Explore Scientific New 12" Ultralight Dobsonian

[AG Hybrid]

At 30 Kg's fully assembled I wouldn't call it an ultra light myself. It folds up into 2 box's so maybe ultra portable. But, damn. I like it. I could see myself buying it. Supposedly the focuser fits the new ES Coma corrector nicely, which I have just bought.

Linky Linky below.

http://www.explorescientific.co.uk/en/Telescope-optics/Explore-Scientific-Ultra-Light-Dobsonian-12.html

[glend]

Good to see more competition in the dob sector. I would think they need to put abit more info into the specs, because the resolution is not great for a 12". They claim 0.43 verse 0.38 for a GSO 12".
Some detail on the mirror/optics would be helpful.

BTW, both Lightbridge and GSO are releasing new dobs (18" and 20" repectively) later this year. It will be interesting to see what sort of design they can achieve, certainly not a solid tube at that size.

[AG Hybrid]

I wouldn't worry about angular resolution difference between 12" mirrors from manufacturers. Atmospheric conditions would limit actual resolution long before you reach the theoretical resolution of a 12"+ scope.



Do you mean Meade and GSO? They both use the same optics. Sky watcher is bringing an 18" out as well.

What I really like is the dual fans specifically located to pull the warm air away from the mirror's boundary layer. Where a rear fan will cool a mirror without baffling around the front of the mirror the boundary layer is largely undisturbed.

I actually did this with my 12". I added a ring baffle just above the primary mirror that pushes air drawn into the my OTA from the rear of the mirror with a 140mm fan over the mirror disturbing the boundary layer. In effect it makes my 12" usable immediately after setup and collimation. I've been able this summer to take my scope from inside my house or garage. Set it up outside, collimate and be able to immediately pick out E and F star in the Trapezium in Orion at just 110x magnification. I was even able to split Sirius at 150x with little effort after a couple min after setup. I tend to just leave the fan running all night. My fan is not connected/touching my mirror cell. So there is no added vibrations. Even at high power.

Concepts like this on what will probably be a mass produced telescope shows just how much thought went into its design. How exciting will it be if they release a 16"+?

Can't wait. Exciting times we live in.

[casstony]

The bottom end looks so much better than the agricultural setups on cheaper dobs - long overdue. I wonder how long before they'll be available? I'd be interested in buying one, but on the other hand there might be a lot of cheap used 12" scopes hitting the classifieds soon :)

[MattT]

The ES Coma Corrector??? Tell me more please Adrian if you can. I really can't do coma being a refractorholic and I'm not paying a huge amount for the TV P2 but the ES caught my eye….any real world review??? I want one for my 10" Newt. I do have the TV P1 version like the GSO but haven't got round to using it properly…don't think I ever will either.
Totally off topic I know :rolleyes:
Much appreciation in advance.
Matt

[AG Hybrid]

It has not arrived yet. I bought it from the US and they said they need it to be drop shipped from the factory/supplier/distributor or however that works.

Ill do an unboxing and post it up here with a first light review. Even though I'm only using an F/5 scope it corrects down to F3. I still notice coma and field curvature in my 100 degree eyepieces. I wouldn't call it obvious but I notice it enough to want a flat and coma free field. The 30mm 82 is a bit fish bowl like if I'm honest. I expect the coma corrector to clean it up nicely.

Might not receive it for a couple more weeks.

[mental4astro]

I know of another new 12" scope that's only 20kg... and one box plus carbon fibre poles...

[barx1963]

Alex
You are going to have to stop teasing us!!

Malcolm

[MattT]

That would be great Adrian. I'm so used to sharp right to the edge my 6" f12 and other refractors that I must have the same with a reflector…..not that I'm fussy or anything :lol2:

I might get my hands on one if I can too.

Another thread another time :)

Go Alex….nothing like a bit of mystery to drum up interest :thumbsup:

[AG Hybrid]

You gonna let test it before you unveil it to everyone ;)

Its alright. No pressure to say yes.

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah you'd better spill the beans or the eyepiece gets it :lol:

29kg is only the weight of the EQ6 plus one counterweight...

[AG Hybrid]

Yeah 29 kilo's is 25% less weight then my current 12 scope. Some good weight loss there. Also, that's 29 kilo's total. It also breaks up into many smaller pieces to distribute the weight.

[Camelopardalis]

Now if only I could lose 25%, 900€ would be a bargain :lol:

What are the odds of us being able to get these here, you know, while Alex is keeping the cats in the bag ;)

[AG Hybrid]

If I was to buy it I doubt I would get it from a EU vendor. I would wait for it to arrive at US vendors first. Freight is a bit cheaper.

[Satchmo]

Use a Paracor in your Newt .

[killswitch]

I like it, it comes in a nice and small package.

If i can get it the near the same price as the 12" skywatcher id consider it.

[MattT]

Mark, I do have a Paracoor which needs par focal rings on eyepieces so they sit at the right spot etc, and it does do pinpoint to the edge, very nice. The only minus is adding new eyepieces and the resulting mucking about. An adjustable top would be so much easier, and at US$299 + post thats seems pretty good to me.

The ES dob is a nice looking scope, just to get back to the topic.
Matt

[glend]

Hang on, where did you see Televue Paracor's Type IIs for $299? Ok I see it was the ES Coma Corrector for that price. I found it on the net, and I look forward to your review.

[MrB]

I think it's the ES HR coma corrector that is 299

[Camelopardalis]

Can't we heckle VTI into getting a few and save the shipping? :D

I'm sure it's not a coincidence that their coma corrector arrived on the scene recently ;)

[AG Hybrid]

To be honest. VTI dont even sell half of ES's products. Scopes, mounts or eyepieces.
E.g. I would like a 40mm ES 68. I don't believe they ever stocked them. Or the 25mm 100 you have. I'm not holding my breath that they will bring a 12" dob either.

I wouldn't mind being proven wrong though.

[Camelopardalis]

Especially given no hints of other options ;)

[mental4astro]

Adrian got to see THE PROJECT last night :)

[mental4astro]

All will be revealed at the IIS Astro Camp this April :)

[Camelopardalis]

Nuttin like kicking a guy when he's down :sadeyes: :lol:

[barx1963]

What about us poor sods that can't get to the IIS camp?;)

How 'bout a little private sneak preview for us?:question:

[AG Hybrid]

No, I had a really good demonstration. It's really something unique. Alex put serious thought into this scope design. I am quite confident you will not find a production telescope quite like this one anywhere on earth.

Some really clever innovations.

I'll be buying one at the end of the year.

[PeterHA]

Hi All,

As we all are waiting for the moment to see the design here an overseas design which is quite interesting when looking at the design details, the text is in German but the images show a lot of clever design detail like no base board.
http://www.deepsky-visuell.de/ATM/20/Bau20.htm
I know the owner of it and it is extremely compact and with 30 kg altogether quite good for a 20" and no ladder required!
The 28" on the website is only 50 kg including tracking platform.
Cheers

[Camelopardalis]

Just watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNpNmVsUzM4

For the first time since I've been here, I've felt envious of them up there :sadeyes: looks a nice scope. Only the 12" is shown, but a 16" is talked about too...

At least we can take solace they won't be able to use it with the weather they've been having this winter :lol:

[Astro_Bot]

I'm starting to get interested now. That's a design that addresses most of my reservations about mass produced dobs.

[MattT]

Ohhh like the GEM….loks real nice. I could go a biggish dob too….Alex have you got any prices???? A nice 18" would do :thanx:
Adrian the 40mm ES 68º is so good I sold all my 100º things. Thanks to Astro bot for selling it to me :D
Matt

[Astro_Bot]

No worries, thanks for buying it.

It's a great eyepiece and was the best of my four 40mm eyepieces (that I had at one time). But it was too big for my eyepiece case and I kept forgetting to take it with me, plus it was the only eyepiece that needed additional counterbalancing. There was no point in keeping it if I never used it ...

[AG Hybrid]

More news. They have a 10" and 16" as well.

Linky Linky (http://www.astrotreff.de/pop_printer_friendly.asp?TOPIC_ID=1 59009)

They look good.

[AG Hybrid]

Yeah. Video already posted.

[Camelopardalis]

Isn't that the same one I posted above? :P

[casstony]

Hopefully the ES Dobs will force Synta and GSO to make decent lower ends for their scopes. The chipboard and circular ground boards are just lazy design.

[AG Hybrid]

Yeah but no one reads your posts... burnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.






Yeah I missed it. I'll change the link to kittens and puppies instead.:lol:

[Camelopardalis]

\/\/

[N1]

Just to add some info - I made an enquiry recently re the 10" ES truss dob (my solid tube is great, but too great for travel in small car with other people etc.). They deliver to OZ and NZ, arrives on a pallet, delivery cost is 75 Euros for NZ and probably similar to Australia.

Ordering from, say, Germany, deduct 19% GST from prices shown here.

http://www.explorescientific.co.uk/en/Telescope-optics/?_ga=1.116560646.1237529356.1425003 156

Not that bad a deal it would seem, especially the 10", which might just scrape in below the $A1000 customs threshold.