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Travels with a dob


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30 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Love the ramps ...i will need something like this to move mine from a shed to the garden . Nice One . ( Maybe my next purchase will be a Dob like this but as Stu wrote , they are not as popular here . Every now and then i see Meade versions advertised . 

 

In my opinion, we, amateur astronomers, should start considering making our own dobsonians, in the same way as American amateur astronomers have been making heir own for a number of years.

I don't want to hijack this thread, raising different questions. So I created a new one: 

 

Edited by Piero
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1 hour ago, Piero said:

This is how I take my 16" to my garden. It's about 20 meters each way and the telescope remains assembled.

Assembling the telescope involves attaching the trusses, the UTA on the trusses, and put on the light shroud. That's about 5 minutes.

Collimation with HG laser and 1/4” white Catseye triangle (which helps indicate which bolt to turn) takes less than 5 minutes, whereas day or night time.

Assembling those ramps takes another 5 minutes (the actual difference from solid tubes). 

Lifting the telescope via wheelbarrow handles is like lifting about 6-7kg.

 

IMG_20210529_200925.thumb.jpg.a9a8e679876f34fc973f545117355479.jpg

I love the ramps!

If (when?) I get the 250px flextube I've been hanging my nose over, I think a set of these and an amp dolly will be my best option for getting it into the garden from the house.

MiladyB x

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Ed Ting from YouTube  talks about the need to put these table top dobs onto something stable to raise them off the ground.

He keeps his in plastic storage containers to move them, then flips the box/barrel over and puts the scope on the container.

Two birds with one stone.

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7 hours ago, astro-erago said:

He keeps his in plastic storage containers to move them, then flips the box/barrel over and puts the scope on the container.

He must have found some really rigid plastic storage containers, then.  All the plastic storage bins I've used are made from very flexible plastic that deforms easily.  Maybe they're rigid enough for a lightweight scope to sit on top of.

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19 hours ago, Louis D said:

He must have found some really rigid plastic storage containers, then.  All the plastic storage bins I've used are made from very flexible plastic that deforms easily.  Maybe they're rigid enough for a lightweight scope to sit on top of.

Recommending a rigid storage container of the appropriate size would have been a far more positive contribution 

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4 hours ago, astro-erago said:

Recommending a rigid storage container of the appropriate size would have been a far more positive contribution 

That's my point, I've never come across one.  Does anyone remember what brand or style he recommended?  Or, could someone post a link to the original suggestion?  It just struck me as a very odd idea based on my experiences with plastic totes over the last 30+ years.  I'm not saying the idea doesn't have merit, because it does solve two problems at the same time.  I'm just not aware of any decently rigid, and yet affordable, plastic storage bins.  If the suggestion had been for a flight case as used for transporting music gear for traveling bands, I'd have been in complete agreement as they are very tough and rigid.

Perhaps I'm not thinking of the correct thing when some says plastic storage container.  I think of the following:

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Which are no where near as rigid as a tripod or pier, or even a picnic table.

However, a professional flight case flipped upside down or on end and off its wheels might be suitably rigid:

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Edited by Louis D
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On 27/08/2021 at 10:53, astro-erago said:

about the need to put these table top dobs onto something stable to raise them off the ground

I use a plastic patio stool/table, or, a slightly larger glass-topped patio table.

798790183_130ponmount.jpg.219d64e0e3540ddb0a2627c7780e7ff6.jpg

This gives an idea of some possible additions to the mount

757018167_130pMountadditions.jpg.8c52135dddad4cfc229cf19db52d1b6a.jpg

Geoff

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I know that Skywatcher make an 8" Flextube but it only provides the goto variety at some cost. I wish they sold a standard manual 8" flextube. This would be ideal to transport.

I have the Heritage 130P but it is used on a Skywatcher Pronto mount. I carry the OTA in a flight case plus the finderscope and 3 eyepieces (3-6mm Nagler zoom, SvBony 7-21mm zoom and a 24mm ES68.

1356349378_heritage130P.thumb.jpg.e21ea5baebc5a4c3728fa32939fee60a.jpg

1625728816_heritagetravelcase.thumb.jpg.00634c009d1c198a88e60ababf6ad2c4.jpg

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Reading through this thread, it does make me scratch my head as to why truss dobs are not more popular here in the UK. I came across an Orion USA 14" dob second hand a few years ago which included padded bags for transport. It's nowhere near as compact (or beautiful) as the elegant scopes that @Stu has used, but it's very sturdy, if rather heavy. It regularly makes the trip to my local clubs observing site with room for my son and his mate in the back of the car.

Picture shows the scope and an imaging rig in the back of the car (that was a bit cosy!)

IMG_20191026_121900140.thumb.jpg.0f5dd1b265eff1212b1de5f82a65c5c3.jpg

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Indeed a 14” Dob will give cracking views, especially under a good sky. If you calculate the mirror area it’s double the light grasp of my 10”.

However when I borrowed my club’s 12” Meade Lightbridge Dob I found it was massively heavier than my OO 10”. When I took the Meade to my clubs dark site it was significantly more hassle. The assembled tube was too long to fit across the back seat of my car. Of course a truss tube comes apart, even then the primary mirror section was way heavier than expected, and the Dob mount far larger and heavier too. On arrival at the dark site it took a while to assemble, fit the necessary shroud, and collimate.

My 10” is way less heavy and the one piece tube much more convenient. The relatively light aluminium mount comes out of the boot, tube out of the car, onto the mount, in under a minute.

I’m definitely and absolutely not knocking big Dobs, I’ve had stunning views from my clubs 16” and a members 20”.

Maybe I’m getting lazy but for me convenience trumps hassle. As is often said, your mileage may vary 😁

Ed.

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22 hours ago, NGC 1502 said:

 

Maybe I’m getting lazy but for me convenience trumps hassle. As is often said, your mileage may vary 😁

Ed.

I agree, In the end the best scope is the one you get out most. 😉

John

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We've got an 8inch Sky Watcher 200p (originally a dob now mounted on a Sky Watcher NEQ6) and shelled out for the Geoptik travel bag for it. https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-padded-case-for-8-newtonian-tube-1200mm.html

It's been with us on holiday to Wales and goes in the top box on top of the car surrounded by other packing to stop it moving around.

Most of the time the OTA lives in the bag and is fetched out when we have a (rare) clear night.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for all the suggestions!

A flight case for the OTA is a great idea @Mark at Beaufort. I've got the whole thing stood in an IKEA laundry bag at the moment, to keep the dust off, but it isn't very tidy, and not so great for transport. I have a case I use for my round base mic stand, so I'll check and see if it fits.

My Dad (who is a whizz with joinery stuff) is making me a table with removable legs and 'self-levelling' feet, so it'll be just the right size, transportable, and very stable, so I don't need to worry about that side of things, but I love the additions of the eyepiece holders and compass on your dob mount,@Geoff Lister.

@Whistlin Bob - I wish they did a manual 8 inch flextube as well. I haven't had chance to check out the 10 inch in real life to see if I can manoeuvre it myself yet, but the 8 would be fine.

Thanks again everyone! 

MiladyB x

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27 minutes ago, MiladyB said:

My Dad (who is a whizz with joinery stuff) is making me a table with removable legs and 'self-levelling' feet, so it'll be just the right size, transportable, and very stable, so I don't need to worry about that side of things ......

 

If I was making my triangular, 3 legged heritage dob table all over again (and I'm not !) , I'd make it a little bigger than I did, so it could be turned upside down and the 'scope could stand within the upturned legs,  which would make for neat packing , give some protection to the 'scope and reduce the chances of losing a leg !

Alternatively, do a search in the diy section on here for something like 'heritage case'  I recall a while ago seeing a really nice bespoke wooden case someone had made which stored the heritage then became a neat stand for it

Heather

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28 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

If I was making my triangular, 3 legged heritage dob table all over again (and I'm not !) , I'd make it a little bigger than I did, so it could be turned upside down and the 'scope could stand within the upturned legs,  which would make for neat packing , give some protection to the 'scope and reduce the chances of losing a leg !

Alternatively, do a search in the diy section on here for something like 'heritage case'  I recall a while ago seeing a really nice bespoke wooden case someone had made which stored the heritage then became a neat stand for it

Heather

That's a very clever idea - the upturned table and the case/stand combo.

MiladyB x 

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2 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Yep, that's the one I was thinking of ... if your joinery whizz dad can turn out something like that, please add me to his waiting list! 🙂

Heather

😄 He probably could/would have back in the days before his arthritis got too bad, bless him. He's designed something 'simple' (so he tells me!) in his head - so I can do the bits he can't, under his direction. 😊

MiladyB x

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23 minutes ago, MiladyB said:

😄 He probably could/would have back in the days before his arthritis got too bad, bless him. He's designed something 'simple' (so he tells me!) in his head - so I can do the bits he can't, under his direction. 😊

MiladyB x

In that case, as long as it doesn't offend his woodworker sensibilities too much, you might think about pre-made metal legs for your table, I used these , the 25mm ones , quite short, but I wasn't sure how strong they would be or how tall the table should be. On reflection, I probably could have used the 30cm ones just as well. The set of four 25mm ones is under £10, but the left over leg does look lonely in the corner of the shed 🙂 ) The legs have a fixed plate at the top which you just use 4 screws to attach to the table top.

The legs have a threaded hole in the plastic feet so you can add levelling feet if you want, but it's no problem for me even on my tussocky 'lawn' , because I went with just 3 legs on the table , if you use 4 legs you'd certainly need the ability to adjust them though. I glue gunned some closed cell foam discs over the holes to stop damp creeping in and rusting the legs from the inside.

Heather

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34 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

In that case, as long as it doesn't offend his woodworker sensibilities too much, you might think about pre-made metal legs for your table, I used these , the 25mm ones , quite short, but I wasn't sure how strong they would be or how tall the table should be. On reflection, I probably could have used the 30cm ones just as well. The set of four 25mm ones is under £10, but the left over leg does look lonely in the corner of the shed 🙂 ) The legs have a fixed plate at the top which you just use 4 screws to attach to the table top.

The legs have a threaded hole in the plastic feet so you can add levelling feet if you want, but it's no problem for me even on my tussocky 'lawn' , because I went with just 3 legs on the table , if you use 4 legs you'd certainly need the ability to adjust them though. I glue gunned some closed cell foam discs over the holes to stop damp creeping in and rusting the legs from the inside.

Heather

Definitely worth looking at, thanks!

MiladyB x

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry, late to this thread but I just had to share this given the topic.

We have occasional star meets in our village and one of our number is within walking distance of our preferred observing location. 

This is his transport solution for his 8" Dob........

IMG_1035.thumb.JPG.0af81eb221e813d39c6a2fbd88654b9f.JPG 

😃😃

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20 hours ago, spaceslug said:

Sorry, late to this thread but I just had to share this given the topic.

We have occasional star meets in our village and one of our number is within walking distance of our preferred observing location. 

This is his transport solution for his 8" Dob........

IMG_1035.thumb.JPG.0af81eb221e813d39c6a2fbd88654b9f.JPG 

😃😃

I absolutely love this! Can't beat a simple, low-tech solution to a problem.

MiladyB  x

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I'm a bit carless at the moment (crazy prices, yadayada)  so if I need to get away from the second moon that is my neighbour's light I can wheel my 200p a mile up the road on a hand sack truck, bungee cords, etc.  Wouldn't attempt it with my 300p, though!!

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21 hours ago, Beulah said:

if I need to get away from the second moon that is my neighbour's light

Sounds like you either need to have a serious conversation with your neighbor, or setup a spotlight shining in their bedroom window if they're recalcitrant.

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