User comments on OO VX12 Dobsonian

[fwm891]

Hi SGLer’s, I’m interested in user comments on OO’s VX12 dob please.

Ive been looking at their website but details other than sizes are absent. I had hoped for user reviews but couldn’t find any. So I’m turning to the greatest band of reviewers anywhere ☺️😉🪐

I’m looking to use for both visual (I have a number of tv eyepieces) and imaging (building an eq platform) for brighter dso’s.

Im under bottle 4 skies. Thanks.

[pipnina]

5 hours ago, fwm891 said:

Hi SGLer’s, I’m interested in user comments on OO’s VX12 dob please.

Ive been looking at their website but details other than sizes are absent. I had hoped for user reviews but couldn’t find any. So I’m turning to the greatest band of reviewers anywhere ☺️😉🪐

I’m looking to use for both visual (I have a number of tv eyepieces) and imaging (building an eq platform) for brighter dso’s.

Im under bottle 4 skies. Thanks.

I can't find much about the VX myself either. But I can find a video comparing the 130P-DS (I thought a decent little scope when I owned one) to an orion CT10, which is admittedly more expensive than the VX12, but I'm not yet sure of all the differences. I imagine the carbon fiber would make up the majority of the price uplift for the CT10...

I don't know how much this helps, but I hope it does help somehow!

[ONIKKINEN]

Cant offer advice on the VX12 specifically, however i do have a VX8 and assuming they are built the same way (looks very much like it from images) maybe some of my experiences apply.

For imaging, short answer: dont. The tube is made of very thin rolled and crimped aluminium sheet that will guarantee there will be collimation issues because the tube itself is buckling under the weight of everything attached to it, and this is with the 8 inch, i would assume its no better (probably worse) for the bigger model. You can reinforce the 8'' model with some AC tube clamps bought cheaply at hardware stores, but the 12'' is much bigger and there may not be such sizes easily available although would be shocked if it cant be found on amazon. Another and a better option would be to ditch the cheap rings and plate the scope comes with and install a longer losmandy plate on rings that are spaced out much further away from each other than the stock ones (the stock ones are very narrow so offer little in the way of stability for the length of the tube) although not sure how this would work with a dob, so maybe not an option. The focuser is only ok, serviceable for simple use and light loads, but add a heavy coma corrector, camera gear, or just bulky eyepieces and i think you will run into trouble. The secondary spider is also very thin and i found mine to be inadequate to hold collimation even within sessions. The weak spider issue gets worse of course when the tube holding the spider is buckling under load (my tube was never fully round!).

For visual, if you have a heavy eyepiece train containing big eyepieces and a coma corrector, i think you will also notice a loss in sharpness with demanding work like planetary/lunar where tilt issues are most apparent.

The VX series from my perspective feels like a good optical package put into the bare minimum telescope, so know what you are getting into when buying one. Its kind of obvious when you look at the prices of just the mirrors, they are like 90% of the price of the rest of the scope so it cant be amazing.

Currently i have fixed all the problems in my VX8 by replacing the not so great kit with better parts (also a helmerichs carbon tube whenever i have time to install it). At this point the price tag is actually more than the CT8 would have cost so think of that what you will, perhaps the CT12 would be a better option, although it is quite pricy.

Edited November 3, 2022 by ONIKKINEN

[NGC 1502]

I do respect the views of others…..however I have to respectfully disagree with those that say the tube is too flimsy and the secondary spider inadequate to hold collimation.

I own a 10” f4.8 OO UK Dob, and have owned their 8” f6.   I’m not saying they don’t have issues, but holding collimation is not a problem I’ve come across.  In fact the opposite has been my experience.  I’m fussy with collimation, I want each observing session to deliver the best I can get.  
 

I’ve transported my OO 10” many times to both of my local clubs’s dark sites, and to public viewing sessions by car.  The optical tube goes on the back seat of my car with 3” thick foam padding between tube and seat.  The tube is tied to the head restraints for security.  On arrival and after setting up, a collimation check has shown no issues.

Of course the 3 primary mirror clips must not be clamped tight. But neither should they be too slack, that can easily cause the mirror to shift.  Depending on when the scope was manufactured, it’s possible that the 3 collimation springs are inadequate. If those springs can be compressed between fingers, they are woefully too weak. They need to be very stiff indeed to do their job.  The 4 secondary spider nuts that hold the vanes to the tube must not be slack, tightening those cannot clamp the the secondary mirror.

Again, absolutely no disrespect intended😊

Ed.

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by NGC 1502
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[Saganite]

14 hours ago, fwm891 said:

Hi SGLer’s, I’m interested in user comments on OO’s VX12 dob please.

Ive been looking at their website but details other than sizes are absent. I had hoped for user reviews but couldn’t find any. So I’m turning to the greatest band of reviewers anywhere ☺️😉🪐

I’m looking to use for both visual (I have a number of tv eyepieces) and imaging (building an eq platform) for brighter dso’s.

Im under bottle 4 skies. Thanks.

Until a few months ago I had owned and used the OOVX12 Dob for about four years and I heartily recommend one.  Of the  several 12" Dobs that I had prior to the OO, it was by far the best.  I could move it around my garden, as I did, without it losing collimation, and it was lighter and easier to carry about than the others I had used. It did have a research grade mirror. It is all nicely painted aluminium, so no corrosion problems.

Apart from deep sky at which it excelled, it was astounding on the Moon and Planets, and Globular Clusters, particularly M13. 

I sold mine because I decided that in my senior years now, a better option for me would be a refractor in an Obsy, which is what I now have.

I bought mine used from Stu, and was, therefore ,confident that it would be sound, but you are buying yours new I believe, so you should be able to buy with confidence.

My sky is also Bortle 4 , BTW.

Good luck, and enjoy a superb telescope.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Saganite

[fwm891]

Many thanks to the responders. Quite a variation in experiences.

One thing that is making me seriously consider the VX12 is it's size and weight as being in my 70's, scopes like the lightbridge and similar are both bulky and just too heavy to easily move around the garden or transport to darker sites  and club viewing evenings.

Interested by the @NGC 1502 comment on the 3" foam on the car's abck seat when travelling. That does seem to indicate how thin the aluminium tube might be? Does anyone know how thin the tube walls are on the VX12?

Again @ONIKKINEN comments about not using it for imaging! This again looks to be aimed at the thin tube. Imaging is one of my main objectives with the scope to try photography off an EQ platform.

Thanks again.

 

 

 

[Carl Au]

I have owned 3 OO dobs or Newtonians in the past, all very good scopes. OO customer service is legendary, and not in a good way. Optically no better than Skywatcher and they don’t hold their value very well either. They are light however and importantly white, black is a stupid colour to paint a telescope 

[NGC 1502]

9 hours ago, fwm891 said:

 

Interested by the @NGC 1502 comment on the 3" foam on the car's abck seat when travelling. That does seem to indicate how thin the aluminium tube might be? Does anyone know how thin the tube walls are on the VX12?

 

The reason for using the thick foam:-  My local club runs 2 dark sites.  At one site the final 2 hundred yards is very bumpy and uneven. The other site has a hard road for the last 3 quarters of a mile, but there’s lots of speed bumps.  The foam is not because of thin aluminium tube, just a precaution to avoid messing the collimation.

Agreed that OO does use thin aluminium, but in my experience it’s fully adequate for its purpose.  One advantage with OO optical tubes is they are significantly lighter than the equivalent size from other makes. My club has a 12” Meade Lightbridge for loan.  I’ve borrowed it….the extra light grasp is welcome but the significant weight is not!  A clubmate once owned a 12” f4 from OO UK and it wasn’t much heavier than my 10”, quite manageable in fact.

One way to make a very heavy Dob more user friendly-  When observing from home, if the scope can be stored in a shed or conservatory close to the observing place, 3 lockable castors fitted to the base.

Ed.

 

[NGC 1502]

3 hours ago, Carl Au said:OO customer service is legendary, and not in a good way. Optically no better than Skywatcher and they don’t hold their value very well either. They are light however and importantly white, black is a stupid colour to paint a telescope 

Very sadly the first part of the above is “sometimes” true but not always.  Different folk can have a different quality of service.  Agreed Asian mass produced mirrors can be excellent.  Premium mirrors need rare stable atmosphere to see the difference.  Many take the view that an Asian mirror is as good as is needed….most of the time. Not so sure that white is the best tube colour. If there’s stray light around the area near the focuser can be distractingly bright.

As always….YMMV 😊

Ed.

[pipnina]

Re: Foam. My dad made a carry cradle out of a piece of composite board and the Styrofoam that was in my SW 250PX dob's delivery box. It's worked quite well and always holds the scope nice and snug for car travel!

That scope doesn't hold primary collimation very well but is solid enough on the secondary, I use a laser at the start of each observing session to quickly get the primary right and it only takes me a minute or two to be happy.

[fwm891]

Thanks All for your comments.

 I’ve taken the plunge and bought a s/h VX12 with 1/10th wave optics from  guy on UKABS which I pick up later.

 I’ll let you know how things go (favourably I hope). I intend using it in dob mode first ‘as is’ and on an EQ platform built for a heavy 10 inch dob but which I have put 16 inch on so should cope with a 12 inch f4. Later I’ll try it on my cem60 as it comes with extra tube rings and losmandy style mounting plate for some imaging.

Thanks again

Francis

[Alan White]

Francis

OOUK dobsons are nice and light for the size, used to love my 10

I saw the one you are buying and was highly tempted, so pleased you have taken that temptation away, enjoy your new scope.

Alan

[fwm891]

On 04/11/2022 at 22:20, Alan White said:

Francis

OOUK dobsons are nice and light for the size, used to love my 10

I saw the one you are buying and was highly tempted, so pleased you have taken that temptation away, enjoy your new scope.

Alan

Thanks Alan.

After spending time yesterday adjusting mirrors I caught a short break in cloud cover tonight so first light was of a great big moon to align the finder. Then over to Jupiter with it’s four main moons stretched out in a line… I used my 13 & 5mm TV Delite’s superb and very dramatic with clouds scudding past. Good belt detail seen.

 I then went for M31 & Co., which given the nearby moon was a very easy find. M32 & 110 were quite plain to see in a TV Panoptic 24mm. Packed away as moisture looked imminent.

Lots of promise for darker nights…

[Starflyer]

I'm sure you'll love it, over the last ten years I've owned two VX10's and now own a CT10, all with 1/10 wave mirrors all bought secondhand for bargain prices.

I've never experienced the collimation problems reportedly caused by the thin tubes on the VX10s, and less frequently reported on CT10s, and I think I hang a fair amount of weight off them, CC, OAG, FW and camera.  I've travelled relatively long distances with my scopes, Scotland on many occasions and France a couple of times with only a tweak needed to the primary collimation.

The only thing I'd like to improve on the CT10 is the secondary spider, the vanes must be soft or too thin and twist / bend easily.

I've had a few mirrors recoated by OO over the years and always had great service from them.  That said I do personally know a couple of people who've had a hard time getting what they've ordered and paid for, either within the timeframe agreed or to an acceptable quality.