GSO 10" - Any experience - Any Good?

[Bart]

Hello All,

I was thinking of upgrading to a 10" Dob. Probably the Skywatcher or GSO. Teleskop Service have the GSO for €75 more than the Skywatcher but it does have the Dual Speed Crayford focuser. Is it worth the extra €75 (£60ish) for the dual speed GSO focusser. I've read they're pretty good.

Any experience with these telescopes - good or bad?

Thanks

Bart

[NGC 1502]

I've had two Skywatcher Dobs, an 8" and a 10". Both were very good scopes. I only got my Orion Optics 10" as it was going for a good price second hand from someone I know. It's a basic 1/4 wave mirror with standard coatings.

So is the OO better than a SW ? I never had the two side by side to compare. But from memory I think that the SW optics are as good. Maybe under excellent conditions the OO would give the better view, but I'm doubtful. And very steady seeing is rare from the places I observe from. One benifit with the OO is the very nice aluminium Dob mount.

With both of my SW Dobs, I made my own mounts from plywood. But the particle board SW mounts get the job done :- dry off any moisture after use, and store in a dry place. You can seal the joints with mastic, and with care the particle board will last many years.

The basic eyepieces that come with SW scopes will get you started. But when you use better ones, you realise the limitations of the supplied EPs.

Don't know about the focuser, but a dual speed is a nice idea.

SW Dobs are great value for money. I think that all Dobs are best suited to those with DIY experience, collimation is one area where that helps. And mounts can be tweaked to give smoother movements, essential for hand tracking.

HTH, Ed.

[Bart]

Ed,

Thanks for that. From what everyone says here, I'm sure the SW is fine. I was probably more curious about the GSO. You mentioned OO but I'm assuming these aren't the same as the GSOs. I suppose what I wanted to hear was a few experienced people saying they had one and they are good/fine. I know what you're saying about the eyepieces. I've just ordered a Parks Gold Series Barlow from the US (like the Celestron Ultima, i understand) and if I go for the 10" i'm going to go for it with a Baader Hyperion and a Wixey. If my wife finds out the price, there'll be pictures but no sound for a while.!!!! Thanks for the input.

[John]

GSO make the Meade Lightbridge's and the Revelation dobsonians. Both are effective and popular and optically I reckon there is little to choose between GSO mirror's and Skywatcher ones. I've owned 2 GSO made dobs and 2 Skywatcher (Synta made) ones. The differences between them are minor although I'd say the the GSO focusers were a little better wheras the Skywatcher primary mirror cells were slightly superior. Nothing really in it though.

[Bart]

thanks John, appreciate it., do you mind if I ask you , how do you get to use that great selection of scopes

[John]

... do you mind if I ask you , how do you get to use that great selection of scopes

Too infrequently at the moment !

I doubt that I'll keep (on be allowed to keep ) all of them for too long so I'll need to thin them out - it's just deciding what to keep and what to let go

It's fun trying out different types though