Dob dilemna ( or is it dilemma?)

[alfingido]

Anyway, whatever the spelling, I am in one.

I had a 12" flextube a while ago and sold it. I fancy another dob, probably a 10" now and obviously I want a good one. I wasnt keen on the collapsible / open truss design but would consider another, but I have been looking at the 250px solid tube dob from Skywatcher. I already know their optics are good but dont really know if the alternatives are any better. By alternatives I mean the Celestron Starhopper or Orion XT range.

Price is a factor, so the Skywatcher looks a good deal. I know of a used one coming available soon, but its too far to collect ( and too big for my car at the moment) even though the price is right.

So, anybody any opinions or experience of these other 10" dobs or should I stick with Skywatcher?

Allan

[John]

I thought Skywatcher, Orion (US) and Celestron (the later ones) all used Synta optics ?

My guess is that they would all perform the same.

[brianb]

Two M's.

Check out the Orion Optics (UK) scopes - their optics are significantly better & the 10" f/6.3 with 1/10 wave PV optics is superb, the eyepiece height is about right for most adults, the longer focal length means collimation is much less critical than the usual f/5 and it's much more tolerant of cheap eyepieces too.

[pbyrne]

I know of a used one coming available soon, but its too far to collect ( and too big for my car at the moment) even though the price is right.

Contact the seller, perhaps they will agree to meet halfway. Do you know anyone with a bigger motor?

The closest I can get with the scopes you mentioned is an Orion XT12i, the thing about this scope is it's heavy, the tube is 50lbs alone, not sure about the 10", the optics are very good and the mount solid, it weighs more than 30lbs. If you don't have to move it too far the Orion should be very good.

[alfingido]

Contact the seller, perhaps they will agree to meet halfway. Do you know anyone with a bigger motor?

The closest I can get with the scopes you mentioned is an Orion XT12i, the thing about this scope is it's heavy, the tube is 50lbs alone, not sure about the 10", the optics are very good and the mount solid, it weighs more than 30lbs. If you don't have to move it too far the Orion should be very good.

I have a bigger car, a Land Rover. Its away at the mopment having a few mods done and wont be back for a few weeks. Untill then we only have a small car.

I like the look of the Orions Xti range, I think a 10" would be big enough for me. I quite like the idea of the computerised handset for finding targets too.

Anyway, my ( theoretical ) budget keeps increasing and throws up even more confusion.

Do I go for a full maual one. A flextube Auto, an Orion XT1 or a full GOTO? ( I dont think the budget / wife will stretch to goto to be honest)

I sold of my goto scope because it wasnt used much. The setup time put me off sometimes. I like the idea of a basic dob for the grab-n-go aspect, but even with the others, they can still be used manually with the option of powering them up if need be.

So, what gets the most votes? A basic, full manual dob. A tracking dob ( flextube Auto). A finding dob ( Orion XT1)

Allan