EQ or Dob?

[davehunt]

Although the GEM under my Celestron 130EQ is cheap and cheerful,and very difficult to balance,I have become quite attached to the slow motion cables.Is this a feature I would miss on a Dobsonian,which I have been investigating after a months struggle carting the EQ and pod around the garden?Might I wish I had gone for a decent equatorial,like the EQ5 I hear so much about? Would it be daft of me to get a decent EQ for my cheap Newtonian? HELP!!!!

[twotter]

Nudging a dob is simple and intuitive. With wide angle eyepieces it becomes even simpler. Setting up is just a case of carrying out into the garden and giving the OTA time to cool.

I don't track an object, instead I let it drift gently across my field of view.

Tis wonderful

[Orion_the_Hunter]

Nudging a dob is simple and intuitive. With wide angle eyepieces it becomes even simpler. Setting up is just a case of carrying out into the garden and giving the OTA time to cool.

I don't track an object, instead I let it drift gently across my field of view.

Tis wonderful

I completely agree. The simplicity of a Dob is very pleasurable.

I could see myself getting frustrated with an EQ mount.

[kniclander]

I'm a big dob fan but moon and planets is my thing and I'm starting t wonder of something with slowmo would be better. ideally an alt-az with slowmo controls. tbh, the moon thru my 10"dob is not noticeably better than in my 127 mak except at very high powers but then tracking does (for me) become an issue. the dob of course is unbeatable for dso's.

[davehunt]

I like the concept of intuitive"nudging",I must admit.Does your average Dob gently glide round it's axes,then? I will looking at the SW 8" probably.

[CGolder]

I see no need to have a eq mount if you are visual observer, Alt/Az just ticks all the visual boxes. So for me its Dobsonian for sure.

They do normally guide pretty well, but can be upgraded with bearings and lubricants to adjust for what you like.

[Orion_the_Hunter]

I like the concept of intuitive"nudging",I must admit.Does your average Dob gently glide round it's axes,then? I will looking at the SW 8" probably.

Yes it does. Quite smooth & easy movement and stays still when it's supposed to.

HTH

Ed

[Damo636]

I have a 100mm refractor mounted on a EQ5 and it is rock solid. It would be perfect for your 130. On the other hand, they cost around £220. The Skywatcher Skyliner 150mm Dob can be bought for around £175-180. This would give you a nice increase in aperture and rock steady mount for less money. The slow motion cables on an equatoral mount make tracking an object easy providing the mount is reasonably polar aligned. The Dob is very simple as you basically nudge and pull it wherever you want to go. Food for thought...

[Damo636]

You would love the 200p. It was my first scope and still the most used. Fantastic bang for buck...

[Vargojones]

I thought a dob was a good way to start, and in a way it is...but... my current thoughts are going towards an eq with goto. Simply for the reason, that I appear to be rubbish at star hopping. This may be in part due to the dire LP in Swindon, but i also have a desire to image as well which is somewhat tricky with a dob.

Just my 2p