GSO dob

[sweden]

Hi !

I got my GSO 8" dobson deluxe today and I have to say that it look's better then I expected, I was expecting the IKEA wood rocker box with teflon pads, allen bolts for mirror ajustments and so on but not at all.

All ajustment bolts can be turned with your fingers including locking bolts for the mirror, very nice, and it has roller bearings in the rockerbox bottom, a large plastic ring about 30cm in diameter with small steel rollers in it, this is placed between 2 steel plates and the friction can be ajusted with the center bolt, I have only tested it inside so far but it feels very solid.

The OTA bearings are also different from what I expected, you screw on 2 aluminum houses, one on each side of the tube, each one is in two parts, the outer U shaped one rests in the U-cut in the rocker box, and then there is a big knob to ajust friction, at least it look's and fell very solid, but only time will tell.

After reading reviews on the internet I was expecting the allen bolts for ajustment and very simple bearings with the springs and the OTA just sitting in the U shaped cuts in the rocker box with some teflon pads.

Any way, the clouds are of course coming in at the moment so there will be no testing today at least.

I also got a Rigel Quikfinder and a Skywatcher 2" panaview 26mm and a Baader Hyperion 13mm eyepiece, looks a bit odd compared to the kit eyepieces, about the size of a small FIAT both of them

Oh, I almost forgot, how do you store your dob's, the rocker box is the usual IKEA stuff and that does not take moisture very well, I had been thinking about keeping it in the garage to avoid temperature changes but I am not sure if the rocker box will survive in a garage with no heating at all ? maybe I should keep it inside, it does have a fan for the mirror so it should cool down pretty fast.

[NGC 1502]

Storage in an outside building is fine, far less cooldown when setting up.

Your main problems are dust and damp. Some ventilation will help to reduce damp. The optical tube should have a dust cap for the upper end, and a plastic shower cap can be placed on the lower end to help keep dust from entering around the primary mirror cell, plus a cap for the focuser.

Make sure everything is dry before sealing up.

The mount can be wiped down after use to remove moisture. You could seal the joints with mastic to keep dew from soaking in.

Hope that helps, Ed.