A little help to save a lot of pain later

[davidpretorius]

wheres's asimov, he has both!

[ving (David)]

yes indeed he does

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Originally Posted by ving

hi steve, sound like you had a rough deal with andrews I take it that you went to them with your blemishes and got a negative response?

No, nothing like that. I did not bother to mention it. I did not think it was worth the hassle. And it was some weeks after I got it that I discovered the flaws, when I took the mirror out for centre spotting.

Had I bought from elsewhere, I might have asked the dealer about it, but Lee at Andrews being so busy all the time and the shop not really being an astronomy shop, there's not much point.

[Rastis]

Hi Chaps,
Just to stir the pot a little, I have a **** Smith 45 dollar refractor that smokes the neighbours 114mm reflector (tasco). Looking at the full moon and Jupiter the refractor is heaps clearer, though the Tasco mount is far better.I was surprised how well the **** Smith special performed considering what it costs. Be a bugger if I buy a 10 incher and its not as good!
Have a nice day.

[square_peg114GT]

Originally Posted by Starkler

A properly set up, cooled and collimated 8 inch gso dob should wipe the floor with any 4 inch refractor on planetary detail.

So much of this refractor vs reflector myth comes from the old days where good newt mirrors where rare and very expensive and the old conclusions get regurgitated so often as to be beleived as irrefutable fact. The other problem is that a lot of newt owners dont bother to check their collimation.

What he said.


And times 2 for DSOs.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

I still have the Dork Smith 114mm reflector (just like your neighbour's tasco), and it is a very poor quality telescope. I agree the 60mm refractor is much better. But an 8 or 10" Dob (and I guess the 6" too) are well designed scopes and will show you lots more detail.

[aaronsadler]

I woudn't say that, mine does pretty good

[ving (David)]

Originally Posted by janoskiss

No, nothing like that. I did not bother to mention it. I did not think it was worth the hassle. And it was some weeks after I got it that I discovered the flaws, when I took the mirror out for centre spotting.

Had I bought from elsewhere, I might have asked the dealer about it, but Lee at Andrews being so busy all the time and the shop not really being an astronomy shop, there's not much point.

you shouldnt not ask cause the guys busy. you'll find lee a reasonable guy if you talk to him.

[astro_south (Andrew)]

Rastis

There is no fear that a 10" scope wouldn't "smoke" a $45 DS refractor and a 114mm Tasco. The other critical thing about looking at the planets (and recognising detail) is resolution. The bigger the aperture, the more the resolving power. The contrast loss from the central obstruction (secodary mirror) really only holds for similar or near similar apertures. For instance my 4" short tube achromat refractor shows me about the same level of detail on the planets as my 6" f5 newt reflector. My 12.5" newt reflector "smokes" both of these on any night looking at the planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mars) and the moon.

[slice of heaven]

Oldboy.
Aperture rules.
A larger aperture will resolve more detail than a smaller aperture.
It's just a matter of deciding how big and what configuration you'll be comfortable with.