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10 inch goto dob or 12 inch manual dob

mistuk

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mistuk

mistuk

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Hi all,

Title says it all really. Ready to pull the trigger on a new scope. Can't decide between a 10 inch manual, 10 inch goto or 12 inch manual dob.

Like the idea of not having to worry about power and star alignment with a manual dob,, but worried that ill never find anything!!

Thoughts?

Mistuk

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dtr42

dtr42

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had both a manual dob and a goto ,goto is easier once set up with 2 star alignment, can be a bit tempremental with power supply and again if at a dark site powerpacks are required , manual dob is good if you know your way round the sky but can be frustrating if your looking for nebula's etc and your not in the ball park whereas a goto puts you iat or near what you may be looking for. i use my goto at home and use bins or a smaller manual newt for my grab and go .

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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if your skies are good (I presume they are) then with a star map, a red dot finder (I use Telrads) and a right angle corrected finder (total cost about £100) you will have no issues at all finding things. if you can carry and store a 12" this will in my opinion provide a far superior instrument.

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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Both are great scopes that's for sure and both give great views. The 12" will go a little deeper for deep sky observing, planets will be about the same as the seeing will limit that more than the aperture.

I find a 10" very easy to use being light, portable and easily manageable.

My advice here is if this is to be your "big" scope, and you're unlikely to go bigger: Get the 12" as a second smaller scope can always fill in for quick sessions.

However if you intend on going bigger: A 10" makes a great second scope, ready to go at the drop of a hat.

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mistuk

mistuk

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My partner and I are moving up from an explorer 130p - so quite a big upgrade. We've decided we really like deep sky stuff, and imaging doesn't appeal at the moment....

I saw a flex tube 12" at mc2 telescope shop in Frome. It wasn't as big and heavy as I thought...

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Rapallokid

Rapallokid

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Go for the 12" manual and add a set of gauges. 1 x wixie and 1 x digital angle reader. With a small modification to the base you can use stellarium and find anything as quick as any go to.

I did it to my 12" Revelation. Great views and easy to use.

RK

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Mike73

Mike73

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blimey Mike, your skies must be superb. as is your sketching ability!

Cheers Shane but my problem is that I'm too lazy and stay local but in a few weeks time I'm going to put more effort into going to darker skies. :cool:

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estwing

estwing

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Another thing to bear in mind: most of the guys on this thread that went with a 12" have aperture fever :D

A 12" seems to be the size of scope where a 16" suddenly looks very doable too :p:evil:

...hands up if your one of these guys :headbang:
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scarp15

scarp15

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If you are only interested in developing yourself as a visual observer, as soon as you learn to navigate yourself around the sky a bit, then you will locate objects a lot quicker than goto, swinging the scope around and nudging creates a sense of freedom and you appreciate the natural movement as objects require repositioning . Enjoy the learning, anticipation and achievement of finding stuff yourself. Agree with everyone else 12" - perhaps a flextube allows you to use at home or better still wrestle it into the back seat of a car for a visit to dark skys.

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Austin

Austin

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Size does matter ;) go for the 12" if you don't mind lumping it around. Apeture is king and you will probably enjoy the thrill of the hunt while searching for your targets. I have a 12" dob and I love it - I have a telrad, a right angled correct image finder and a star atlas. 3 minutes to set up and away you go!

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Joguj

Joguj

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My first scope was a goto and since upgraded to a 12" manual (albeit with intelliscan) and I agree with previous post in that the freedom of movement and learnng the skies that come with it are very satisfying. Something I thought I would never say but there you go. I now have to learn more about the sky each time I go out, whereas with the goto I didn't bother too much.

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Beulah

Beulah

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blimey Mike, your skies must be superb. as is your sketching ability!

From what I have seen, most of the sketches were done in circa 6.0 magnitude skies.. :tongue:

BTW Mike, that's a great project you are doing mate, good work!

For you Shane, I know it's a case of eggs, granny and teaching, but It is truly amazing what you can see with a 12" in dark skies. I saw the Dumbell Nebula the other day in deepest darkest Wales and I was stunned to see a rugged structure to the normally smooth 'apple core' shape!

S'made observing at home that much harder.. :(

BTW, I'd go for more aperture. Pretty obvious, really. :D

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simon

simon

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i have the 10 " auto-tracking dobsonian. it makes life so much easier to switch on, and not have to keep shoving it to have a good look at something.

im not really a goto fan. i enjoy finding the objects on my own and learning the sky. its part of the fun for me.

im no sure i could manage without the tracking though. i think it would drive me mad.

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Velvet

Velvet

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I would go for the goto, but then i have a goto so maybe i am biased. If aperture is what you want obviously the 12". Finding things as a newbie is difficult for me but a telrad solved my problems.

Whatever you get, go for a telrad too.

Velvet

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