To Dob or not to Dob that is the question

[Mars]

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place earlier

I have been thinking about buying a proper telescope for a while I read a number of magazines and started to think about buying a Meade scope with go-to software.

However having bought a copy 'sky at night mag' and having read a review on dobsonians they seem to offer very good value for money. Some of these can be seen on ebay for around £100. This seemed like a sensible way to re start skywatching.

I met Steve during a recent visit to the camera shop in Exeter. I found his advice very good. More or less we decided to get a Dobsonian then upgrade the mount to an equatorial one when funds permit and add go to if I still cant find my way around the sky by the time I,m ready to upgrade.

I'd be interested to hear your views on this strategy and also what you think of the 8 inch Skyliner ( which seems to be a scope made under a few names/prices) Is it OK ? Whats your view.

Thanks in advance for your views.

[GazOC]

hi Mars,

It sounds like a good plan to me. It gets you the great views that a 8" scope can provide but with an upgrade path if, and when, you want it. The other option is a smaller telescope on a "better" mount but to upgrade you'd probably have to sell both and start from scratch (and you wouldn't have had the views the 8" scope provides in the meantime).

Gaz

[FLO]

Hi Mars,

Any of the following will give excellent service:

Orion Optics UK

Meade Lightbridge

Revelation

Skywatcher

They all offer fantastic views; there is no 'wrong' choice.

However, there are differences - optically and mechanically.

Predictably, price is the most reliable indicator of quality.

[Jamie]

I agree with Gaz on this one.

Just be prepared for the possibility of having to completely sell up

to up grade.

BTW the 8" is a great way to get back into observing.

[Rob]

Hello Mars,

Interesting one this. The dob will be great on deep sky & should perform well on planets. I've never owned one myself, only eq mounted Newtonians (same scope tube). A nice middle of the road scope, eq mounted Skywatcher 130 maybe a very good choice right now. The 130P is the better deal here (Mirror is better quality)

http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/ph/cat/prodtype/1523/prodtype.asp

Crazy money @ £165 .... and 100% worth it. Ok, you can't mount a bigger scope on that EQ mount... but it will give you the chance to learn about how to use & align the mount, it will also give you chance to learn the sky and the 130 will provide nice planet views with fair DSO performance. The other option is to move up another notch to the Explorer 150mm on the EQ3-2. I have this scope & mount and it performs very well on both targets. You also have the option of buy motor drives at a later point + upgrade the legs from Aluminium to a HEQ5 tripod at around £50, this will then provide a stable mount & tripod to upgrade the tube from a 150mm to a 200mm!!

Something to think about there!.

All the best

Rob

[Greg]

Mmmm....

All depends on your circumstances, budget etc...

8" Skywatcher on an EQ5 or if you can stretch a bit more an HEQ5 or even and EQ6 (The Daddy!!)

If you then get fed up of the big reflector you have a very stable mount to place other scopes on and for imaging...

If you want to have a demo one evening PM me and i'll send you my address, I don't live far from you. I live in a dark sky site and have some scopes and mounts for you to play with. Also you'll be able to see the different views you get with the reflectors and refractors and you can have a go with some different eyepieces and equipment..

You can then make a decision from there....

Greg

[The Warthog]

Rather than Ebay, which seems to have more than its share of junk, you might want to look up UK astronomy buy and sell. I have bought and sold a couple of items, including my present scope, on the Canadian version of this site. The sellers are mostly real astronomers, selling good used product.

[MartinB]

If you want to have a demo one evening PM me and i'll send you my address, I don't live far from you. I live in a dark sky site and have some scopes and mounts for you to play with. Also you'll be able to see the different views you get with the reflectors and refractors and you can have a go with some different eyepieces and equipment..

Can I come?

[Greg]

No problem at all Martin,

Don't forget the malt!!

[geppetto]

Dark Devon skies, a good malt, scopes to mess around with

Its almost erotic

[MartinB]

:shock: :shock:

Yeh but then there's Greg

[FLO]

And me .... I trust :mrgreen:

(I'll bring biccies...)

[GazOC]

Its almost erotic

Steve, Greg and Devon......erotic.... :nono:

[iancandler]

I went down the goto route to start and regretted it.. It was just hassle setting up everytime, I sold up and bought the 10" revelation dob and then added a little Antares 80mm refractor later. I would recommend the dob to start with, they are good all round scopes. I wouldnt part with my "light bucket" though, even though I use the little 80mm most of the time now. The dob's are just one of those scopes that are handy to have around and are so simple to use a child can do it.

The other area where my brother found problems was when he had his 10" on an EQ mount. He hardly used it due to the effort of making three trips to the garden just to get the scope out then there was setting up etc.. We converted his 10" to a dob just after christmas and he can have it outseide and be viewing in 5 mins.. Needless to say it gets a lot of use now, whereas before it sat in the corner looking sad and neglected.