New member New scope! Skywatcher Explorer 200p or Syyliner 200p Dob?

[Charon]

Welcome to the forum Stu.

[basher0010]

eq5 and 200p all the way for me this is my first scope and im more than happy with it i did look at dobs but wanted the equitorial mount incase i move on to imaging more seriously in the future i think my only other wish is that id gone bigger maybe 300 mm but happy for now now if i ever upgrade i think id like to go to atleast a 12" or 14" finances permitting

[Celtic Deacon]

Hi Stu. I've got the dob and settled on that as at the moment no interest in imaging - haven't mastered photoshop yet. I have taken a few snaps of the moon with a compact held in front of eyepiece and that worked surprisingly well. Perhaps I should rethink the imaging bit. It is a personal choice - can you get to an AS near you to have a look through both?

[ismangil]

Do you have to carry the scope far to observe?

I have one flight of stairs down from cellar doors to my yard.

When I was on EQ5, I couldn't carry the mount with the weights on it, which means three trips: mount, weight, scope.

Now I've ordered a Dobsonian mount, it cuts down to two trips: base, scope.

Setup much quicker.

So if you're lazy like me...

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

[stulynn]

Thanks everyone. Went for the Dob in the end, as only likely to be a 'casual' observer. No time for lengthy set up and no desire to take photos (a 2 year old boy takes up most of my energy these days).

I picked one up from Stockport at the weekend and was easy to put together. Big, but not as intrusive as I thought it might be - actually takes up less space than my old 4.5in scope with mount. Read up on collimating and gave it a quick go with a home made cap and it appears to be set up OK - everything looks central and I can see the full mirror and clips etc - certainly no major flaws noticed but I might invest in a cheshire at some point.

Took it outside for its first test run last night in broken skies above Macclesfield. Let it cool down for around 45 mins. Didnt really see a great deal. Saw the large crescent of Venus, but was low in the sky and the image was quite 'wavy' which is expected. Located Mars fairly high in the sky and made out a clear, pinky disc, but very bright (no real detail). Will give it a better work out in the coming nights if the weather improves!

I've already ordered a 9x50 right angle erect correcting finder for £58 as the one supplied is a back killer! Is there scope to sell the standard one online somewhere other than ebay - is there any demand for them? It might help offset the cost of the new one!

Just a few more questions if I may,

1. I already own a 25mm & 9.7mm Meade 4000 super plossl and a Meade 126 2x telenegative barlow from my old 4.5" Bushnell telescope. Would you still class these as 'decent' EP's, or is there a better brand for not much more money. I was thinking of getting one more, say a 6 or 7mm (Meade do a 6.4mm) or do I just stick with the 9.7mm with the x2 barlow.

2. How slack should the ground board bolt be? Ive loosened mine off a bit to try and make movement smoother, but there now is a little 'play' between the two plates (ie, the top board moves a few mm to the left/right on top of the lower board). should I be tightening it back up a bit or is this normal?

3. And I guess I'm going to need a chair to sit at for extra comfort. What do most people use? Just a regular fold up camping/garden chair (with beer holder!?) or is there a more respectable variety that you recommend? I'll be using it on grass mainly.

Thanks again - really looking forward to giving this scope some use over the coming months if the weather improves!

[knobby]

might be interested in this thread ...

http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-mounts/158264-just-finished-modding-my-dob-base.html

Good luck and enjoy

[gingergeek]

Hi there and welcome to SGL

[Rusty Strings]

Hi and welcome