Sorry i'm back again!!

[Bigdaddyjeff]

I've bitten the bullet and chosen a scope after changing my mind too many times. All i have to do now is save like crazy. I've also ordered turn left at orion to keep myself and my current scope amused and on the go...well at least when the clouds shoo

A lot of advice has been given to me and i've taken note of it all and read so many threads about people getting into imaging once they've bought their scopes it's made me think a little more. Initially i'm not looking to do any imaging but i can't say never so if i'm spending my money on a scope it's going to be one thats big enough for me to be happy with and maybe give me the option of imaging later but also be with me for a long long time!

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 250P DS OTA

My plan is to have the HEQ5 GOTO but i was wondering if anyone would advise to either get the OTA then maybe look for cheaper mount elsewhere or just get the mount that's advertised there...or maybe there's another mount that's GOTO and would fit this scope.

I do apologise for repetative questions and subjects but i do find everyones advice extremely valuable on here

Rant over and i'm going to bed cos my head hurts.....again !!!

Thank you for taking the time :)

Gaz

[John]

I believe deep sky imaging needs small refractors on big mounts while observing needs large aperture scopes that can be more simply mounted. A 10" newtonian on an equatorial mount can be a real handful wheras a 10" dobsonian mounted newtonian is pretty simple to handle, but not suitable for imaging of course.

You can't win can you !

[brantuk]

No probs Gaz - we like questions here.

Make sure the ota is gonna be suitable for the mount especially weight wise. You may consider the 200P/250P on a dob base so you have a functional scope that you can use whilst saving for the EQ mount.

Then simply take the ota of the dob and mount on the EQ when you finally have it.

Someone will confirm this but the 250P might be a bit overweight for that mount.

[MikeP]

Hi Gaz,

I started out with the old blue SkyWatcher 250 on an EQ6 Pro. Be prepared for a shock when you get it, the OTA is BIG.

I'd have said that OTA would be close to the limit on an HEQ5 and over it once you start adding cameras and filter wheels and stuff like that.

I sold the 250 and have since accumulated 3 refractors of different sizes for imaging and a C11 for visual / imaging (if I ever get good enough). However, I still have the EQ6 and I doubt that I'll get rid of it in the foreseeable future.

Its worth going the extra mile for the mount, especially if you want to image. OTAs can come and go.

Buying a solid tube dob for now and putting it (or a small refractor) on your mount for imaging when you get one would be my suggestion.

Mike (ex Coseley)

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Morning guys and thank you for your advice.

I'm going to try and hunt down a decent shop that's local to me so i can go and see in 'the flesh' how big these scopes are.

How easy would it be to put a solid tube dob onto a eq mount or am i reading that wrong?

That's my ethic at the moment John...you just can't win .... so i guess it's a compromise all the time. If that OTA could be mounted on a dob mount that could be an avenue of exploration or maybe just get the bigger mount??

Thanks again guys

Gaz

[ollypenrice]

Most of the solid tube Dobs will go happily on an EQ but a 10 inch or larger Newt, EQ mounted, is quite a beast. (Some of the classical Dobs like ours with sling mounted mirror would not work on an EQ but I doubt you will come across those.)

A big Newt on an EQ5? No. Well, I woudn't. Even an EQ6 is going to be working quite hard with a ten inch plus aboard.

Quite often on threads like this the case is made for the Dob version of the big visual scope and an entirely separate compact imaging rig later. Since the mount part of the very decent Chinese Dobs costs peanuts the logic of this is quite sound in my view. It is certainly easier (or less difficult!) to start imaging with a small, fast refractor than with anything else.

Olly

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Thanks Olly i hear what you're saying. I think it's the allure of a Big OTA and being able to see so much detail on DSO'S and planets but with the ease of the goto??

[Whippy]

How easy would it be to put a solid tube dob onto a eq mount or am i reading that wrong?

I did just that using a Skyliner 250 and HEQ5 and TBH it was a pain setting up and tearing it down again every time. The 10" tube just about sits on the HEQ5 in calm conditions, but if there was any wind about then it wobbled about quite a bit.

I think it'd be best (and this is what a lot of people do) is to have a setup for observing and one for imaging. I often use my dob while the imaging kit is running, it gives you the best of both worlds then .

Tony..

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Thanks Tony....i think imaging is maybe a long way down the road for me as of yet and as i'm keen to get more detail by just viewing i think i may go down the dob route. Solid tube 250 for 395 is a very good compromise ...what you think?

[Whippy]

A 10" newtonian is plenty big enough for most people, it'll certainly give you the best 'bang for the buck.

The only thing I would keep in in mind is give a portion of your budget over to a collimation device such as a cheshire eyepiece and maybe one or two decent eyepieces. Not that there's much wrong with the eyepieces you have in your signature but you'd be amazed how much objects look better in better quality eyepieces.

Tony..

[Rossco72]

Never underestimate the mount, a mount capable of carrying significantly more than you want it to will be a pleasure to work with.

An under mounted scope will be awful with terrible views as the stability just wont be there.

[Bigdaddyjeff]

What would you consider a better quality eyepiece Tony? I know everyones choices are different and i already have plans to get a cheshire collimator

After more thinking and more compromising i'm thinking of a 10" Dob to keep me amused for a while(and then more ) then when i'm more imaging focused i'm thinking maybe the 200p eq5 GOTO....maybe not everyones choices but i think these are going to work best for me,my budgets and my plans.

My only worry is that i won't be able to find the objects i desire to see using just the manual means.... but there again isn't that part of the allure of the skies too.

Gaz

[ollypenrice]

A Telrad is a boon on a Dob, and a decent finder. That and a copy of SkyAtlas 2000 which is big enough to see with a red light. Computers and visual observing? Nooooooo....

Olly

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Olly.....red torch is another to the list

[pwalsh61]

Olly.....red torch is another to the list

Either that, or a cheap £2 torch from Asda and borrow some red nail varnish (or, if you know someone who's into calligraphy, some red ink)

[Whippy]

What would you consider a better quality eyepiece Tony? I know everyones choices are different and i already have plans to get a cheshire collimator

The best one's I've owned were Televue Naglers. Bu they were also the most expensive!

I found the Baader Hyperions to be pretty good for the money when I bought them, but that was a while back and they've gone up in price a bit since then.

I've enjoyed the Orthoscopics too but they're very much an aquired taste due to their short eye relief which means you have to get right up close to the eyepiece.

Other than that, a good set of plossls are nice all-rounders . What I tend to do is look at my budget and work from there.

Tony..

[stafford_stargazer]

I use but shouldn't a explorer 200 on an eq3-2 mount,i have had to ad extra weights to it but it aint bad if i had the choice though it would be and eq6.

But for now it will have to do,it works ok though but i keep the tripod right down so its stable and use a chair to observe.

Gaz

Now whos got at least an eq5 for sale?

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Either that, or a cheap £2 torch from Asda and borrow some red nail varnish (or, if you know someone who's into calligraphy, some red ink)

Thanks mate i'm off to asda today then borrowing the mrs's nail varnish...for the torch!!!!

I'll be considering the EP's choices too Tony so thanks once again

I admire your rebelious stance on the mounts Stafford but know how expensive those mounts can be so hope you can find one soon.

I think i'm back to my 2 original choices now, so full circle about 5 times and still back to where i started ....still got plenty time to decide though with this terrible weather!!!!

Thanks to everyone again

Gaz

[Chris H]

For a 10" Dobsonian you've got three options

1. Skywatcher Skyliner 250p you find everything and you track it manually £395

2. Orion XT10i it has a computerised object locator, it'll tell you where to push the scope to in order to find objects you request you then track objects manually £725

3. Skywatcher Skyliner 250p GOTO the scope will slew to objects you want to view and track them for you £970

All three scopes are on a Dob base which is solid as a rock and easy to set up. The Orion is basically the same OTA as the Skywatcher, all three are made by the Synta group. The Orion requires a 9v battery (like you'd put in a smoke alarm) whilst the Skywatcher GOTO need a 12V power supply.

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Thanks Chris i'll take a look at the orion

[Chris H]

For what it is the Orion is overpriced, all Orion (USA) stuff tends to be in the UK. But if you want the combination of the simple Dob set up and the crutch of the computerised object locator (COL) then you might think it is a price worth paying. I have the XT10i and when I first got the scope I used the COL often, now not so much but if I can't find something it's there to help me.

scsastro.co.uk sell them in the UK.

[Bigdaddyjeff]

Thanks again Chris

I've been thinking about where i'll be doing most of my viewing and that place will be my garden. Now i have 12-15ft high conifers down one side of my garden and a 7ft fence down the other side and if i were to go down the Dob route i fear some of my views would be hampered by a Dob since it would be relatively close to the floor,surrounding trees and rooftops also being an obstruction. I think a 'higher' tripod mounted scope would probably be that little more practical for my garden viewing times so i think i'm swaying back towards the explorer 200P DS on an EQ5 GOTO ...aleviating my viewing height and allowing me to select the objects to view

Just need to cram the savings in and wait for the skies to clear now

Gaz

[John]

Thanks again Chris

I've been thinking about where i'll be doing most of my viewing and that place will be my garden. Now i have 12-15ft high conifers down one side of my garden and a 7ft fence down the other side and if i were to go down the Dob route i fear some of my views would be hampered by a Dob since it would be relatively close to the floor,surrounding trees and rooftops also being an obstruction. I think a 'higher' tripod mounted scope would probably be that little more practical for my garden viewing times so i think i'm swaying back towards the explorer 200P DS on an EQ5 GOTO ...aleviating my viewing height and allowing me to select the objects to view

Just need to cram the savings in and wait for the skies to clear now

Gaz

I have a similar observing situation. My solution is i) to keep my scopes readily portable so that I can move around the garden to dodge the trees etc and ii) I use refractors on tall tripods a lot which means I don't have to wait so long for objects to clear the surrounding trees and buildings.

The portability criteria is why I've restricted myself to 10" as a maximum aperture.

[Chris H]

Have you thought about making a small platform out of concrete blocks you could easily raise the dob up to what ever height you like make a circular platfrom out of decking for you to stand on with the block platform in the middle and you could go as high as you like.

[swamp thing]

Hi

You could also make your own Dobsonian mount. That way you could make the sides as high as you like as long as they're braced. That's what i would do.

Nice and cheap that way too.

Regards Steve