Dobsonian question

Rubecula

I have an old and frankly quite battered 6" Newtonian that I bought second hand about 20 years ago.

I am considering getting a Dobsonian, but I have no experience of this kind of scope and I wondered if anyone here has one.

Not sure yet what size or make to go for, so any advice would be most welcome. I do not actually do much photography so that is not a prime concern.

I may be interested in a motorised mount depending on price, but that is not a priority.

Basically I am looking for a little advice to help me with my choice, and all advice would be gratefully received.

dbran

Hi

If you get a dob you will find that for aperture they are relatively cheap. So if you want to get one you should try to go for the most aperture that you can afford. In that way you will get the most bang for your buck and will be able to see the most stuff.

Getting a motorised dobsonian can turn out to be quite expensive. There are servo cat systems that you can get that add motors to the set up which will allow the scope to track and to goto objects.

But what people tend to use with dobs is not "goto" but actually "pushto". That is a computer system that tells you where to push the scope in a direction to find an object and to keep it centered. It seems to work quite well and is much cheaper.

Hope this helps


dbran

rccaulfield

I've a 12 inch dob with a push to system- ask away!

Rubecula

Excellent help guys. thank you all.

Question: If I want to move up from my current scope, what size Dob should I go for?

Question: If I can afford it, what would you suggest to be the maximum usable size for an amateur?

Question: If I decide against a Dob, what other scopes would you suggest?

rccaulfield

Rubecula wrote: »

Excellent help guys. thank you all.

Question: If I want to move up from my current scope, what size Dob should I go for?

Question: If I can afford it, what would you suggest to be the maximum usable size for an amateur?

Question: If I decide against a Dob, what other scopes would you suggest?

1-An 8 or 10 inch dob will give great images for deep field stuff and you may never upgrade from these!

2-The 12 inch i have is heavy and i just about manage it on my own without hurting myself and wud consider myself fairly strong so depends on that really tbh! The alt/az mount is just as heavy and gets bigger with the scope so bare that in mind!
3-cant answer as i never studied the others, the price went way too high to get the same images. Main thing to bear in mind is the Dobs are spectacular for deep field stuff but when you put it on a planet the earth turns so fast and its gone in seconds, with practice you can stay with them but its not ideal. But you're saving so much money! Have you looked around the websites for a make/price?

Kersh

Question: If I want to move up from my current scope, what size Dob should I go for?

-
As big as you can manage. I have a 12" GSO dob and i bring it out to the garden in 2 pieces, the base, then the tube. It usually requires very little collimating night to night. Even with a fan to help cooling, it takes at least an hour to have it ready to view through with any clarity. Plus the objects move out of the fov very quick, esp with higher mag eps. But its so well worth it

Question: If I can afford it, what would you suggest to be the maximum usable size for an amateur?

The 12". I imagine a 16" would be difficult enough to manage.

Question: If I decide against a Dob, what other scopes would you suggest?

I also have a 10" Meade LXD snt, which I use for photography mostly. Its a little more manageable than the 12", but the mount is very heavy. The goto is great for when im dragging various family members out to the garden, as the object stays central while thay all take turns having a look. Real handy.

I also sometimes put an 8" SCT on the LXD mount, its very compact and manageable with the short tube. Focusing can be a pain, a little awkward and a little image shift, but its grand. Again the goto on the mount makes it easy to show off the night sky to people.

Hope this helps.

Where are you located, (if its not still Anglesey of course)you can come view mine, and have a poke around them if you like, they are in Swords.

Calibos

Orion US (As opposed to Orion OPtics UK) and Skywatcher now do Goto tracking dobs 8,10,12,14 and 16 inches IIRC

Rubecula

Kersh, that is a very generous offer indeed. However I am still on Anglesey and I expect I will be here for a long time to come. (Well I hope so because I work here LOL)

Calibos I will look up the Orion stuff, thank you for that.