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Skyliner 300P 12" Dobsonian (Solid-tube)

assasincz

By assasincz
in Members Equipment Gallery

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assasincz

assasincz

Posted
Posted

It has arrived and I am absolutely chuffed to bits! What a monster! What a scope! I can't wait to try it out!

Well, I'd better not be emotional, as I am pretty sure that for a lot of you at SGL, the modest 300P is an underwhelming, moderate sort of scope. But I thought that it would be nice to share my unboxing experience.

First things first, I was going for the solid-tube version primarily because of the "bang for buck", and an image of me trying to manufacture a light-shroud for a Flex-Tube version (which apparently is nowhere to be purchased in CZ) seemed rather ridiculous. So solid-tube it was then. I have to say I was rather anxious because I have heard rumours about 300P solid-tub version being discontinued and unavailable, and it is no longer on the Synta's web pages too.

However, when the day of ordering the thing finally came, all the dealers I rang confirmed that the 12" solid-tube dobsonian was available, no problem at all. I took merely four days for it to arrive, only because the weekend got in the way. Quick service, I have to say, with a few pleasant surprises packed with it.

The boxes the scope came in were big and the OTA box seemed gigantic, but no sweat, that was to be expected :p I have unpacked the boxes one at a time, starting with the dobsonian base. I am positive that after assembling the base, I will not take it apart ever again (we all know the properties of chipboard), so I thought that glueing the pieces together to prevent moisture and dew from swelling up the chipboard might be a good idea, so Pattex Ultra-Super-Giga-Fix thingey was in order. I took my time with it to make sure the resulting joints will be as perfect as they could be. The occasional smears of it were dealt with by alcohol, no biggie.

While unboxing the dobsonian base, I have stumbled across something plate-shaped and very carefully wrapped in foam foil. Going through the manual, there was nothing to match it, so I unwrapped it and bang! An azimuth roller bearing! And I thought that the 12" scope comes (as per product description) with a teflon pad only. Nice surprise I have to say. The resulting movement in the azimuth is as smooth as wiping a babie's bottom with a silk cloth!:icon_salut:

Having unboxed the OTA and various accessories, I swapped the supplied 8X50 finderscope with a right-angled one I already had. The 25mm and 10mm eyepieces that came with it are exeactly the same as the onles I already have for my 4.5" scope, so, perhapes, a binoviewer might be in order some day. Lastly, I got a 2" tube extension for the focuser - again, something I did not expect.

Finally, I have unboxed the primary mirror cell, which is a suprisingly heavy thing. The mirror itself was dewed up, presumably being cool from storage and transportation. The pads that hold the mirror in the cell were rather loose so I have tightened them up a little bit. Fitting a cell to the tube only by myself was a doddle.

I have also purchased a simple cheap laser collimator to help be make these gargantuan optics behave. Having carefully studied beforehand, I have checked whether the collimator itself wasn't out of collimation and guess what - it was! But only by a little. So a spot of fiddling with it later, all was well and I have collimated the optics, no problem at all.

The build-quality of the scope was quite a surprise I have to say, having an experience with a toyish 4.5" Skywatcher reflector - there are many more metal parts than I have expected, including the various focuser adaptors, and the Crayford focuser works a treat. Obviously, having just purchased such monster, the scope has yet to experience its first light, which is something, that, as you would imagine, I am looking forward to enormously.

Sitting here now, thinking about my perfect dream scope that is sitting in the next room, I already have a list of DIY and modifications to tackle in my head, including making a transport case for the OTA, flocking, getting some handles, etc. It is a real joy to unbox a scope you were dreaming about. I am as excited as a very excited person that has a special reason to be excited (to quote from Black Adder episode) :confused:

Dimensions of the scope (sorry for the metric):

Base diameter: 64 cm

Base height: 78 cm

OTA diameter: 35 cm

OTA circumference: 114 cm

OTA length: 144 cm

"Parked" position height: 160cm

Total weight: A lot! (cca 40 kg)

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tbird

tbird

Posted
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Congratulations on your new scope, you'll have great views with that.

I bought the flextube version this summer after the UK dealers I spoke to said the solid tube was unavailable.

Just for reference, the mirror cell was already fitted in the OTA with my flextube.

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Adrian

Adrian

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I've supplied the dimensions to the review, just before the pictures

Thanks - unfortunately every entrance to my garden is 56cm, except the back gate :p I can wiggle a wider tripod through the doorways, but not a solid base.

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assasincz

assasincz

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lovely scope, I did order this one from flo but soon got a reply saying skywatcher discontinued it .. Where did you get your one??

I got mine from one specialized shop in Prague that happens to include e-shop for convenience. (Dalekohledy, Digitální fotoaparáty, Foto Bazar - FOTO OPTIKA JAN PAZDERA)

There are only a few suppliers in the Czech Republic that specialize in "real" amateur astronomy equipment but all of them were able (even keen) to supply the scope, only the prices and delivery dates varied. Mine was the equivalent of £580, shipping for free and, if it weren't for weekend, would be delivered the next day, actually.

I have to say, regarding the availability of the scope, I am pretty much stumped about it myself. Perhaps it is all down to the individual market.

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todd8137

todd8137

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nice report the mirror does look dirty and sticking ya head down it lol is not a good idea at all your dead skin hairs bodily fluids ect were did all the dust on the mirror come from its a great scope same as my baby your in for some great nights out

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Peter Drew

Peter Drew

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Be carefull not to tighten the mirror retaining clips, these mirrors are quite thin and any pressure can lead to astigmatism. You should be able to slide a piece of printer paper between the mirror face and the clips. :)

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assasincz

assasincz

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Be carefull not to tighten the mirror retaining clips, these mirrors are quite thin and any pressure can lead to astigmatism. You should be able to slide a piece of printer paper between the mirror face and the clips. ;)

Good point. I did this with a cigarette paper. The pads are actually rubber and do not remain parallel to the mirror's surface. I can slide the paper under each pad all the way to the mirror's edge, where the rubber actually touches the mirror's edge only. After pulling the paper with a little bit of force, I can get it all the way through without tearing it (it is a soft paper). All the screws can be easily loosened with just one finger and the scope gets a teeny bit out of collimation (laser collimator in) when slewing it below horizon position, so I reckon that the mirror is loose enough :) please correct me if I am wrong.

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assasincz

assasincz

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Have you had a chance to use the new howitzer yet?

Well, unfortunately, not yet. My attempts to look at some ground based objects (only to find that the scope is not tall enough to see over our garden fence) don't count. Plus the weather in central Europe right now is grim and gloomy to say the least. But believe me, I am most eager to try it out :) as you would imagine

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blinky1983

blinky1983

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Good point. I did this with a cigarette paper. The pads are actually rubber and do not remain parallel to the mirror's surface. I can slide the paper under each pad all the way to the mirror's edge, where the rubber actually touches the mirror's edge only. After pulling the paper with a little bit of force, I can get it all the way through without tearing it (it is a soft paper). All the screws can be easily loosened with just one finger and the scope gets a teeny bit out of collimation (laser collimator in) when slewing it below horizon position, so I reckon that the mirror is loose enough :) please correct me if I am wrong.

I have done this and over tightened the clips giving my views a comet tail, is it permanent damage or just acase of loosen it??

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