200 Dob or 200P eq5

[TheNorthernMonkey]

I've been given the OK from household control to invest in a new, bigger scope. The biggest I can realistically cope with is 200, as I have to carry it up some stairs to store it in the spare room.

As this will be my only large scope, my other scope is an equinox 80, which mount would you choose; Dob or eq?

[dtr42]

i prefer dob easy set up ,easy storage , the eq can take a bit of getting used to [spinning the ota etc to get the ep in view can be annoying] .also with a dob , a compass . and a wixey [digital degree lcd] with stellarium i could pretty much find anything i wanted . although i now have the goto dob , have had a few shots on the eq's [tal1 and a 200p explorer ] and by the time they had set theirs up i was viewing away quite happily .

[John]

I prefer the easy set up of the dob mount too. The 200P on the dob mount is an F/6 so easier to collimate and more friendly to low cost eyepieces. A great all round scope. The EQ5 mounted 200P is an F/5. An EQ mounted 8" scope would have to be carried up stairs in 2-3 pieces wheras the 200P dob can be lifted in one piece.

[TheNorthernMonkey]

What is classed as a low cost eyepiece? I use X-Cel LX currently, would I need to buy better?

[dtr42]

use what you have at the moment and if /when you want better then theres always something dearer to buy [it is astronomy after all lol]

[Capricorn]

If you intend visual only, now and in the future, then the Dobsonian mount makes most sense.

If you think you may one day dabble in some imaging then the Equitorial.

On the basis that the equitorial will do both imaging and visual whereas the dobsonian will only do visual the equitorial has the greater possibilities.

Additionally even a basic set of motors on the equitorial will allow it to track all on it's own, which could be useful to show frineds and family thihgs up there.

The X-Cel's will be fine on the 200P.

[RikM]

The Dobsonian version would be my choice.

I take it you are also keeping the Equinox? The only reason to choose an equatorial mount would be if you intended long exposure imaging and if you wanted to do that, the Equinox 80 you already have would be better than either of the 8" Newts.

[Ganymede12]

I have my sights set on a dob. It's cheaper, bigger and quicker to set up.

[TheNorthernMonkey]

Eventually I would like to image, but I'm also aware that the EQ5 isn't the mount to do it with, as its not motorised. I bought the equinox 80 as its easy to transport when I am away (Frequently) and eventually to use as an imaging scope

[John]

What is classed as a low cost eyepiece? I use X-Cel LX currently, would I need to buy better?

The X-Cel LX's are good eyepieces and would work well at F/6 or F/5.

[Lenny147]

+1 for the xl eps, I use a 9mm in my Dob and they give excellent views

[PorkyB]

I have just bought an 200p on an EQ5 mount with the RA motor (a £70 add-on). I like it very much. I don't find aligning the mount a big deal, it's something to do while the scope is cooling. Spinning the tube in the rings is also no big deal. Even with a very rough polar alignment the tracking with the motor drive is good enough for visual use.

The two downsides to this mount are: (1) setup time and (2) weight.

I can live with the 15 minutes it takes me to unpack and assemble everything, as this is scope cooling time anyway, although I could be sitting having a nice cup of tea instead. More of a pain is the same amount of time to disassemble and repack everyting when everyone else is heading home.

The real pain is the weight. The tripod and mount (without the scope) are 29kg. I keep the mount, excluding the tripod in a small suitcase and I realise that I risk injuring myself every time I have to lift it. Obviously I could split the bits up into more, lighter packages but then I would have to make more trips. Also, moving the scope during an observing session is a major operation, whilst the Dob owners can pick the whole lot up and move it without any mucking around.

I don't think I made the wrong choice, I like the EQ mount a lot, and the EQ5 is a good, solidly-made piece of kit, but it is heavy and awkward compared to a Dob.

[John]

.....The real pain is the weight. The tripod and mount (without the scope) are 29kg....

Just for comparison, the 200P dobsonian weighs around 20kg all in, scope and mount.

[freeflyjay]

if you go for the dob why not get a 250 as the base is the same size or there abouts so storage takes up no more room, i brought one a while back as my first scope and love it, there quite manageable to shift about just lift the tube off the base, set up is really quick, i`ve never used an equitorial mount but they sound a bit of a pain all this aligning business, i just have a push to system using sky safari on an android tablet to get co ordinates, works well, but if you are going to get into astro photography then obviously the dob is not the way to go.

[Lenny147]

If you can afford it go for the 250

[TheNorthernMonkey]

The OTA will fit in the car no problem by lying accross the back seats, however, I'm not sure if the stand from anything bigger will fit in the boot of my car (BMW 318) which looks big, but has quite a small boot because of all the rear wheel drive gubbins

[freeflyjay]

The OTA will fit in the car no problem by lying accross the back seats, however, I'm not sure if the stand from anything bigger will fit in the boot of my car (BMW 318) which looks big, but has quite a small boot because of all the rear wheel drive gubbins

i have a citroen saxo...very small car, i put the tube of my 10" on the back seat and the stand on the passenger seat.....if the wife wanted to come along suppose she could squeeze in the boot lol....but seriously a 318 should be more than fine if i can manage with a saxo, and they`re really not that heavy or hard to move around.

[crashtestdummy]

totally depends on what you want from it i.e. viewing or imaging.i used xcel eyepieces with my 200p,you wont have any problems with them

[Scott]

I have the 200p eq5 and also a small dob. the 130 dob is great when using low power ep's for dso's but when using it for planetary viewing with higher power ep's i find it to be a bit of a pain continually having to nudge it where as with the eq5 once an object is centred it just a matter of adjusting the ra knob (or motor would eliminate even this). I have to agree that a dob is much easier to set up and pack up but i don't find it unpleasent setting up the eq mount either, in fact i quite enjoy the routine of setting up. However when there's only a small break in the clouds it would probably be the dob that comes out. In short, I love them both for different reasons but if I could only have one it would be the eq... no the dob....no the eq.

Seriously if I could only have one it WOULD be the eq. Probably not much help but thats my 2 cents worth.

Scott.

[TheNorthernMonkey]

I have to put everything in my car, and drive for 5 miles to where I can observe,. However, the weight difference for having to carry everything up the stairs swings things towards the Dob

[66mikeg]

I don't find transporting my kit a problem 'scope, tripod, weights,and head separate are easy, it takes 15 - 20 minutes to put it together and possibly another 10 minutes after it's reasonably dark to get it aligned and then, if it doesn't cloud over you're all set.

[LeeB]

get the eq and build a dob base for i,t best of both worlds.( make a cradle from a second set of rings so you dont have to mark tube.)