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Dosonians Telescopes

stargazerkelly

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garethmob

garethmob

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iv got a 8" dob i find its very portable i find it eaiser than having to set up tripod lift scope attach and its alot eaiser to move for targets / star hoppin and compared to my little ETX70 it blows it out of the water with extra detail you can see only one problem is the eye peices where i used to find 25mm perfect for looking at large widefield areas now its quite mag'd in but price for aperature its cheaper and iv also noticed more recent newer models have GOTO on them as well

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John

John

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Dobsonians provide the most aperture per £ spent. They are newtonian scopes on a simple mount and are justifiably very popular with visual observers. You can do very simple lunar and planetary imaging with them but other than that they are not suitable for astrophotography.

What I like about the design is the sheer simplicity of use :)

A recent poll on SGL showed the 8" and 10" apertures being most popular. 12" and above they are still great but can be quite a handful to move about and store.

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Chris H

Chris H

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When I first looked at scopes I was not really sure about a Dobsonian it did not really look like what I thought a telescope should look like and I was unsure about collimation but I thought I'd test the water with the Skywatcher Heritage 130p and I was smitten and so in no time bought an Orion (USA) XT10i it is quite simply brilliant. I'm fortunate enough to observe from a pretty dark location and the views of both DSO's and planets and simply breath taking. Colliamtion was not really a problem I check it regularly using a Cheshire eye piece and I have got it down to a fine art. It is quite a big and bulky beast but I only move it about 10 feet out of my shed and back in at the end of the night. When I was originally looking into scopes loads of people kept recommending either the 8" or the 10" and now I know why.

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AndyC

AndyC

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Dobs great ... size for money, quick set up and pack away.

My 10" is really easily shiftable could I have gone for a 12" ... perhaps.

Mines stored in the garage so is already cool when it comes out means I can get on with observing after a few minutes whilst my eyes are still adjusting to the dark. With the big goto refractor it took 1/2 hour + to set up (and pack away again) and align before I'd start observing so I tended to use that on Friday nights or weekends and not during the week when needing to work the next day. I use the Dob now when I can, even for short weekday sessions.

Collimation scared me off buying a reflector for a while, only had to do it once sofar but taken two goes. Don't think it's quite a big a task as perhaps people tend to think it is.

Moving the scope around objects: to start with I found I was over-nudging the scope too far past objects. Just takes a bit of getting used to a few sessions and you don't notice it.

Learning to navigate and star-hop was a concern 'how am I going to find my way around' now the laptops always nearby running Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel so I have those references. Anyway getting lost and back-tracking is sort of fun:rolleyes: you'll see stuff you wouldn't see if you used something else with a goto ( though you can have goto Dobs for a price. I frequently stumble across doubles I'm not looking for.

A

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brantuk

brantuk

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Dobs are terrific - best value for money per aperture inch as mentioned above. The largest manageable one within budget is what I'd recommend.

Make sure you allow cash over for essential accessories like collimator, power pack (if applicable), shroud where needed, and dew system. LP and portability can be important in your consideration, and be prepared to make some basic mods - nearly allways necessary. :)

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Daz Type-R

Daz Type-R

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What sort of basic mods would you need to make to a dob? Looking to get one and the only nagging doubt I have is collimation, now I find out I may need to make "some basic mods"?

Also, what is a shroud and are dew systems really needed?

Sorry, complete newbie trying to learn fast..........:)

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garethmob

garethmob

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i guess the shroud is for some dobs like the flex tubes which have a large empty space instead of a "scope" as such covering the space with a shoud blocks stray light from entering the system

the dew system well the main mod people seem to do is use a camping mat wrapped around the end of the scope it stops dew forming (and at night freezing) on the scope and mirrors and lens's other people put dew heaters which stop this from forming but obviously powerpacks are needed

but a forum member mentioned the snap handwarmer heaters with a elastic band might be cheaper??

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kniclander

kniclander

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I think it maybe overstating it a bit to say some basic mods are nearly always necessary. to be sure, to get the very best out of a cheap dob some mods probably are necessary (specially tracking in az I would think) but I've used skywatcher dobs for years without any mods at all.

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Daz Type-R

Daz Type-R

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Ok, I might be totally missing the point, but I thought scopes needed to be cold to prevent thermal something or other messing with your view, now your saying they need to be warmed up to stop dew etc from getting on the mirrors.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

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brantuk

brantuk

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I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Me and my big mouth! lol :)

OK - for an intro to dob mods - click the link in my signature below to the "Dob Users" group and look down the page for the "Dob Mods" thread - there's loads in there.

Collimation is about lining up the primary and secondary mirrors with the focuser tube so all the collected light falls square on and focused in the focal plane. It allways sounds complicated but in fact it's a doddle that takes 3 mins when you're well practised.

But it is essential allmost every session depending on the type and robustness of dob - and sometimes mid session tweaks. There are various tools to aid in this from a few pence for a lens cap with a central hole, to a top of the range laser collimator for over £100.

PM me if you can't find "Dob Mods" and I'll send you a link :)

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Daz Type-R

Daz Type-R

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I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Me and my big mouth! lol :)

OK - for an intro to dob mods - click the link in my signature below to the "Dob Users" group and look down the page for the "Dob Mods" thread - there's loads in there.

Collimation is about lining up the primary and secondary mirrors with the focuser tube so all the collected light falls square on and focused in the focal plane. It allways sounds complicated but in fact it's a doddle that takes 3 mins when you're well practised.

But it is essential allmost every session depending on the type and robustness of dob - and sometimes mid session tweaks. There are various tools to aid in this from a few pence for a lens cap with a central hole, to a top of the range laser collimator for over £100.

PM me if you can't find "Dob Mods" and I'll send you a link :)

Cheers, thanks a lot for that. Better to be well prepeared before jumping in and buying something so I am trying to take it all on board.

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brantuk

brantuk

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"I think it maybe overstating it a bit to say some basic mods are nearly always necessary"

Maybe slightly overstated I'll grant. But I'll bet some will want to add a telrad, or change the finder for a right angle finder, or put a big ep or camera on that needs a balance mod, or add a cooling fan, or secondary heater, or dewshield, or setting circle/Wixey combination, etc to name but a few.

Maybe I should have said "desireable" instead of "necessary" :)

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kniclander

kniclander

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"I think it maybe overstating it a bit to say some basic mods are nearly always necessary"

Maybe slightly overstated I'll grant. But I'll bet some will want to add a telrad, or change the finder for a right angle finder, or put a big ep or camera on that needs a balance mod, or add a cooling fan, or secondary heater, or dewshield, or setting circle/Wixey combination, etc to name but a few.

Maybe I should have said "desireable" instead of "necessary" :)

or even "desirable" :)

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