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Old 06-02-2020, 05:34 PM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Is there much difference....????

I'm going to get a Dob soon ( no big deal ) .... I've had a 10" Light Bridge before, but was going to go for a 12" Dob this time.

Will I really gain anything substantial with a 12" over a 10" inch.

Mind you, the 12 will be bigger and heavier ( but I have a Trolley ).... and price will be extra also

Your comments please.

Col...
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Old 06-02-2020, 06:11 PM
N1 (Mirko)
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Hi Col, imagine going from a FOA-60 to an FS-78 stopped down to 72mm. That is the kind of jump you will achieve. Image quality will be much worse in either dob though Joking aside, if you don't have either at present and the 12 is no obstacle, get that. A 10" of the same design is somewhat (truss) or a lot (solid tube) easier to move around though.
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Old 06-02-2020, 08:49 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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I had a 10” f5 solid tube dob ( nudge nudge ) for 3 years and enjoyed the views using my Televue eye pieces but it was time consuming navigating the night sky by star hopping and even harder to find objects when the moon was around. Observing planets and to a lesser extend the moon meant continually nudging the scope to keep objects in the FOV
I bought a Skywatcher 12” f5 Goto dob about 2 years ago and it’s the best move I ever made due to the following reasons -
1/ The 12” can resolve more objects than the 10” using the same eye pieces , especially galaxies and faint star clusters.The 10” could only clearly identify 4 stars in the trap of M42 but the 12” could resolve 6 stars
2/ Being a Goto I can plan my nights viewing accordingly as I know I can find objects easily and maximise my time outside ( I usually have a few extra objects up my sleeve in case I want stay out really late or should I say the wee early hours )
3/ It was frustrating having to keep nudging the 10” to keep planets in the FOV. Now I have more aperture and therefore more flexibility with eye piece focal length and magnification so my planets are larger and stay in the FOV for as long as I want.Same goes for Lunar observing
4/ A Synscan 2 Star Alignment in Alt Az mode to set tracking and Goto is extremely easy using an illuminated reticle eye piece with the hand controller. I can be aligned in 10 minutes or less
5/ Being a collapsible truss dob I can store it in my garage under some shelves , whereas the 10” solid tube took up more space
6/ I can comfortably move the 12” Goto dob extended using a Bunnings parcel trolley, a piece of foam packer and an adjustable belt strap. Garage to observing location about 14 metres on concrete driveway area ( I’m 60 years old and weigh 72kg )
7/ I certainly noticed the difference in observing going from a 10” to the 12” using the same high quality Televue eye pieces on a night of good seeing conditions
8/ If you can afford the increase and handle the weight , I recommend going for the 12” , better still get a Goto version and enjoy the benefits of technology

Hope others can pitch in and provide comments either way

Good luck

PS : My 10” f5 solid tube dob was a GSO
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  #4  
Old 07-02-2020, 07:42 PM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Thanks Guys for your input....!!

The 12 is my preferred Dob.

Col.
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  #5  
Old 07-02-2020, 11:47 PM
Ukastronomer (Jeremy)
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It is not that easy, remember a top quality 10" in my opinion will out perform a cheap 12", also coatings
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  #6  
Old 13-02-2020, 07:26 PM
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Hi Col,

I know of at least one IIS member who bought a 12" a few years ago and wished he'd gone 10" instead for easier handling, but that was undoubtedly based on dismantling and transporting the scope to dark sites. If you're gonna use it at home on a trolley I say go for the bigger one.

I also agree with Martin's comments (except I don't know why his 10" Dob could only resolve 4 stars in the Trap when I can see 6 in my C5 ).
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  #7  
Old 13-02-2020, 09:26 PM
raymo
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Depends on one's age and one's eyes, Morton. I'm in my 80s and can
only see 4 with a 10" scope.
raymo
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Old 15-02-2020, 12:59 PM
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Atmos (Colin)
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With a trolly making portability no different then it comes down to whether the eye piece height of a 10” or 12” is easier. If that makes no difference then go bigger as it’ll resolve fainter thing a bit better.

I can see the E&F stars in my 4” on a decent night so if you couldn’t with a 10” then it was either not a great mirror set or the seeing didn’t cooperate.
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  #9  
Old 17-02-2020, 01:22 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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Hi Col,

Bite the bullet and let the purse strings out and order a 12" SDM with a Zambuto mirror.

A lot more portable, storable and transportable than any mass market dob, with way better optics. You also get GOTO and tracking. Once you take the journey their is no turning back to other smaller aperture telescopes of other designs. If you owned one of these you wouldn't bother using finder scopes for telescopes any more

Cheers
John B
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  #10  
Old 17-02-2020, 08:26 PM
raymo
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I have found Lightbridges a pain; the 10" is so low that unless at or near
the zenith, you have to sit on the ground to use it, and obviously, unlike
the collapsible ones, you have to tweak the collimation after assembling it.
I'm fast running out of time, so I don't want to waste any, assembling
and twiddling and dismantling.
raymo
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  #11  
Old 17-02-2020, 11:12 PM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo View Post
I have found Lightbridges a pain; the 10" is so low that unless at or near
the zenith, you have to sit on the ground to use it, and obviously, unlike
the collapsible ones, you have to tweak the collimation after assembling it.
I'm fast running out of time, so I don't want to waste any, assembling
and twiddling and dismantling.
raymo

We all have our likes and dislikes .... I had a 10" LightBridge back around 2009 ( 11 years ago ) or there a bouts ...never had anything to complain about..I use my Observing Chair when necessary ....very comfortable.

I never ' dismantled ' it and colimation was so near to perfect everytime, a little tweak was done if necessary.

Col....
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  #12  
Old 18-02-2020, 12:21 AM
Ukastronomer (Jeremy)
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All scopes are a nuisance, in fact NONE are perfect, Dobs are either too high or too low, refractors are the same, you are either standing or bending, eyepieces are either too high no matter the scope or you are "under" the scope.

The only solution, full remote and view from indoors with a G and T
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  #13  
Old 18-02-2020, 08:44 AM
HowellObsy (John)
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The difference between a 10 and 12 is minimal. If you really want to improve over a 10 then you should consider a 15 or 16 inch, but you should get better quality as these Lightbridge units at this size the quality is pretty ordinary, you should consider better quality every time, a brighter blurr is always disappointing. A Skywatcher 8 inch is sharper than my Lightbridge 16 that I had in the USA. I got rid of it as the optics were ordinary.

Last edited by HowellObsy; 19-02-2020 at 05:01 PM.
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  #14  
Old 19-02-2020, 08:22 PM
rrussell1962
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Nice. Hope it serves you well Col.
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  #15  
Old 19-02-2020, 11:44 PM
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gaseous (Patrick)
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Good luck Col, looking forward to your post-tuneup report.
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  #16  
Old 21-02-2020, 11:53 PM
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gaseous (Patrick)
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For what it's worth Col, there's a 10" F4.7 skywatcher ota for $300 in the classifieds which is apparently in good nick. If the f ratio is the same as yours it might be a possible solution for your pitted primary.
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  #17  
Old 22-02-2020, 10:58 AM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaseous View Post
For what it's worth Col, there's a 10" F4.7 skywatcher ota for $300 in the classifieds which is apparently in good nick. If the f ratio is the same as yours it might be a possible solution for your pitted primary.
I'll go with what I have at the moment....I have got plans for this LB

Thanks anyway Patrick
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