#41  
Old 05-01-2020, 01:23 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Dob, 8", 10", 14"...

Goto or push-pull...

SCT vs dob...

While all good arguments for each, do you know what these look like, their size, storage/set up/ tramsport requirements, and most of all - what can your wife deal with physically if she is the one using it by herself any given night?

A 14" dob is a heck of a big and heavy beast. REALLY heavy. While it may sound really sweet to have such aperture, their are some serious things to consider about such an instrument.

With so many suggestions and options available to you for the sort of budget you have, I would suggest you first go go an astro club meet and see exactly what all these different scopes both look like, but start coming to understand what is required to transport, store, set up & take down, potential dew issues for both scope and mount... You will then make a better informed decision that will better meet your TOTAL set of requirements, not just the thrill of a new scope and potentially end up with a poor choice.

If you are in Sydney, there are many clubs, and each with their own urban and/or dark sites, ranging from Waterfall to Mona Vale, Belanglo State Forest to Katoomba Airfield, Linden Obs and Mt Bowen across the Blue Mountains. And at any of these meets, you will find most helpful and knowledgeable people.

You may dind that an 8" SCT with a single arm goto mount might best suit you and your wife, or an 8" or 10" or 12" or even a 14" dob. But without actually knowing what you are getting, and only armed with talk, it does not make for a really well informed choice. And your wife should be a part of the decision - the surprise is already there when you say "honey, let's get a scope!" Now if you make the surprise part of a visit to an astro club meet, there's an added element

Burning $2000 outright does not mean you are getting the best scope for the two of you.

Alex.
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  #42  
Old 05-01-2020, 03:07 PM
Nightingale
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stick with the motorised option no matter what anyone tells you.. and if you are getting anything larger than a 10inch, an SCT is easier to handle and better with tracking.. even my 12inch Meade lx90 tests my boundaries for weight.. anything heavier, would have stayed in the closet.. and I must tell you very frankly, my initial budget for a telescope was $15000.. but after careful consideration, I went for something that cost a third of my budget.. not due to economics, but due to ergonomics as a visual scope... Would I have loved a 16inch Meade lx200? Sure I would.. but would not have been able to lift it.. for me, I would consider a large scope if I had someone else in the house who was interested in astronomy (who will help me lift and set it up) or if I had a permanent observatory.. and also the larger your scope, especially with Dobsonian, the more expensive your eyepieces.. as all have very short focal ratios.. and manual tracking becomes a nightmare in large dobs for a beginner...
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  #43  
Old 05-01-2020, 05:48 PM
highlander2287 (Brett)
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Yes as much as the larger aperture would be great I don't really think a 14" dob would be suitable for my first scope.
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  #44  
Old 05-01-2020, 07:49 PM
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first scope

Sheez this is getting amusing , can't wait to see what's the next scope recommended is ?

Bobby .
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  #45  
Old 05-01-2020, 08:47 PM
Ukastronomer (Jeremy)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by highlander2287 View Post
I want to get into some star watching with my wife and surprise her with a telescope. I would like to be able to view some deep sky stuff so have been doing a bit of googling and research for suitable scopes within my budget range of about $1500-$2000. Have tried to narrow the choices down by looking at scopes with the most positive reviews from owners. At this stage I would mainly be wanting to look from my backyard. Not looking at travelling to locations. Have narrowed it so far to a short list of 200/1000 skywatcher, celestron 8se (although a bit dearer) and a 10" dob. At this stage I am leaning towards the 10" dob and if so down the track maybe getting a dob goto setup to help with location objects. So I was just after any thought or advice on this information. Any advice appreciated.

Do not under estimate pre owned from a reputable seller as you get more for your money
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  #46  
Old 12-02-2020, 06:21 PM
highlander2287 (Brett)
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I was looking at getting a goto dob for a first scope but have my eye ( as others no doubt do) on a 10" skywatcher collapsible dob (not goto) that is for sale not far from me for about $400. It comes with the standard 2 eyepieces. Just after peoples thoughts.

Last edited by highlander2287; 12-02-2020 at 07:56 PM.
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  #47  
Old 12-02-2020, 07:45 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Brett,
I’ve owned and used 8” and 10” Bintel GSO solid tube manual push nudge dobs for the past 3 years and now I have a Skywatcher 12” Goto dob which I’ve used for the past year
From my experience Skywatcher Goto dobs up to and including the 12” are easy to move around with a Bunnings parcel trolley either extended or collapsed provided you have hard surfaces like concrete, pavers, tiles or compressed gravel etc... ( I’m 60 years old and weigh 72kg )
The Goto function in Alt Az is “very accurate” provided your scope is really level and pointing roughly to the north meridian in the home position and most importantly use an illuminated reticle eye piece like an Orion 20mm 70 deg eye piece for centering your alignment stars ( 2 star alignment is more than adequate for an accurate pointing model )
I had some success but also struggled with the solid tube manual dobs trying to find objects “star hopping” around which to me is an acquired skill after many years of practice and understanding but also a frustration I was not prepared to deal with for the rest of my astronomy life ( clear skies are precious and waisting time trying to find objects is not in my opinion productive or fun )
Once I got my 12” Goto up and running it was such a great experience and I maximise my observing time every time I’m out under the stars
The most important part of your telescope is the eye piece which is your door to the universe. Put a great eye piece in a crappy scope and you still get reasonably good views but put a crappy eye piece is a great telescope and the views are less than satisfactory ( in most cases )
I went to high end Televue eye pieces straight off the bat ( I’m fortunate to be able to afford them ) and the views through the 12” Goto dob are literally out of this world on a night of good seeing ( pardon the pun )
From my experiences, I thoroughly recommend the Skywatcher 10” or 12” Goto dob and upgrade at some stage later with some better quality eye pieces when you can afford them to maximise your observing pleasure
Good luck !!!
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  #48  
Old 12-02-2020, 09:54 PM
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Bobbyoutback
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Quote:
Originally Posted by highlander2287 View Post
I was looking at getting a goto dob for a first scope but have my eye ( as others no doubt do) on a 10" skywatcher collapsible dob (not goto) that is for sale not far from me for about $400. It comes with the standard 2 eyepieces. Just after peoples thoughts.
That sounds like a good buy , Goto was not invented when I first started

Now over time I've developed my own goto brain ' so much easier & faster .

Cheers & Beers
Bobby .
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  #49  
Old 13-02-2020, 10:57 PM
highlander2287 (Brett)
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Yes, it wasn't what I was waiting for but at that price it might be a good cheap entry into the hobby. With the money saved on the scope purchase I can always finance a goto upgrade in the future and still come out a bit in front.
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