Grab and go?

[starscy]

What would be the best choice between the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro OTA on a Vixen Porta II Mount and the Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX Dobsonian as a grab and go solution and why?

[kniclander]

imho if you can keep the dob outside (ie shed or garage) then the dob wins as visually it will be absolutely miles better than the 80mm refractor (have the 10" dob and an 80mm ed). If you can't keep the dob outside then i would think the cooldown would be too long to call it grab and go.

wouldn't the dob be quite a bit cheaper too?

[John]

Unless kept close to the outside temperature a 10" dob simply is not going to be "grab and go" because of the cool down time needed.

I used to have my Vixen ED102SS on a Porta Mount and that was a very nice rig that could be taken out within seconds to catch the gaps in the clouds. I've had a number of 80mm scopes but found the aperture just a little too limiting so 4" is the smallest I'd have now.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I keep my Dob in the garage (bit of a large hole in the door), so the cool down time is very short. I usually leave it cooling until my eyes have adapted and then use it.

[Astro_Baby]

I;d have thought the 250 was only grab and go for the incredible hulk

[LukeSkywatcher]

I;d have thought the 250 was only grab and go for the incredible hulk

Ehhhh....good point. We all overlooked that.

[ollypenrice]

It depends on how you want to grab and how and where you want to go! If it really is grab and go - fast, chuck it in the car, jump on the plane, then it has to be the refractor. Grabbing and going with a reflector in that sense needs to changed to grabbing and going and collimating... as well as cooling down. For me the phrase does not imply form garage to garden, but I don't know.

The ED80 is the king of budget imaging scopes but 80mm is small in visual use. Could you consider a 4 inch refractor of some kind on a neat AltAz mount? Being shaken around is something refractors tolerate best. There are Tal and Skywatcher scopes at this aperture which seem to deliver. I used to take my 4 inch to Spain on holiday and had a ball with it. The various Synta achromats, not the short travel ones but the longer focal length ones, are very cheap second hand and better than you'd think for the dosh.

Olly

[brianb]

Devils advocate - how about a 6" SCT on a altaz mount? Light, portable, fast cooling .... much more light grasp & resolution than a 4" frac, noticeably superior to a 5" frac costing 5x as much ...

BTW cooling is overrated, with a dob (even a large one) you can use it immediately at low power, and it's low power than dobs are best at anyway.

I agree that a 10" dob cannot be considered "grab 'n' go".

[kniclander]

Ehhhh....good point. We all overlooked that.

not at all - from the shed, it's very easy to take the tube out first and then the rocker and then put the one on the other - it's about a minute's work...

and the whole weight is under 30kg so you can be a bit of a nine stone weakling and still carry it. I often get mine out for a 10 or 15 minute session cos it's quick (and so cloudy:o)

I wouldnt fancy carrying it all in once piece up/ down stairs but other than that it's very much grab'n'go

[LukeSkywatcher]

True also i guess Kniclander. I guess it is all down to ones own idea of what is "grab n go" and how much you can handle. My idea of "grab n go" is my bins that weigh about 3.2 Kilo or my Dob which weighs 6 Kilo. My 90mm EQ refractor which weighs 14 Kilo (all in) is not MY idea of "Grab n Go".

[kniclander]

True also i guess Kniclander. I guess it is all down to ones own idea of what is "grab n go" and how much you can handle. My idea of "grab n go" is my bins that weigh about 3.2 Kilo or my Dob which weighs 6 Kilo. My 90mm EQ refractor which weighs 14 Kilo (all in) is not MY idea of "Grab n Go".

obviously we all have different ideas as to what amounts to grab'n'go depending on our personal circumstances and that's fine - it's obviously subjective - but you said in your earlier post that "we all overlooked that" (meaning the weight) and I had not overlooked it - I am very conscious of the weight because i have that scope.

[geoff_k]

One of my eternal regrets is getting rid of a 150mm Startravel F5 refractor I had. It had been stolen during a burglary and although recovered later had suffered some damage. It had its limitations but was a good all-rounder.

Hindsight being a wonderful thing, what I replaced it with didn't on reflection (or should that be refraction?) turn out to be as good.

As much as I love my big Newtonian, due to hassles with set up and collimation there are times I wish I still had the Startravel as a grab and go especially given the vagaries of our climate when you want to take advantage of all too brief opportunities to get outside.

We live and learn.

Geoff

[LukeSkywatcher]

obviously we all have different ideas as to what amounts to grab'n'go depending on our personal circumstances and that's fine - it's obviously subjective - but you said in your earlier post that "we all overlooked that" (meaning the weight) and I had not overlooked it - I am very conscious of the weight because i have that scope.

All i really meant was that many people would not consider a 10" Dob as a "grab n go" scope. "we all overlooked that" is just a term of phrase. I am not obviously speaking for everybody here but i thought the general thought/consensus of a "grab n go" scope means a small refractor. Thats the image i have in MY head as to what it is (or in my case of late, a small 5" Dob).

It's great that you can have your big Dob as a "grab n go". Who wouldnt like that if they could deal with it. As you rightly pointed out.....if the scope is stored indoors and needs a lot of time to cool down then it is not practical as a "grab n go".

Sorry if i offended you or you feel i was speaking for you.

Astronomy really is a subjective hobby, so i will be more careful in future of making generalised comments.

[catburglar]

I have a flextube 250, and would agree that it's pretty much grab and go, as long as you don't want to go too far.

Cooldown isn't a major issue at lowish magnifications (up to say 150x).

Collimation is also pretty robust, and from what I've read the skyliners fair a bit better in this regard due to their solid tube.

[kniclander]

All i really meant was that many people would not consider a 10" Dob as a "grab n go" scope. "we all overlooked that" is just a term of phrase. I am not obviously speaking for everybody here but i thought the general thought/consensus of a "grab n go" scope means a small refractor. Thats the image i have in MY head as to what it is (or in my case of late, a small 5" Dob).

It's great that you can have your big Dob as a "grab n go". Who wouldnt like that if they could deal with it. As you rightly pointed out.....if the scope is stored indoors and needs a lot of time to cool down then it is not practical as a "grab n go".

Sorry if i offended you or you feel i was speaking for you.

Astronomy really is a subjective hobby, so i will be more careful in future of making generalised comments.

Paul, absolutely no need to apologise. i wasn't offended in the least. I should be apologising for my pedantic streak.

....but i'm not going to:D

[starscy]

What is the exact weight of the Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX Dobsonian? Can it be easily break into two pieces (OTA & base) for transportation?

[Astro_Baby]

At the risk of a thread hijack here I just acquired an old Unitron 60mm frac.

I have to say as a grab and go it would be great. The scope tube is light, it comes in a nice wooden box with a handle and the mount is a simple Alt/Az with slo mo controls. I could carry the whole thing scope and mount very easily. It can be set up very fast indeed requiring only the scope to be attached to the mount with two thumbscrews.

By comparison my 4" Nexstar Mak which was bought as a grab and go is a pain. Its relatively heavy and quite bulky. To really make use of it you have to do the Skyalign which is easy enough but time consuming. The Nexstar also because of its powered mount requires me to lug a powertank with me reducing its grab and go a bit.

I'm currently in the process of buying a bigger frac on a simplified EQ mount as a grab and go - the Unitron is too precious to be used as a practical grab and go scope - it would scare me that it could be wrecked hence a more commodity type frac to be the grab and go scope. Its bigger but I will be less scared about it getting trashed.

The Nexstar is being sold off to part fund the replacements. Its a good scope in its own right but it no longer fits what I wanted to do.

I sometimes think my SkyWatcher 130PM may have been the best grab and go of the lot. Light, easy, good light grasp and tracking off a few batteries.