Which Dob should I get

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Hi,

I'm tossing up between a 12 Dob

I looked at Bintel, Saxon and GSO.

Which is the best one, Bintel and GSO seem to be the cheapest, Saxon is a little more expensive. They all seem to have similar specs on the website, but I'm not sure if one is better than another, what are people's thoughts?

[Kevnool (Kev)]

Buddy you,ll get better advice here than me but i got bintel 16' and a meade lightbridge 10' and happy with both of them ..but being new here stay clear of ebay cheap scopes...cheers Kev.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

The Skywatchers don't look bad either since they are collapsible. Would make the 12inch more portable!

I was reading on this forum for the GSO to wait until the tension adjustments come later in the year, how important is this, what is wrong with the current system.

This forum is really ace, just found it tonight!

[Kevnool (Kev)]

The GSO tension adjustments for ALT are here i have them on my scope and they are the best thing to happen to the DOB , then the argo-navis encoders (when become available)will be the icing on the cake..............only seen the collapsible ones in mags and i cant give no opinion on them.......yep your right about this forum it is a great place....cheers Kev.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

http://www.amazon.com/Orion-SkyQuest...6379475&sr=1-8

Is this the finder your talking about. With the $US almost the same it looks interesting. Problem is you'll get charged 10% duty for sure. Can't find this brand in Australia though, wonder what its ozzie equivalent is.

http://www.amazon.com/Meade-LightBri...6379697&sr=8-4

What's lightbridge like?

[HCR32 (Peter)]

Ring bintel they are an honest bunch of guys (Sydney) If it werent for them I would have had like 10 telescopes and no house to live in. Ask them the question just because it has bintel stamped on it doesnt mean they would want to sell it to you.

[Tandum (Robin)]

Bintel just remark GSO scopes so cross either of them off your list as they are the same.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Originally Posted by Tandum

Bintel just remark GSO scopes so cross either of them off your list as they are the same.

Hi, I'm in Melb, so basically if I want the GSO I just buy the bintel, since the GSO's seem to come from NSW shops I don't see any online from Melbourne?

GSO seems slightly cheaper then Bintel though?

[Tandum (Robin)]

Andrews has them for $749 -> http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm Bintel has them for $799 -> https://www.bintelshop.com.au/welcome.htm

Compare the 2 and see which has more extras. Eyepieces, diagonals, rightangle finderscopes etc etc. Then ring each and ask for a shipping price. It's not as expensive as you would think to get them shipped as they send out lots of crap and probably get shipping on the cheap.

Shop around, but those 2 are the cheapest you'll find I believe.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

So there is nothing really different between the quality of these Bintel (Taiwan) and the ones from Saxon (China)

Is the quality of the image any different, since the Saxon's are about $999 and I can't tell if there is a difference just looking at the specs.

[kinetic (Steve)]

Hi,

Just a quick perspective on the GSO-12 from Andrews....

I recently got one of these and am VERY impressed with the OTA
build quality.

My OTA is gloss white...looks beautiful and came with a range of
accessories to get you up and running: 5 Eyepeices (incl a 2") and
a bonus cheapie weatherstation (great gadget, not really for Oz but has
some handy functions).

The mirror quality on the 12 is pretty good, the crayford 2 speed focuser
is also a good quality product.

I have used it just twice in 3 weeks due to rain!
Jupiter was very clear and steady at mid to high powers even though
it wasn't a good night of seeing and the scope hadn't cooled down
to ambient when I used it.
Low power wide angle views with the 2 inch 32mm and 1.25 inch 25mm
of Scorp-Sagittarius areas of the milky way left me speechless after
using a homemade 8" F7 for about 25 years
Coma is fairly noticeable but not terrible.

Portability is ok but only if there are TWO people!
The tube is fairly heavy!
I wouldn't recommend it for one person setup unless you
manage the transit from car/ shed etc with some sort of
bodged up hand trolley dedicated to the job.

All up I think these scopes from Andrews and Bintel are an absolute
bargain, even if used for cannibalising parts, like I intend to, to make
a better scope from them ( I know that probably sounds crazy to some!)


I have ditched the Dob cradle and it is now on my main homemade
GEM mount.
See here:
http://mywebsite.bigpond.com/astrosteve/gso_12.jpg

Not affiliated with Andrews or Bintel btw.....

Steve

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

I've heard that sometimes the quality of the GSO's can be up and down compared to the Saxons? Has anyone had this problem at all?

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I don't think on average that you will see much measurable difference in quality between the Saxon and GSO/Bintel...of couse there may be lemons on occassion but it will be close. While I am not particularly familiar with the Saxon offering, I suspect that it will be a bit of Holden v Ford if you know what I mean...either are suitable transportation.

In either instance you are comparing things at the entry level scope offering and neither would be considered high end.

I have had a Bintel/GSO 8 inch Dob and enjoyed it for some time now...still works like a champ and in my opinion is a good value for money.

If you have not had a chance to do so yet, I encourage you since you are in Melbourne to stop by the Bintel store there and take a look yourself...this will give you a much better idea as to size, quality etc.

It will also give you a chance to talk to some pretty knowlegable folks at the store...and if you like what you can see you can go home with a telescope and save the shipping costs.

Again, I don't know your experience level (sorry I haven't read everything in this thread closely) but if this is a first scope for you I'd talk to the folks in Melbourne first and if possible get out to an observation night or two before spending your money.

Good Luck!

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Hi,

Yeah its just a first telescope. I've seen the Bintel shop, but the GSO has a special at the moment with more eyepieces, and with delivery its the same price as the Bintel.

I'm just worried that the Saxon that is about $200 more is better and the Bintel/GSO could have problems since they seem to be the cheapest ones. I guess it's better to buy locally just in case there is a problem it's hard to move these things around lol!

[Dog Star (Phil)]

Just to put in my tuppence worth;
Bought a 12" GSO from Andrews about 7 weeks ago. It's my first "real" scope and I couldn't be happier with it. Build quality seems pretty good to me and the bonus 5 eyepiece deal has given me a good range of ep's for exploring the sky straight out of the box.
Mine came with the 10:1 Crayford focuser and I've been told by those in the know that this is definitely the way to go as opposed to the standard focuser.
As Scott mentioned earlier; it's probably a Ford versus Holden situation and I for one don't operate on a Mercedes Benz budget.
Good luck with your choice. I'm sure you'll be more than happy whichever way you finally choose to go

[Kevnool (Kev)]

argh home from work and i see ya got lotsa advice .....now you`ve heard it all about the scopes, dont let the big set of eyepieces sway your judgement there cheap sets after you get your scope then i reckon you,ll be asking about the eyepieces now in this catergory you pay for what you get .....if there cheap well there cheap and if there expensive there better....cheers Kev.

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Originally Posted by Ibeentokeck

Hi,

Yeah its just a first telescope. I've seen the Bintel shop, but the GSO has a special at the moment with more eyepieces, and with delivery its the same price as the Bintel.

I'm just worried that the Saxon that is about $200 more is better and the Bintel/GSO could have problems since they seem to be the cheapest ones. I guess it's better to buy locally just in case there is a problem it's hard to move these things around lol!

The extra eyepieces are worth just a little more than you pay for them...and since you are paying nothing...well, that is my thought on that. I would not let those particular eyepieces sway my decision one way or another...

I'd encourage you to find others in your area and look through a few scopes before you buy if you can.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Yeah I think I need to find some scopes, all the retailers all seem to bag each other's products so it's really hard to know who is telling the truth. I didn't know that the telescope business was so cut throat, it just makes buying one quite tricky

I think most of them seem to come with pretty similar eyepieces.

[danielsun]

I personally prefer the Saxon/Skywatcher dobs for a couple of reasons being they have tension handles to lock the altitude (very handy, especially when using the heavier EP's) and that you can pick the scope up by these handles and carry the whole assembly around without dismantling the O.T.A .
I have the 8" and 10" and find it very handy, though I dont know how you would go with carrying around a 12".
Also I think the enamel paint job is far superior were as I believe the GSO'S had paint flaking and rust problems but this was a couple of years ago and I'm not sure if they have rectified the paint issue or not.
I also believe the Skywatcher dobs which are identical to the Saxons now have the crayford type focuser s ,not sure if the Saxons have followed but you may have to double check.


Cheers Daniel.

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

I actually liked the Skywatcher Dob 12 which has the moveable parts (truss) so you can compact it down for the car. But when I rang the Andrews telescope they seemed to really talk it down and steer me towards the GSOs? They said that the eyepieces were not that good in this one?

You can always buy some eyepieces later if they are not that great. Are the GSO's plossl eyepieces better when it's actually a cheaper telescope I don't get it?