Dobsonian doubts...

[GazOC]

Saso,

I don't what your skies are like, but you'll struggle to see either of those two objects with a 3" refractor. M1 esp. likes a lot of aperture.

Gaz

[Saso]

Gaz,

I was lucky. I saw M1 and M78 with my ED80. Barely and not easy to find, but I saw them. May be this comparison between ED80 and 10" dob also help with dobsonian doubts!

Saso

[Astroman]

A 7" Mak is another great scope, but how do they price out? I'm thinking just a bit more than £350. One of our members has one and it's really great on clusters and Jupiter. Not so great on deep sky, though. A 10" Dob is a great all around scope, which is what Sonia's after.

Saso: I managed most of the Messier objects with my 4.5" F/4.5 Tasco, (yeah, it makes me laugh, too), but the tougher ones I waited until I could observe on Kitt Peak, just for the skies. Cheating? Maybe, but I found them myself.

[orion f6.3]

I am personally attracted to Focal length when it comes to telescopes. A celestron nextstar 4GT will be as good or out perform a 10" dob in so many ways.

Ok a DOB with a focal length of 800 - 1000 may have more light gathering power. But will not perform the nexstar 4 with a focal length of 1350mm.

Portabilty is a big issue. Try taking the 10" dab on holiday with you.

Get yourself a nexstar 4 and a couple of good eyepieces.

But my new dob will be 1550mm 250mm! P.S it will come on holiday! Orion f6.3

[FLO]

... my new dob will be 1550mm 250mm! P.S it will come on holiday!

Thats over six feet long :shock:

Can you post a link

[orion f6.3]

Oh no it isn't its 61" or 5`1" . its the one i am getting for my 40th. delivery is set for 27th march its the OD250L in the link but upgraded to 1/8PV wave mirror - Hilux coatings - angled 50mm finder - 2" crayford http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/acatalog/Dobsonians.html

[FLO]

Oh no it isn't its 61" or 5`1"

Ooops :?

its the OD250L in the link but upgraded to 1/8PV wave mirror - Hilux coatings - angled 50mm finder - 2" crayford http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/acatalog/Dobsonians.html

Thats a very impressive spec'. I saw one at Astrofest and the movements were silky smooth.

Looking forward to reading your first-light post

[lunator]

As a fellow Orion Optics fan I am very jealous of the 2 new scopes OD250 & OMC200.

One day I will upgrade

[GazOC]

Whats the deal with those sub-aperture Mak, I understand the spec (recessed correcter plate) but not the 'why' behind it? Theres must be a very good reason, because it means you need to introduce a spider to hold the secondary.

[FLO]

I'm also curious

I understand that the Mak corrector lens is used on smaller apertures (up to 7") not because of any optical superiority over a Schmidt but because it is easier to make 'well' at these apertures. Whereas the more complex but superior Schmidt only becomes practical at 8" and larger.

[GazOC]

Which is why mass produced maks or superior to mass produced SCTs. :whip2:

[radioactive]

I ve been chatting to Sonia a lot today on messenger and I told her that she would soon make her new dob her favourite scope in no time at all I also told her that I am in the process of building my own 10" dob I have the primary its a parabolic and its f4.5 so pretty fast i worked it out that my tube (sonotube type)will be around about 54" I am using a 50mm secondary 2" focusser a nice atm spider thats as far as I have got yet still waiting for the tube to arrive if it ever does! Lol

Any way its still a fact that the best scopes in the world are the ones that you actually use how many are sitting in broom cupboards around the world my guess is a lot more that we see out in the field

Anyway just recap Sonia hope you and the dob will be very happy together

catch up with you later

psp2 ? Decided yet?

[Sonia]

psp2 ? Decided yet?

Still finding ways of gettin dad to write out the cheque.

[mark RD]

psp2 ? Decided yet?

Still finding ways of gettin dad to write out the cheque.

Have you tryed thumb screws

Mark