Dob or EQ

[Rakanishu]

Just wondering on the problems of a dob on unlevel ground I imagine you cannot use them on anything but fairly level ground.

Seeing as 90% of the places I view from do not have any level ground would an EQ mount be better as the legs can be extended or retracted to keep the mount level?

If that makes any sense

[basher0010]

Hi

looking at the 2 designs id have to say the EQ would suit your needs better on uneven ground i have the eq5 and a very eneven lawn but the mount seems to cope quite well..

[brantuk]

EQ mounts can be levelled by adjusting the tripod legs on pretty much any ground. With undriven dob mounts it doesn't matter cos they are push to. If you're using an angle guage and az setting circle though it's easier if your dob is level. If it's a goto dob then it's best to level it up or use level ground.

However - leveling ability is no criteria for chosing a mount type. You should consider if you will ever do imaging with your scope. Dobs are unsuitable for imaging anything but solar system objects. You would need an EQ mount to snap dso's (as well as solar system).

[ismangil]

Dob does not strictly need level ground if you're not using goto or pushto.

Because you manual track you just compensate...

Perry on mobile (so blame strange words on text prediction!)

[Rakanishu]

Would a dob not tip over if it was on a slope observing anything fairly low in the sky?

[brantuk]

If the slope is that steep it won't be usable anyway unless it's fixed to the ground somehow. You'll have all sorts of balance issues. You would allways pick somewhere that's as level as possible anyway