Keeping it level...

[jasperuk]

How do you level up a Dob....

I have seen a Skywatcher 250PX for sale and i would like to know how you level it out if your not on flat ground, its easy with my EQ3-2 not sure how or how much slope they can cope with...??

[RikM]

I have never felt any need to level my Dob at all. As long as it doesn't fall over, why would you need to level it? The whole benefit of a Dob base for me is that you DON'T need to level or align it. You just stick it outside and look through the scope.

[jasperuk]

I was looking at a dual motor version so i presume for astro photo i needed to star align and level it out ?

[WayBig]

I replaced the feet on my tracking dob's base with some adjustable kitchen cupboard / shower tray feet like these

Shower Tray / Cabinet feet / Legs Adjustable x 4 | eBay

[RikM]

I was looking at a dual motor version so i presume for astro photo i needed to star align and level it out ?

You can only use them for webcam lunar planetary shots so I don't think it matters very much.

[jasperuk]

Why only lunar and planetary, a 10in dob cant track and photograph DSO's???

[garethmob]

dob sonian mounts are the same as a alt az mount, in that it moves by very slight movents up and across so if it was really smooth it would get field rotation, a EQ mount is far far better for ap

if you do want to get into AP theres a fantastic book made by one of our members and a regular editor on sky at night mag steve richards (making every photon count) its the bible of deep sky astrophotography

[jasperuk]

I can get about 40 seconds from my eq3-2 wihtout much trouble how logn could a well alighned dob do ???

[RikM]

I can get about 40 seconds from my eq3-2 wihtout much trouble how logn could a well alighned dob do ???

Probably about 20 - 30 sec. Field rotation will start immediately, so the stars in the corners of the image will streak straight away. How bad it will look will depend on the size of the sensor you are using.

The best DSO images I have seen taken with a tracking Dob are by theodoros1978 and I would say he has done very well indeed to get these http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/179199-ngc-4631-whale-galaxy-image-az-dob-image-az-dob.html

For DSO imaging a stable EQ mount is the most important bit of kit.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I have never felt any need to level my Dob at all. As long as it doesn't fall over, why would you need to level it? The whole benefit of a Dob base for me is that you DON'T need to level or align it. You just stick it outside and look through the scope.

Exactly.

[stevetynant]

I have been thinking of it to aid in push to accuracy

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[ollypenrice]

You need an equatorial for deep sky imaging. Think of Orion. It rises with the Hunter leaning to the left. It sets with him leaning to the right. That's field rotation. Besides, the tracking accuracy of Dobs, while nice for visual, is not up to AP. (Sure you can find wonder Dobs on the net with computerized tracking, finely engineered, and field de- rotators etc etc. I don't think that forms part of this discussion, though.)

Olly

[WayBig]

I have been thinking of it to aid in push to accuracy

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I'm in agreement with you here. If your dob is push to, tracking, goto, or if you're using gadgets like angle gauges to find targets then it will certainly be more accurate and better balanced if the base is level