First question

[BigTfromNotts]

Hi all

I did say on my introduction post that I would be likely to bombard the site with questions, so here goes with question 1. I have been looking at telescopes that fall within my price range (up to £300).

I will be using the telescope initially for the moon and planets, but will also want to view DSO's (Stars, Galaxies and Nebulae). I am not really interested in photography - I am useless with a camera.

First considerations were:

Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian - £270 at FLO

Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2 - £250.21 at FLO

Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2 - £249 at FLO

Skywatcher Skymax 127 SupaTrak - £285 at FLO

I have had to scratch the 200p Dobs (my preferred choice) and the 150PL from my list because they would not fit into the boot of my car (I have a Merc SLK)which would be the better scope.

Which leaves the 150P and the 127.

Which one of the 2 would be the better scope for my viewing requirements? Bearing in mind I live in the suburbs of a city and would be using the scope at home most of the time.

Ideally I would have liked a Flextube 200p Dobsonian (which could have fitted in car when collapsed), however, FLO only sell that one with the AUTO or GOTO mounts which are out of my price range.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

Tony

[markophoto]

How much room have you got on the back seat of the car?

is strapping the scope in with belts an option?

[Moonshane]

I agree with what Mark is getting at. For visual use and assuming you are off to darker site to observe in your car, the 200mm Dob would be by far the best choice. It will make targets appear brighter, more detailed and you will also be able to achieve greater magnification etc.

In my view, this is one of the best all rounders there is and the price is excellent.

[BigTfromNotts]

Unfortunately, it is a 2 seater car and the missus would want to come with me for stargazing.

Cheers

[Moonshane]

In that case the 150p would be the best in my view.

BUT, you may find that the tripod, mount, tube etc will take up more room than the 200 dob.

best to get to a shop and see what can fit in the boot?

[BigTfromNotts]

Thanks Moonshane.

It''s not the room, it's the length of the Dos that is the problem.

Now to find a shop that is semi local to Nottingham that sells them.

Cheers

[Moonshane]

No worries - good luck with the hunt - it really is a good idea to check what can fit into your car - it's a big consideration if you will be going mobile regularly.

[rowan46]

I am sorry I have just read that you will mainly be using it at home in that case I would get this one Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian admiitedly it won't fit in the back of the car but to be honest you would have a job fitting any of them but the skymax in the boot especially if its the convertible hard topmodel slk. the one cure up to a point for light pollution is bigger apparture. so if yu're looking mainly from home get the big one.

[rowan46]

if your budget is at all stretchy there is this one Lightbridge - LightBridge 8" Truss Dobsonian

[tuc]

Can you buy a new car?

[stevelcfc]

When I bought my scope I was looking at the

skywatcher 200p dob Skywatcher 15OPL

Skywatcher 150P

I ended up with the skywatcher 150P because I wanted one with an equatorial mount because I wanted to get into astrophotography and I seen one on E bay for half the price, i am well pleased with it, it’s a brilliant scope ive seen a lot of DSO,s with it from my light polluted back garden

Having said that as happy as I am with it I think I should have got the 200P DOB because I think I will be upgrading to a 8” soon anyway as soon as I can afford it

So if there is no way you can transport the dob go with the 150p you will be delighted with it

Hope this helps

[Dave S]

Hi tony

Your nearest decent shop is Rother Valley Optics just off J31 of the M1 about an hours drive from where you are.

Astrononmy and Optical Centre Killamarsh Sheffield : Rother Valley Optics Telescopes, Binoculars & Accessories

Dave...

[brantuk]

I started with a 150P which was great - loved it - but soon wanted to upgrade to 8". For both portability and home use, and for your stated objectives an 8" dob would be absolutely ideal if at all possible.

I'd normally recommend the Skywatcher simply because they represent superb value for money in terms of aperture and optics. However, in your case, I'd go entirely with the idea of stretching your budget a little and get the Lightbridge 8" truss tube as Rowan suggests.

The optics are on a par with SW (maybe even a touch better), and they pack down for transport very conveniently. My friend has a 16" LB that he carries round in a small hot hatch. They are quick and easy to assemble once practised and require very few add-ons to be effective. It would suit you perfectly

The kind of stuff you might eventually add-on include: eyepieces, telrad finder or right angled finder, tuning screws (Bob's knobs), Wixey angle guage, balancing aids, and azimuth scale. All relatively cheap enhancements.

Do pop over to the "Dob Users" section for extra info and you're welcome to join in - just click the link in my signature. Hope that helps

[Moonshane]

I am sorry I have just read that you will mainly be using it at home in that case I would get this one Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian admiitedly it won't fit in the back of the car but to be honest you would have a job fitting any of them but the skymax in the boot especially if its the convertible hard topmodel slk. the one cure up to a point for light pollution is bigger apparture. so if yu're looking mainly from home get the big one.

sorry I completely missed this too. I'd buy the scope based on where it will be used most. in this case more aperture generally wins and therefore the 200 dobsonian.

[malc-c]

Can you buy a new car?

LOL - was one of my thoughts... a Transit van resolves most transport problems

Would the wife fit in the boot and strap the scope in the front seat.... no better not go there....

[dmahon]

Before you dismiss photography, are you aware what DSO will look like when observed visually through a telescope? They don't look like the pictures and for someone who is used to photos from glossy magazines may come as a bit of a dissapointment (but to others who realise what they represent, may still be awe inspiring).

If you don't know, take a look in the sketches section.

Eg:

For this:

You will (with a good 16" telescope) see this:

[valleyman]

ummmmmmmmmmmm by the dob200 and get a bigger car,

[BigTfromNotts]

Hi All

Thanks for the great advice, it is very much appreciated.

When I say it will be used mainly at home, I really don't want to miss out on opportunities to visit 'Dark Sky' sites with a scope.

As I said earlier, it is a pity FLO do not sell the 200P Flextube with the standard Dobson base, as opposed to the GOTO or AUTO base. They are out of my price range.

The Lightbridge 8 inch truss looks interesting. I have a few questions regarding that.

How long does it take to assemble / disassmble for use?

Would you have to colimate it each time it is assembeld?

Is it tricky to colimate?

What are the dimensions of the base?

Is the base easily assembled / disassembled? Thinking if to big for boot, may have to disassemble for transporting.

What other equipment would I need? Filters, eyepieces etc.? I have to careful on how much I have to spend.

The only other option I have, is to buy the 200p for home use, then save up for the 150P for 'Dark Sky' site use. The problem I would have with that is storage space in the house. The missus wouldn't be too happy with that option.

Cheers

Tony

[ollypenrice]

Thanks Moonshane.

It''s not the room, it's the length of the Dos that is the problem.

Now to find a shop that is semi local to Nottingham that sells them.

Cheers

Rother Valley Optics are not far away... in an SLK!!

Olly

[John]

Hi All

Thanks for the great advice, it is very much appreciated.

When I say it will be used mainly at home, I really don't want to miss out on opportunities to visit 'Dark Sky' sites with a scope.

As I said earlier, it is a pity FLO do not sell the 200P Flextube with the standard Dobson base, as opposed to the GOTO or AUTO base. They are out of my price range.

The Lightbridge 8 inch truss looks interesting. I have a few questions regarding that.

How long does it take to assemble / disassmble for use?

Would you have to colimate it each time it is assembeld?

Is it tricky to colimate?

What are the dimensions of the base?

Is the base easily assembled / disassembled? Thinking if to big for boot, may have to disassemble for transporting.

What other equipment would I need? Filters, eyepieces etc.? I have to careful on how much I have to spend.

The only other option I have, is to buy the 200p for home use, then save up for the 150P for 'Dark Sky' site use. The problem I would have with that is storage space in the house. The missus wouldn't be too happy with that option.

Cheers

Tony

You really want the larger aperture scope for dark sky use

The Lightbridge is no more portable / collapsable because you really don't want to completely dismantle it between uses. It would certainly need re-collimating if you take the whole thing apart each time it's used.

The tube easily lifts off the dobsonains so you have 2 bits to put in the car - the tube ( around 120cm x 22 cm) and the base, which is actually a bit more unwieldy.

If that won't fit in the SLK then you may have to either have a rethink or find the extra £'s for a flextube.

[Moonshane]

Hi All

Thanks for the great advice, it is very much appreciated.

When I say it will be used mainly at home, I really don't want to miss out on opportunities to visit 'Dark Sky' sites with a scope.

As I said earlier, it is a pity FLO do not sell the 200P Flextube with the standard Dobson base, as opposed to the GOTO or AUTO base. They are out of my price range.

The Lightbridge 8 inch truss looks interesting. I have a few questions regarding that.

How long does it take to assemble / disassmble for use?

a lot less time than for the optics to cool (approx 40 mins for the optics)

Would you have to colimate it each time it is assembeld?

possibly but it's easy

Is it tricky to colimate?

this is something that is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. it takes me about 2 mins - I collimate each time I observe.

What are the dimensions of the base?

don't know.

Is the base easily assembled / disassembled? Thinking if to big for boot, may have to disassemble for transporting.

don't know

What other equipment would I need? Filters, eyepieces etc.? I have to careful on how much I have to spend.

you will have pretty much everything you need with the purchase but there's always bells and whistle to add as you go. a couple of suggestions initially would be a Telrad and a shroud - you could make the latter yourself though.

The only other option I have, is to buy the 200p for home use, then save up for the 150P for 'Dark Sky' site use. The problem I would have with that is storage space in the house. The missus wouldn't be too happy with that option.

Cheers

Tony

hi Tony

don't know this scope but others like it. they come up used every now and again. it would seem to be a good solution to the 'problem'.

added some comments above.

[John]

A quick note on the Meade Lightbridges for those that don't know them. Good scopes optically but need a few mods to get them working well. You can completely dismantle the scopes, ie: separate the upper and lower tube assemblies and remove the truss poles. They are pretty portable then although the base remains in one piece - it is a little lower than the Skywatcher base though. If you do the full dismantle then assembly takes more than a couple of minutes - it can be a bit fiddly actually and it's very likely that you will need to re-collimate - not just tweak the collimation.

I owned a 12" Lightbridge for a while. Good scope but, because I did not wan't to do the complete dismantle each time, it took up as much room as a 12" solid tube Skywatcher.

[TheBFG]

In that case the 150p would be the best in my view.

BUT, you may find that the tripod, mount, tube etc will take up more room than the 200 dob.

best to get to a shop and see what can fit in the boot?

Lol i can imagine that conversation.

[BigTfromNotts]

Again, thanks for all of the advice.

Think I will end up going over budget and buying the Flextube 200P AUTO, if the base will fit in the SLK. Will take a drive to Rother Valley Optics at the weekend on a fact finding mission.

If the base is too big for the SLK, then it will have to be the 150P Explorer.

Just been outside looking up at Orion and dreaming of having my telescope.

Cheers

Tony

[brantuk]

I was just outside looking at Orion too in 15x70's and wishing I didn't have work in the morning so I could get a scope out. Take a look at Peter Shah's image of the area - he's covered an amazingly large patch of sky:

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/124598-crossed-finish-line-whoopee.html