Marc1964

Cloud. Cold. Garden is a bog. Considering hibernation.

Managed to get the scope out quickly at 1820. Original forecast was cloud cover, so caught by surprise . Had a really nice view of Mars, best that I had seen for a few weeks. Went for the Pleiades and the cloud cover rolled in.. Total viewing time approximately 30 minutes.

There are two models: the one you describe is the 'planetary' dobson, there is a table top mount 6" dobson which is 750mm and therefore fits nicely in my car boot... No final decision made yet, no stock in UK so no rush. I'm still thinking that a refractor may be a better option (102/600) in terms of my starting point which was a grab and go scope which I could move around easily with etc. but I would need a new mount. Certainly get more bang for the buck with a dobson...

The focuser alone seems to be a decent upgrade, and the lenses it comes with are apparently surprisingly decent... Not as portable, but seems to be a decent trade off build quality and portability... Just need to figure out what to put it on when I am out and about!

@Tiny Clanger you have put doubt in my mind. I have disappeared down the refractor vs reflector debate and agonised over dobsonian mounts... So I am now contemplating this: https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/bresser-messier-6-dobsonian.html#SID=1739

Hi, I was wondering if anyone else had got there hands on one of these and has anything to share about the scope being used in action for viewing? Not fussed about the imaging side, purely interested in the observing side at the moment...

Thank you - my education in telescope technology continues....

So an 'air spaced' doublet should in theory be optically better I assume than a cemented or oil doublet? Or is the answer 'it depends'?

OK quick, probably dumb (!) question: Is an 'air spaced' doublet a thing or just marketing speak?

Your Mii has a nice deep boot which ironically is better than the Mini boot... Seriously though, was good to see a picture with the scope in! Thanks!

Hi, yes I have come to realise this... I quickly bought two new Celestron omni plossl lenses (15mm & 32mm)off ebay for around £40 new total. I have no idea how they compare to other brands but a major improvement on the SW ones that came with the scope... Need to replace the Barlow next, and then the diagonal.... I was out for a walk on the South Downs this afternoon and about 10 minutes walk from my car park where I do majority of my viewing, there is a concrete water tank about table height. Could be used for a mini dobson... Maybe the Orion Starburst 4.5 or the SW Heritage could c

Doesn't sound like a good long term scope. I wonder if the larger AR-102S is better in this regard? More reading to be done...

OK thanks. Very technical review! So if I follow this correctly, the CA on the AR 102 xs is poor compared to the known ED glass of competitors, therefore the claims of using an ED type glass should be taken with a pinch of salt... This could be a good reason not to consider the shorter Bresser then...

Yes the mount will be the biggest issue. They are not cheap and cheap ones are probably not very good! John gave a recommendation for me for an AZ5 mount and legs which I will probably follow... Actually the biggest problem is the 900mm tube in the mini, the mount less so! The mini boot and the width of the car mitigates against a 900 tube. A bigger car is probably on the cards in the next 12 months but for reasons other than astronomy (shockingly enough!).

Ouch!