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Skywatcher 250px flex tube AUTO


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Evening all really hope you can help a novice here!

Have got me eye on a 250px flex tube AUTO on eBay and I'd love some advice please before I start hoying bids in:

Is there a massive difference between AUTO and GOTO or in other words does the GOTO justify the big hike in price?

Simalarly does the flextube offer a worthwhile advantage over the solid tube version?

Is the GOTO version available online an official upgrade - I've read on a few sites that it was never authorised by Skywatcher?

Any idea what a fair price would be for a second hand setup like this?

Many thanks in advance!

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is it this one?/ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/skywatcher-dobsonian-10inch-telescope-/320994229684?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item4abcbf3db4 think it may end up in the high £300 to 400 pricemark and the syscan uprade another 120-150 quid and would need a light shroud at £60 so quite a big investment potentially i have the 200 flex goto but was a lot cheaper than that tbh

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i have the 10" auto-track 250p flextube. its a nice scope.

flextube is easier to store and transport than the solid tube, but needs collimating nearly everytime you use it ,but dont let that put you off, its really easy and fast to do.

goto over auto tracking. depends wether you want to find the object yourself or let the scope put you in the area of what your looking for.

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Unfortunately there are no easy answers to these questions.

Yes, there is a massive difference between the auto and the GoTo. As said before, the auto just tracks while the GoTo finds as well (you do have to set it up correctly and accurately though). Whether this extra functionality is worth the extra dosh is up to you. In the same way there is no optical difference between the solid tube and the flex tube. The flex tube squashes up a bit shorter but is heavier than the solid tube, so it might or might not be easier to move and store it depends how you move / store it.

In my case, I have a solid tube manual 10". I store it vertically on it's base next to a cupboard and can carry it fairly easily in one piece in and out to the garden. It fits in my car to take to dark sites, so I have no need of a truss tube design in this aperture size. I have both a Rigel QuikFinder red dot (circles) and a right angle correct image optical finder fitted and I know my way around the sky fairly well so I have no need of the GoTo function. I use 70° wide angle eyepieces so tracking objects at high power is no problem (not that it is difficult even with 40-50° eyepieces), so the auto is of no benefit to me either....but that is just me, others will have different opinions and they will be right too!

Edit: curse you, tardy typing finger!!!

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is it this one?/ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/skywatcher-dobsonian-10inch-telescope-/320994229684?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item4abcbf3db4 think it may end up in the high £300 to 400 pricemark and the syscan uprade another 120-150 quid and would need a light shroud at £60 so quite a big investment potentially i have the 200 flex goto but was a lot cheaper than that tbh

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Thanks for the speedy replies guys. Yeah it's the one on eBay linked above - So glad I asked the questions as I had no idea you could buy the AUTO then upgrade the handset separately to GoTo which potentially can save a lot of cash.

Might have a bid of around £350 maximum and see how it pans out.

I honestly never had this many problems buying my first car! (god bless you Fiat UNO 1.1)

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Look like the one ebay i've been looking at is gonna cost me around £600? Does anyone know if this is a bargain, the AUTO is now discontinued so unsure if this is a good deal or not.

I'm itching to get my first scope and dying to buy this one but terrified i'll pay over the odds!

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