GSO Deluxe Dob - worth the extra?

[Ags]

I think a 10" dob would be a bit heavy for me, so I am looking at the 8" options.

There is the typical skywatcher 200p:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p1992_Skywatcher-Skyliner-200P---Classic-8--f-6-Parabolic-Dobsonian.html

And there is the Deluxe GSO dob:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p1191_GSO-Dobsonian-680---8----200-1200mm-Telescope---Deluxe.html

The deluxe one gives you a 30mm erfle, 1:10 focuser, CNC machined altitude bearings, steel AZ roller bearings, main mirror fan, 94% mirror coatings. It costs an extra 80 euros.

A good deal?

[cotterless45]

Always worth paying a bit extra for dual speed focuser etc.,

Nick.

[ronin]

The extras are nice but ultimately it is the mirror that produces the image.

Say that as Michael at Sumarian Optics near to Schipol used to use them on a "budget" 10" scope (very nice scope however) and I think he had problems.

Having said that it could nave been a single bad batch and the QA tightened up, it must have been 12-18 months ago, and not been aware of anything except for that. They were by nature just mirrors not complete scopes, supply chain may have been different.

As you are in the Netherlands you could contact him and ask, I may have got it wrong.

Would suggest you get all the information you can then decide.

[Ags]

I had heard before that skywatcher is ahead of GSO optically. The Scope looks very nice, pity about the question mark over the mirror.

[emadmoussa]

Extra for dual focuser is worth it. Surprisingly the Erfle eyepiece was actually good. Not great, but better than some mildly priced EPs on the matket. And please can we not start judging the optical quality of GSO mirrors I had the GSO 10" and I can bet my money on it...well, dont have much of that. But it was an excellent scope optically and mechanically. This is at least my personal experience. If there were issues, they are definitely individual cases than can apply to any product in existence. I am assuming the 8" will have similar specs.

I had the SW 200P, and optically it was rxcellent and held collimation very well. The focuser on the other hand was rubbish. At some point I had to use my hand to help it draw back whenver used with a heavy EP. Now I am using the Skywatcher 300P Flextube and the optical quality is superb. But again...not great focuser. Immediately replaced by a better dual speed focuser.

It is your call, but of it were me I'd go for the GSO/Revelation.

[Ags]

I'm happy to pay extra, as long as I get extra :-) I could actually use a 30mm erfle as a finder EP (although I would prefer 40mm) and the focusser is important as planets are a main target. I guess the mirror fan makes a big difference too.

Another point in favor of GSO is, if I went to 10", I would go for the GSO, as I prefer F5 over F4.7.

[rory]

This won't help tech wise , but I've just noticed telescope house are selling the 10" rev for under £400 ( astrofest special)

That's a good deal .

[luna 2011]

hi i have just purchased a 12" revelation dob made by GSO you mite of seen my post titled 3 days until my scope arrives .i got mine from telescope house and im very impressed with it and the aftersales service too.its been here 2 days and i have had a good look around it and it oozes quality GSO have a very good review rate and the reputation is good too,it seems more and more people are turning to GSO for a reasonably priced telescope with quality that rates as good as our more known brands of telescopes.GSO known as Guan sheng optical have a great website too.id deffo recommend these telescopes,good luck on your search   

[John]

I've owned both a Revelation / GSO 8" F/6 and a Skywatcher 8" F/6 and felt the Skywatcher was better optically in that it delivered better views of the moon and planets (more contrast and detail) and split tighter double stars. 

Still thats only the optics and we are not supposed to judge those as Emad says ......

[AlexB67]

I am staying    on the m.... front   Okay hands tight, someone ask me straight out what you pick for a 10 inch scope, straight out answer, it starts with an S. 

I am putting my coat on right now and I am running fast. I am a bad man.

[AlexB67]

sorry for the autospell, it come up with some weird matches at times.

[emadmoussa]

I am staying    on the m.... front   Okay hands tight, someone ask me straight out what you pick for a 10 inch scope, straight out answer, it starts with an S. 

I am putting my coat on right now and I am running fast. I am a bad man.

No idea what're you talking about :D

[emadmoussa]

I've owned both a Revelation / GSO 8" F/6 and a Skywatcher 8" F/6 and felt the Skywatcher was better optically in that it delivered better views of the moon and planets (more contrast and detail) and split tighter double stars. 

Still thats only the optics and we are not supposed to judge those as Emad says ......

LOL. yes. Don't even go there, no freedom of expression is allowed as far as optics are concerned  

If I could compare the GSO next to the Skywatcher on the moons and planets I would've thought they produced the same views quality. My Skwatcher 12" is a bit better on DSOs which is naturally because of bigger aperture than the 10" GSO.

I don't know if they still sell the GSO f/8, do they? All I know of are 8" F/5 and F/4 (Gosh I'm really tempted to get the F/4 for the giro )

[Ags]

TS are stocking a GSO 8" Deluxe - see the link at the top of the thread.

[Luke]

I have the 10 inch GSO 880 Deluxe.

The dual speed focuser is quite a sweet unit, worth paying some extra for in my opinion. It's not as nice as a Baader Steeltrack (hardly surprising, as the Steeltrack costs around £200), but it moves smoothly enough and it has no problem handling the heavy weight of my 21mm Ethos and Paracorr coma corrector.

For me, it's the optics where there may be a question mark. I've been happy with the optics in all three of my SW dobs. The GSO optics were slightly disappointing for me, though since I added a coma corrector (Paracorr 2), it seems to have really tidied up the GSO, more than I was expecting for an F5 dob, and I am now happy enough with its optics. The SW's I was already pretty happy with before adding a CC.

The mechanics in the GSO are really sweet. The base moves so smoothly and the locking handles work well. I love that you can rebalance the tube. I have no problem with the scope sinking when pointing low towards the horizon. I've had no need to add magnets etc.

I don't think it's so much that my GSO's optics are bad, more that the SW's have been very good for the price and presumably consistently good as I've been happy with three of them.

Both scopes I think are a good value for what they give you.

[Mike73]

Speak to Wolfi at TS and make sure that IF you did get a poor GSO mirror you could exchange it with no problems. IF you were very unlucky it would still probably work out cheaper to get a replacement mirror than getting a Skywatcher and upgrading it to the Revelation specs.

[Bart]

I also have the 10" Deluxe. The focusser is good, and handles my ES 100* 20mm no problem, no slop. As Luke says, the alt and az motion is very very nice indeed on this scope. ITs good to have the fan, and I have used it, but I usually don't. I would go for the dual speed focusser.

Nice scope, I have mine about two years and really enjo using it.Even got up this morning at 3.30 to get some clear dark skies. All the galaxies in Virgo stood out beautifully in the 10"

Good luck

Barry

[oldfruit]

I have the 12 inch deluxe and I have been very happy with it in the year that I have been using it. It has been used side by side with a 12 inch skywatcher and to our untrained eyes there was nothing in it visually. The Revelation/GSO scope is actually better mechanically than the skywatcher and smooth as an eel in a bag of snot on both axis.

As has been said before, the focuser alone is almost worth the extra.

[Bart]

 The Revelation/GSO scope is actually better mechanically than the skywatcher and smooth as an eel in a bag of snot on both axis.

Hear, hear.

I agree and couldn't have said it more, er, elegantly than that. It is a joy to use.

Barry

[rory]

" smooth as an eel in a bag of snot"

I've not heard that one before , made me laugh.

I'll remember that one .

[Ags]

" smooth as an eel in a bag of snot"

I've not heard that one before , made me laugh.

I'll remember that one .

High praise indeed, but somehow it puts me off the idea of owning a GSO.

[oldfruit]

High praise indeed, but somehow it puts me off the idea of owning a GSO.

 Both axis are truly smooth. Smooth as silk if that makes anyone feel better,  The fact that both axis have adjustment in tension allows you to fine tune them for your personal use. The scope and mount do have quality feel to them. Other members of my local club have commented how easy it is to move the scope to where you want it to point and just to use it generally. There is no "stiction". Obviously things get tightened up if it is a bit breezy.

[Ags]

I definitely prefer the GSO dob from a mechanical point of view based on all your input. The doubt is of course the mirror. I have asked TS if they can provide an optical test report for the mirror :-) Why not? If it is expensive, I might just bite the bullet (lick the eel?) and go for the 10".

[oldfruit]

Go for it. I doubt you would regret it. I know I do not. I use my scope quite a lot and it has shown me and will continue to show me great things from our dark site. Maybe I got a good one? Maybe mine is no different to anyone elses. I just know one thing. I like it, a lot and am very happy with it.

[Ags]

No word from TS about whether they will do an optics test for me, but my shopping list for 2014 is looking like this:

GSO 8" Dob

Celestron 12x60 bins

Explore Scientific 14mm 82deg

Hyperion 5mm (for those exceptional nights)

42mm erfle (finder EP)

RACI 50mm finder

Next year I will pick an EQ3 for my camera, or a EQ platform for the dob.

Buy all the pretty things!