Hello from a Total Noob in Herts

[Stu1smartcookie]

I have to say , I’m a bit frustrated too   Dave , mainly because of the LP .. it’s washing out my chances of DSO’s .. I think tonight I will attempt a trip to  a nearby dark site ... I tried a Barlow lens with a 6 mm EP but it was very difficult a properly focussed view of Saturn , although less magnification showed the Cassini gap and what looked like a band across the planet .. Saturn has been my best view so far.  It I chose his scope to view nebula and DSO’s , so I need to get out of the garden .. starting with tonight . 

[Charic]

On 29/08/2018 at 14:56, Stu1smartcookie said:

 ... one thing that bothers me a bit is the actual design of these flex tubes... arent they prone to all sorts of flying debris entering the base of the tube ?

If my solid tube was next to your flex tube, I'd say both tubes would end up with  the same amount of debris inside the tube if there was any in the air in the first place, but I'd doubt the open nature of a flex tube would gather loads more.

I also think the open nature of the tube allows/gives unnecessary reach inside the tube, allowing  more folk  to try and remove detritus or just their want/need  to clean that mirror more often, when its not actually needed.

I would personally need to use a light shroud to prevent stray light entering the shorter tube,  but an open tube could allow thermal currents from a cooling mirror  dissipate quicker. Also without the gap, these scopes would not be collapsible.

The only real nark I have with collapsible and flex tubes is  really within their names! flexible and collapsible?
Flexible to me does not inspire any strength or rigidity and collapsible says it all! why collapse a perfectly collimated mirror ( once collimation is completed ) only to have to examine the collimation every time the scope is extended.

In all probability, I'm sure I'd find this to be somewhat inaccurate?  Its the tube sections that move, not the mirrors, but I have this notion that if for some reason you tightened down one flex-tube shorter than another, there would be some miscollimation, but there's probably an indentation that ensures the scope if correctly extended, or the fact that the extension has reached the end of any travel, the  OTA has to be correctly aligned!

However, these are just my own thoughts, as Ive never had the chance to compare other scopes side-by-side with my own solid tube Skyliner. But if I was the proud owner of one of these scopes, I'd no doubt see and better understand their working principle and that it was nothing to worry about.
I always say, you wont know until you try for your self!

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi Charic , I take your points ... on the collimating , I have only needed to collimating once , the first time I used the scope ... even after “collapsing “ the tube and extending   Its held collimation , so I’m pleased about that . I store the scope away from the base in our house , I can’t leave it mounted on the base yet .. I’m waiting for a storage shed so I can keep all my astronomy gear together and not have to take the scope apart .