How strong and sturdy is a SkyWatcher 250 PX tube?

[ChargingStag]

Hello!

I am new to the world of observing and now have my first serious scope - the SkyWatcher 250 PX Dobsonian.  I always imagined I would be a telescope hypochondriac but actually carrying the tube around puts the fear in me worse than I expected.

So really what I want to know is, is it relatively difficult or easy to dent the tube of this scope or other Dobs in general while carrying it around by hand?

There is of course a lot of pressure on the tube from the hard parts of the palm of my hands and it worries me.  I'm a short guy so carrying it around at the moment and trying to cradle it against my body isn't a very easy task.

Would the tube be susceptible to bending if I put it down somewhere where it is resting on the ends and not so much in the middle?  I've seen people who carry it by hooking straps to the ends and this would apply there too I imagine...

Along the same lines, if the lenses got dented from the holding screws would this render them useless or would they still be usable?

Sorry if some of these are silly questions, but this is the first place I'm asking any questions regarding my new scope so I basically know nothing at the moment and need that reassurance

[brantuk]

You may benefit from fixing some carry handles on your tube if it's hard to move around. You can get all sorts from diy stores but I would favour metal ones like these: http://www.altairastro.com/altair-telescope-carry-handle.html

They're shown on a refractor with tube rings here, but on your dob you'd need to strengthen the joint with a plate on the inside to spread the weight of each fixing nut/bolt. Hth

[pipnina]

If the 250 dob OTA is made the same way as my 130 OTA, you can bash it around a bit (not that i recommend it) and it will be fine. I'm yet to drop it... But I think dropping it would probably be disasterous... At best it will just knock it out of collimation, at worst something will fall out or a mirror will crack...

But I've even hit the telescope's focusser on the wall a few time when moving it with an EP in place... No damage at all. As long as you're somewhat careful it's unlikely you'll damage it I think.

I don't tighten my locking screws for EPs too much, just enough for them to not wobble. My 9x50 RACI finderscope, though... I've got that thing screwed in as tightly as possible... And make sue it's tight regularly after an incident on it's first light session where it fell out of the holder onto a concrete carpark floor

[spike95609]

Mine looks very robust to me. There's no flexing in the tube at all, so I think you'd have to give it a very serious clout to dent it - dropping it and hitting something like a table edge on the way down may do the trick, but carrying it around wouldn't. I'd recommend carrying it vertically rather than horizontally - a tube is extremely strong when the weight is bearing down the vertical axis, but not near so much on the horizotonal. I carry mine with one hand under the bottom ledge (where the primary mirror knobs are) and the other just lightly wrapped around the tube to keep it upright. A little bit heavy on one arm maybe, especially if you have to lift it up over furniture, but I've found it to be very safe and easy to control. I just keep an eye on the ceiling, and going through doors I tend to spread my elbows out a bit so they're wider than the scope and will brush the frame before it does if there's any chance of a collision.

[Peter Drew]

Eyepieces need only the slightest nip to hold them securely on a Dobsonian.

[MattJenko]

The scope itself is held in place below its midpoint on the Dob base, so the tube as a whole is pretty sturdy. I have transported mine to a few different sites now, and lugging it about, putting it in and out of the car and wheelbarrowing it to one site and it has stood up to it all. I have clipped the focuser on doorframes too. I have also put some tube rings around it and stuck it on an EQ mount, as well as carried it that way, so it is a hardy big lump really.

[tich]

If you scroll down this page then there's a post about using the Rolson Velcro handle, I've got one on my 250P tube so I can lift it onto the NEQ6 & it makes the job a whole lot easier. Plus if you decide to use 2 handles then one could be used to help nudge the tube too.

[brantuk]

That Rolson handle looks superb - and you don't even have to modify the tube. Great tip Tich.

[Ricochet]

Yes, but what is the actual name for that product and where can I buy one?

[lennylovit]

Nice tip Tich  

[DevonSkies]

Those Rolson handles look great! Does anyone know where I can buy them?

[lennylovit]

every time I see them at a cheap shop in Cardiff I buy 5 or 6 of them , sadly they have not been in stock for a long time ,and all my " stock " has gone to other members

Lenny

[tich]

every time I see them at a cheap shop in Cardiff I buy 5 or 6 of them , sadly they have not been in stock for a long time ,and all my " stock " has gone to other members

Lenny

Well I had to share your top tip Len 

[ChargingStag]

Thank you for the replies everyone, and sorry for the delay in coming back!

@brantuk Something like that looks really helpful.  I'm not the handiest of people so I probably couldn't feel safe adding plates and such to the tube but it's definitely a start.  Maybe some kind of sling would work?  Easier to carry and the weight would be spread evenly across the tube! (Hopefully... haha)

@pipnina & Peter Drew Thanks for your experiences there, I have yet to knock it against any walls - okay maybe once really lightly - or anything like it so I'll definitely try to avoid doing that.  But yeah my EPs seem to be fine and I have not tightened them that much since.

@spike95609 I do carry it vertically for most of the time, or try to at least.  Sometimes it dips a little because I don't really like putting hands or arms around where the primary mirror is in case I press against something delicate.  But if there's nothing delicate around there then I'll go head and hold it if need be No furniture but I do have to navigate stairs which I hate.  One day I just know it'll all end in tears!

@MattJenko While I was waiting for it to be delivered I had all these ideas about where I'd take it in the car, but as of yet I haven't done any of them with how careful I'm being :')  Plus my car is a 3 door which isn't ideal.

@tich The handles do look really good!  I assume with 2 handles they would go on both ends of the tube?  It's good to know that it's tried and tested in that it won't bend or overstrain the tube.

@lennylovit I'm from Cardiff too!  Which shop did you get them from?  More for curiosity than anything if they've been out of stock for a while...

Maybe I'll be able to find them somewhere else with a bit of luck.