What's stopping me getting a larger scope?

[johninderby]

With the OO the alt bearings make great handles to pick up the  tube

[Mr Spock]

3 minutes ago, johninderby said:

With the OO the alt bearings make great handles to pick up the  tube

A good thought 👍

[cajen2]

The CT10L? Carbon fibre and 1/10 optics? Mmmmm!🤑

[John]

My 12 inch F/5.3 OO weighs around the same in total as the Skywatcher and Bresser 10 inch dobs. My mount is a custom job based on the OO design but made in 18mm baltic ply. I believe it weighs about the same as the OO dob mount. The downside with OO is the cost if bought new and the potential wait times.

If I had not put this one together I would have been very interested in an OO 10 inch F/6.3 as an alternative.

 

 

 

[Mr Spock]

As you can imagine, I still can't decide what to do. So, choices are, and all would have to be on an EQ platform:

An OO 10" f6.3 made to measure so to speak. Positives: potential image quality from 1/10th wave optics: negatives, wait times and my previous experience with their shockingly bad attitudes.

Skywatcher: having recently had QC issues with their equipment I'll give them a miss this time.

StellaLyra 10". Positives: nicely made and well equipped. Negatives: possible difficult to pick up without a handle added.

StellaLyra 12". Positives: very tempting! Negatives: weight and size -

I think I'd need to store a 12" on the EQ platform and move it around with a sack barrow. I'm not sure how feasible this is. A six wheel 'stair climber' would get over the shed entrance easy enough, though I'm not sure about managing the height of the scope in getting it through the door. I suppose the tube would be at an angle and so not as tall.

I'll have to give all this some more thought.

[johninderby]

I would have recommended the Bresser 10” dob but won’t be available for quite a few months. Great build quality for a mass produced dob and a lot of nice quality touches.

All the mass produced dobs could do with a better base though like the base I made for a Bresser 10”.

[faulksy]

hi michael.

seriously 00 dobs are amazing. my little 14" dob was well light to move and had amazing optics, hence my 20"

well worth the wait 👍

[Rusted]

Some constructive thoughts:

All-aluminium ladders can safely live out of doors for decades. Security permitting: Padlock and big chain? Cycle U-lock to screw in, ground anchor?

What about a hinged and latched, top panel just above the door?  Might need some extra reinforcement above.

Removable threshold bar? Slot in, then sliding door bolts on either side to fix in place. 

Ground ramp: Ply and supporting batten[s.] Beveled where it meets the ground. For easy sack truck or trolley roll-on, roll-off access.
I just cut a couple of wedges from 2x6 inside and out of the foot bar. Fixed with screws. But it's still a bit of a bump. An outside ramp up to floor level would be much better.

Dob base lives on a two wheeled trolley with leveling blocks? Removable, wheelbarrow style handles, sliding in brackets or "eye-bolts," on either side of the dob base.

The wheels mounted on the sides of the base. For adequate ground clearance but big and wide enough enough to easily to roll and park. Putting wheels underneath a Dob base is silly. It also narrows the track. With potential toppling problems.

[Mr Spock]

One additional thing to consider. If I can lift the individual components easily, I can utilise the patio I have at the top of the garden. This has a better view east and is farther away from the house. The patio the shed is on, is next to the house and can only see south and west.

I think we are getting closer.

[Mr Spock]

So practically, a larger scope is too big to be manageable. So it will have to be a 10".

OO with bells and whistles, £1200
StellaLyra as standard, £600

Is the OO really worth twice the SL?

The only other difference is due to weight the SL will need a larger EQ platform with the OO light enough to fit on a small one.

[faulksy]

On 23/01/2022 at 18:43, Mr Spock said:

So practically, a larger scope is too big to be manageable. So it will have to be a 10".

OO with bells and whistles, £1200
StellaLyra as standard, £600

Is the OO really worth twice the SL?

The only other difference is due to weight the SL will need a larger EQ platform with the OO light enough to fit on a small one.

so what did you decide in the end michael ?

[Mr Spock]

2 hours ago, faulksy said:

so what did you decide in the end michael ?

Found a way to store a larger scope and move it around. So, I have a StellaLyra 12" on the way 

[faulksy]

9 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Found a way to store a larger scope and move it around. So, I have a StellaLyra 12" on the way 

already in your signature 🤣

[cajen2]

On 06/02/2022 at 12:52, Mr Spock said:

Found a way to store a larger scope and move it around. So, I have a StellaLyra 12" on the way 

Mmmm! Looking forward to seeing that! Mine should come at about the same time (but a mere 8"). Have you sorted out how you're going to transport it around?

[Mr Spock]

46 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Mmmm! Looking forward to seeing that! Mine should come at about the same time (but a mere 8"). Have you sorted out how you're going to transport it around?

It's a case of moving it from the shed, to the patio just outside. Here's the 250 in situ:

I've seen someone else lift a tube by putting a strap around and under the alt - lift with the right hand, steady with the left. The weight of it was never the issue, just the bulk. I think the strap method sorts that.
If that doesn't work I'll use a sack barrow, stair climber style, to wheel it out all in one piece.

 

[cajen2]

I believe the OTA just lifts straight off the alt bearings on the SL range, so it should be quite easy to move the two parts separately, with a sack truck if needed.

[Mr Spock]

The StellaLyra 12" has arrived today! 

Good news is I can pick the tube up with ease, even though it's heavy.

Bad news is the secondary is badly collimated and will take some work to straighten up.

[Mr Spock]

Didn’t take long to put it all together. New scope thread with pictures to follow later 😀

[Davesellars]

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

The StellaLyra 12" has arrived today!

 

Incoming storm!!! 

I remember when my 12" dob arrived we had to worst storm for quite some time that night while I set it up...

Good luck with the secondary...  at least it's not your first dob for setting it up!  I bought the Moonlite focuser to replace the stock one directly (first newt as well) and foolishly replaced it before checking the original was collimated even..  Spent the next few days getting the collimation of the secondary dead on...

[Mr Spock]

Collimation is done. The screws are the tricky bit. It's just so primitive. I suppose you can't expect much else at this price.

[cajen2]

C'mon, MS, want to see the 12"!

[Mr Spock]

Thread is up!