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14" flex dob owner views

spaceboy

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acey

acey

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Certainly plenty of 12" flextube owners on this forum (I'm one of the satisfied customers) and I believe there are one or two 16" flextube owners.

My question to any 14" owners would be: what's the base like to lug around? The hefty 12" base is what I least like about the scope; the 16" base apparently comes apart for transport (assuming you can get the bits through the door:)), the 14" base looks to be the same.

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haitch

haitch

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Are these not popular scopes then ? I was expecting waves of feedback.

I'm sure lots of people would love them but you've got to have the money, the muscles and somewhere to keep it.

They are also a fairly new model so it takes time for people to follow the upgrade path. Those who've already gone as big as they could until the release of this had probably got 12" ones and the natural upgrade from that is 16" (2" more isn't considered an ideal jump in aperture to give you a fresh wow).

I think, speaking as the owner of an old 14" British made solid tube dob, that dobs that size are a bit of a niche market.

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johninderby

johninderby

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My question to any 14" owners would be: what's the base like to lug around? The hefty 12" base is what I least like about the scope; the 16" base apparently comes apart for transport (assuming you can get the bits through the door:)), the 14" base looks to be the same.

Is SkyWatcher ever going to look at one of the OO UK dob bases to see how one should be designed. Compact enough to fit through any doorway and comparatively light.

It's one of the reasons I sold my LB 16" and replaced it with an OO. :D

John

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I agree John they are an amazing dob bases but having seen one at PSP I would hazard a guess and say they would cost a lot more to manufacture over the chipboard efforts of Synta. Melamine-Face Chipboard is readily available anywhere and can be machined cheaply. Good quality aluminum is not so cheap and laser cutting along with powder coat just adds to the overall cost. :D

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johninderby

johninderby

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Yes that's the problem, bit too pricey in alloy for SkyWatcher. Still I'm sure that could do a similar compact design but in chipboard.

SkyWatcher is moving up-market with their latest APOs so why not with the dobs. Be nice to see them do a deluxe dob with an OO type base and a CF tube. :eek:

Not holding my breath though. :D

John

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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spaceboy you really have got it bad, i thought you had given up on the mega dob choice, how about a used 14" OO dob

:D Not getting a big dob anytime soon mate but couldn't help but wonder what the 14" flex dobs are like after seriously considering getting one. The lack of replies just had me curious.

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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Making my own did cross my mind as far as I'm aware Birmingham University has the facilities to make mirrors so I'm sure if I made some inquiries there might be an opportunity to save on one of the expensive parts of a scope ??? Whether I have the skills to make a good job of it is another matter though :D

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Just a thought, if you were to make one or alter one, regarding the chipboard, i could source you some grp, which is a plywood with a white high gloss resin coat on each side, this would be better for the base than chipboard

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Chris H

Chris H

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If I were going to go bigger I think I would wait for a second hand OO to come up or commission one from David Lukehurst. That way you get a top quality mirror in addition to the increase in aperture. I know this would cost maybe £1k more but you'd keep something like that for ever.

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Ben Ritchie

Ben Ritchie

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Hi 350mm flex dob owners First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 350P FlexTube Dobsonian. Can I ask for your views on the scope?

I owned one, now sold. Great 'scope optically, very nicely made with a decent focuser and 14" is a really nice aperture for getting beyond the 'normal' Messier/bright NGC objects if that's your interest.

But.

The 'scope comes with a significant increase in size/weight over the 12" version. Much more than you'd expect, really. I put the weights on a post here somewhere, but ISTR the base is around 70 pounds and fully assembled is a two-person lift due to both weight and awkwardness. Won't go through a normal door fully assembled. Breaks down quickly though. OTA is big, bulky and ideally needs the flat loadspace of an estate for transport. Needs a couple of hours to fully cool down and stabilize if moved out of the house, less if in a shed/garage (although they can be hotter than the house in summer), needs collimation each time due to the flextube design.

Ultimately for me the lack of portability was the killer, but the time/effort to setup was also significant - I was using a 3" refractor in preference to the 14" lightbucket, as 30s grab'n'go fitted my needs much better than heave'n'collimate

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4lefts

4lefts

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maybe the 14 is an unpopular size because people think "meh, i'm gonna go nuts and get a scope big enough to sleep in, i may as well get the 16"? i'd probably think like that. if I had a garden. or any money.

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I owned one, now sold. Great 'scope optically, very nicely made with a decent focuser and 14" is a really nice aperture for getting beyond the 'normal' Messier/bright NGC objects if that's your interest.

But.

The 'scope comes with a significant increase in size/weight over the 12" version. Much more than you'd expect, really. I put the weights on a post here somewhere, but ISTR the base is around 70 pounds and fully assembled is a two-person lift due to both weight and awkwardness. Won't go through a normal door fully assembled. Breaks down quickly though. OTA is big, bulky and ideally needs the flat loadspace of an estate for transport. Needs a couple of hours to fully cool down and stabilize if moved out of the house, less if in a shed/garage (although they can be hotter than the house in summer), needs collimation each time due to the flextube design.

Ultimately for me the lack of portability was the killer, but the time/effort to setup was also significant - I was using a 3" refractor in preference to the 14" lightbucket, as 30s grab'n'go fitted my needs much better than heave'n'collimate

Thanks Ben

It sounds like the 14" is going to take too much effort getting to dark skies, I doubt I could afford the more portable OO and a 12" isn't going to offer me a significant improvement over the 10" so I may as well stick with what I've got until I win the lottery and buy a house on the Isle of Sark

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