New dobsonian

[Adidaz 29]

All  dobed up waiting to go   Got my  new xti 10 inch came today  all set up and now the clouds have come 

[paul mc c]

You get a big box of clouds with every new astro purchase you get did'nt you know.........

 

[DRT]

13 minutes ago, Adidaz 29 said:

All  dobed up waiting to go   Got my  new xti 10 inch came today  all set up and now the clouds have come 

Congratulations! I hope you get first light soon

 

[estwing]

didn't you know every new scope comes with clouds in the box....was clear here just up the road...but its 50/50 now..welcome to the dob mob...

[morimarty]

So your responsible for all this cloud cover Dazcongrats on gettng your new dob!

[laudropb]

Congratulations on your new scope. I am sure you will enjoy when the clouds clear.

[Adidaz 29]

After unpacking my new Dob with a mate of mine  I was so excited to get started last night but I could not get on top with the viewfinder scope I know we're m13 the keystone is with my naked eye but  I carnt seen to find it through finder just looking at thousands of star but after 2 hrs I found m13 by luck through the scope itself tried using the computer to allign stars but that failed just thinking my old scope got a laser dot on wonder if I need to buy a laser mounted view finder or is this. Being new to the game but when I saw that m13 cluster last night I was something special but was a bit down  not being able to view the correct stars in the day I used the viewfinder on a chimney. Pot no prob. but at night I struggled  any info please

[nightfisher]

silly question but did you align the finder scope to the main dob, best to point at say Saturn and then align it, also a 9x50 right angle finder is good on a dob

[Adidaz 29]

Only in day light on a chimney pot

[nightfisher]

Right, that is just a good starting point but if your out by a very small amount then over a few million miles that becomes a huge amount, next time your out under stars do a more accurate align and should be a whole lot better

[Adidaz 29]

Thank you for that info 

[brantuk]

Finding M13 should be a 10 seconds job - deffo not 2hrs. I agree with Jules - accurate alignment of finder and scope sounds like the problem. A raci is a great idea for a dob (I use one) and I also use a Telrad finder.

When you do the initial alignment - which eye piece do you use? It's best to align using the strongest eyepiece (i.e. least mm) then you'll know anything lower power (longer mm) will also work. I'd suggest aligning the scope and finder using a 10mm or 8mm preferably.

[Adidaz 29]

 Used 25 mm

[brantuk]

Use the 10mm or shorter to align the scope and finder, then the 25mm will automatically work. It doesn't work the other way round due to the difference in field of view.

[asset189]

Also perhaps worth research setting circles further down the line. Adding this simple feature has made a huge difference to me when it comes to navigating around the sky

[si@nite]

On ‎03‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 08:20, brantuk said:

Use the 10mm or shorter to align the scope and finder, then the 25mm will automatically work. It doesn't work the other way round due to the difference in field of view.

Some good advice, I find a bright star in my finder, look through the scope at a short fl, usualy its somewhere in the field of view, then centre it in your main scope, & adjust your finder to centralize the target!

Repeat the process using stronger magnification, (Remember you are aligning your finder to your main scope) Enjoy your new dob Daz hope this helps!