Help Needed

[vlebo]

Hi everyone

I see Orion USA have introduced a GOTO Dob 12" Orion XTg GoTo Dobsonians - SCS Astro which is now available in the UK via SCS Astro at a pretty reasonable price .

Here is my dilemma , I currently own a Equinox 120 and a Flextube 300p ( the non driven one ) both of which I rarely get to use.

Seeing as my viewing time is minimal I would like to get in as many objects as possible and as I have limited time under the stars my knowledge for finding stuff is limited to a few objects.

So I am tempted to sell both scopes and my W/O EZTouch mount and just have the one scope ( Orion Goto Dob ) .

I just feel with the little time I have to stargaze my passion for this hobby, which has been dampened recently by the weather , clouds, spending too long looking for stuff , work etc may be reignited if things were a bit easier to find.

What would you guys do if you were in my position ? would you sell both scopes ( anyone interested ? ) to fund the Orion goto dob or stick with the two and try and rekindle your enthusiasm ?

Thanks in advance

Vlebo

[Doc]

If my time was restricted I would want the easiest option to see as much as I can. And in doing so I would want the best dob I could easily use in terms of setting up time and transport time.

I would get the Orion dob with go-to and a good quality eyepiece set to go with it.

[vlebo]

Thanks Doc

I have 3 Pentax XW's the 10 , 20 and 30mm which I will keep but sell off everything else ( probably ).

[ZOG]

Hmmm, that dob looks very Skywatcher..ish

Could this be the herald of the SW goto dobs that they claimed wouldn't be released ?

If time is a priority, then this dob looks like it could be the answer.

[acey]

I currently own a Equinox 120 and a Flextube 300p ( the non driven one ) both of which I rarely get to use.

Would a big GOTO get any more use? You'd still need to set it all up before pressing a button, and if time is short you might never get round to it. For anyone in a hurry and wanting a quick peek I'd suggest binoculars.

[russ]

I was thinking the same. Not sure the 12" version is possibly the right one considering you already find the 300P off putting. I know you would be losing aperture but the XT8g and XT10g are far more manageable. The XT8g is easily manageable in one piece, so setup time would be ultra fast and painless. And 8" is plenty of aperture for touring DSO's. The 10" is still manageable in one piece but it's far more strained. The 12" is a two piece move.

Other than that, the Orion XTg range looks superb and what the Skywatcher dobs should have been from the outset.

[vlebo]

Thanks guys

The problem I have is not with the 300 Flextube , the views I do get are amazing and set up time is not the problem , it's just my time outside is always limited so I am thinking goto with a big aperture would help me see more than I do at the moment Plus having two scopes I barely use seems such a waste so having one I would probably get more out of kinda makes more sense.

[acey]

Judging by your sig, you seem to have a lot of kit you don't want to use. I don't think the answer is to buy new kit. Have you had a chance to try a GOTO scope? It's quicker than star-hopping but don't expect miracles.

[vlebo]

I do have stuff I do not use and it frustrates me and thats why I want to offload the 2 scopes and stick with the one large goto dob.

Just really want to make my life a little easier.