Which Dob should I get

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Originally Posted by DistroMan

It's a pity you're so far away or you could have come and tried it out.

Yeah havn't seen any in Melbourne yet, they have other brands with the truss.

Do you take it in the car much, still must be pretty heavy?

[DistroMan (Trevor)]

I've taken it out a couple of times so far. Haven't had it that long, but I was surprised. I had in mind to put the tube assembly in the back seat and the base in the boot of the car. Turns out it has to be the other way around as the base won't fit in the boot. No matter, a few thick blankets and other gear packed around and under the tube in the boot and it's fine.

Ground Board Weight(s) 18.5Kgs
Tube Weight 21Kgs

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

I ordered it

[niko]

my 2 cents worth - I've got an 8" Saxon dob and the collimation screws etc are a fiddle to adjust - requiring screwdriver and allan key - I don't know if this has changed in the last couple of years but I would certainly opt for a knob type option over what this Saxon has.

cheers

niko

[DistroMan (Trevor)]

Have you heard of "Bob's Knobs" ??

http://www.bobsknobs.com/

[niko]

I was told Bob Knob's couldn't be fitted to the Saxon 8"

??

[DistroMan (Trevor)]

I would contact Bob himself and give him details of your scope. He'd be better able to advise you of availability for your circumstances. They do custom knobs as well.

bob@bobsknobs.com

[Ibeentokeck (Stevo)]

Got my scope, worked pretty well the other night, though the sky was pretty bright in Melb!

Just need to work out how to collimate it got that eyepiece thing, do I do it in the day or the night lol?

[erick (Eric)]

"Sky pretty bright in Melbourne"? We could have told you that I have four words for you:- Snake Valley Astronomical Association

Collimation - which "eyepiece thing" - a collimation cap? - a small item that fits into the 1.25" eyepiece holder and has a small hole through the middle?

Unless you are doing a "star test" collimation, it can be more convenient to perform your collimation while there is still some light in the sky. However your primary mirror will be cooling, so if you collimate before or around sunset, best to check it again (say with a cheshire tool) at the time you want to start using it. Sometimes the primary mirror "sags" on the springs (many people replace the springs in these Chinese scopes with stiffer ones), so you may wish to collimate at about the elevation you will most be using - ie. don't collimate with the OTA horizontal.

Eric

[Lukazy (Luke)]

I just got a Skywatcher 10" Dob. What eyepieces, filters etc should I get for it? I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'd like to get some decent views of deep sky objects (I haven't seen one yet except in books).

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by Lukazy

I just got a Skywatcher 10" Dob. What eyepieces, filters etc should I get for it? ..........

Absolutely nothing yet! Use what was supplied for a few months and keep reading the forum here.

However, getting a collimation tool or two is the best investment now.

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

I have access to a 12" Meade SCT with Meade series 5000 ep's M83 (admittedly in the middle of Curtin University) is a small elliptical smudge with a 20mm ep. You have to look real hard for the deep and fuzzys and dont expect textbook style views. Your eyes aren't a 5 -10,000 CCD camera with photoshop processing center.

Originally Posted by Lukazy

I just got a Skywatcher 10" Dob. What eyepieces, filters etc should I get for it? I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'd like to get some decent views of deep sky objects (I haven't seen one yet except in books).

[Lukazy (Luke)]

Originally Posted by bmitchell82

... Your eyes aren't a 5 -10,000 CCD camera with photoshop processing center.

Note to self - get better eyes