A newb with focus or collimation prob, 10" Dob?

[1crash70]

Hiya.

I hate to ask a question probably covered already in the forum elsewhere, but I've been searching around for a few days now and can't find anything precisely lining up with my situation.

Background: I'm totally new to this. For Xmas I purchased a small starter scope for the family, (Celestron 70mm), and we've all had a blast with it. I'd been researching other scopes for a month but definitely wanted to gauge everyone's interest before spending too much. A few nights of viewing and we decided to upgrade and settled on a 10" Sky-Watcher collapsable Dobsonian.*

Quick and easy to assemble, we took it out just before dusk for testing but we were completely unable to focus on any object farther away than about 100-120 yards. Darkness was soon upon us so it came back in for the night and I started reading, learning something about collimating (and I also ordered a tool; it should be here in a few days. So no collimation attempted yet and that's probably the answer to this long-winded explanation, so forgive me).*

Still, it seemed odd that I could focus on closer objects so the next night I tried again, this time using the newly arrived 2x Barlow with sights on Jupiter. What I see when looking through the eyepiece (with OR without the Barlow, by the way) is a large unfocused light blob, and also some sort of reflection/shadow of the spider and secondary mirror.

It seems as though the eyepiece, (which is a 25mm 1.25" in a 2" adapter, as provided with the scope), needs to be able to recess another 1/2" or more into the adapter and it'd come into focus.*

During the day today I removed the adapter and just held the eyepiece there, (slightly deeper than the adapter would allow) cupping my hands around it...and it seems to focus brilliantly.

So does this sound like a normal collimating problem, (which I'll work on learning next week, regardless), or is there an adapter/eyepiece issue needing resolved (and parts ordered for) as well?*

(ps- Today I ordered a 2" EP also, to know if that will work w/o an adapter.)

These lost nights of viewing, with beautiful, clear skies are killing us! Haha.*

Thanks for taking the time for dumb questions.

Any help much appreciated!

[Rob wright]

sounds like eyepiece in the wrong position to me

collmination would I believe give a distorted view but no change the focusing distance

[John]

I don't think this is a collimation issue either. It's caused but the eyepiece not getting to the point of focus for astro objects, which are to all intents and purposes, at infinity. The fact that you can focus on objects 100 yards away or so but no further means that the eyepiece is being held too far out - it will need to move forward quite a way to reach focus on more distant objects. I suspect its to do with the way you are using the adapters that came with the scope but if you can post of photo of the focuser with an eyepiece in place how you have been using it, the issue can be diagnosed for sure.

Similar issues with Skywatcher scopes have been reported a few times lately on this forum.

[DOBBY]

If you have something similar to this... First Light Optics - Two-inch Focus Extension tubes

take it out

[1crash70]

Aha!

Thank you all for the responses.

As I suspected...I'm just an idiot newbie; the info packet and instructions failed to illustrate or mention that the 2" EP adapter replaces the piece actually designed for 2" eyepieces...and I didn't realize that it was removable. Ha!

Just peeped out Jupiter for the first time in the new scope.

AMAZING!

In think I've got another hour or two before the clouds move in. Heh heh.

Thanks for the help.

[Rob wright]

Please you got it sorted

Last year I went to currys to get a startravel 70 for keeping in the car as they were only £50

when I got there I hd to rebuild their demo as some one had pushed the finder scope in the eyepiece socket :-) as well as other things

They gave me £5 off for helping them so 10%

not bad scope either with some other eyepieces

So mistakes happen

[tbird]

I think the Skywatcher scopes are great bits of kit, but the instructions supplied could be improved, some aspects are not covered very well or are ambiguous in meaning.

[1crash70]

Yes. The instructions were for several scopes, not all parts seemed to even be for Dobs! The finder scope info was for a completely different unit, and either an O-ring for the finder scope was not included, not needed or already in place...

Still, it was a very simple set-up taking no more than 20-30 minutes.

And at $599 from Adorama ($100 cheaper than Celestron price online), I am very pleased with the power for price ratio! (so far I've only been able to use it once, of course...but it is quite an improvement from the 70mm!)

If the GoTo system were available in the US, there's no doubt I would have saved a bit longer to drop the extra $800-1000 on that. Even considered asking a friend in Canada to purchase and ship to me...but decided that without a warranty the scope alone was a good enough upgrade and I'd save the GoTo expense until ready to move into astrophotography, next year perhaps:)