed.

Thank you, Iain. I'm a great fan of natural wood finish. David applied a protective layer of course. The coating is Hilux, applied by Orion Optics.

Well, I've been thinking about a coma corrector for almost 1 year. As far as I can see each choice has advantages and disadvantages. The safest route I would choose is the SIP. The parcorr2 requires inward travel I think. Apart from that it is optimised with TV EPs. Not sure about the settings for the Lunt, docter and ZZ. This can be a pain. It will correct the view off axis, but my feeling is that it will cause some loss on axis. This is what I saw with my previous TV powermate when used with the Docter/Noblex. We can talk in more detail if you like.

Thank you, Sir! I did the maths before ordering. It should be a good trade-off between performance and portability. The table below is w/o VIP barlow. I look forward to seeing when that brilliant device kicks in! Anyway, I only plan to use the above eps with this telescope, therefore no 1.25" eps. The 30mm and 20mm will likely have some competition. I'm quite curious to see how I feel the 100 deg with this telescope. I do like my Lunt 20mm, but so far I have not been trilled by the 100 deg bug. Actually, I could be just happy with the APM, Docter (now called "Noblex"...), and ZZ. Have you got a CC with your new dob? If so, I would be very curious to know how you get on with it.

Thank you, Gerry. The structure is reasonably solid, but I can lift both the rocker and mirror box by myself (separately of course). The wheel-handles make movement dead easy which is great for moving the telescope around the garden. Yes, it is a F6 (F5.94 to be more accurate) and 1813mm focal length. Altitude bearings are 15 inch diameter, with a good friction. The focuser is the Moonlite CR2 that was installed in my other dobson (which now has its standard focuser). In my opinion the ES30 82 is a real bargain. I prefer the APM 30mm UFF for a few other reasons such as eyecup, weight, and size. Optically, the APM is better at the edge but its AFOV is smaller. The FOV is just a bit larger than the Lunt 20 HDC.

Stunning telescope! I look forward to reading more and more about it. The design looks great. Worth the waiting time!

Very happy with it! Wish the sky were clear, but as we all know, when we buy astro equipment, it's cloudy! Argh! The telescope was collected from David Lukehurst at noon and then we travelled back to Cambridge. John Nichol primary mirror: 37mm thickness, Suprax. Hilux coated. Optics 1/8 PV wavefront 1/27 wave RMS. Strehl .95. Secondary mirror: 62mm MA. Here a few photos:

I might consider those too!

Thank Iain. From my point of view, the problem is a bit different. In my case, there's just the need of one step when approaching the zenith. The reason why I am considering a 3 step ladder is because this would allow me to sit when the telescope is below 1.5m. This is an easy problem. Gerry's case is different as he will observe standing on steps most of the time (unless the telescope is pointing quite low). Given the height of his observing position, the ladder requirements are different in my opinion. In terms of comfort, the steps should be large and quite spread so that they don't interfere with one's legs. In terms of safety, a solid attachment (arm, handrails) is what I would want in the night. In Gerry's location, frost and ice is another concern... Personally, I would not climb 1 mt from the ground on icy steps in a completely dark place without having a solid support!

If it were me observing at 2.5m from the ground I would go for a platform ladder design like this one: Basically I would want a ladder with wide steps with handrails to make sure that it is safe and comfortable for extended periods. For my 12" F6 dobson (which is arriving tomorrow, so prepare your umbrella ), I am seriously considering this ladder: The first step will be sufficient for observing at the zenith (~6 ft), while the second and third steps will be used for sitting when the telescope is pointing at low altitudes.

Great report, Gerry. I'm sure this is just the beginning of many fabulous sessions with this new telescope. Hope to read more and more in the near future. Best, Piero

Short answer, yes, under UK skies it will be fine. --- Other members will disagree with my opinion, but I think a 2" version is safer under lower latitude skies where the sun shines for a long time. This because it is much better at dissipating the heat, or in other words it accumulates less heat. My 1.25" Lunt was untouchable when used with just my TV60 in Italy in August few years ago. Did it work? Yes. Was I comfortable? With a 60mm refractor, so and so, but I would not have used it with my Tak 100 to be honest. As I said, people will disagree. Lunt tests their equipment in Arizona, which is quite low latitude. Fine, but in the end of the day, it's my eye and refractor... As I said, under UK skies which are at North, fairly windy and cloudy, the 1.25" is okay. In southern and hotter locations, I would go for a 2" version with a 100mm refractor. In addition, the 2" Baader wedge is super.

You could use 1.25" EPs in this way: 1.25" to 2" adapter + 15mm spacer(s) + 1.25" to 2" adapter with the VIP attached to the Tak adapter attached on the 2" side (as you already do). With the zoom, you can remove the first adapter and screw the spacer onto the zoom barrel. With 2" EPs, you can replace the top adapter with a 2" clamp. EPs with large field stop might show vignettes though.

Too kind, Neil! I only shared what other members posted previously. The real hero is the inventor of the VIP barlow: a true modular flexible design with outstanding optics in my opinion. For the magnification factor you need to use the formula coming with the instructions and update it with the distance. Anyway that adapter moved the barlow lens up few mm (2-4mm?). So the resulting factor will be slightly smaller but not much compared to the original VIP where the lens is on the 1.25" nosepiece. The only thing about the VIP that I haven't figured out is why they don't sell it with this adapter directly. I mean, almost all focusers are 2" and the VIP is much easier to use in this way instead of inserting it completely into the focuser. Anyway, I am glad that it works better for you now. I love my VIP barlow. Some experimenting is needed but that's fun!