Aperture Fever Strikes!

[kev100]

Hi Neil,

There's a 12 inch OTA on Astroboot.eu (but with a 10in base): 

 

Would your DIY skills be up to modding the base, or building new one?

With regard to the Lunt 20mm, that's (AFAIK) the same as a Skywatcher Myriad 20mm, which can be had for a lot less ... (and is amazing!).

Kev

[Littleguy80]

2 hours ago, jetstream said:

If you get one it will release you from the need and desire for 21mm Ethos... it is a superb eyepiece Neil.

The Ethos is sooo expensive. The 20mm will give 80x with an exit pupil of 3.8mm in the 12VX, if I'm luck enough to get one.

[Littleguy80]

48 minutes ago, kev100 said:

Hi Neil,

There's a 12 inch OTA on Astroboot.eu (but with a 10in base): 

 

Would your DIY skills be up to modding the base, or building new one?

With regard to the Lunt 20mm, that's (AFAIK) the same as a Skywatcher Myriad 20mm, which can be had for a lot less ... (and is amazing!).

Kev

DIY has never been my strong point! 

That's interesting to know on the Myriad and Lunt. I'll have to look into that!

[jetstream]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

The Ethos is sooo expensive. The 20mm will give 80x with an exit pupil of 3.8mm in the 12VL, if I'm luck enough to get one.

Take your time Neil and like Scarp15 says don't pass on a VX10 f4.8.. If we were closer I'd offer you mine, the 1/8 PV mirror works great on everything. The 12" f5.3 will show almost no coma and the extra 2" aperture is a benefit too, BUT don't pass a good 10" up IMHO.

[Littleguy80]

19 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Take your time Neil and like Scarp15 says don't pass on a VX10 f4.8.. If we were closer I'd offer you mine, the 1/8 PV mirror works great on everything. The 12" f5.3 will show almost no coma and the extra 2" aperture is a benefit too, BUT don't pass a good 10" up IMHO.

Thanks Gerry. Good point from you and @scarp15 on the VX10. I'm sure either scope will be mind blowing after my little SkyWatcher  

[Paul73]

I always rather enjoyed my 10” SW Dob and the 21mm Ethos...... The whole Veil in one field of view!!!!

Haven't tried the Lunt yet.

Paul

[Littleguy80]

2 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

I always rather enjoyed my 10” SW Dob and the 21mm Ethos...... The whole Veil in one field of view!!!!

Haven't tried the Lunt yet.

Paul

The whole Veil in a single field of view is very high on my list of things to see! It's a great site in my current scope even if I have to do it in sections. I'm excited to see how much more detail is revealed with the increased aperture!

[Stu]

24 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

I always rather enjoyed my 10” SW Dob and the 21mm Ethos...... The whole Veil in one field of view!!!!

Haven't tried the Lunt yet.

Paul

How do you manage that then Paul??? Or do you mean the whole of part of it??

[cloudsweeper]

29 minutes ago, Stu said:

How do you manage that then Paul??? Or do you mean the whole of part of it??

 

Sounds like a job for a widefield frac at a dark site to me, Stu!

Doug.

[scarp15]

Perhaps also place a wanted add on Astro Buy & Sell Neil. If you encounter a potential one on there or on ebay, you could message some of us or share opinions on this thread if you require some additional advice and thoughts. This is quite certainly the approach I took when a VX14 with dob mount, was listed on ebay a few years ago. A good exchange of emails between the seller and myself and between four members on here, who owned this particular scope or very similar OOUK type dobs. The buyer had kept the packaging and was prepared to re-box if I was prepared to arrange for a courier. He lived in the South West, it could have made for a nice short break holiday, yet travelling across from the North East would have been quite a journey. So I made the purchase and was able to arrange for an independent courier, who happened to be travelling this way, to collect at a very reasonable cost. An exchange of phone calls and text messaging with the courier was encouraging and so a few days later he pulled up in his white van texting to let me know his progress and the delivery was with quite some relief, completely without a hitch.

Getting it into the hall, my wife's immediate reaction was that it looked like a water cylinder. Well the water cylinder  lives in the back room, without hesitation it is hauled into our Nissan Note and taken on a good many dark sky trips, it continues to be my most frequently used scope and I have never looked back. Good to hear how you get on from here Neil, there will be a dobsonian scope out there for you.   

[25585]

5 hours ago, jetstream said:

Take your time Neil and like Scarp15 says don't pass on a VX10 f4.8.. If we were closer I'd offer you mine, the 1/8 PV mirror works great on everything. The 12" f5.3 will show almost no coma and the extra 2" aperture is a benefit too, BUT don't pass a good 10" up IMHO.

Checked ebay. There is a VX12L 1600mm F5.3 OTA for sale £595 in Sittingbourne . Buyer collects. 

[jetstream]

26 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Checked ebay. There is a VX12L 1600mm F5.3 OTA for sale £595 in Sittingbourne . Buyer collects. 

Does it have the OOUK mount? they are expensive to buy separately. Moonshane makes nice ones too... check mod Johns out.

[Moonshane]

I really like my 12" f4  OOUK dob on a home made base. It'ssmall and light. Don't come up that often though used. 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/181536-12-f4-orion-optics-ota-on-home-made-dob-base-my-latest-project/ 

 

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

Checked ebay. There is a VX12L 1600mm F5.3 OTA for sale £595 in Sittingbourne . Buyer collects. 

Looks good but not on dob mount. I wish @Moonshane’s DIY skills!

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, Moonshane said:

I really like my 12" f4  OOUK dob on a home made base. It'ssmall and light. Don't come up that often though used. 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/181536-12-f4-orion-optics-ota-on-home-made-dob-base-my-latest-project/ 

 

That’s very impressive! How difficult was it to make? 

[Moonshane]

If you can use a router, it's a pretty easy task. Use quality materials though. I prefer Birch ply.

You could leave out the cut outs which is the most tricky bit,  but I like them, they make it lighter and there's something to grab for carrying.

[Moonshane]

Here's another I made from bits I had in the shed.

 

[scarp15]

There is more detail, such as the mirror grade concerning this scope, VX12L on their, F1 Telescopes website and additional saving compared to ebay listing, £499.

 https://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop/part-exchange-and-display/part-exchange-mounts-and-otas/orion-optics-vx12l-12-f5-3-newtonian-telescope-used/

As standard, 1/6 PV grade mirrors and I would ask a question to confirm the year the scope was made, which will be in the paper work - the VX range are not particularly old and also specifically the overall condition of the focuser. More recent / later versions are supplied with smooth and efficient focusers, my VX8L was relatively recent, supplied with a good focuser, my VX14 had by the previous owner been replaced and upgraded with a Baader Steeltrack. Ordering a dobsonian mount, trunnion blocks, friction brake would be quite an additional cost, though this system is very good. Faulksy, for example had undertaken this when he'd bought a used VX14, although he had been able to collect both scope and dob mount from OOUK, as the scope, by the previous owner had been sent to them for upgrading the mirrors to 1/10 PV.   

 

[scarp15]

Cost for mount, blocks, brake looks like £439, delivery included. That would make a total cost of £938, although you would have to arrange collection of the scope, they only deliver locally. Same cost new (standard 1/6PV mirrors) at full retail with delivery is £1611.60. Worth noting that if committed to a purchase new from OOUK, they do offer a 5% discount or at least ask for this. 

[Littleguy80]

25 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Cost for mount, blocks, brake looks like £439, delivery included. That would make a total cost of £938, although you would have to arrange collection of the scope, they only deliver locally. Same cost new (standard 1/6PV mirrors) at full retail with delivery is £1611.60. Worth noting that if committed to a purchase new from OOUK, they do offer a 5% discount or at least ask for this. 

Thank Iain. Really useful info. Getting a bit past my budget at this point in time sadly. Hopefully patience will pay off and 10” or 12” OOVX will come up on the dob mount

[scarp15]

Quite right Neil, patience will pay off and you have a good focus on those two scopes.

[Charic]

On 30/01/2018 at 16:52, Littleguy80 said:

My only other consideration is whether my existing eyepieces will work well in the new scope. I know the SkyWatcher 10" dob is F4.7 which is below the F5 that the BST Starguiders are rated for. I think my other eyepieces will probably be ok.

On axis, the Starguiders should still work,  but off axis who know's? you'll have to try for yourself! but I wouldn't let my Starguiders get in the way of which scope to buy next time round, they'll either work or not.

I also considered the same issue some time back. Would I need better eyepieces for a faster scope, not only that, I wanted to see for myself, what all the 'fuss' was about regarding a certain type of eyepiece?  and if their better eyepieces, then surely I could have better results?

I therefore started to acquire some TeleVue Delos EP's, tested to f/4, good eye-relief, good field of view, and the Dioptrx solution for astigmatism, seemed like the perfect answer, plus the Delos were very cheap for me back then.

Then the realisation that maybe the 8" is probably the more practical scope to keep, and any larger scope possibly becoming inconvenient in more ways than one, over the way I store, use and convey the present scope. It also became apparent that getting a new solid tube 12" Skyliner became an issue? The 12" is on hold for now, and the Delos proved no better over my Starguiders on the present f/6 scope. so they had to go.

If I change my mind, receive a windfall, or someone gifts me the 12" Skyliner and the Starguiders fail to provide or the 'corrector lens'  does not 'fix' the situation, I will consider the TeleVue DeLites next time round. 

[Paul73]

Sorry to contradict.

In my limited experience colimnation is a 30 second job which happens every outing.

Psul

[25585]

3 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Sorry to contradict.

In my limited experience colimnation is a 30 second job which happens every outing.

Psul

What do you use, laser? 

[Paul73]

On 31/01/2018 at 16:59, Stu said:

How do you manage that then Paul??? Or do you mean the whole of part of it??

Sorry. I misremembered. The views were really good though. An alternative to the 100mm 20mm is the ES 24mm 82°. Iy works really well with the 10” f4.7.

Paul