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10 inch Dobsonian has arrived

george7378

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george7378

george7378

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Hi,

My 10 inch Dobsonian arrived today - I can't believe how big it is! :)

I have put it together, and everything seems fine - I am just a little confused as to how to carry it. There is a handle that fits on the front, but I can't figure out how to pick it up properly! It is the Sky-Watcher 250PX.

I really want to try it under a nice clear sky - there is so much that I want to observe with the extra 5 inches it has over my other scope!

Thanks, George.

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george7378

george7378

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Nice one George, I'll look forward to all the wonderful reports.

I'll look forward to writing them - thanks!

I've got the same scope due tomorrow! :)

Hope it arrives OK - I had to wait an extra agonising week for mine as I got the wrong one to start with!

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Regan

Regan

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Hi,

My 10 inch Dobsonian arrived today - I can't believe how big it is! :)

I have put it together, and everything seems fine - I am just a little confused as to how to carry it. There is a handle that fits on the front, but I can't figure out how to pick it up properly! It is the Sky-Watcher 250PX.

I really want to try it under a nice clear sky - there is so much that I want to observe with the extra 5 inches it has over my other scope!

Thanks, George.

George does the 250px come in some sort of case to transport.?

steve

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george7378

george7378

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I take it they didn't send a 12" in error, then? :D

Fingers cross it's correct and undamaged! I look forward to comparing notes :mad:

It was a 16" Lightbridge they sent - I just couldn't bear to steal it though. :) As you probably figured, it was smaller (an 8" Skyliner) - I don't think they had any 10 inch ones in stock at the time.

I'm currently receiving my serving of purchase-related cloud though - I hope it wears off for us tomorrow.

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george7378

george7378

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George does the 250px come in some sort of case to transport.?

steve

Steve,

Mine came in two boxes - one for the tube and one for the base. There is no transport case, although that would be a great idea. Also, I think Sky-Watcher really know what they are doing - you get two EPs and all the tools you need, plus convenient knobs for skewing the scope, and a good accessory tray and EP adapter.

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Luke

Luke

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Congrats on the new scope!

We've also got a one-handled dob, I'm probably doing this wrong but I take the tube off, carry the base on its own, not even using the handle, then carry the tube over and plop it onto the base again.

I don't really use the handle at all though would be more than happy to have my poor usage of it corrected?!

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I am sure most new scopes come with caps for both ends or at least the top end.

collimation is something you'll need to do every time you use the scope in my view. you'd not see a performer starting to play his guitar without checking it was in tune first :)

once you have the hang of it, this is a one minute or less job so don't worry about it. some people even collimate for each object, especially if the scope is moved a lot inbetween (the mirror does move slightly) but that's going a bit far in my view and I think is more appropriate for imagers.

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Albireo380

Albireo380

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George, don't worry about collimating, it is a snap really. if you get a skywatcher laser collimator from FLO, collimating will take under a minute.

Firstly you switch on the laser collimator and put it in the 1 1/4 EP holder on the focuser. Then you check if the laser red dot is in the circle on the primary mirror. if not, use a wee hex to move the secondary mirror slightly until the red dot is in the centre of the primary mirror. Then go to the rear of the primary mrror - you will find two sets of 3 screws. One set is to move the mirror, the other to lock it into position. Use the 3 "movement" screws to put the reflected red laser light in the centre of the collimator grid. Then use the other set of screws to lock down the mirror in that position. Simples.

Once you have done it once you will rarely do the first part again, as the secondary rarely moves much, so you only need to go to the rear of the primary and get the reflected laser red light into the centre of the collimator grid. I do this every time I observe (after 30mins cool down time) and it takes under a minute.

Enjoy your new 'scope - these Dobs have good optics and will give you great views.

Tom

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astroimpulse

astroimpulse

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Congrats on the new scope!

We've also got a one-handled dob, I'm probably doing this wrong but I take the tube off, carry the base on its own, not even using the handle, then carry the tube over and plop it onto the base again.

That's pretty much how to do things from my understanding :)

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george7378

george7378

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Thanks for the advice - I can see that dust may be a problem with time. I will probably store it under some sheets though, which should help.

I was beginning to wonder how the handle should be used after seeing this image in an instruction manual I found on the internet:

Scopecarry.png

From what I've read, I think I will do two trips to carry the scope out, and will carry the tube on its own. It doesn't take long to screw the tension handles back in, and it is easy enough to put the tube back onto the cradle.

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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Congrats on the new scope!

We've also got a one-handled dob, I'm probably doing this wrong but I take the tube off, carry the base on its own, not even using the handle, then carry the tube over and plop it onto the base again.

I don't really use the handle at all though would be more than happy to have my poor usage of it corrected?!

On this page of scopes n skies website is a link to a video review of the Skyliner range of dobsonians Skyliner telescopes. About half way through the video the presenter assembles the 12" model.

Peter

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Revs

Revs

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It does come with a protective cap, and I haven't managed to use it yet, so I don't know if it needs collimating. I have never collimated before though!

Me neither, but the scope (and laser collimator) have just landed so I guess I better learn quick! :)

Good luck and clear skies! :mad:

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astroimpulse

astroimpulse

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It's not as hard as some might make out. Also some online guides can over complicate the issue. I find the manual pretty straight forward.

I found the Cheshire to be very good for the job. Although I appreciate it can be much harder for different disciplines to get it super accurate.

Be patient and take it easy. You might only need to tweak it :)

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Revs

Revs

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All done, and yes, it was easy and took 2 mins. The secondary was miles out, though. The laser dot on the primary was about 1.5" from the mark, but a quick tweak on the secondary sorted it. The primary alignment was almost bang on.

It's a nice bit of kit. Movement seems nice and smooth. Enough friction but no sticking. No backlash in the focuser. Really looking forward to first light! It's looking like it might clear up after midnight, too, which would be nice.

I'm gonna have to start looking up some new targets. With the Mak I've been restricted to local objects and smaller DSO's like M57 and M13. Can't wait to see Andromeda :)

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Beulah

Beulah

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Thanks for the advice - I can see that dust may be a problem with time. I will probably store it under some sheets though, which should help.

I was beginning to wonder how the handle should be used after seeing this image in an instruction manual I found on the internet:

Scopecarry.png

From what I've read, I think I will do two trips to carry the scope out, and will carry the tube on its own. It doesn't take long to screw the tension handles back in, and it is easy enough to put the tube back onto the cradle.

LOL, try carrying a 12" solid tube dob that way!!

Well, I can't anyway...:)

Congratulations on your acquisition and I hope you have many clear, stable and transparent skies too!

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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LOL, try carrying a 12" solid tube dob that way!!

Well, I can't anyway...:)

Congratulations on your acquisition and I hope you have many clear, stable and transparent skies too!

I actually do, albeit not with the base too!

OO UK kindly put rings at the balance point which helps to carry them.

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