Newtonian Reflectors

[John]

So its easier to carry the dob down stairs if i was to keep it my my room and then take it outside? Oh i am confused now!! :s hehe

It depends on your accomodation arrangements and the number of stairs but the dob will certainly be no harder than the EQ scope to move around (easier one you are outside and setup) and will take up less storage space.

It would be very helpful if you can find a way of having a look at these scopes for real if you can - it is very difficult to conceive (or describe for that matter) their size until you can see one.

John

[Barry W]

Hello Eccentric,You're getting a lot of great advice here. I went through the same thing in different forums and by talking with people. Willing to spend the money on a GOTO but ended up with an 8" Dobsonian. Looks very big, but storage floor space is likely much less than a tripod if you have to leave it set up. The weight is actually very reasonable. Set up is a breeze. Put the base where you want it and lay the scope on it's mount.I wanted to see as much as possible for the money I was willing to spend. 8" mirror for the dobsonian vs. 5" mirror in a GOTO was a big selling point. This still left plenty of money for some accessories. Manually searching the skies is a lot of fun and the challenge (while in no way overwhelming) brings a lot of satisfaction).Travelling may be another issue for you though. While light weight, it's bulky and will take up a good amount of room in a car if you're planning to travel to viewing locations with it however.Thanks to all the experienced posters as well. I've enjoyed picking through all of your advice here and on the other forums.

Cheers,Barry

[eccentric]

hey barry!!!

The only thing is I am a 5f female and although i'm not exactly weak..im just worried that it would be too much carrying it down the stairs and then back up again (the 8"dob). Is it easier to maneuver than the Skywatcher on a eq5 mount? And also with the dob do I have to have it placed on anything or will it happily lay on the floor? The big thing im worried about with the dob is traveling with it as i am a uni student and i Have all my other possesions to carry to and from home & uni. If I was to get the skywatcher Is there a special carrying case it can be put in to keep it safe like a gig bag does for the guitar?

Also, i keep looking at this scope http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=c6sxlt&cat=49 that has 1500mm So surely alot better than the 200p SW. But I am confused as on the website it says its available with GT.. so I ordered that model I could choose the GT or does that mean that It can just be added at a later date if I wanted to purchase it as an extra?

just adding one more thing, are the eq mounts really that terrible to set up and to change position? ! I just looked through a tutorial...And it seems daunting the efforted needed to change it around when with a dob its just simple!!!

ok i promise this is the last thing i ask (in this post anyway ) ! With the 8' dob can I take the telescope out of the mount for storage and to carry downstairs? how are they fixed together? My heart is starting to say the Dob but im unsure of the size of it? how big is it?

[GazOC]

1500mm is the focal length, not the aperture. The aperture on that scope is 6" (150mm) and its an f10 scope which gives you focal length of 1500mm (150mm times 10).

[Barry W]

Thanks to Gaz O'C on correcting the difference between the aperture and the focal length.The Dobsonian has a solid base. Once it's put together (took about 40 minutes) you can move the telescope around in two parts (the base and the scope itself). it's big and will be two trips up and down the stairs, but you just have to place the tube in the base and connect the tension screw or spring (depending on brand).I read back through my documents - the tube weighs about 7.5 kilos and is 1.3 meters tall. Thebase is about 11 kilos and is 52cm diameter by .7 meters tall (once it's assembled, I would count on it staying that way). I find it easy to move from my house to the yard. It's set up in less than 5 minutes then I just let it cool to outside air temperature. This is one of the other reasons I went with the Dob over the GOTO scope. I'm happy to look up and start starhopping without the computer though - the fun is in the challenge.I'll leave technical pros and cons to the more experienced here, but it sounds like you are giving a lot of consideration to traveling to and from home and college as well. If this is a prime concern, then you might want to look at the more compact designs.I apologize if my earlier post misled you - I just wanted to provide a novice point of view. The technical advice from others is very detailed and you should consider all of it.

You have two other questions that someone with more experience can still confirm -1. the Celestron you're looking at is a tripod mount. I've been told that most of non GOTO mounts (not Dobs) can generally be fit with the hardware afterward (money saved for now).2. I'm not sure if you can move the tripod mounts around easily as a unit. there are a lot of pieces put together, especially if you're dealing with the counterweights on some of the larger set-ups.

Whatever your decision, I wish you all the best with your skywatching.

Barry

[philsail1]

Hello "eccentric,"

It does seem you are looking for as much "aperture" as you can get for the money - but portability also seems to figure strongly in your quest for a telescope.

You definately cannot put an EQ mount in any kind of bag or case - unless you made one yourself! It is a hefty tripod - and you have the two counter weights (each weighing about 5kgs). You usually need to set up an EQ mount in three stages. 1, carry out and set up tripod. 2. carry out and fit the two weights (you may need to carry these one at a time depending on how far you have to carry them!). 3. carry out scope and set on top of mount - can be tricky until you've found your own easier method.

I would assume setting up a Dob can be done in two stages (as you don't have any counter weights).

Perhaps it might be an idea to have a word with "Steve" of "First Light Optics" (click on the ball logo above message for contact details). He will be able to advise you on which scopes are good - and are portable.

Best wishes,

philsail1

[Astro_Baby]

Hi eccentric - I'm a 5'6" female with a Sky-Watcher 200 on an HEQ5. Its a non-GoTo at present.

How big is it - well the truth is its a very large bit of tin. The HEQ5 mount is also very bulky and heavy. I bought some softcases for the HEQ5 mount head and also for the scope tube I libve ina top floor flat and if I want to observe it means I have to lug all the gear downstairs ( its takes usually 3 tripd down the stairs.

Theoretically I can carry everything in one go which is the tube in its soft case on my back, the powertank ( needed for the scopes electrics ) slung on one shoulder and my hands carrying the mount head in its softcase and weights in one hand while my other hand holds the Eyepiece case and accessories case. Thats all theoretical. In fact if I tried to put that lot on I could probably stagger about 10 feet before collapsing.

Dont underestimate the weight of a mount head and its counterweights OR the amount of extra stuff you'll have to carry like eyepieces and power tanks.

The SW-200 / HEQ5 is a mighty powerful piece of equipment but its also heavy and bulky. Reailitically given my location ( top floor flat ) and my need to travel a smaller scope on a GoTo would have made more sense. SOmething like the Celestron Nextstar 6SE or 8SE BUT I happen to like Newtonian style scopes and I dont like Dobsonians. I know I am out of step here but I hate the fact that with a Dob your constantly having to guide it - I prefer to let the mount do that so I can concentrate on what I am seeing. Thats a purely personal choice on my part. I've never owned a Dob but I have owned a scope on an Alt-Az which was a complete pain I found and its put me off the Dob style of scope.

To my mind a decsion on a telescope has tpo take in areas which aren't purely technical - ie what can you afford ? Whats the issues in trapsortation ? What do you want to see ? and, most crucially what on an emotional level appeals to you ?

For me a Newtonian scope on an EQ mount is madness and in truth the scope gets very little use but I happen to like it on an emotional level. Its not something I can be truly rational about.

If you want an idea of how large an 8" Netwonian is theres a pic of me with mine below. The smaller scope is a Sky-Watcher 130PM which is a 5.1" telescope BUT - I would seriously suggest you take a look at a scope in the flesh so to speak.

[John]

The issue of aperture V's real portability is a constant conundrum with astro scopes. In the 8" aperture sector one of the lightest is the 8" alt-azimuth mounted schmidt-cassegrain such as the Celestron Nextstar 8 SE which weighs in at around 33 llbs - but they do cost more unfortunately.

John

[Doc]

I have owned both a EQ mount and a dob and a dob is alot easier to handle, assemble and learn on. My advice would be to see both in the flesh before you buy. I know it's awkward as there are not many shops around that sell this stuff but try and find one near you and have a look, or better still see if there is a club near you that you could pop along to.

[eccentric]

everyones advice here is so good and i am very thankful for it all, Thank you!! I have decided to wait until I am home for the summer holidays till i purchase one. But I would like to see them in the flesh (so to speak) before I buy one, So during easter im going to visit a london store that deals with telescopes.

I have just one last question. What is the difference between the 200p dob and the 200p flextube dob?

[eccentric]

Oh my gosh!!! It retracts!!!! Making it smaller and easier for storage. Ive decided this is the one Im getting and even better the store in london stocks it so i can view it for myself!!

[Doc]

The 200p is a solid tube dob and the 200p flextube is a truss dob.

Imagine a solid tube with middle cut out just leaving the two ends with poles between the seperate parts thats a flextube.

[eccentric]

Does this affect the quality or is it exactly the same as the 200p dob just the actual look is different or is the telescope affected by what is taken out?

[Doc]

Yes the view will be the same in either scope as long as the focal length is the same and as for as I know I think it is.

What you might need is a collimator as the truss design is more liable for misalignment of the mirrors as the solid tube especially if the top OTA is retracted alot.

[eccentric]

So would this little fellow suit well ?http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SWLaserCollimator

[Doc]

It's ideal but it is a laser and lots of people don't like laser collimators many like the cheshire as in...

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SWCheshire

There is alot of threads on this just do a search for laser collimators etc.

Loads of cons and pro's for both.

I personally have a collicap and a Baader laser collimator and think they work pretty good.

[eccentric]

Thank you very much for your help!! I have decided on the 200p DobFlex-tubeand cant stop smiling, Cant believe Ididn'tstumble across it before!!!

Again thank you all for your help

[Barry W]

Enjoy It! I'm sure you'll have a grand time exploring as soon as you get it

Cheers,Barry :hello1: :hello1: