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Orion Optics Dob Bases


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Any of you Guys n Gals owners of OO dobs? I am interested in how you rate the metal dob bases , if you have also owned skywatcher

mdf type as well how do they compare?

I recently picked up a used but immaculate 10" f4.8 Europa newtonian for a modest amount, it has first class mirrors and although I mount it on my heq5 I would like the option to use in dob mode as well. Not so worried about the cost of the dob mount, more interested in performance.

Any comments appreciated.

Cheers

Dave

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My OO base was very stable and very well made. The only issue issue is if it is dismantled it is an absoloute pain in the $%!! to put back together. The screw holes are so accuratley measured that if you are only off my 1mm or so, with the screw, it will not come together.

But once it is put together there is no need to dismantle.

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Until yesterday I had a 12" Orion Optics on their dob mount. The mount was to me very good, you could move the scope easily and smoothly and it would stay in the new position. Nudging was also smooth. I have no experience of other dob mounts but club mates who do, commented on how nice and smooth it was. The optional brake is worth having. One bonus is that it can readily be flat packed when you are packing the car to the roof top to go to a star party. I would recommend it.

Dave

Just seen Jakey's post. I had no such trouble. I would regularly dismantle and reassemble with no problems.

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I'm also interested in putting my 10" OO F4.8 Europa on a dob base, either that or putting it on an EQ6.

Dave, may i ask how the HEQ5 handles the 10" F4.8 Europa? Does the image shake much when you try to focus?

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Hi Nitram,

I was thinking of the HEQ5 for my 10" OTA (skywatcher 250px) but in the end with much advice from this forum I went for the EQ6 Sytrek, well please I did, steady as a rock and tracks beautifully.

Regards

Keithp

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I'm also interested in putting my 10" OO F4.8 Europa on a dob base, either that or putting it on an EQ6.

Dave, may i ask how the HEQ5 handles the 10" F4.8 Europa? Does the image shake much when you try to focus?

I find a small amount of image shake but well within acceptable limits for visual astronomy. I have, however, ditched the steel pipe legs and mounted the head on a substantial (and short) home made tripod using 3"x2" makes a big difference. Not sure how other 10" OTA.s would fare as the OO tube is extremely light and short at f4.8

cheers

Dave

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Dave,

I'll be very interested in how you get on with an Orion Dob Base, and how long it takes to arrive. I've been thinking of getting one for my 10" orion Newt that I've got sitting around doing nothing because I can't stand using it on an equatorial mount.

--

Martyn

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Hi Dave, hope you are well. I tried out the OO dob bases at Astrofest, and I must say they seemed very smooth - though I've never used one in battle !! I've just bought a SW 250PX tube on a home made dob base which is superb. It has SW tube rings and Ed (who I bought it from) fixed two 6mm aluminuim plates either side of the rings with bearings to go on the base. The tube can be moved through the rings for balance. It seems every bit as good as the OO bases, and I paid a lot less for the complete instrument than for an OO base to fit the tube. It also has a nice aluminium and wooden handle joining the rings which makes it easy to carry.

If you want to see a pic, send me a pm and I'll get one off to you. Very best wishes, Paul

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