Your first Dobsonian...what was your impression?

[emadmoussa]

OK, you probably know I'm going for a Dob shortly after long months of ''refract-ing and SCT-ing'' my way through the sky...Perhaps I made a scene of that already...so...yeah

For those who took the Dob plunge after being part of the frac pack, Schmidt Cassegrain-ians and even Newtonian-ists...what were you first impression as opposed to the latter instruments in terms of mechanics, optics and practicalities?

Apologies for the out-of-focus language usage - a linguistic collimator will help.

[YKSE]

Apologies for the out-of-focus language usage - a linguistic collimator will help.

Maybe check the writing one extra time before posting which I myself missed quite a number of times.

Have not use a dob yet, but I like the rotated star pictures in reflectors very easy for me to orientate, my brain is still struggling with the left-right inverted picture in refractor/SCT's star diagonal.

[oldfruit]

I have a newtonian scope and have owned a refractor, but i bought a dob this year when i sold the refractor.

The simplicity of the design makes a dob a pleasure to use. You simply point the scope to where you want to look and thats about it. Smooth movements on both axis make life a lot simpler as a dob does not track objects as it is not on a driven mount, so requires a nudge every now and then to keep the object in the field of view. Though this is no bother to be honest and the addition of uwa eyepieces (82*) helps the object stay in the field of view longer.

I was suprised how easily i got on with it and it complements my set up perfectly. A newtonian on a driven mount for imaging etc and a dob for general observing.

[emadmoussa]

Maybe check the writing one extra time before posting which I myself missed quite a number of times.

Have not use a dob yet, but I like the rotated star pictures in reflectors very easy for me to orientate, my brain is still struggling with the left-right inverted picture in refractor/SCT's star diagonal.

That was a joke, mate. I used language this way on purpose.

[eifionglyn]

I had an 8" Newt on a motorised EQ5 and have just changed to a 10" Dob, mainly to make setting up quicker and simpler, also to gain a bit of aperture. My first impressions are that I'm very happy with the switch. I thought I'd miss the tracking, but as it turns out it's no bother at all to just nudge the scope along to keep the item in the field of view. The rotated correct image is easy on the brain. It's just upside down, no mirroring to try to compensate for. There's a handle on the front of my Dob for moving the scope. I just imagine I'm holding on to the object when I'm holding the handle, and then move the handle in the direction I want the object to go. EG observing say M31 rising in the east it will slowly drift downwards in the field of view. I want to raise it in the field of view, so I grab the handle, pretend the handle is M31 and just push it upwards.

The setting up is so quick and simple compared to a motorised EQ setup that I'm sure I will use it more, as if the forecast was marginal, or I didn't have much time, or was a bit tired I found I wasn't bothered to set up the EQ5. With the Dob you just put it outside, and that is literally it. I will say a RACI finder and a red dot or telrad are necessities, straight through finders are a pain enough with the tube on an EQ mount, would be a complete nightmare on a Dob. Also a chair. Actually being comfortable for extended periods at the eyepiece has got to be worth an inch of aperture in terms of what you actually end up seeing.

I will probably get an equatorial mount again one day to try my hand at imaging, but for visual use for me now it's Dob all the way.

[rory]

I moved from a 90mm refractor to the 8"fob and it's performance on dso's was substantial. Very easy to use and you can spend as little or as much time and money as you wish tinkering and personalising your set up .

[brantuk]

Dobs are easy to set up and operate - and you can get goto models nowadays, as well as push to. But the size is going to be critical in terms of storage and portability. Whilst they always work fine out of the box - you'll find there are plenty of mods you're going to want to do to make it work the way you want it to, and to personalise it.

But once you have your perfect dob sorted out - it's well worth the rewards. You find you can suddenly see much deeper into space and all the stuff you've seen before is crisper, clearer, and better defined. I looked in a 20" dob at Kelling recently and the detail in Andromeda's dust lanes with a low power eyepiece just blew my socks off.

What sort of size are you thinking of going for Emad?

[emadmoussa]

Since I stopped imaging I abandoned my NEQ6 and hesitantly moved to manual steering, and didn't look back. Alt-azimuth mounts are easier on the brain like you say.

[emadmoussa]

Dobs are easy to set up and operate - and you can get goto models nowadays, as well as push to. But the size is going to be critical in terms of storage and portability. Whilst they always work fine out of the box - you'll find there are plenty of mods you're going to want to do to make it work the way you want it to, and to personalise it.

But once you have your perfect dob sorted out - it's well worth the rewards. You find you can suddenly see much deeper into space and all the stuff you've seen before is crisper, clearer, and better defined. I looked in a 20" dob at Kelling recently and the detail in Andromeda's dust lanes with a low power eyepiece just blew my socks off.

What sort of size are you thinking of going for Emad?

I'd love a 12", but considering the limitations on space I'm getting the GSO 10" from TS.

[brantuk]

Smashing - a ten inch is where I figure dobs really start being dobs. That size is very manageable - stores nicely in a corner somewhere, and most will fit in a family car (usually with the base in the boot and ota on the back seat. Imho it's the first size of aperture that usually causes problems on most of the commercially available EQ mounts (so a dob mount is a natural choice), but it won't break your back lifting it.

You'll love the extra aperture

[Peter Drew]

As a telescope maker the thing that impressed me most when I made my first Dobsonian was the stability for such a simple design. These telescopes are the tinkerers dream, there are so many simple upgrades that you can DIY which you wouldn't expect from the manufacturer at such a low initial price. 

[RikM]

The first thing that hit me was the quality of the view compared to my lowly expectations. An old Meade 8" Starfinder looks pretty much like the cardboard tube from a roll of carpet with shaving mirror at the bottom, sat on a couple of cut-up Formica shelves. The view was so bright, and so clear, and so stable, and so comfortable, and so easy to use, and, and...just wow!

As above, the 10" I have now is just perfect for me until I have room for something bigger. It fits in the car, I can carry it in one go from the garage to the garden. I can be set up and observing in 3min flat.

[emadmoussa]

The first thing that hit me was the quality of the view compared to my lowly expectations. An old Meade 8" Starfinder looks pretty much like the cardboard tube from a roll of carpet with shaving mirror at the bottom, sat on a couple of cut-up Formica shelves.

LOL - best description ever!

[foundaplanet]

I have a ten which is capable of going on to my eq6 or into my dob base without having to change the rings. It never goes onto the eq6.

[Moonshane]

I may have let it slip before that I am a fan of dobs? I went from a 120mm f8.3 celestron refractor on an eq mount then converted the mount to a alt az setting and once I got the dob (a 12" f5.3) I never used the frac again, literally.

The view was deeper, sharper, less false colour (or none), more detailed and with more contrast than I ever got out of the frac. The mount was rock solid too and set up more easily despite the increase in aperture. As Peter said, I am a big fan of modding too and the dob is a modder's dream.

You'll never regret it I would reckon.

[Beardy30]

A 2" dob !!! I am jealous

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[rory]

I think theres a 10" gso dob for sale on b&s for £200

[emadmoussa]

I think theres a 10" gso dob for sale on b&s for £200

That's the basic model.

[laowho]

As a telescope maker the thing that impressed me most when I made my first Dobsonian was the stability for such a simple design. These telescopes are the tinkerers dream, there are so many simple upgrades that you can DIY which you wouldn't expect from the manufacturer at such a low initial price.

Hear! Hear!

Our latest fiddle was to make the dew shield blinders. Next will be dew heaters for the secondaries. We also get to paint it every time after outreach events...learned about chalkboard paint here for stray light, and so we did the outside with it also so the kids can sign it or draw pictures with giant chalks. And did I mention collimation? Makes me feel like a real astronomer.

[AlexB67]

Not that I owned anything else from a frac that I owned as child, but it was a poor one, I only looked at the moon with it a few times and put it away, it was a toy scope of sorts. The bins my parents had I used more, but mostly for day viewing, astronomy never bit me back in those days.  Certainly I was blown away with my first views in my little Dob.

More as and aside, but looking at your sig and the Celestron C11 XLT you own, what is wrong with it ? Nice and compact design. If I owned that on a decent mount I'd be happy with, I am not sure I'd be in rush to get a Dob 10 or 12 inch, apart from the much slower f ratio and what that brings I am curious why the change of heart ?

[rory]

That's the basic model.

oh right, which model are you getting then ?  what extra do you get on the upgraded model ?  £200 is a good price though for a 10" dob , if only I had the spare spondooly's, (sigh)

[astronymonkey]

Hi All,

At the Dalby Starfest this year I had a 16inch lightbrigge set up which attracted quite a few people who wanted a look. They were used to having GOTO scopes at a smaller aperture which used a newtonian mount so were interested in how easy the dob was to use and what the views were like.

Those who are used to finding objects in a dob are quite happy star hopping from one object to another so a quick tour of m13, Andromeda galaxy , double cluster, m81,m82, ring neb, and dumbell neb, all in about 10 mins with everyone having a good nosey down the eyepiece really amazed them at how easy the big dob was to use. They said that they felt a bit tied to the GOTO function as they never really new where to find the objects themselves and they could never had found those objects so quickly even with a comupterised mount. OK , so it was a 16 inch aperture so you would expect good views under a dark sky (SQM 21.6 that night)  and I had a 28mm UWAN in the finder to scoop up a big chumk of sky, but I would say that their opinions were:

• Bang for your buck the dobsonian shows you more (£15k for a 16 inch lx200 whereas my 16inch dob cost less than £1500 brand new 11 months ago)
• You need to know the sky and be able to star hop but once you have cracked this the things really open up to you.
• A decent wide angle, low power eyepiece makes finding things easier and keeps them in the view for longer.
• There is much less of a faff on to use the scope ... only left/right, up/down and focusser in/out.
• No reliance on a fully charged battery or electrics
• weight is often quoted as a problem but the 16inch dob is lighter than the 16inch lx200 and designs that allow the tube to be broken down helps make them transportable.

So Ive never really owned a frac or a driven mount , but although Ive had the pleasure of using an observatory mounted 14inch scope I think the simplicity of the dob does make it a lovely scope to use, and who doesnt like messing on and modifying sucha simple design

Cheers

[swamp thing]

All I'll say is.

I used power driven EQ mounts for years, then, I got a Dob. I'll never buy another EQ mount again.

[emadmoussa]

Not that I owned anything else from a frac that I owned as child, but it was a poor one, I only looked at the moon with it a few times and put it away, it was a toy scope of sorts. The bins my parents had I used more, but mostly for day viewing, astronomy never bit me back in those days.  Certainly I was blown away with my first views in my little Dob.More as and aside, but looking at your sig and the Celestron C11 XLT you own, what is wrong with it ? Nice and compact design. If I owned that on a decent mount I'd be happy with, I am not sure I'd be in rush to get a Dob 10 or 12 inch, apart from the much slower f ratio and what that brings I am curious why the change of heart ?

Oh sorry, forgot to update my sig. Dont have the C11 anymore..

[emadmoussa]

All I'll say is.

I used power driven EQ mounts for years, then, I got a Dob. I'll never buy another EQ mount again.

Same here..years of EQ3, EQ5 and NEQ6 ...but all seemed quite a chore for visual...