Lightbridge vs SW Flextube?

DaveO (David) · #1 01-09-2009, 09:24 PM

Learned opinions (and others) sought!

Okay, I am very happy with my EQ6 these days, but it is still a lot of work to set up, especially for school nights and the like. So I have been considering branching out into dob territory. I also have a 10 yo who I want to hook on something more approachable than a GEM.

I am considering the 12" Lightbridge on one hand and the 12" SkyWatcher Flextube on the other. In both cases I would want to put an ArgoNavis on it so it is a "push to".

Ideally, I don't want to tinker with the scope any more than absolutely necessary. It will be used purely for visual work.

Can those of you who have used both or either comment on the build quality, optics and general usability of these two scopes? Also portability (as I know I'm the one who's going to move it, not the 10 yo!!)

If there are other options I should consider, feel free to mention (and no, the budget doesn't stretch to an SDM or Obsession!!).

Starkler (Geoff) · #2 02-09-2009, 02:39 AM

You can read my thoughts here.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...95&postcount=2

DaveO (David) · #3 02-09-2009, 06:28 AM

Geoff, thanks for the reply. I didn't find that thread when I did a search, but it is a big help.

Do you know if David sorted out the Az looseness and the Alt stiffness?

toryglen-boy (Duncan) · #4 02-09-2009, 11:00 AM

have a look in the reviews, i posted a review on my 12" SW flextube.

bmitchell82 (Brendan) · #5 02-09-2009, 02:02 PM

theres a 10" SW solid tube (very handlable for younger people) with argo navis going for 1300... which is a ABSOLUTE STEEL. considering that the scope is in the 800 dollar range and AN is around the 1000 maybe a bit more depending (not such a lerned person in that district). have a look at it.

DaveO (David) · #6 02-09-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toryglen-boy

have a look in the reviews, i posted a review on my 12" SW flextube.

Duncan

Thanks for that - I had forgotten all about the reviews section!

The review was most helpful, and I am starting to lean towards the SW. Nobody has said much about it to turn me off yet.

DaveO (David) · #7 02-09-2009, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmitchell82

theres a 10" SW solid tube with argo navis going for 1300... which is a ABSOLUTE STEEL.

Brendan, thanks for the tip, but if I'm going to buy a second scope, I think I want to get a 12" - I already have the 10" on the GEM, and I can't quite justify the 16". Decisions, decisions....

mozzie (Peter) · #8 02-09-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveO

Duncan

Thanks for that - I had forgotten all about the reviews section!

The review was most helpful, and I am starting to lean towards the SW. Nobody has said much about it to turn me off yet.

what a shame dave you didnt say anything at astrofest i was camped beside you with the van you could have had a look through my 8" coll-sw and had a look at the scope. hows your boy going know i hope everythings sorted out
mozzie

DaveO (David) · #9 02-09-2009, 04:51 PM

Peter

Strangely, I wasn't seriously planning anything at Astrofest (although there was a fellow with a dob for sale but it wasn't collapsible).

Then this week my wife announced her desire to purchase a digital piano! Given the cost of these things, the opportunity for significant brownie points (and expenditure budget to go with it) suddenly appeared!!!

The bullying issue is behind us thankfully, but another good reason for some father and son time at a scope. Thanks for asking.

Anyway, back to drooling over the reviews....

mozzie (Peter) · #10 02-09-2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveO

Peter

Strangely, I wasn't seriously planning anything at Astrofest (although there was a fellow with a dob for sale but it wasn't collapsible).

Then this week my wife announced her desire to purchase a digital piano! Given the cost of these things, the opportunity for significant brownie points (and expenditure budget to go with it) suddenly appeared!!!

The bullying issue is behind us thankfully, but another good reason for some father and son time at a scope. Thanks for asking.

Anyway, back to drooling over the reviews....

thats great to hear all is sorted with the young fellow yes time with the 2 of you and a dobby sounds good
mozzie

Screwdriverone (Chris) · #11 02-09-2009, 11:39 PM

Hi David,

I have a SW collapsible like Duncan and find it pretty much unbeatable in terms of setup and teardown.

I watched a colleague of my astronomy group packing up a lightbridge directly to his car which was behind him. In the time it took him to disassemble the scope and pack it into the boot, I had collapsed mine, put away all my eyepieces, packed the scope in the car (50m away) collapsed a work table, shut down and packed away my Laptop and packed everything away and then I returned to see him put the last piece of the LB in the boot.

Then I stood there watching him pack everything else away (yes, I DID offer to help)

I think he declined the offer as he was too envious of how easy it was to collapse and pack away my scope (literally 10 seconds to slide down the secondary, lock it in, another 15 secs to remove the handles, then 1 min to put it in the car).

So as a direct comparison, there was no contest. I tried his scope out and found it VERY heavy compared to mine, which is common because the SW has roller bearings on the AZ, but this slickness can be tightened by the centre bolt. In comparison, the teflon AZ bearing on the LB was like it was glued down and hard to move.

The optics of both were almost identical, I tried my Pentax 8.5mm in the LB and it had similar views to mine.

In summary, I recommend the Skywatcher, because of the simplicity of the truss design, operation, optics and price. Plus, it looks the goods too! If you get the Black one instead of the white one I have, it looks even better...!

My 8 year old has no problems "driving" my 12" SW, so your 10 yr old should find it easy too.

Hope this helps. (biased view, I know

)

Cheers

Chris

JethroB76 (Jeff) · #12 03-09-2009, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

I tried his scope out and found it VERY heavy compared to mine, which is common because the SW has roller bearings on the AZ, but this slickness can be tightened by the centre bolt. In comparison, the teflon AZ bearing on the LB was like it was glued down and hard to move.

It must been an older LB, AFAIK they have had roller bearings for the last few years

Screwdriverone (Chris) · #13 03-09-2009, 12:11 AM

Yes, you are right Jethro, it was. I know there are arguments for and against stiction etc, but I suppose I am used to mine, so the difference was tangible in this case. I can't comment on the newer ones with the roller bearings though...

Cheers

Chris

DaveO (David) · #14 03-09-2009, 06:20 AM

Chris

Thanks for the feedback. That is exactly what I was after, especially in terms of setup and tear down times.

I suspect that if I had been setup next to you guys, you would have driven home while I was still disassembling the GEM!!

Being able to quickly get started and pack up is important for the young kids, so this is a big factor for me.

Screwdriverone (Chris) · #15 03-09-2009, 09:59 AM

Hi Dave,

One thing you will need which is essential if you don't already have one is a laser collimator, with the flex tube I have found that it sometimes wanders (although, this is probably more to me not locking the primary mirror properly), so collimation is something I tend to do EVERY time I set it up.

Mostly its fine, but with the secondary visible through the truss poles, accurate collimation takes 20 seconds with the laser, so its well worth checking.

Cheers

Chris

DaveO (David) · #16 03-09-2009, 10:12 AM

No worries Chris. A laser collimator is just one of my many toys!! I also check my newt everytime I use it.

Starkler (Geoff) · #17 06-09-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveO

Do you know if David sorted out the Az looseness and the Alt stiffness?

Yes he did. He stuck some velcro material between the ground board and base board to add a little friction, and replaced the nylon alt bearing thingos with ball bearings. Fine result and I was disappointed when he sold the scope.