Setting circles for a dob

[JulianFR]

I wondered if anyone has advice on the benefit of fixing setting circles to a dob.

I'm learning to star hop with the help of star atlases but I'm having problems finding some of the main sights (ie the Andromeda galaxy). Would setting circles help?

And can I buy these ... I'm hopeless at DIY?

Many thanks.

[Cornelius Varley]

You might find this thread useful http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/193174-setting-circle-mod-for-dob-bases/ and http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43387-diy-dob-setting-circles/ and http://settingcircles.robertwillett.com/

[JulianFR]

That's great ... Many thanks; will look into these.

Julian

[scuffer]

Can highly recommend the use of a setting circle and a Wixey but also have a look at the book 'turn left at Orion' , it'll help you to star hop

[Avocette]

I find a setting circle and Wixey terrific for 'push to' object finding. I'm six months into this astronomical adventure, and with so few clear nights so far to learn the sky, I might have been a bit disappointed if I had not located at least one new object each outing. I've got the popular sky atlases and Stellarium and do study them, but ultimately it's Sky Safari on the iPad that gives me the real time Az/Alt references when I'm stuck.