The Explore Scientific Ultra Light 16" Dobsonian GENERATION II

[seven_legs]

hi all,

just thought I put up a little post about my new the explore scientific ultra light 16" dob.

my previous scope was the skywatcher 14" goto dob, which I had for about four years. it is a great scope but for me has become to heavy and bulky to keep taking in and out to the car. in the end I've got to the stage were I could not be bothered anymore which is a shame because it is a great scope. anyway about 8 months ago I started to think about getting something smaller and easier to carry around. my first thought was to get an Orion Uk 12" dob with a 1/10 wave. then a month or two ago I noticed that a newer version of the 16" dob had been released. I read about the older version awhile back on various forums and to be honest was never really interested in the scope. but for some reason the generation 2 version got me thinking. I thought to myself, do I lose two inches off aperture for a good mirror or spend or few more quid and gain two more inches.

so after reading lots of forum post and watching some youtube videos . I watched a guy with the older 12" version, Dakota Starry Nights and liked what I saw. yes  I read about minor niggles and stuff. but to be honest I have read Orion UK dobs having issues on forums. I believe that most scope have small issues..  the day I ordered the scope I read in  the Sky at night magazine review and it gave it 3.5 out 5. I thought oh dear.  seems like they marked it down for the manual being rubbish, which I have read on forums.

after ordering the scope from Rother Valley Optics it came a week later.

after unpacking and looking at the manual I thought everyone is right, it is rubbish.. as for assembly the Sky at night people said that they had to check online pictures to see how it all went together. now I'm not the most mechanically minded person in the world but there's nothing to it lol. you have four long screws which they can only go in one place. two skinny screws in a plastic tube type thingy which can only go in once place. finally you have four small screws, again can only go one place. I thought that they was smart at Sky at night magazine lol.

anyway a few pictures

 

couple of days after the scope came it was clear, so managed to take it out to darkish skies with a few people. it took less time to assemble that the 14" skywatcher and wasn't as back breaking. I reckon it took about ten minutes to setup and collimate. note I have a shroud as well now.

first light was great. I always worry on a first light wondering if the optics are poor. I needed  worried, the views are great through this scope. even though its only a two inch increase in aperture the views are some much better than my old skywatcher.

anyway running out of time. will write a proper first light tomorrow or sunday.

thanks for reading.

[Paz]

That's a nice looking scope and a lot of aperture for the weight.

[seven_legs]

Thanks,

i think that the whole scope weighs less that the 14” goto ota.

will do a part 2 tomorrow hopefully.

[newtyng5]

Great scope, enjoyed the views from it the other day in Wymeswold. Amazed how pin sharp stars are in yours in comparison to my 11inch. Different focal length makes a difference. Amazing comparing M27 (Dumbell) it was amazing in my 11inch sct, looked the same in yours initially, then I noticed loads more stars, and the longer your peered, even more,truly a sight to behold.

[niallk]

9 hours ago, seven_legs said:

hi all,

just thought I put up a little post about my new the explore scientific ultra light 16" dob.

my previous scope was the skywatcher 14" goto dob, which I had for about four years. it is a great scope but for me has become to heavy and bulky to keep taking in and out to the car. in the end I've got to the stage were I could not be bothered anymore which is a shame because it is a great scope. anyway about 8 months ago I started to think about getting something smaller and easier to carry around. my first thought was to get an Orion Uk 12" dob with a 1/10 wave. then a month or two ago I noticed that a newer version of the 16" dob had been released. I read about the older version awhile back on various forums and to be honest was never really interested in the scope. but for some reason the generation 2 version got me thinking. I thought to myself, do I lose two inches off aperture for a good mirror or spend or few more quid and gain two more inches.

so after reading lots of forum post and watching some youtube videos . I watched a guy with the older 12" version, Dakota Starry Nights and liked what I saw. yes  I read about minor niggles and stuff. but to be honest I have read Orion UK dobs having issues on forums. I believe that most scope have small issues..  the day I ordered the scope I read in  the Sky at night magazine review and it gave it 3.5 out 5. I thought oh dear.  seems like they marked it down for the manual being rubbish, which I have read on forums.

after ordering the scope from Rother Valley Optics it came a week later.

after unpacking and looking at the manual I thought everyone is right, it is rubbish.. as for assembly the Sky at night people said that they had to check online pictures to see how it all went together. now I'm not the most mechanically minded person in the world but there's nothing to it lol. you have four long screws which they can only go in one place. two skinny screws in a plastic tube type thingy which can only go in once place. finally you have four small screws, again can only go one place. I thought that they was smart at Sky at night magazine lol.

anyway a few pictures

 

couple of days after the scope came it was clear, so managed to take it out to darkish skies with a few people. it took less time to assemble that the 14" skywatcher and wasn't as back breaking. I reckon it took about ten minutes to setup and collimate. note I have a shroud as well now.

first light was great. I always worry on a first light wondering if the optics are poor. I needed  worried, the views are great through this scope. even though its only a two inch increase in aperture the views are some much better than my old skywatcher.

anyway running out of time. will write a proper first light tomorrow or sunday.

thanks for reading.

Great review 

Looking fwd to hearing more. I was very tempted by one of these: glad to hear positive experiences.  It looks to me like a very portable option, and I think every report has been quite favourable on the mirror front.

Enjoy + clear skies 

-Niall

[Nobody special]

Hi, sorry to reply to an older thread (I didn’t want to start a new one if it wasn’t necessary) but I have a question about the ES Ultralight 16” - is the mirror box light enough to be picked up and carried by one person? I’m looking at getting one of these but there’s no point if it’s going to be too heavy for one person to move around (I’d look at the 12” if that was the case). Btw, this person is late 40s, female and physically fit.

Thanks in advance.

[seven_legs]

On 01/06/2019 at 15:37, Nobody special said:

Hi, sorry to reply to an older thread (I didn’t want to start a new one if it wasn’t necessary) but I have a question about the ES Ultralight 16” - is the mirror box light enough to be picked up and carried by one person? I’m looking at getting one of these but there’s no point if it’s going to be too heavy for one person to move around (I’d look at the 12” if that was the case). Btw, this person is late 40s, female and physically fit.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, thanks for the post. 

Sorry for the late reply.

i think you able ok with the mirror box if you’re fit. I’m 52 male but go to the gym all the time and I find it easy enough. A lot easier that lugging my old 14” skywatcher dob ota around.

i am a member of the East Midlands stargazers. We are having a observing session on the 6th of July. If your in the midlands area you would be more than welcome and have a test run with the scope.

check out the website.

any other questions let me know

Edited June 13, 2019 by seven_legs