minimal ep set for 10" f/5 dob

[Bender]

I hope to find a bit more time for stargazing again and I am tempted to ad a 10" dob to my Tal 100RS.

I am drwan at the moment between the Skywatcher 250PX, which I had in the past, and the OO VX 10. The 250PX is a great scope but with the MDF base on the heavy side.

I think the OO VX 10 would be substantial lighter but then again it cost 3 times as much.

Regardless of the which scope to buy, I am looking for a nice minimal set that would work well both on the dob and my Tal.

I had previously a Pan 24 (struggle to get 2" eps into focus in my Tal), a Nagler 13 and 7 but I am open to suggestions (never tried the Explore scientific or Pentax offerings).

(I own a full set of Baader Genuine Orthos and a Tal 25mm plossl at the moment)

[Mr Moff]

I always use my BGO's for planets and the moon, but for pretty much everything else the 13mm ethos comes out.

If its in your budget I'd pick the ethos and something in the 30mm range.

[Bender]

Thanks Danny, the Ethos is certainly a fantastic ep but I try to stay 1.25" to be able to use the wide fields in my refractors as well.

[umadog]

Definitely consider the Explore Scientific. The images are Televue-like but the price tag isn't. Here's a random review from the net: http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2139

I've got the 30 mm and 14 mm ES 82 degree eyepieces and I've looked through the 14 mm 100 degree. They work well in faster scopes. Pentax has an excellent reputation but they're pricey.

I like Radians for planetary viewing. I do most planetary viewing with a 10 mm Radian which gives 210x in my scope. With a 10" Dob you might want to consider the 6 mm, though, since that's the focal length that gets you about 200x. The Delos line from Televue sound excellent, but I've never observed wit them.

You could buy the Skywatcher and re-build the base with Plywood. In my mind, though, what you're buying with OO is a better than average chance of a good mirror. It's more of a lottery if you buy the mass-produced scopes from Asia (although you certainly can end up with a good one). If you buy from OO and this is to be your main scope then get the best optical quality. Even from a maker such as OO, there are good mirrors and bad mirror so maximise your chances by opting for their best ones. Also, OO mirrors are thinner than those from Asia so it will cool a lot faster.

[estwing]

the ethos is a 1.25" and 2"...and is fantastic in a 12.5" dob...nice Zeiss there Bender..