Truss tubes pro's and cons

[bomberbaz]

My Mrs had a bit of a dig about my 12" dob sat in corner of the conservatory again yesterday, I am going to have to discuss this and see if its as big an issue as it currently seems. My own fault for switching from a 200 to 300 without first checking with her

So if my hand is forced, I may consider going for a Truss at 10" as a compromise. I lose aperture but its far less obtrusive and I think I could sell it to her if pushed. Dont really want to o/c, but to keep the peace etc, it is something I might have to do.

So pro's are its smaller, lighter than the equivalent std dob and more manageable, great for transporting to locations.

Cons are its another £200 I will have to shell out assuming I sell the 12" for what I paid, a little more faffing to set up than a std dob but nothing to major.

Ok so what am I missing, there must be other stuff in both pro and con but I have had insomnia for the last 4 days and I can't think straight

Baz

[crashtestdummy]

Big con is the extra weight as the 10" truss tube will weigh as much as the solid tube 12"

[bomberbaz]

Thanks crashtest, I was just about to post my own reply when you made this. I didn't realise they were heavier but that wouldnt be an issue. Still, thanks for the reply. I might not yet have to change but we cshall see.

[estwing]

get a truss 16"

[Mike73]

What scope have you currently got and what truss dob have you got your eye on?

[swamp thing]

One advantage of a truss Dob is no tube currents. Another is quicker cool down time owing to the open ladder type cell. Not sure if either of these advantages apply with the Flextube design though TBH. As they have quite a tube still and not sure how open their cells are.

Not much help am I?

[crashtestdummy]

Another disadvantage of truss-when its windy your light shroud blows onwards and makes your scope about 4" smaller on aperture.oh and makes a nice sail.

[Mike73]

Cant you camouflage your current scope? Paint it the same colour as your wall?? She'll never notice!

[estwing]

ask her how many pair's of shoes does she have...

[russ.will]

One advantage of a truss Dob is no tube currents. Another is quicker cool down time owing to the open ladder type cell. Not sure if either of these advantages apply with the Flextube design though TBH. As they have quite a tube still and not sure how open their cells are.

Not much help am I?

In terms of tube currents, my FlexTube 300p doesn't seem any better than my old Explorer 200p. There's still a good 2ft of tube in front of the primary (against three, for the 200p), plus the non too small matter of cooling a much larger mass of mirror. This seems to take more like two hours, than the hour or so, of the smaller scope. I imagine a FlexTube 250px may stand somewhere between the two in this regard, although I don't know if the pyrex mirror brings a faster cool down to the party.

Russell

[foundaplanet]

Get a shed, every man should have a shed...

[Moonshane]

personally, I don't think set up time is an issue with a dob as you need to let it cool properly anyway and even a suitcase dob which needs to be built each time takes only maybe 10 minutes tops to set up. I also doubt that a 10" skywatcher dob will take up much less room than a 12" although it might be a little less obtrusive I suppose.

another option is hunt for a 12" f4, this would look a lot smaller.

[perrin6]

Cant you camouflage your current scope? Paint it the same colour as your wall?? She'll never notice!

Exactly what I was thinking, might sound ridiculous but it's worth considering in order to keep that marvellous aperture.

[JamesF]

The f/4.7 10" dob is pretty harsh on cheap eyepieces, but I guess if you've already got the f/4.9 12" perhaps that won't be a major problem.

James

[Peter Drew]

Stick a lifesize picture of Brian Cox on the tube.

[foundaplanet]

How about getting one of those battery operated LED lights that have velcro stickers on the back.

Then you could stick it onto the back of the spider and have it as a temporary uplighter...

[bomberbaz]

hahaha, thanks for the replies all you guys, sone good ones that make sense, some of them just had me in stitches.

What i really want is to keep my 12" F5 dob and so I reorganised the corner where it is sat last night and I folded down the small 130 EQ to make it look less cluttered. Hopefully with this done it will allow the situation to calm down and this thread becomes irrelevant.

If push comes to pull, I shall troll the secondhand markets for either a Meade 10"/12" lightbridge or similar Skywatcher flexitube. It is literally the size of the OTA that puts the Mrs off, although i do find the portability of the folding down arrangementt attractive. I think i did mention I was upgrading my scope as mentioned, i just erm, cough just forgot to mention how big it would be

In the meantime I am looking for a lifesize picture of Donny Osmand or Les from the Bay City Rollers to stick on it, she has no idea who brian cox is Peter. And if i do get one, no, I wont be bringing it to star parties with me

Baz

[Luke]

Is it a solid tube dob, Baz? If it is, I wouldn't sell it. I'd tell the missus that anything else would make her more of an astronomy widow, as it would take more time to set up and put away.

We sold a 12 inch solid tube, a BIG mistake!

We replaced it with a 12 inch flextube, which was more portable, but a solid tube is so low on hassle. I seriously miss it!

[crashtestdummy]

The skywatcher flextube takes 30 seconds to extend,its not exactly a hassle to do it.transporting it is so much easier

[Luke]

The skywatcher flextube takes 30 seconds to extend,its not exactly a hassle to do it.transporting it is so much easier

Agreed on the transporting. If you don't need to transport it, and you are okay with the size of it, I will take a solid tube every time. Holds collimation for months/years (tested mine after six months last night, almost bang on). No need for a light shroud. Better than our flextube at keeping dew at bay, by a long way (though it is a GSO). A flextube is not a great hassle, we've owned two and they are brilliant, but it was our 10 inch solid tube I stuck out the other night when the weather forecast was iffy, not the 16 inch flextube.

But scopes are quite personal things. I'll never again be without a solid tube. AWESOME!

[cotterless45]

The 10" Lightbridge easily breaks down and holds collimation well on the rebuild. An Astro engineering shroud is pretty solid and helps keep the truss rigid.

That break down leaves the base and primary tube as one unit and the top as another unit which can be stored with a shower cap on each end, neat,

Nick.

Funny that they don't mind storing a vacuum cleaner and a carpet cleaner in the house.

[Mr Q]

Get a shed, every man should have a shed...

Especially if your name is Arthur, then you need two sheds

[crashtestdummy]

I agree that if space constraints arent a problem and you dont plan on travelling with your scope then a solid tube every time.i considered a solid tube 16" for my next scope but ive fallen out with the manufacturer so definately wont be getting it.tbh the base on big dobs prove to be a bigger problem than the tubes

[perrin6]

Or place a full length mirror in front of your present scope - as soon as the mrs sees herself in it she'll be distracted by her hairdo or clothing etc ;-)

[bomberbaz]

Especially if your name is Arthur, then you need two sheds

Actually she mentioned a shed, I think it was tongue in cheek remark but I wonder if its worth following this up hehe