Hey Martin,
I am still new to testing scopes but I have found the 12inch dob with motors the limit of carrying for myself. At home I use a trolley to move scopes 12inch and above to save my back. Even lifting as a whole kit setup is a killer. I need to disassemble the primary and base at least to move any distance, mainly for a dark site.
1/ Could I manage the 12” myself on a flat bed trolley or parcel trolley with rubber tyres due to the additional weight ? A trolley will work and be able to handle a 12inch scope size and bulk. I just use a flat trolley that I reverse the handles to drop down to the ground.
2/ Does the 12” have a clear advantage over the 10” in regard to observing power on small DSO objects, planetary and detailed lunar terrain. I have found the visual difference for me not as significant coming from a 10", objects were brighter but the weight and bulk for me came in to play.
3/ Being a collapsible dob is there an issue with stray light ( street light 20 metres away ) crossing the open pathway of the optical tube ? ( I’m not in a totally dark site ). As Patrick mentioned, a light shroud will help in this case, which a relatively cheap.
4/ How do you level such a beast for good az alt alignment ( my driveway has a 5 to 10 degree slope ? I have found non level ground effects the goto alignment. My Orion dob that has a variation of synscan was way off until I propped some yellow pages under it to level it.
5/ Does the 12” goto use the same 12 volt 5 amp power supply as say a HEQ5 mount ? I just use a 12 volt 28amh battery to power the goto system. I have used supercheap auto batteries but found them variable in winter. The power will cut out and I have the 7amh to 19amh car charger packs.
If you have any questions, happy to give my personal experience if that helps.
