Barlow for 10" dob reflector - Televue Big Barlow?

[Tot]

Hopefully I'll be getting my second scope soon, a 10" Dob. I am planning what other bits I'm going to buy and a barlow is on the list. The dob has a 2" focuser so I'll be using both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. It will be a 1200mm and f/4.7. The TeleVue Powermate gets great reviews, but not for reflectors necessarily. Has anyone used the TV Big Barlow? It's not cheap but seems it might be the one to get...? Or would I be spending money unnecessarily as a cheaper one would do just as good a job? If so what do you folks recommend. (Budget for barlow is up to £150, current cost of the TV Big Barlow.)

Thanks for any replies.

Tot

[jetstream]

I love my Baader VIP 1.25" barlow- I use it for planetary/lunar with the EP's most suited for this. Barlowing big heavy 2" EP's can get pretty heavy and long- I prefer a few 2" EP's and then barlow the 1.25".

In the 10" f4.7 a 24mm 2" is great, a 10mm something is needed for galaxies/low power lunar/planetary- a 10mmBCO maybe?

No doubt the TV barlow is very good, all their products are.

[Tot]

I love my Baader VIP 1.25" barlow- I use it for planetary/lunar with the EP's most suited for this. Barlowing big heavy 2" EP's can get pretty heavy and long- I prefer a few 2" EP's and then barlow the 1.25".

In the 10" f4.7 a 24mm 2" is great, a 10mm something is needed for galaxies/low power lunar/planetary- a 10mmBCO maybe?

No doubt the TV barlow is very good, all their products are.

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

Tot

[swamp thing]

Very nearly went with the TV big barlow myself but a 2" Powermate came up SH at around the same price and I went for that.

I will say, I heartily recommend the Powermate it's superb. Pricey yes but you only need buy a barlow once and it's with you for life.

I will no doubt chop and change eyepieces over the years but the Powermate stays firmly in my eyepiece case.

As has been said in other threads it does add quite a bit of weight, in small and medium sized Dobs this can cause issues, so bear that in mind.

[Tot]

Very nearly went with the TV big barlow myself but a 2" Powermate came up SH at around the same price and I went for that.

I will say, I heartily recommend the Powermate it's superb. Pricey yes but you only need buy a barlow once and it's with you for life.

I will no doubt chop and change eyepieces over the years but the Powermate stays firmly in my eyepiece case.

As has been said in other threads it does add quite a bit of weight, in small and medium sized Dobs this can cause issues, so bear that in mind.

Do you only use 2" eyepieces or do you have an adaptor to enable use of 1.25" ones? The 'Big Barlow' appeals because I could use a good quality low power 2" as well as my 1.25" eyepieces - but I'm worried that the weight of the barlow itself might be a bit much for a 10" 1200fl dob...? Add a weighty low power 2" eyepiece and it is going to be quite heavy...? Might possibly be a bit too heavy when just using 1.25s...? Any advice, from anyone, much appreciatec. :-)

Tot

[John]

The 2" "x Powermate comes with a 1.25" adapter so it serves both sizes. It is quite heavy though - around 550 grams I think. Superb optic though, as Steve says.

[swamp thing]

I'm quite fortunate in that the 2" Powermate plus my 20mm or 12 mm Naglers together is roughly the same weight as my 31mm T5 Nagler alone, so I have one set of counter weights for all when using my smaller scope.

I like to try and keep things simple when observing. The simpler your set up the less fiddling about in the dark.

By using only 2" eyepieces I have no need to swap adaptors either. Again, simple. As John has said the Powermate does come with an adaptor if you need it.