Skywatcher Skyliner 300p Flextube Dobsonian, first light.

[alfingido]

Please bear in mind that this is my first non SCT and non GOTO scope, and a steepish learning curve, one that pleasantly surprised me.

I ordered the scope from Pulsar Optical last Wednesday (19th AuG) and on Thursday at 3:30pm and DHL delivered a huge box, I had to help the delivery man carry it in from over the road. The box looked in good condition and I signed for it.

On opening it up, it was obvious there was no base in it. After contacting Pulsar, who aplogised for their error, the base arrived next day, again, in a good condition box.

Both units were double boxed and everything that came out was in perfect condition.

I assembled the base in about an hour, the OTA in just a few minutes.

First, the gripes.

None of the tools supplied in the base box really fitted. I chucked them away and used my own. Now, in my opinion, they should supply correct sized tools or not bother.

The screws that fix the 3 feet to the base are too long and break through the other side of the panel, popping off a piece of the white coating. This isnt seen when the base is assembled, but still sloppy manufacturing. Mr Skywatcher could do with a few tips from Mr Ikea here!

The base plate bearing runs smoother of you put a little lithium grease on it. Luckily, I had some from a mod I did to an earlier scope. And only tighten the base bearing nut till it puts very slight pressure on the bearing.

I would have liked a two speed focuser similar to the Lightbridge and Revelation too.

There are no handles to help lift the OTA off the base. It is a little awkward with nowhere to grab.

Gripes over, now bits I really liked. The OTA looks superb in its black speckle finish, perfectly complemented by the white base and fittings. The eyepieces seem pretty good quality for an included set too. Collimation ( eventually) was pretty easy and the OTA closed up and out easily.

Tip.... Dont take the tape off the 3 black spring loaded bolts on the base at the bottom of the 3 slide out bars . They engage into holes in these tubes when fully extended and help keep collimation intact.

So, into the garden just as the first few stars were coming out. My garden is surrounded by trees and bushes to all directions except NW, where we have a field. Light pollution is not too bad but there are sodium lights not too far away. I left it to cool down for an hour while I packed away the boxes.

First Light. 26mm ep.

Easiest target for me was Polaris. I am used to lining up my ( now sold) Meade LX200 10" with Polaris. What a sight. Collimation seemed spot on with a perfect pinprick of light and easily seen with Polaris was its smaller companion.

I had a general search around the sky to get the feel of the mount. Its really easy to move in all direcions. I didnt like the finder scope though. Although, being an open truss makes it easy to get your head in line with the finder, its awkward for me, and I had trouble location stars I could see with the eye. Oh well, either practice or a Telrad needed here!

Then, I found the Andromeda Galaxy. It showed so much more detail than in my 10" LX200. I could see the bright central core and the beginnings of dust lanes, but it really wasnt dark enough to see more. I did notice the galaxy M110 too, it was a beautiful sight seeing them both so clearly in the eyepiece.

Following them for about ten minutes was easier than I thought by nudging the scope along. Who needs tracking!!

Next up was Jupiter. It is still very low in the sky for me and appears through a willow tree and runner bean leaves before scuttling behind the summer house! I had about 5 minutes viewing, not all clear of the willow, but it was the best 5 minutes viewing of this planet that I have ever seen.

It was an awesome sight to see it rushing along with 4 of its moons, through the eyepiece. I easily kept it centred and could clearly see at least 5 clear bands and 2 large dark spots before it disappeared from view.

The next 10 minutes or so were frustrating as I tried to get to grips with the finder to try to locate the double cluster M103. I gave up and just looked around the sky marvelling at the view.

So, all in all, first light was a great success, and confirmation that I had made the right decision in my choice and size of scope. If you are looking for a big Dob to go in the car, I can thoroughly recommend a Flextube 300P

First on the shopping list though is a Colli Mate ( ordered) and then a Telrad finder.

Allan

[formyscope]

glad you are enjoying. Would put a little silicon or something over where the screw has broken though. Belt and braces to keep any humidity from getting under the white coating into the base IMHO.

[MikeP]

Hi Allan,

I bought a Telrad for my Flextube but have replaced it with a Finders - Rigel QuikFinder Compact Reflex Sight The Telrad was bulky and just as awkward to look through as the original finder. It fits between the focuser and the finder.

I also replaced the straight through finder with a Finders - Skywatcher 9x50 Right-Angled, Erecting Finderscope I get much less disorientated now and also don't get the stiff neck / achey back.

Mike

[Odd Dob]

Hi Allan,

I also replaced the straight through finder with a Finders - Skywatcher 9x50 Right-Angled, Erecting Finderscope I get much less disorientated now and also don't get the stiff neck / achey back.

Mike

This man speaks the truth. Just could not find M51 for love no money with the standard finder. Few minutes with one of these and BANG! straight away. Contorting into impossible positions, doing your back in and simultaneously mentally flipping things upside down and back-to-front is not fun. Probably an essential upgrade imho.

[albedo0.39]

Hi Allan and a big congrats on your new scope. Thanks for writing the review and was a bit surprised about the feet screw length as well. What is the centre bearing on the Skyliner ? Did it work a lot better with than grease ?

Also, coming to the subject of finding DSO's I've gotten very used to a RDF on my Lightbridge and with a WA EP plugged in (or sometimes even not) seem to have no worries finding almost anything I chose. Perhaps I'm lucky ?

[Doc]

Congratz on your new scope. I have a telrad on my scope and love it. Learnt to star hop using a telrad and cartes du ceil as this program has telrad overlays so it's a doddle to star hop to objects.

[ZOG]

I have the Rigel Quickfinder on my 300p. Much easier thah the standard finder.

[AndyBooth]

Allan,

They are a great set of optics aren't they?

My first view of Jupiter through the 300P Auto was just as surprising.

Best contrast view I've had, and I owned another 12" several years ago.

See my review here, I'm still on the voyage of discovery

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/84367-first-impressions-skywatcher-300p-flexitube-auto.html

I still haven't nailed the moon with it yet, its too low in the evening at the mo, and i haven't had a late night session yet due to weather

Glad your getting the same good vibes as me!

[Astroscot2]

I must say I owned one of these scopes for a while and I thought the optics in the standard finder were excellent, very sharp and contrasty. My own preference is a straight through finder I find it so much easier using one eye to look through the finder and the other eye open to get me in the right area. I suppose its each to their own.

Mark

[alfingido]

Mike, i quite like the look of the Rigel finder, looks like a good price too, thanks for the info. The optics in the finder are excellent, I just cant use it!!

The centre bearing comprises two galvanised steel plates with another disc with steel roller bearings round the edges sandwiched between them. It was reasonably smooth to start with, but I dont like metal to metal contact so lightly greased it all with synthetic grease. Its very smooth now.

I havent had the chance to use it again since, hopefully, tonight will be nice and clear, just like last night was after I put my new ED80 Pro away after two hours of waiting for the cloud to clear. I did see a fleeting glimpse of Polaris though!

Allan

Allan

[alfingido]

glad you are enjoying. Would put a little silicon or something over where the screw has broken though. Belt and braces to keep any humidity from getting under the white coating into the base IMHO.

Thanks for this tip, I didnt even think of moisture getting in there!

Allan

[MikeP]

One mod that I made to the Flextube is to screw castors to the bottom of the base - the lockable kind. I've got lots of trees around the garden, so to view something low down like Jupiter, it is quite useful to be able to just roll the dob around the patio.

Mike

[alfingido]

I"ve seen a couple of dobs with castors on, great idea. My darkest viewing site is on shingle at the end of the garden though, so wherever I place it, there it stays.

Mind you, I am sure Mrs Alfingido said she would like some nice thick vibration free decking covering the shingle, then I can just wheel it out of the shed and lock the wheels down.

Allan

[Doc]

Mine has castors and it is great for wheeling around the patio.

[PeterW]

Nice to see someone seeing the benefit of the 9x50 RACI finder.... you can actually FIND stuff with it. On the topic of being able to stick the Flex 12 in most cars, can anyone give examples of cars that it'll fit in without having to move the back seats?? I currently have neither the scope or a car, but both might change sometime soon and I want to make sure that both can be made to work together....

Thanks

PEter