What telescope would you choose

[Greg]

My 120 is my most used scope....Even more so since being painted Vauxhall Arctic White 8)

Might go Ferrari red for next season..

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

Red ones go faster, it's basic car physics.

[russ]

Perhaps my memory has faded but a lot of people think a 10" SCT would be the easy choice. Quick to setup and no hassle.

Strange that. Having owned two 10" SCT's (LX6 and LX200) my lasting memory of either is certainly not easy setup. They were no less hassle than an EQ6 with a 12" Newt. The Meade 10" SCT tube is a heavy lump, combine that with the forks, drives and base unit and you have a dead weight. You then have to lug that out and try and locate it to the tripod or wedge in the dark. Fiddling around trying to engage the 3 bolts. Perhaps Meade have changed the design and lightened the whole setup since the LX200 classic.

For me only a dob can lay claim to the easy setup moniker. Throw the box on the floor, toss in the tube and start observing. Now that's easy!

Russ

[themos]

he he...

and an eq for visual? what's that all about?

[FLO]

For me only a dob can lay claim to the easy setup moniker. Throw the box on the floor, toss in the tube and start observing. Now that's easy!

Good point Russ. But, things have improved: Greg and I have been using one of the Celestron CPC range of SCTs and were surprised at how quickly it went together. The top of the tripod has a single raised pin that, together with a dished area on the base of the mount/scope, makes it pretty much self-centring. Once centred, you simply rotate it until it drops into three grooves then tighten the captive nuts. Easy

... an eq for visual? what's that all about?

High magnifications. Constantly shunting a Dob at high magnification to keep the object centred can be a pain. Wide angle eyepieces help.

[russ]

I need to see one of these Celestron CPC's, they sound very nice indeed!

[FLO]

Pity you weren't at Kelling, we had the CPC 1100 set up. Best view of M13 I have ever seen :shock:

Maybe next year

[Ant]

Pity you weren't at Kelling, we had the CPC 1100 set up. Best view of M13 I have ever seen :shock:

Maybe next year

Yeah I can vouch for that!!!

Ant

[themos]

High magnifications. Constantly shunting a Dob at high magnification to keep the object centred can be a pain. Wide angle eyepieces help.

I agree that a Dob is "sub-optimal" for high magnifications. But the usual eq mounts (in the 10" class) are overkill for visual, too.

Ok, it looks like there's an aftermarket for dobsonian motors! Something round £130 (one third of the FLO list price for HEQ5) maybe? Who will design it and get it built in the Far East?

Or maybe I should just crawl back under my rock...

[Vega]

EQ Mounted 10" for me. Great DSO grabber, tracking, photography. IMO equally brilliant for planets and the added aperture owns a 6" refractor. Due to good collimation, my 10" skyliner is way better for doubles when compared to my 120 frac. (EQ6 is deffo on my mind )

Vega