Done something a bit daft - bought an OOUK VX16 Dob

[Telescope40]

Excellent thread.  Can only re iterate Jules's comment ( Nightfisher ). Have been privileged to look thru Moonshane's 16in Dob.  Veil nebula.  Never forget the view.

 

Enjoy   John

[John]

Very promising 1st light and a great looking scope !

" - Focuser with more travel.  Any recommendations?   "

Do you need more outwards or inwards travel ?. Orion Optics design their scopes with the focal plane well outside the tube wall so you tend to need to use an extension tube with their stock focuser. I used to use a 35mm extension tube with mine until I upgraded the focuser to a Moonlite and then I was able to use the spacing blocks in the Moonlite fitting kit to move the focuser to a place where all my eyepieces would reach focus without the need for an extension tube.

 

[Commanderfish]

I need more outfocus.  Some of my eyepieces come to focus with the 50mm extension I have, provided that the focuser is then racked most of the way IN.  However, my Ethos 21 focuses with no extension and the focuser only about 20mm out from minimum.  Some of my eyepieces don't focus with or without the extension.

I'm sure it is done this way to allow room for a Paracorr, which I have coming.  Any idea how many mm a Paracorr adds to the light path?  

How are you finding the Moonlight?  Is it the single speed or the 10:1 dual speed?

 

[John]

My Moonlite is the CR2 dual-speed, like this (except mine is all black):

  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/moonlite-focusers/moonlite-cr-dual-rate-tri-knob-crayford-focuser-for-newtonians.html

I'm delighted with it

I don't use a Paracorr / coma corrector though because my scope is F/5.3.

I think Orion Optics design the positioning of the focal plane to suit imagers. The original OO focuser that I had was supplied with a 40mm extension tube by Orion Optics. I replaced it with a compression ring 35mm one which suited the focal position needs of my eyepieces (Ethos's and Pentax XW's) a little better.

 

[scarp15]

The barrel to the paracorr is quite long, this is so you do not need to fully insert it into the focuser. I therefore extend outwards my paracorr, it is completely stable and accommodating, gaining focus with all my eyepieces, which includes a 21E and 31T5.  I have the friction brake attached to both of my OOUK dob bases, it works really well and is quite necessary, therefore it would be worth your while to phone up and and place an order.  

[Pingster]

On Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at 16:10, brantuk said:

Sack truck and ramps won't work - I already tried it - this is what you want:

It lifts my 16" LB up to the Volvo boot at the wind of a handle and just slides over.

 

What is the name and brand of that? It looks heavy? Putting that into the car after would be difficult?

[Paz]

That looks to be a great scope and if you've got a set up you can handle you are definitely winning!

I went for a vx14 as the biggest thing I can move and handle by myself. Trolleys are not an option for me, I have to carry things due to the mix of doors, narrow walkways, corners, and steps, and I wanted something that leaves a bit if margin for error so that taking it down is still safe when I'm cold and tired.

I lift the o t a by the rings that rest on the base but I loop a lifting round through one of them and hold that so I don't have to reach across. This takes it from being ok to lift and move to being easy to lift and move.

[michael8554]

I sold this scope and Paracorr because it had been sitting in a corner of my warm room for some time, and wasn't getting the use it deserves since I was seduced by the Dark Side (DSO Imaging). It fitted into the back of my Merc 4x4 with the rear seats folded, but I delivered it to commanderfish in my wife's Merc A-Class, the rear seats lift out and the front passenger's seat was 4 bolts.

Unlike me commnderfish is young and quite muscular, so he won't have much trouble with moving it with the sack trolley.

Highlight for me was drooling over his case full of Televue "hand- grenades", but no room for the Paracorr I'm afraid.

Michael

[brantuk]

2 hours ago, Pingster said:

What is the name and brand of that? It looks heavy? Putting that into the car after would be difficult?

It's the M1 manual lifter - 25kg's - but it folds flat and stows in the boot dead easy. Here's a link:

http://www.kemtech-ksf.com/english/manual-portable-lifter/foldable-stacker/

I do use it for other stuff as well but it comes in very handy for heavy astro items - and my lifting ability reduces with age lol

[Commanderfish]

21 hours ago, John said:

My Moonlite is the CR2 dual-speed, like this (except mine is all black):

  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/moonlite-focusers/moonlite-cr-dual-rate-tri-knob-crayford-focuser-for-newtonians.html

I'm delighted with it

I don't use a Paracorr / coma corrector though because my scope is F/5.3.

I think Orion Optics design the positioning of the focal plane to suit imagers. The original OO focuser that I had was supplied with a 40mm extension tube by Orion Optics. I replaced it with a compression ring 35mm one which suited the focal position needs of my eyepieces (Ethos's and Pentax XW's) a little better.

 

 Hi John, did you go for the 50mm travel CR2?

[John]

40 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

 Hi John, did you go for the 50mm travel CR2?

Yes, mine has the 50mm travel drawtube.

I ought to also mention that the fitting kit did not quite match the 4 tube holes that held the original focuser in place so I had to drill a couple more. The tube is easy to drill though.

 

[Commanderfish]

2 hours ago, John said:

Yes, mine has the 50mm travel drawtube.

I ought to also mention that the fitting kit did not quite match the 4 tube holes that held the original focuser in place so I had to drill a couple more. The tube is easy to drill though.

 

Yours is the VX12, right John?  So you're talking about Moonlite's optional fitting kit for 12" scopes?   That's the bit where the holes didn't quite line up?

[John]

15 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

Yours is the VX12, right John?  So you're talking about Moonlite's optional fitting kit for 12" scopes?   That's the bit where the holes didn't quite line up?

Actually, because OO tubes are narrower than most others, I went for the 10" fitting kit. Mine is the SPX 12 which was the forerunner of the VX series. Yours looks to be from the same era. I don't think the tube diameters have changed though.

The base plate of the kit gave me lots of holes to choose from but I could not find a set of 4 that matched the spacing of the original set of holes so I needed to drill new ones. I've taken some pics of my Moonlite installation and deoing it reminded me that I actually needed to drill an additional set of 4 holes. The baseplate of the fitting kit is wide enough to cover up the original holes. Pics below - the nuts inside the tube are blackened but they seem to look shiny in the photos !

 

 

[cs1cjc]

On 16/08/2016 at 20:20, Beulah said:

@Cotterell55, nice post! Good to see those beasts next to real people. I wonder if the neighbours complain about the scope in image #2? 

Looking at the scopes, the 20" would be the happy medium for me.

A 20" , f/3.7 would be perfick.

 

Sigh.

 

Only with a coma corrector...

[Beulah]

Goes without saying... 

[The Head Gardener]

On 16/08/2016 at 16:10, brantuk said:

Sack truck and ramps won't work - I already tried it - this is what you want:

Now THAT is a sack truck with attitude.  Of course, looking at it in front of your caravan, and thinking about the weight of some of the scopes you're all talking about, can't help wondering about the MTPLM of your van . . .

[brantuk]

The sack truck goes in the car boot next to the dob - so the mtplm isn't affected - only axel weight and total train weight is affected. But the truck is only 20-25kg's depending on platform or forks - and folds flat for loading - so it slides up into the boot and straps down very easily. It helps provide a grippy tractor - and the caravan is balanced but never gets overloaded.

[The Head Gardener]

brantuk - I hope it came across thar I was teasing about van MTPLM

Not wanting to derail thread, I should also have said "Phwar! Size does matter" to Commanderfish. Don't think you've done anything daft at all

 

[brantuk]

" brantuk - I hope it came across that I was teasing about van MTPLM "

Ahhh.... no I thought it was a serious question so I tried to give a good answer woops lol. These meds I'm on do throw my sense of humour off kilter now and again - not to mention my usual calm, laid back style. But yeah - I can see the fun tease now - thanks for the adjusment mellow citizen.

(From Demolition Man if you're into films lol).

[ollypenrice]

The simulation on the Obsession site is pretty accurate in my view. I don't know what happens after 20 inches because we stop at 20 inch F4.1 here. In a week's time one of our regular guests will be bringing his 20 inch F5 down and this really shows you the effect of F ratio on general manageability. The F5, near the zenith, is borderline insane! Ours is never really alarming, just a bit, 'Ahem, here goes,' on first ascension of the ladder...

We don't use a Parracor in ours but EPs ae TeleVue, mostly 26 Nagler and 13 Ethos. I was very surprised by how clean they are near the edge, a view shared by all who have used the scope, including far more acute visual observers than I. And your mirror should be better than ours.

I think you've made a good decision. I'm also full of admiration for those with the will to go off to dark sites with big scopes. Chapeau!

Olly

[Commanderfish]

So I've got started on the mods. M4 x 45mm knobs on the secondary for collimation without a screw driver (much quicker and safer).  Glatter Parralizer for the Baader laser collimator. Paracorr Type 1.

OOUK Friction brake to pick up and fit. 

35mm extension tube to bring most EPs into focus, until my big upgrade is delivered: a Starlight Feathertouch focuser with 63.5 mm travel, a 25 mm riser and a custom base plate to fit the scope!

[Paul73]

Wow. You don't mess around when you upgrade!! Are you investing in the SIPS to go with the Feathertouch?

I went Moonlite CR2, Paracoor 1 and an observing chair to save my back.

The dew control for the secondary  is next on the list. These closed tubes don't alow much air flow.

Paul

[Commanderfish]

Well all of my upgrades have been cheap-ish, except for the colossally expensive Feathertouch.  I was very tempted by the Moonlight CR2 myself, I very nearly went for it, but the version I wanted (60 or 70mm drawtube travel in blue or purple) wouldn't be ready for some weeks.  The reviews are great for both focusers, with the only dividing line being that some people with binoviewers found that the load slipped even with the CR2, whilst the Feathertouch held solid.  I don't binoview yet, but a number of people have recommended it to me, so I suspect this is something I will try in future.  As such, I thought I'd best future-proof by going for the Feathertouch.

I'm glad I did, as Starlight got in touch quite quickly to gather the details to make my custom base plate to mount the Feathertouch on.  They had already contacted OOUK to get details but OOUK didn't know which focuser is on my scope as it is used, not new.  I didn't have the details as I was on hols so I sent Starlight a photo I had on my phone of the focuser on the scope and they got all the details from OOUK - perfect!  I couldn't see a custom-fit base plate on offer for the Moonlight, I think such a product would encourage buyers.

It is an expensive upgrade, and I took at least a week of researching in the evenings to decide on it, but another way of looking at it is this; the scope would have been over £4K new; okay it's an older model which didn't have all the bits I'd like (friction brake, focuser upgrade etc), but it has fantastic 1/10 optics, which are by far the most expensive and hard to upgrade bit of the scope.  With a few cheap upgrades and a (pricey) Feathertouch the scope should work better brand new model - actually the focuser will be better than stock, and future-proof for potential binoviewing.

No I haven't gone for the SIPS; apart from the terrifying cost, the product description said it works with the 1.5" focuser travel model only, and I calculated that I need at least 60+mm so around 2.5" of travel to bring all my EPs (primarily Ethos) into focus.

Now to wait for some clear skies so I can get a proper first light...

[Commanderfish]

On ‎04‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 08:02, Paul73 said:

Wow. You don't mess around when you upgrade!! Are you investing in the SIPS to go with the Feathertouch?

I went Moonlite CR2, Paracoor 1 and an observing chair to save my back.

The dew control for the secondary  is next on the list. These closed tubes don't alow much air flow.

Paul

Are you going for a heater for the secondary?  I don't want to put any wiring in there so when it gets colder I will probably add an unheated secondary dew shield

[Paul73]

Yes. Definitally a secondary heater and a heated Telrad. The wires don't cause an obstruction. And you guarantee a clear nights viewing!

Paul