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Dob or dob

Mr Flibble

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Mr Flibble

Mr Flibble

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I'm looking to upgrade to a larger aperture with a dob. It will be for visual use only. I mostly transfer to a dark sky site to observe so it must be easy to transport. I very rarely set-up in my back garden due to poor light pollution. I'm fit and healthy with no back problems. I'm undecided between a solid tube 10" and a collapsable 12". Any thoughts on the solid tube vs collapsable, and the optimum size to go for whilst still being portable?

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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Hi David

May I ask: Are you keeping the C6-N?

The 12" would make a nicer upgrade but it's not without it's problems.

Having more than one scope means the 12" is a more realistic option. Some people will haul a big 12" scope outside every single time they observe but not all. Go and see one in the flesh if you haven't yet. They're a big lump.

I should imagine the Flextube versions make this particular problem easier.

If its to be your only scope I would go with the 10". it's a more manageable package.

Like you I transport my scope every time I observe. I have horrendous LP at home and simply won't observe from London, (I tried it once and absolutely hated it). My 10" Solid tube is a wonderfully easy scope to work with, its ready to go in seconds and gives great views. I would never part with it. I usually have a large scope for dark sky trips around the new moon. So my little 10" is my grab n go.:)

At the end of the day both a 10" or a 12" are superb size scopes and whichever you choose will keep you busy for years. I've had a 10" in my arsenal of scopes on and off for 17 years, and am nowhere near exhausting the objects available to observe.

Regards Steve

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RikM

RikM

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If you are going to take it to a dark site to use every time, then the 12" would let you see more, but they are a fair bit bigger, heavier and more expensive than the 10" and to my eyes, the improvement in the view wasn't worth the extra £££ between the solid 10" and the flex 12". I am quite happy I made the right choice with the solid 10".

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John

John

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The Flextubes are a little heavier than the solid tube versions so the 12" flex will not be as light as a 10" solid. All aperture is good if you have access to dark skies. I found my 12" Lightbridge too much to lug in and out at home though so downsized to a 10" Orion Optics which is a lot more portable. I don't recall a big drop in the quality of the views to be honest but the Orion Optics scope does have the Hilux coatings which might make up for the aperture drop at least in part. The 10" gets used a lot more than the 12" which is the important thing for me.

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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The way things are going I think I might start making some solid tube Dobs 12" and under. I reckon there's a fortune to be made.:rolleyes:

Skywatcher must be shooting themselves in the foot by stopping production. Someone is going to step in and take the market from under their noses. Numpties.

:)

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Mr Flibble

Mr Flibble

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Thanks for the info and replies everyone.

Yes Steve I'll be keeping the C6-N, it may well be used at some point in the future for astrophotography. So yes I see your point that it could act as a grab n go if I didn't want to lug the 12" out every time.

I'm thinking I should go as big as practically possible, and then I could always downsize if the 12" proves to be too cumbersome.

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Damo636

Damo636

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I have a solid tube 12" and to be honest its no big deal to move around once you get used to handling it. Its obviously a 2 piece lift but manageable enough for one person to handle. I had planned keeping my 8" as my grab and go but found myself never reaching for it once I started using the 12" so I sold it. My advise would be to go for the 12", under dark skies it will knock your socks off :)

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I agree with the go with the 12" crowd. people often underestimate what aperture does. it makes not only faint stuff visible but also make other things like globs and open clusters much more appealing as they have more stars in the field and often a faint peppering in the background too.

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Mr Flibble

Mr Flibble

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So do you think a solid tube 12" is ok to handle? I see there's a video on youtube of a chap setting up a solid 12" skyliner and he seems to handle it very easily. I reckon it will fit in the car (ibiza) with the back seat down?

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Mike73

Mike73

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David

I was recently in a similar position to you, I really did have my heart set on a 14" SW Flex but common sense got the better of me and today I received my 12"SW flex tube. I'm soooooo glad I went for the 12"!!

Believe what you read, the 12" is a big old lump and I'm sure the 14" would of been too much to handle on my own.

So I've still got my 8" solid tube and I'm sat on the fence to keep it or not. I'm going to get used to the 12" and see how I feel about using it as my only scope for a couple weeks.

At the moment I 'think' I'm going to sell the 8" (money will pay for a new EP or two).

My reasons-

My back garden has a LM 5.3 and its fairly easy to set my scope up from where its stored (I only have to move it 15ft from garage).

My observing sessions are usually around 3-4 hours and I feel I don't really need a grab and go.

Time will tell though. :)

Very impressed with the scope though, size and weight isn't really too much of an issue.

IF I was looking for bad points against the SW flex tube then I can only think of two. 1 The focuser is a single speed Crayford, I will be upgrading at some point but some other makes have dual speed as standard (I think?). 2 I'm going to bite the bullet and buy an Astrozap light shroud. I'd rather make one but as the SW only has three trusses the last thing I want is for sagging cloth getting in the way of the primary.

Hopefully it will get first light tomorrow and I'II have more to comment on.

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Mr Flibble

Mr Flibble

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Don't worry Mat, I'm not rushing out to buy anything yet. I'm weighing up options for the time being thanks to everyones feedback. I'm now 99% certain on a 12" but I have to work out whether to go for either a solid or flex, and either a goto or a tracking platform :)

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Mr Flibble

Mr Flibble

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Next time we meet up try the ota for weight and see how it fits on your back seat.Ive ordered the bits for the drive on my platform so that should be up and running shortly.

Cheers Mat. Hopefully we'll get a chance in the next few weeks :)

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rory

rory

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" So I've still got my 8" solid tube and I'm sat on the fence to keep it or not. I'm going to get used to the 12" and see how I feel about using it as my only scope for a couple weeks.

At the moment I 'think' I'm going to sell the 8" (money will pay for a new EP or two)."

you'll get a decent price with them being hard to find at the moment .

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