New Skywatcher Syn Scan Dobs

[DJ N]

I just noticed that the Skywatcher homepage is now advertising the new Syn Scan Go To Flex Dobs!! And I see that they are available in 8, 10, 12.........and wait for it........ 14 inch configurations!!!

http://skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/index2.php


Hopefully they might be available soon.

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Well thats fantastic! Like having a type of argo navis and servo cat on your dob. The 14 inch configuration will be interesting. Reviews of the XX14i on CN talks about how the upsized XX12i structure is insufficent for the LTA.
If its true and not pedantic nit-picking, hopefully these structural issues will be addressed.

Thanks for the info.

[toryglen-boy (Duncan)]

WoooHooo !!!

i gotta get me one of these

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I like what they are saying about that you can manually push it around without loosing alignment.

[Satchmo]

Yes. I would much rather have that feature on a Dob , that I could just push it manually to wherever I want and just let go and it tracked. The Sidereal Technology drives have this feature and its called `Drag'n'track' . GOTO is way overrated anyway.

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

ehhhhh "Drag'n'track" aye! Best of both worlds really! I was thinking of a very expensive CPC1100 or LX200 12" for my 11-12 inch aperture goto/track telescope for my visual work. But this is looking to be a brilliant and much cheaper alternative, so now Ill be able to get some decent eyepieces!

[DJ N]

Should be very interesting to see the prices once they are "officially" announced in Australia. I noticed on some of the UK sites, the price premium of the goto version is only a couple of hundred pounds over the stock standard dob.

I suppose the other dilemma would be whether the price premium of the 14 over the 12 would be worth the extra aperture!! As a comparison, the Orion xx14 is $1000 more than the xx12, which is around 50%..........

[mic_m (Michael)]

Thanks for that info.

The 8-12” SynScan dobs have actually been on the Sky-Watcher website for some time and in some places they have already been sold to the public. Here is a short review of the 12” SynScan that was posted on CN a few months ago.

A 14” Sky-Watcher dob was advertised back in 2008 when the collapsible dobs were first released (here is the original ad), there has been no further official mention of them by Sky-Watcher until now. However, it should be noted that there is still no 14” dob in the dob product category (where all the other dobs are including the newer Synscan 8-12” versions).

Hopefully the reason that Sky-Watcher has taken so long to release their 14” is because they are doing something innovative with the design, not because they are trying to force an unstable configuration. While I look forward to seeing Sky-Watchers offering, I can see several potential problems with a 14” that is designed in the same stead as the 8-12” versions. The collapsible design looks as if it is about at its limits with the 12; can you imagine an Orion XX14i connected with struts instead of trusses – the Flextube name may ring true for the 14 if it is that configuration.

While the collapsible three strut design used by Sky-Watcher certainly has the advantage of fast setup and perhaps less of a need for collimation than conventional truss dobs, I think that a key benefit of the traditional truss design is that the scope can be moved in components. Because the sturts on the Sky-Watcher are fixed in place permanently this means one has to lift the weight and bulk of the UTA, LTA and the connecting struts in one go. While this may be OK for the smaller versions, in the 14” size range this might present a problem. In the past Sky-Watcher has used the same telescope OTAs that Synta manufacturers for Orion. If this is the case for the 14” the weight of the Sky-Watcher OTA would be about 30 kg (the weight of the assembled Orion 14” OTA), this could be quite a challenge to move about. It would be heavier than the heaviest component of the LB16 (26kg). Let’s hope that Sky-Watcher has engineered the design around these issues.

In a more general vein of discussion regarding the collapsible dobs, I have not yet seen a shroud, commercial or homemade, that fits the collapsible dobs properly. They seem to either sag into the light path or do not cover the area where the struts connect the LTA and UTA. Orion make a shroud for their XX12 and XX14, Meade make shrouds for their LB series (and now apparently include them with the purchase of the telescope). The Sky-Watcher Flextube dobs have been out for 1.5 years and Sky-Watcher is yet to offer a light shroud, which given the preceding is rather disappointing.

There is also the issue that none of the Sky-Watchers dobs have duel speed focusers, Sky-Watcher are really lagging behind on this front; Meade, GSO and Orion dobs all have duel speed focusers. Also, no Sky-Watcher dob comes with a fan, again Meade, GSO and Orion dobs all have fans as standard equipment. At 14” in particular a fan would be a real asset. While these issues have not been addressed in the new 8-12” scopes I hope that Sky-Watcher addresses some of these shortcomings for their 14”.

[mic_m (Michael)]

Originally Posted by DJ N

Should be very interesting to see the prices once they are "officially" announced in Australia. I noticed on some of the UK sites, the price premium of the goto version is only a couple of hundred pounds over the stock standard dob.

I suppose the other dilemma would be whether the price premium of the 14 over the 12 would be worth the extra aperture!! As a comparison, the Orion xx14 is $1000 more than the xx12, which is around 50%..........

While there is great variability in the price of astronomy equipment in Australia, I assume that this is due to the fact that stock is acquired at differing AUD conversion rates. I would hope that because the AUD is strong we would enjoy favourable and comparable prices to what are being offered overseas – there should be no reason to expect anything different for newly acquired stock.

The information on the pricing of the XX14i and the XX12i appears to be incorrect; the XX12i is US$1300 and the XX14i is US$1800, a US$500 difference, or a 38% (1800-1300/1300) increase between the two models. The price of the 12” SW collapsible is currently A$1199 at Andrews, so assuming that prices hold and that the Sky-Watcher pricing scales similarly to the Orion one might expect the price of the 14” SW to be around A$1654 (1199x1.38). If it is a well designed scope I think that would be a fair price.

[DJ N]

Originally Posted by mic_m

While there is great variability in the price of astronomy equipment in Australia, I assume that this is due to the fact that stock is acquired at differing AUD conversion rates. I would hope that because the AUD is strong we would enjoy favourable and comparable prices to what are being offered overseas – there should be no reason to expect anything different for newly acquired stock.

The information on the pricing of the XX14i and the XX12i appears to be incorrect; the XX12i is US$1300 and the XX14i is US$1800, a US$500 difference, or a 38% (1800-1300/1300) increase between the two models. The price of the 12” SW collapsible is currently A$1199 at Andrews, so assuming that prices hold and that the Sky-Watcher pricing scales similarly to the Orion one might expect the price of the 14” SW to be around A$1654 (1199x1.38). If it is a well designed scope I think that would be a fair price.

With regards to the pricing, I was actually comparing the domestic prices. I noticed that Sirius Optics have the XX12i for $1995 and the XX14i for $2995, thus my rough 50% "penalty" for additional 2 inches.

[sejanus (Gavin)]

it's up on andrews if you haven't noticed

NEW! Genuine Skywatcher Flex-tube AUTO-TRACKING Dobsonians

Incredible Skywatcher Sale!

Auto-track 250mm (10")..$1299
Last few!

Auto-track 300mm (12")..$1999
Last few!

[DJ N]

Originally Posted by sejanus

it's up on andrews if you haven't noticed

Yeah, I noticed these, but I am pretty sure these are just tracking (not goto).