Dobsonian GOTO upgrade help please

[ymonortsa]

Hi guys I currently own a 12" skywatcher collapsible dobsonian but need to upgrade now to have goto functionality. It is way to expensive for me though and I can only spend up to 1200 AUD ~ 900 USD. Could anyone please help me think of some alternatives, to track and remotely control my dob?

 

Thanks guys!!

[Louis D]

If you just want tracking, you could go the equatorial platform route.  If you're good with either woodworking or metalworking, you can probably make your own and save yourself a bunch of money.

[Scooot]

Hi & welcome to SGL.

If you want to find objects add two encoders and Astro Devices Nexus.

http://www.astrodevices.com/Products/NexusII/index.html

[ymonortsa]

7 hours ago, Scooot said:

Hi & welcome to SGL.

If you want to find objects add two encoders and Astro Devices Nexus.

http://www.astrodevices.com/Products/NexusII/index.html

 

I understand how the nexus II works but what do I actually use to motorise it?

 

Cheers

[Scooot]

15 minutes ago, ymonortsa said:

I understand how the nexus II works but what do I actually use to motorise it?

 

Cheers

No motors, it's for a push-to system. You look at the screen, on phone or tablet, and as you move the scope by hand, you follow its movement on the screen to align it with a target. It's not go-to, and doesn't track. Although if you want to track you can also use an Equatorial Platform as suggested by Louis D above, which is also what I do. Although I only tend to need to track if I'm dedicating a session to the moon or planets, otherwise I don't bother. I think with a dob, pushing it to the target is quicker and easier than waiting for motors to to take it there, but that's just my opinion.

If you want to convert your dob to full goto with tracking I don't think there's much alternative to buying a complete kit to do so. It's probably not much dearer to buy a new goto scope and sell your current one but I'm only guessing that.

good luck with whatever you decide  

[ymonortsa]

2 minutes ago, Scooot said:

No motors, it's for a push-to system. You look at the screen, on phone or tablet, and as you move the scope by hand, you follow its movement on the screen to align it with a target. It's not go-to, and doesn't track. Although if you want to track you can also use an Equatorial Platform as suggested by Louis D above, which is also what I do. Although I only tend to need to track if I'm dedicating a session to the moon or planets, otherwise I don't bother. I think with a dob, pushing it to the target is quicker and easier than waiting for motors to to take it there, but that's just my opinion.

If you want to convert your dob to full goto with tracking I don't think there's much alternative than buying a complete kit to do so. It's probably not much dearer to buy a new goto scope and sell your current one but I'm only guessing that.

good luck with whatever you decide  

 

Ahh, that makes sense. I, unfortunately, can't actually move it manually as I am creating a remote observatory. How much would a barely used 12 inch perfect condition skywatcher dob go for?

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

To reel your query back a bit, I understand you want to have a 12" telescope in a remote controlled observatory. You might get more answers if you supply a bit more detail.

What do you intend to do with it? Will it be permanently set up, set up temporarily next to your house, or set up temporarily or permanently at a remote site? Why does it have to be remote controlled? Have you considered other scope types, or ruled them out on grounds of cost? 

You can look up the prices of various options on astro suppliers websites, and reckon on a good used one being around 2/3 the cost of new.

[Louis D]

14 hours ago, ymonortsa said:

Ahh, that makes sense. I, unfortunately, can't actually move it manually as I am creating a remote observatory. How much would a barely used 12 inch perfect condition skywatcher dob go for?

 

Affordable, vintage 10" and 12" Meade LX-200 SCTs come up used on a regular basis in the US.  Not exactly new, but much better suited to a small, remote-controlled observatory than a GOTO dob would be.  I can't recall ever seeing anyone put a 12" dob in a remote controlled observatory.  Why would you?  It's a visual-only instrument.