10" GSO Dob thoughts

[kosh]

Hi all,

I'm still looking for a new scope and i think i've settled for a large(ish)
dobsonian for now.

Does anyone know about the GS dobs sold at Andrews comms?
The 10" looks good but I don't know about the difference in the
BK-7 versions vs the standard version. At $100 difference in price,
is the BK-7 worth it?

Any opinions appreciated.

Thanks.

[davidpretorius]

I have the bk-7 and the crayford.

The bk-7 from a noobie point of view is no different. Collimation and other factors would drown out any difference that could be noticed by having bk-7 or not.

The best thing is the crayford focusser - a simple must have and if there is a fan included then that is great too.

The $100 for the crayford is worth it on its own, the other features are little bonuses.

THey are a great scope.

Are you able to afford the 12"???

and are you able to take a drive to snake valley for a few hours to come and look at a heap of scopes 8, 10 & 12" dobs, sct's. It would be the best try before you buy you can get!!

[ving]

the 10 incher is a good scope :)
the extra $100 for the crayford focuser is good too.

as for the glass, unless you live in the snowy mountains bk7 isnt needed. its all to do with how the glass reacts to temperature fluxuations.

[ballaratdragons]

Kosh, as Davo said above: If you can get away this weekend and come to the Snake Valley Star camp you can try out lots of the 'Andrews' GS dobs. There will be several sizes.

The camp is only 20 minutes from Ballarat and a great way to learn HEAPS about telescopes, EP's, viewing, etc etc etc.

Ring me about the Camp if you want to: 0418 425 207 anytime until about midnight.

Check out this link for more info: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=4907

[rmcpb]

The 10" is a great scope but I would be more worried about the focuser (get the Crayford) than the type of glass. Your scope will reach ambient temperature within an hour if you just put it outside before you want to start observing.

Great value scope which will last you for years :)

[kosh]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I would certainly like to come to snake valley but i'm working tonight
and have obligations pretty much all weekend. I can however probably make
it on either Saturday or Sunday evenings from about 6-7pm onwards for a few hours. I don't mind the drive but I don't really know anyone and I am in-between scopes so I have nothing to bring & I don't really want to be cutting into other peoples veiwing time or making a nuisance of myself.

Is this ok? :o

David, i would love a 12" scope but the price starts to get to the range where i could buy the 8" GS newt on an EQ5 w/2axis drives for $999 and that would give me the option of some photography. The higher price defeats my reasons for buying a dob imo.

[Striker]

Kosh.....your presence at the star party or any star party will be welcomed...thats the idea of star parties...if anyone considers you a nuisance for wanting to look through a scope then they shouldn't be at a star party.

Go and try some equipment....and enjoy.

[kosh]

ok cool. :)

I guess I just feel a little awkward just strolling up like that...

[asimov]

Hell, don't worry about that!:) like striker said, If your stepping on toes by wanting a look thru a telescope at a star party, then their the one that shouldn't have bothered turning up....not you! I guarantee this won't happen, all great people in this forum & at the snake valley star party! I had my car packed ready to go when Murphy stepped in & said 'no sorry asimov, but you ain't goin':sad:

When you get there, say g'day from asimov for me, ok?? :prey2:

[kosh]

;) no problem.

[RAJAH235]

Hi kosh. :hi: Just arrive there after dark with your lights on high beam. They'll make you feel 'right at home'. :P :poke:



Just kidding!
You're sure to get all the advise you require @ the camp, kosh.
Enjoy. :D L.
ps. Tell Ken that you've got my permission to use his 12" DOB for the night......:P

[kosh]

Rajah i'll ensure that I use the "ultra-white light" globes in case it's
not bright enough ;).

But seriously, seeing as i'm looking at $750 or so for a 10" dob, i'm wondering whether the 8" maksutov with dual axis motors that andrews are selling,
i think for $1399, might not be worth the extra wad of cash?

I would eventually like to take some photos through it, and i'm not sure I want to have a second scope just for that. I guess i just don't know how deep i'll get into the hobby.

[acropolite]

Kosh, an 8 inch newt on an EQ5 with motor drives is a lot of dollars short of giving you options for photography. There's more to astrophotography than a couple of motors. The skyscan option for goto and tracking add over a grand to that figure. I would also be very reluctant to be a test pilot for the new 8 inch Mak until some solid reviews appear out there. A ten or 12 inch dob will allow much better viewing however with little added expense.

[RAJAH235]

Kosh, it might cost a little more, but why not check out Bintel for your t'scope.
http://www.bintel.com.au/
Diff models/makes/quality etc etc. + professional info.
Just a thought. :D L.

[kosh]

Thanks guys.

Weather didn't look good from home, so decided not to risk the trip to
camp, but i have finally bought a scope!

Just ordered the 10" GSO Deluxe, so eager for delivery.

My apologies for the anticipated new scope bad weather. ;)

[ving]

thats ok, you live far enuff away not to effect me! ;)
congrats!

[rmcpb]

Still doesn't explain who bought the gear in the Sydney region. Been lousy for days :)

BTW Kosh you will love the scope, now for the mods!!

[ving]

sorry rob. must be the observing seat i built! ;)

[RAJAH235]

Great choice, kosh. You'll have many enjoyable nights with it. :thumbsup:
What!!!! We get all this lousy weather just because ving builds a $10.00 Ob. chair?????? Ving, please don't *buy* anything for at least the next year. :poke: :P :D L.
ps. kosh, did you get/have a 'planisphere' & red LED torch?

[kosh]

Yeah I bought a book titled "The night Sky Atlas" some months ago and
it came with a decent size southern planisphere, and I picked up an red LED
torch from Roger at BATSC here in melb so i'm all set!

I also have some like Cartes du Ciel and one i really like, Stellarium.
Stellarium doesn't have control abilities for a drive, but is real pretty to use, at least for freeware :).

[rmcpb]

Is now the time to start pushing on your mods? We all have lists as long as our arms of mods we have done to our GS scopes ;)

[kosh]

I got it and assembled it. Man it's huge!

I don't really have any mods that i can think of yet, I have a 1x LED finder
i may put on instead of the 8*50 RA one.

I also have the no bearing plate problem. I have 3 white smooth squares
stapled to the base but there is still alot of friction. I think the chipboard will
wear quite quickly. :confuse2:

I also received a pair of 10*32 binos in the package so something else to play with. ;)

Any suggestions for mods?

[davidpretorius]

Well done Kosh!


Here's a mod!

Not sure how the jack daniels and coke and pineapple breezer will go advertising Mick Pinners dob buggy.

This one has the optional wedge attachment (for eq movement) and the computer stand.

That dangly bit is where i have attached a 1.8 degree stepper motor for focussing.

I also have a very expensive dew shield for the finder scope!

My eyes are closed as it was very dark, it has nothing to do with the jack daniels!

[Dave47tuc]

The best mod of all (IMHO :) )

The Argo Navis DSC. go to http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/

Pics below are the AN on my 10" Dob. How good are they ask Geoff or Mike :confuse3: They used my scope at the Star party.

[davidpretorius]

yes Mr Tuc47, that is a very good mod! (although who needs that when you are there with your green laser pointing out m31!!! you are an excellent orator and teacher - thanks for all the help) Are you up for sale so we can velcro you to a scope??????

[davidpretorius]

what is the total cost of the setup for the argo navis for 10" dob, website is not quite straight forward?

[rmcpb]

Kosh,

Don't get too carrried away with mods just yet. Lots of using is the way to go at present, you have a beautiful scope just the way it is. Keep it collimated, put it out a good half hour before you are going to use it, make a simple dew shield for you finder out of cardboard and enjoy it. After a while you will decide what has to be done but then just ask and we can help make your scope into a Frankenstein :wink2:

BTW if you have dark skies I agree with only putting the 1x finder on your scope, I have taken my finder scope off and only ever use the Telrad.

Keep looking up :)

[davidpretorius]

yes, collimation, I was lucky enough to have the experts show me how. BUT a big thing to remember and Bird bought the subject up. Temperature, temperature, temperature.

You can do all the right things and leave your scope out for 1/2 hour and everything is fine, but what if the temp drops by one degree quite quickly???

John came over at the camp and kindly put his 22mm nagler in my scope. It didn't look very good at all. Was it collimation?? The answer ended up being no!. We did tweak the collimation, but the scope was already collimated and was viewing well an hour before. The answer was that the temp had dropped more than 1 degree and therefore all the mirrors were 1 or more degrees higher than the ambient temp.

So collimation is very important, but make sure you don't go fiddling with the collimation unless you know that the temperature has been steady for a good half hour etc.

It made a huge difference in my 10" scope.

[Starkler]

$978 including encoders, mount hardware and power and serial cables shipped. As I have most of it already im just buying the computer.



I might have to complete the fan mod i was working on :confuse3:

[Dave47tuc]

:rolleyes: as for being for sale :eek: get the AN it does not talk back :P

Thanks Dave. ;)

[RAJAH235]

kosh, well done on your choice. :thumbsup:

Just make sure that the 'staples' are punched down below the Teflon pads surface. If not, they will scratch the melamine coating & cause probs. later. Should ride on the Teflon only.
Also, don't use any kind of lubricant. (eg; Armourall or the like). Keep the surfaces clean & dry.
If the movement feels a bit stiff/heavy, then try backing off the centre bolt a bit.
If you wanted to make sure the nut doesn't come loose, apply some clear nail varnish to it & thread, before nipping it up. Much cheaper than 'Loctite'.
Should have ~5/10 mm free play between the base board & top plate.
HTH. :D L.

[kosh]

I think I might just enjoy it for a while. Just need clear skies!

I would like to look at a Palm system in the future. If there is a program out
there for PalmOS and some way to link up the encoders it would be good. Anyone know?

[Starkler]

Google up "Dave Ek" decoder board, and PalmDSC (which is a free program)

[kosh]

Thanks Geoff.

[kruscica]

Good to know, Rajah. I've just been assembling the base for my own 10in dob (lucky us the rain hasn't bucketed!) and I was thinking the nut wasn't tight enough - there's not much thread past its head (if at all) and a decent amount of play between the top and ground board. Sounds like I'm ok.

Phil

[davidpretorius]

i have been playing a lot with bearings etc . Bunnings sell m10 (10mm) threaded rod for about $3??? from memory. You can cut with a hacksaw to suit.

If you are going to cut, make sure you put a nut on the rod first so that once cut, you can undo the nut over your cut to help make sure you have not de threaded it