Skyliner or revelation?

[Bart]

If you have doubts, go for the SW, whether is better or not. That doubt, once there, will just raise itself whenever you feel something is wrong. I was aware of the adverse reviews before I bought it. There were no recent issues with mirrors so went ahead and got one. Remember, you're not deciding whether to sell or keep your first born child!

We astronomers, me included, sometimes over analyse.

Good luck whichever way you go, you'll enjoy both (as they're probably practically the same !?!?!:) )

Barry

[Dreadz]

I don't understand this hive against the Revelation/GSO scopes. If you never had one, I don't think you can judge objectively. I had one and it was excellent...never had any issues with it.

Thats exactly it, I'm in no position to make an objective judgement.

I've read over the specs time and time again, I've trawled the reviews and various forum threads that google throws up (which was probably a bad idea in this instance) and found the reports of these issues but counter to those I've got some obviously experienced and knowledgeable astronomers on here saying those issues are a thing of the past.

I am actually still leaning towards the Rev. The better spec and larger aperture for the price are seriously tempting. The niggles still remain though!!

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[emadmoussa]

Like I said, the people at TS assured me that any coating issues is a blast from the past.

[simmo39]

As I have said before. apart from weak springs witch didnt help with collimation I am more than happy with my Revelation 12" dob, I would recomend them to anyone. At the end of the day its what you are happy with.

[AlexB67]

Simmo, exactly.

I don't understand this hive against the Revelation/GSO scopes. If you never had one, I don't think you can judge objectively. I had one and it was excellent...never had any issues with it.

Emad, From my point of view I haven nothing against them and hope did not give that impression, there is no vendetta here on my part, but just because I have not owned a scope does not mean I cannot read up on them as can others. As I said the vast majority will be happy with either and probably not experience issues. 

Owning one or two scopes form GSO does not say anything about reliability on mirror production or average production consistency ( that is not just about coatings alone for me  as well as figuring and making sure that on average you are likely to get a 1/4PV  at least as they say you should.

In the end I just went with what I felt comfortable with by doing lots of reading, listing to other members more experienced than I long in the business.  As it turned out I had no choice but to go for the flextube because of transport, so I did not have to have this battle deciding. In a way I was grateful for that, but I was very close to buying a 12 inch GSO myself at one point second hand. If space had not been a concern for the car, I think it is very likely that I would may well  have bought a GSO.  No doubt had I bought a GSO I would say the same but I would have been happy with that scope too.

To help others I am merely stating what I found out at the time without trying to mislead anyone 

[emadmoussa]

Simmo, exactly.

Emad, From my point of view I haven nothing against them and hope did not give that impression, there is no vendetta here on my part, but just because I have not owned a scope does not mean I cannot read up on them as can others. As I said the vast majority will be happy with either and probably not experience issues. 

Owning one or two scopes form GSO does not say anything about reliability on mirror production or average production consistency ( that is not just about coatings alone for me  as well as figuring and making sure that on average you are likely to get a 1/4PV  at least as they say you should.

In the end I just went with what I felt comfortable with by doing lots of reading, listing to other members more experienced than I long in the business.  As it turned out I had no choice but to go for the flextube because of transport, so I did not have to have this battle deciding. In a way I was grateful for that, but I was very close to buying a 12 inch GSO myself at one point second hand. If space had not been a concern for the car, I think it is very likely that I would may well  have bought a GSO.  No doubt had I bought a GSO I would say the same but I would have been happy with that scope too.

To help others I am merely stating what I found out at the time without trying to mislead anyone 

No offense meant mate! I wasn't referring to you anyway. I understand there have been reports on lousy mirror coating in the past, but I personally didn't find this to be an issue.

Yeah, and I went for a 12" Flextube as well...merely for transportability. Pretty happy with the choice...had to dump the focuser first thing though

[AlexB67]

No problem at all mate. Just wanted to put the record straight on my feelings on these scopes. Sometimes it is easy to read too much into things for others who may decide to buy one or the other. I wanted to make sure that I have no bias. In the end people can weigh up the pros and cons of either model and decide what is best for them. The factor of compactness was easily number one on the scale for me in the decision in the end. 

Just for anyone else as another buying tip. If you have the  option of traveling with it, measure your car, make sure it fits, I almost made that mistake underestimating the size of these things. Even if it just fits it will be easy to dent over time if it cannot be fitted comfortably. The beauty of the flexi is that I can fit it upright on the backseat, sideways, length ways, seat down, so I can actually take it on a longer holiday trip too and room to spare for other things ( and fit the missus in there too  ).

Whether you buy a 12 or 10 inch, that difference is not worth it if you can't take it somewhere under a dark sky but do have a car knowing that perhaps you could have with a slightly smaller scope or a flextube.

It only takes me a 5 mile trip and my little mini Dob at 5 inches provides better views on many objects. The 10 inch flex is so easy to get in and out of the car for me, The 12 inch solid tube which would just about fit would have had to go diagonally across back seat down, and the car is pretty much full and no missus to take with me, a lot of hassle I decided against.

[Mike73]

In the 3 years I've been on SGL I've only noticed two reports on poor GSO mirrors, John had an older 12" LB which were pretty well known for having poor coatings and I was unlucky enough to get a rough 16" mirror.

I can't remember any other reports here about poor GSO coatings? Maybe there has been but when you think of the thousands of GSO's that are sold worldwide you'd think you would hear more about the poor optics?

A couple 'old' threads that I have found if anyone is interested.

GSO primary mirrors on SGL.

Older GSO quality vs new GSO mirrors on CN.

[John]

In the 3 years I've been on SGL I've only noticed two reports on poor GSO mirrors, John had an older 12" LB which were pretty well known for having poor coatings and I was unlucky enough to get a rough 16" mirror.

I can't remember any other reports here about poor GSO coatings? Maybe there has been but when you think of the thousands of GSO's that are sold worldwide you'd think you would hear more about the poor optics?

A couple 'old' threads that I have found if anyone is interested.

GSO primary mirrors on SGL.

Older GSO quality vs new GSO mirrors on CN.

I can think of a few more examples from this forum and the Cloudynights forum where I've been a member for that same amount of time.

I'm sure there are unhappy Skywatcher experiences around as well though. 

[AlexB67]

Dreadz. sure let us know what you decide, either way by the laws of percentages you'll end up with a scope you'll be happy with I think.

FWIW, I found it rather lot of fun researching and learning about the various scopes, but no point getting stressed over it as I always say to myself. As long as we are having fun in the hobby, purchasing and deciding is as much part of that I find, and given the weather there is plenty time for that diversion these days !! 

The most important thing, once you put your new toy under the heavens all of that stuff about scope details evaporates quickly and you can embrace to beauty of the heavens, whatever Dob you buy in that aperture range, in all likelihood it will satisfy your needs.

[Dreadz]

I will certainly let you all know once I decide one way or the other. Apologies for all the questions on the fine little details, have found myself obsessing over getting the perfect scope for me, the most bang for my buck as it were and I thank you all for your help and advice.

Undoubtedly Alex as you say, whichever I do buy, I'll enjoy it for years to come.

[Luke]

My GSO dob has been my most used deep sky scope for about 2 years. It holds collimation very well, I have checked it a few times to find it was still pretty much spot on. I plan to check now once or twice per year, and I feel that's being cautious!

[Dreadz]

Ok. You'll probably all be relieved to know I have now ordered a scope, mainly as I can now stop bombarding you all with queries on the finest details of revelation and skywatcher dobs.

Ultimately my budget was a little tighter than I'd hoped so the 12inch dobs were sadly out of reach but am in no doubt that a 10inch dob will keep me happy for many years.

So, to those of you who have helped me along on my quest to decide "which dob" (thats if you haven't all been driven insane by my constant questions and given up on life itself:) ) I thank you all sincerely and would like to inform you that at some point very soon (I hope) I will take delivery of a...................................................................Skyliner 250px

Big thank you to FLO also whose promotion could not have been better timed for me.

Once again thank you all and apologies for condemning us all to another month of rain/cloudy skies

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[TractionMan]

Good choice. Many happy 250px owner here and you're more than likely going to have lots of fun with that scope. Don't forget to post the mandatory photos when you get your new shiny toy!

[Sneezy24]

I've gone for Revelation! 8" Dob!

[emadmoussa]

I've gone for Revelation! 8" Dob!

Cool. F/5 or F/4?

I was thinking about getting the 8" F/4 to sit on the giro along with the 102ED and perhaps future imaging..

[Sneezy24]

It is F6. 1200mm x 200mm.

Fingers crossed that the weather stays as it is now (about 10% cloud!)

[Charic]

The Revelation is made by GSO and uses the same optics and mirror cells as the Meade Lightbridges. I've owned the Revelation 8" and a Lightbridge 12" and several Skywatcher newtonians and dobsonians. My feeling is similar to rory's - the Skywatcher optics seemed better quality ie: better figured and coated although, as emad says, the overcoating issue with the Revelations has probably been addressed now. The "1/12" wave promotional thing that the Revelations use needs a little caution though as it refers to RMS rather than the more useful Peak Wave (PV) measure. 1/12 th wave RMS equates to just about 1/4 wave PV. There will be variations in optical quality in both ranges I reckon though.

John......just started investigating  light diffraction? trying to fathom what 'wave' a Sky-watcher  Skyliner 8" mirror  has. I'll find what I'm after soon, but any pointers in the right direction? 

[Dude_with_the_tube]

John......just started investigating  light diffraction? trying to fathom what 'wave' a Sky-watcher  Skyliner 8" mirror  has. I'll find what I'm after soon, but any pointers in the right direction? 

all commercially manufactured dobs will be about the same accuracy wave of 1/4.You can ignore the fuss they are advertising that they are 1/12 or higher as what John said it is RMS and not Peak Wave.As such,in short,doesnt matter what manufacturer you chose,you will still get the same 1/4 wave mirror.To produce a higher accuracy mirror will cost a lot more and mirror alone will cost you what you are paying for whole telescope if not double or triple that.

Go for a company who has good reputation and customer service as if you end up with a problematic instrument,you can return it without a fuss.