Explore Scientific Ultra Compact 12” Dob with Nexus DSC Pro

[Nicola Fletcher]

Hi all,

Im after a bit of advice.

My very generous other half has said that he will get me an Explore Scientific 12” UC dob for Christmas. I picked it myself - I have a hankering for some aperture and I really like the idea of a truss dob. I’ve had a 10” SCT and 127 Mak in the past and I currently have a 3” refractor and two 4” refractors. However, I’ve never had a Newtonian before so this will be quite new to me.

I had originally thought of putting a Starsense on it, but I see that Astro Devices sell encoders for the ES dobs and I was thinking of getting the Nexus DSC pro instead. As I imagine this will be a somewhat special occasion scope for clear weekend nights and star parties, I thought some form of guidance would be a good idea. Has anyone used this combination or is there a better system for this scope?

It will also fall to me to get accessories for the dob, and I’ve already ordered a shroud. Do you think a coma corrector is necessary for this scope? If so, is a Paracorr significantly better than other brands? My EPs are mostly 1.25” Televues but I do have the 22” Nagler, 41mm Panoptic and Baader 8-24mm Mak IV zoom in 2” EPs.

Really, any advice would be most welcome on the wisdom of this plan and anything I haven’t thought of. Thank you in advance.

[Mandy D]

Welcome to the 12 inch club. I got my 300PDS a couple of months ago and, so far, it has only been out once due to the terrible weather we are currently having. I'm sorry, I have no experience with the stuff you are asking about and all I can advise is to get your head around collimation, but I guess you knew that already. I've yet to use a coma corrector, but I have been advised that I will need one with my full frame camera. I've noticed that it does have better illumination across the entire field than my other scopes.

[John]

Are you dead set on the ES dob ?

I'm saying this because they are quite quirky in a number of aspects of their design. I've been reading up on them following a query on the 16 inch model by another person here and on the CN forum and it's seems that there can be quite a lot of issues with them that can cause some frustration.

It's worth doing some searching on here and on the CN forum to see what has cropped up so at least you go in with your "eyes open" as it were.

 

 

 

[Nicola Fletcher]

Thanks both. I’m aware of the collimating requirements @Mandy D and like you, I suspect I might need a coma corrector but I can get started without it.

@John, I’m not dead set on the ES, but I do want a light-ish truss tube dob. Obviously I’d prefer an Obsession UC or a Hubble Optics, but these cost a lot more. Of the rest, in this size, I think they will either be too heavy or unwieldy for me. I have read all the reviews and seen the YouTube reviews, including the fairly damning one by Dakota Starry Nights. It seems to me from reading other reviews that the QC has got better since then. In short, it sounds like the best available to fit what I’m looking for. People seem to have come up with clever mods for them also. 
 

 

[inedible_hulk]

@Nicola Fletcher I’ve always liked the look of these. Please let us know how you get on 😊

[Captain Scarlet]

I have both a Paracorr2 and a Nexus DSC (not the pro but the only difference is the pro has a later chip more memory, functionally I think they are almost identical). I wouldn’t be without either.

I nearly sold my then wide field eyepiece (Pan 35) a couple of years ago as the outer-field stars were so bad in my 12”. It then occurred to me it might not be the eyepiece at fault, I did a bit of reading up, bought a Paracorr2 and magically the coma disappeared and what had been intolerable became beautiful (Double Cluster through a 12” at wide field from a dark place is really something else).

The Nexus is extremely capable, is able to work with an equatorial platform and has every conceivable catalogue built in, which you can filter in and out “in the field”. I use mine in native mode, but you can connect it to SkySafari and use that as your control as well. The only thing I’d advise is get the additional GPS auto-location feature on it, I think that may be an extra on the “pro”.

You should also be able to use the Nexus to control your AZ-EQ5 if you still have that: you can store settings for several mounts in the Nexus. It completely replaces the SW handset.

Looking forward to see how you get on.

Magnus

Edited October 3, 2023 by Captain Scarlet
spellings

[Nicola Fletcher]

Thanks @Captain Scarlet,

The Nexus DSC looks brilliant and I never thought of putting it on the AZ-EQ5. I also suspected I’d need a coma corrector so thanks a million for that. I think, if all goes well, this has the potential to be a great setup. I’m going to buy from a local supplier so I’ll have someone not far away if there are any issues with the ES. I had another look yesterday for alternatives, but the Celestron Starsense 12” is the closest to what I’m looking for, and  I’m really not keen on a solid tube dob in that size. I’ll let you know how I get on @inedible_hulk👍🏻

[HAsun]

Hi Nicola,

I have the very same setup that you are thinking of buying. I would say that it works very well for me anyway. the NEXUS is a great bit of kit and makes finding objects to observe very easy once aligned. There was article in Astronomy Now about 3 years ago I think. that inspired me to buy the scope. one thing they mentioned was to label the truss poles with coloured electrical tape, so you make sure that you put the scope back together with the corresponding poles, and this should mean the scope will not be far off on collimation when reassembled.

Hope this information is off some help.

 

[Nicola Fletcher]

Thank you very much @HAsun, I really appreciate your reply. I’m glad you like the setup, from online reviews it looks like a great system once you get over the QC issues with the scope. I first thought about getting this after reading that review in Astronomy Now as well, especially after I found that I could use the Nexus DSC with it. I like the idea of colour coding the truss tubes and flocking/lining the upper truss assembly also.

Do you find a coma corrector necessary with 2” EPs? At F/5, I think it’s on the border of needing one. 

 

[HAsun]

Hi Nicola,

I bought mine used so I think a pervious owner had solved QC issues before i got it.

To be honest I've not used a coma corrector on it as I don't have one. However, I used to have one when I had an f4.2 scope, but sold it after when that scope was sold. I would agree with you it's a border line case with this scope.