8" DOB overview

[Astro_Dad]

6 hours ago, bosun21 said:

The tension control on the Stella Lyra is done by turning one or both side knobs which are capable of accepting the 2” ES eyepieces. The Allen key is only needed to alter the pivot point of the tube. I must admit that I do like the large alt bearings on the Bresser.

Yes I should have clarified that - it is a little fiddly to get right (in my brief experience) but not something you’d do in the field very often (?), more to set up beforehand.  Nice to have that option. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Astro_Dad
Typo

[Astro_Dad]

9 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

The Starsense 8” has a handle! I’d almost buy it just for that. Although I drilled holes in my Skyliner and fitted a handle so if I bought a StellaLyra one of the first things I’d do is take it apart drill some holes and fit a handle. And while I was at it I’d flock it too. Although I don’t disagree with the overall conclusion much of this is subjective.

I also really do not like the all black look. But for me white with black trim is really nice. This maybe down to the little reflector that my parents bought me as a kid. It was white & black so there’s some nostalgia. I also like doing solar and the bottom section  of my home made base is black. And it really heats up - it feels like you could almost fry an egg on it. Meanwhile the white sections stay cool. Because I don’t like all black I’d also spray paint a black OTA white (I’m serious) while I was fitting a handle, flocking, fitting bobs knobs and the milk bottle mod to the secondary. 

Personal preference - I like the glossy black look but my example was a fingerprint magnet so became grubby more quickly- my SW still looks pristine white. 

[Astro_Dad]

10 hours ago, bomberbaz said:

Bit of a different animal the Starsense 8", not really apples to apples comparing with the others but it looks a nice idea. I will read it up a little later.

Celestron StarSense Explorer 8” Dobsonian | First Light Optics

Useful article here:

https://astrogeartoday.com/celestrons-new-starsense-dobsonians-reviewed/

[PeterStudz]

1 hour ago, Astro_Dad said:

Useful article here:

https://astrogeartoday.com/celestrons-new-starsense-dobsonians-reviewed/

Thanks for posting that.  Hadn’t seen it. Interesting article. And just another note. I have been using the PushTo feature in PSAlign-Pro. I know that it hasn’t got all the bells and whistles of Starsense but it’s simple to use and in a recent 3 hour session located ever target bar one (and all I did was align it to a star again) with ease  in a 3 hour session. It’s all I need and more.

[PeterStudz]

1 hour ago, Astro_Dad said:

Personal preference - I like the glossy black look but my example was a fingerprint magnet so became grubby more quickly- my SW still looks pristine white. 

Yes, 100% personal preference. But some people can be a bit excessive with this. Here I was being a little tongue on check. Eg I had a white smartphone and someone told me “am I not worried that white is girly”. I politely told them where to go. 

And don’t forget the handy knob at the front. I’ve got so use to that. Any Dob without one I’d drill a hole and install one. Not difficult but it’s just another personal preference. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by PeterStudz

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

I had a white smartphone and someone told me “am I not worried that white is girly”. I politely told them where to go.

So, are all the white pick-up trucks and work vans driven by burly contractors in the US also girly by that person's thinking? 

[Astro_Dad]

StarSense Explorer Dob ordered and arriving tomorrow courtesy of RVO. Just in time for a week off work 😀

[PeterStudz]

7 hours ago, Louis D said:

So, are all the white pick-up trucks and work vans driven by burly contractors in the US also girly by that person's thinking? 

It’s rubbish isn’t it. And it shows more about their disturbed way of thinking than anything else. 

[Astro_Dad]

12 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

Yes, 100% personal preference. But some people can be a bit excessive with this. Here I was being a little tongue on check. Eg I had a white smartphone and someone told me “am I not worried that white is girly”. I politely told them where to go. 

And don’t forget the handy knob at the front. I’ve got so use to that. Any Dob without one I’d drill a hole and install one. Not difficult but it’s just another personal preference. 

First world problems! - but it’s good to find a corner of the internet where seemingly trivial and esoteric things (telescope design and fit/finish) can be discussed… all good. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Astro_Dad

[Spile]

On 25/05/2022 at 22:01, bomberbaz said:

See below

I think @johninderby encapsulates what I was referring too, it's not that they are bad, just that others in the market have overtaken them and of course this is "IMHO".

So if someone came onto the forum asking for advice on a DOB in the range of the 8", I would be considering all options before I put my two penneth forward, but SW need to up their game or risk not being in the short list of myself and possibly of others. I stick with my opinion that StellaLyra currently lead the way, but only just.

Now I understand and I agree. The reason for my eyebrow raising was because I thought the OP was questioning the quality of the mirror(s).

[bomberbaz]

12 minutes ago, Spile said:

Now I understand and I agree. The reason for my eyebrow raising was because I thought the OP was questioning the quality of the mirror(s).

I questioned Sw as the blurb on FLO website isn't clear, so I put chinese with a question mark. I also caveated my post with a statement in that it is only an opinion. 

I have owned and still do SW scopes. The gear is decent but the current 200p needs bringing up to speed IMHO. A statement which was echo'd by at least one other in this thread. 

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Spile said:

Now I understand and I agree. The reason for my eyebrow raising was because I thought the OP was questioning the quality of the mirror(s).

In particular, the GSO mirrors can't be too bad if Rob Teeter offered them in his 8" and 10" Solid Tube series scopes.  Why would he have put GSO mirrors in his multi-thousand dollar bespoke scopes if they were terrible?  It's pretty much everything else that made his telescopes so expensive that the Synta/GSO scope lag behind on.