Lightbridge or flex tube Dob?

[Mike73]

..i was under this impression mike, thats whats confusing me even more...the skywatcher is nicer to look at,which makes all the difference when it's dark!!!!!!!!!!!!

Problem with black OTA's is that you can accidentally head butt them in the dark (cough cough!!) not that I've ever done that of course!

[estwing]

the main characters for DSOs (faint stuff) are:

dark skies (portability)

aperture

optical quality of mirrors

I my experience it's only vital that optical quality is high when looking at high brightness/magnification. a good mirror will allow both but it's not essential for faint targets.

..shane has the words of wisdom here...

[Pingster]

Mike Haha. Thats part of the reason i returned my black carbon graphite apo, you need a bit of white on it at least or you end up bumping it over!

[alan potts]

I have to say the video of the SW 16 inch has greatly increased my opinion of this scope, a feel of quality even comes across in the short film. I am just a little insure as to how good the mirrors are in these mass produced models. I have to say thanks to the uploader and I was impressed.

Alan.

[alan potts]

On the optics I believe that GSO are better than the rest but this is not backed up facts and figures and we all know they can be misleading.

Alam.

[John]

I've read of variable mirror quality in the Meade Lightbridges, which do use GSO optics. There was a period when their mirror overcoating was poor / non-existent so they needed re-coating earlier than would normally be expected. My 12" Meade Lightbridge had decent optics but the coatings were not holding up too well despite the scope only being a few years old.

I have to say, if I was in the market for a larger dob, the Skywatcher would be my preference. Too many things needed modding / sorting "out of the box" with the Meade for my liking.

Meade may have sorted these issues out now though.

[Pingster]

The flextube in its defsult form is a joy to use. But it can still be modded to give it that extra punch. These mods are simple and very satisfying to do.

1. Buy the flocking material from FLO and covering the inside of the scope to redice stray light.

2. Use some blackboard black paint to paint over any silver screws inside the light path.

3. Use blavkboard paint to paint around edge and back of secondry mirror. Very easy to do as i am sure theres at least 3mm of tolerance so no worries if you paint over the secondry by 1 or even 2mm.

These modes are very rewarding and satifying to apply. Nothing like a bit of scope love.

Even loaded with a TVx2 power mate + baader Mrk5 bino or denki super system bino the alt motion is still very good as long as you use counter balance magnets on the other side.

Another critical reason to buy a flextube is that the truss can be dropped back down by any desired height, to achieve focus with any binoviewer without use of a dreaded barlow, giving beautiful low mag views. For this reason alone i would recommend the flextube over any other budget dob.

[Damo636]

Here's my next scope.....

http://www.obsessiontelescopes.com/telescopes/15/index.php

Its going to take a few years, but one day, she will be mine!

[Pingster]

Hehe not to kill your thunder. But apparently the obsession is out of date. The starstructure scopes are ment to be cutting edge these days. I could well be wrong but we are both off topic.

[Luke]

We had a similar decision to make. We've been very happy with our 12 inch flextube but made the mistake of seeing a 16 inch flextube in the flesh.

To my dismay, it looked like it might, just about, be portable! :-(

Aperture fever set in, and looking through a fantastic 18 inch dob at the Autum Kelling star party did not help LOL!

After checking the 16 skywatcher would fit in the boot of the car okay, we took a punt that I would be able to manage the tube okay. (And if not, we'd find some kind of solution!!)

For me, the 16 Skywatcher Goto is definitely portable, but I am 6ft 5 and the tube itself is about as heavy as I would want to go. It may be too heavy for some on their own, but it does not worry me to carry it 10 or 20 metres safely.

Although the tube is heavy, you can get a good grip on it as per the manual, by holding the base in one hand and with the other hand's fingers getting a good wrap over the open edge of the lower tube.

The base is less of a problem because if like me you find it way too heavy to move on your own, you can take it apart into four pieces in about a minute without any tools (there are I think 9 bolts with nice big handles on, designed for quick and regular take apart). I then find the four pieces a doddle to move, and the big circular base is less of a problem then when going through doors as you can just turn it upright. I'll get stuck in a door before it does! :-)

If the missus is on hand then we don't bother taking the base apart, we can carry it fine between us. As said, carrying the fully assembled base on my own is a no-go. It's not just the weight, but I find its sheer width difficult to handle as well.

I can manage to look through the dob without using steps, the missus does usually need steps, which is a slight strain on the back for her so possibly something to consider as well?

The optics are very nice indeed and we are both very impressed with the accuracy of the goto. We were finding targets in the field of view at about 200x mag. This is the third Skywatcher dob we've had, and I've been very impressed with the optics on all of them.

I think it's a difficult one if you are weighing up 12 inches vs 14 vs 16. I'm delighed in our case that we went with the 16. Good luck if you're weighing up options!

Evening everyone,

I'm suffering from aperture fever and plan on picking up a 14 inch Dob,or maybe a 16 if I can save enough.

So to the question, what would other people go for. The skywatcher flex tube or the Meade lightbridge?

Also are there any build quality issues with the Meade or any problems right out of the box?

[Pingster]

Pleased to heard from another hally flextube dob owner. Btw ive had my dob for about a year now after cleaning with baader wonder fluid and rising with deionized water (leaves no stain) i notice the mirror looks ever so slightly "milky" or hazy. Have others noticed this? Maybe the mirror looked like this when i first bought it and im paranoid expecting a problem

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[Beulah]

Another 16" Flextube owner coming out of the woodwork.....fabulous scope.

No problem getting it into the back of the car; just wheel it to the car with the sack truck, take it apart, load up and off you go! A pair of gloves with a good grip is essential.

This is coming from a vertically challenged person with a relatively healthy back...

[kev]

Great infohmative thread folks. I do concur about black tubes.

Been there. Done it. Had the headache!

If it were me optical quality overrides everything. Sooner or later you would look at planets and then you really need quality. My old 14" that i had was great for that.

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[CodnorPaul]

Pleased to heard from another hally flextube dob owner. Btw ive had my dob for about a year now after cleaning with baader wonder fluid and rising with deionized water (leaves no stain) i notice the mirror looks ever so slightly "milky" or hazy. Have others noticed this? Maybe the mirror looked like this when i first bought it and im paranoid expecting a problem

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I don't believe you are meant to use Baader Wonder Fluid on mirrors - I don't know what it would do, someone else can answer that, but I am certain I have read it somewhere

[Beulah]

Pingster,

Your mirrors are over coated with silicone dioxide - I imagine there would be a slight risk of the Baader Fluid damaging the silvering underneath but I would strongly advise you not to use it in the future - especially when the fluid needs wiping with a cloth! Possibly the abrasiveness of the cloth and particles caught in it could cause damage.

In addition, mirrors really do not need washing very often.

Mirrors can look milky if a light is shone directly onto it.

Lukewarm tap water, a squidge of washing up liquid and soft fingertips are all you need to get off the smudges and sticky dust on a telescope mirror. To get a smear-free finish, rinse with distilled water. I use freshly distilled from the dehumidifier.

[Pingster]

Thanks for the advice. Thats correct they look milky when i shine a light on them to inspect them.

And omg. Nowhere on the baader product did it say not use use on mirrors. My view still looks good so maybe i am lucky this time. I home i have not shortened the life of the mirror much.

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[Beulah]

You should be OK.
If it is any help, one of the first things I did with my 200p was the flashlight on the mirror thing and I recall seeing the milky white effect....the mirror was fine.

[faulksy]

Thanks for the advice. Thats correct they look milky when i shine a light on them to inspect them.

And omg. Nowhere on the baader product did it say not use use on mirrors. My view still looks good so maybe i am lucky this time. I home i have not shortened the life of the mirror much.

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your just very lucky i think, i used the wonder cleaner on some headlights(the reflector) and it took the coating straight off. ok i no there cheaply done but scared me what a thought on your primary

[Pingster]

Shudders. My poor faithful dob.

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