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Skywatcher 10 inch Dobsonian


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I have the Skywatcher 10 inch dobsonian.  It comes with two lenses (10 and 25mm).  I tried buying a 3mm and using but now I have to sell because it is too powerful.  Couple questions and recs needed.

If I buy another 10 or 25 piece is it really that much better than the boxed pieces?

If so can I get some reommendations?  Dont/Cant spend too much so nothing north of $125.

Should I get something with better magnification or are there pieces that show closer and clearer images with this scope?  I bought the Orion 3mm Planetary Edge ON and I was told after the magnification is too powerful.

Here are the specs on my scope...Much appreciated if any experts can chime in.  Cheers.

Optical Design Newtonian Reflector
Aperture 10" / 254 mm
Focal Length 47.24" / 1200 mm
Focal Ratio 4.72
Eyepiece Barrel Diameter 1.25"
Eyepiece 48 x:  0.98" / 25 mm
120x: 0.39" / 10 mm
Maximum Useful Magnification 600x
Limiting Stellar Magnitude 14.5
Finderscope 8x50 RA Viewfinder
Tripod N/A
Mount Type Dobsonian
Power Source None
Optical Tube Dimensions Not Specified by Manufacturer
Weight 33 lb / 14.97 kg
Packaging Info
Package Weight 75.0 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH) 37.5 x 26.0 x 23.5"
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Hiya,

I have the same scope. The answer to your question "If I buy another 10 or 25 piece is it really that much better than the boxed pieces?" is yes. The glass itself will be better, producing a better, 'cleaner', sharper and more contrasty image, and the field of view will be larger, depending on the eyepiece you go for. Personally, I like to have a range of eyepieces, from higher power, through medium, and low power, and I also like a fairly large field of view, so I'd recommend something in the 5-6mm focal length, then somewhere between 12-16mm, and finally, 24-32mm, all with a field of view of at least 68 degrees.

One issue which will limit your choice of eyepiece is the 'fast' focal ratio of your scope. At f4.7, it can be a bit too much for some EPs, producing pin-cushioning of the view, especially noticeable in longer focal length eyepieces.

Something from the Explore scientific 68-82 degree ranges, perhaps? They sometimes come up for sale on the secondhand market.

Kev

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ok thanks.  I will look into that.  I am getting confused though because the below eyepiece is kinda blurry when I use it but the specs on the scope say it can handle up to 600 mag.  Can you quickly see if this piece should work with the scope?  B & H said some pieces wont work with scopes (i.e. Orion with Skywatcher).  I can see objects but it is rather blurry.

3.0mm Orion Edge-On Planetary Eyepiece
 
 
 
 
$99.99
Quantity:  
 
 
Accepted Payment
 
 
Expected Ship Date: 08/20/2018
 
  • 3mm high-magnification 1.25" eyepiece designed for exceptional planetary and lunar viewing
  • Flat field design ensures sharp focus out to the edge of the wide 55-degree apparent field of view
  • Edge-On eyepiece design eliminates barrel distortion and field curvature commonly seen in standard eyepiece designs
  • Each Edge-On Planetary eyepiece has long 20mm eye relief for comfortable viewing even with eyeglasses on
  • Ideal eyepiece for high-power viewing of the planets and Moon


Learn more
 
 
Item #  08884
 
 
 
 
 
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Hi there. 

I started off with a sw10" dob earlier this year,  basically the ep's that can't with it are rubbish for the scope. Any better quality item will make the view through the scope look better. The ep's I've changed to aren't great quality but they are a marked improvement on what came with it. ? 

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I always recommend TeleVue since they are the best that I have.. but LV and the Celestron X-Cels are good too....

I'm surprised that that you think that the 3mm is too much power for you 10" newt.. I use a 5mm in my 8" (2032mm FL) SCT and that is fine on the best seeing nights on planets and the moon, rendering 406X magnification.. that 3mm would deliver 400X on you scope which has a larger aperture.... 

Maybe try it on a planet like Saturn during a clearest night before giving up.

 

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Saturn looks good with the packaged pieces I guess...That Orion 3MM planetary Edge on though doesnt look so great.  It is pretty blurry.  i do have alot of light pollution coming from the west which may have an affect on it.

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Our local astro society suggested 10-12x useful magnificstion per 10mm of Aperture due to light pollution in our Area basically.

which would mean you should try more like a 4-5mm eyepiece. Let us know how it goes as I am interested in this scope too. 

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8 hours ago, common763 said:

Saturn looks good with the packaged pieces I guess...That Orion 3MM planetary Edge on though doesnt look so great.  It is pretty blurry.  i do have alot of light pollution coming from the west which may have an affect on it.

Most planets do better down around 100x to 150x unless seeing is very steady.  Try the 3mm on a globular cluster like M13 or M22 or perhaps splitting a tight double star.  I regularly use 4.5mm to 5.2mm eyepieces for these purposes.  I rarely use my 3.5mm eyepiece due to the tiny exit pupil.  Who recommended a 3mm to you as your first eyepiece purchase?  I didn't pick up the 3.5mm until 17 years after I started observing.

Have you verified via star testing that your collimation is spot on?  At f/4.7, it has to be for the scope to work effectively at high powers.

I'd buy a 12mm to 18mm eyepiece for your next purchase to provide a nice work-horse, mid-power eyepiece.  If you don't need long eye relief, a 14mm 82 degree eyepiece like the Meade 5000 UWA or Explore Scientific would be a good choice.  The former will have more eye relief and cost slightly less.  If you can't swing that price, there's the 15mm Celestron Luminos which is decent for a beginner for slightly less.

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Your 10” scope is very capable, but needs managing for best results

1. Let the mirrors reach ambient temperature

2. Collimation the mirrors

3. For the planets there is no need to go to very high magnifications.

You don’t mention what objects you want to look at so here is some planetary guidance......

Jupiter is good at x170 (7mm eyepiece)

Saturn is good at x200 (6mm eyepiece)

Mars, Neptune, Uranus are good at x240 to x300 (5mm and 4mm eyepieces)

Your local seeing conditions will dictate how much power you can use - in the UK this is usually no more than x250 unless the skies are unusually good.

You may find a neutral density filter helps reduce planetary glare and improves contrast.

The Moon looks good at any magnification - I observe from x60 (20mm eyepiece) up to what my seeing will allow on the Moon which can easily be x300 plus

Deepsky I usually use lowish powers x48 (25mm eyepiece) to x120 (10mm eyepiece)

You may consider buying a Baader 8-24 Zoom and a x2 Barlow that will give you a continuous range of eyepieces from 24mm to 4mm (x50 to x300)

Hope that helps

 

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Just chipping in again. On the subject of your 3mm eyepiece, I'd say that's really far too much magnification of use with 'normal' skies. Generally, the maximum I use is x240 (5mm EP) on really good nights or x200 (6mm EP) for planets, planetary nebulae, etc. I see someone has recommended BST Starguiders. whilst they are excellent quality, and value for money, they do suffer from pin-cushioning at longer focal lengths in a fast scope like yours. You do have to be careful choosing EPs when you get below f5 focal ratio. Personally, I'd also avoid zoom EPs, as they tend not to be good in fast scopes, and give a reduced field of view  ...

For what it's worth (and everyone will have a different take on this), I tend to use my 8.8mm EP (x136 mag) and my 20mm (x60 mag) the vast majority of the time.

Kev

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16 hours ago, common763 said:

Saturn looks good with the packaged pieces I guess...That Orion 3MM planetary Edge on though doesnt look so great.  It is pretty blurry.  i do have alot of light pollution coming from the west which may have an affect on it.

Seeing conditions will affect viewing significantly. So would the dark skies. The packaged eyepieces will show you things in dark & non-polluted skies which one of the most expensive eyepieces cannot show in a polluted city. I myself own the SW 10" Dob.  My take is that if you are observing from a city sky, then you cannot go below 6mm. Use wide angle EPs.  

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someone asked above why I bought a 3"...sorry its 6 am here and I cant find who wrote it...half asleep...basically I am a novice and didnt give it much thought.  Figured plug and play.  I am looking at the Williams Optic that Kev has because he has the same scope as me.  Someone wants to buy that Orion Pro Edge so just gonna sell it.  Side note...this is a great forum...really nice that people respond trying to help out.  thanks so much!

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responding to pankaj...I live in New York but upstate so light pollution is not that bad...however we get a ton of light pollution from the north as there is a college, city, and baseball field (basically in my back yard).  I do feel if I went somewhere in the country with the scope the viewing would be much better.  Other than buying a couple new eyepieces are there any other items that you skygazers find mandatory to accompany pieces?

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51 minutes ago, common763 said:

Other than buying a couple new eyepieces are there any other items that you skygazers find mandatory to accompany pieces?

All I'd recommend for now is a decent app on your phone/tablet (stellarium or Sky Safari) to help you find things, and a drum stool/observing chair to make observing comfortable. I find the stock finder scope adequate, but I know several who recommend RACI or Telrad finders. You might want to make up a dew shield for both the scope and finder using camping mat/foam. Those, and a decent low power EP for scanning the sky, and a medium power EP for close ups and you'd be good to go.

Kev

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21 hours ago, common763 said:

responding to pankaj...I live in New York but upstate so light pollution is not that bad...however we get a ton of light pollution from the north as there is a college, city, and baseball field (basically in my back yard).  I do feel if I went somewhere in the country with the scope the viewing would be much better.  Other than buying a couple new eyepieces are there any other items that you skygazers find mandatory to accompany pieces?

If you can travel to a place with dark skies, trust me, you will see objects with at least 200% better visibility than you see from the city. Your scope is a fantastic piece. All it needs is good viewing conditions which every scope would need anyways. And please dark adapt your eyes before the observing session. Also get an adjustable observing chair. A relaxed posture will help you see more details.

I still remember the first time I traveled with my scope to a very dark location in the Indian Himalayas. It was a jaw dropping experience the minute I peeped through the EP. 

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Not much I can add but I would suggest you consider keeping the 25mm that came with the scope as it's pretty decent (upgrade it later on) and most of the time you will only use it for scanning around to find objects before 'zooming' in on them with a shorter focal length eyepiece.

How about a decent 16mm, a good 2X Barlow and then later add something around 6mm - that would give you:

48X mag - 25mm

75X mag - 16mm

120X mag - 10mm (upgrade next)

150X mag - 8mm (16mm with the Barlow)

200X mag - 6mm

240X mag - 5mm (10mm with the Barlow)

404X mag - 3mm (6mm with the Barlow)

Having the 2X Barlow is very handy - it is worth buying a high quality one. There are a few small gaps with this setup which can be addressed when you have saved up some more cash - a 7mm would be a nice future addition giving 171X or 342X with the Barlow.

 

Good luck - it's a fine scope.

 

 

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