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Old 19-07-2019, 05:06 PM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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New Telescope Suggestion

Hi All,

I new to iceinspace and I was suggested by one of the whrilpool forum's members to get myself involved in this amateur astronomy group.

I live in Canberra and I am keen to step into amateur astronomy, to begin with viewing moon, planets and other faint objects in the night sky. As such I'm looking into getting a Dobsonian telescope, however, I need some advice on what would be the best choice for beginners and any particular model/brand to look for?

I have been reading a bit about Dobsonian telescope, which I understand works great for faint objects in the sky with little to no light pollution. Correct me if I'm wrong. Can I use the Dobsonian to view the moon and some of the planets as far as the Jupiter and Saturn? Additionally, down the line, I may start doing some photography as well.

I did attend the Canberra Astronomical Society meeting held yesterday (18-July) and it was great to see some of the astronomy veterans, however, I couldn't get a chance to talk about amateur gears for starters.

Would be helpful if I can be put into the right track.

Thank you.
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Old 19-07-2019, 05:44 PM
Wavytone
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Be patient and take your time to learn who’s who in CAS, I am a former committee member (many decades ago). It’s a good club with unique access to professional guest speakers so hang in there and learn.

Dobsonians are basically light-buckets for DSOs, not optimal for moon or planets. As a resident of Sydney where DSOs are impossible .. I use a big premium mak which delivers magnification, lots of it.
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Old 19-07-2019, 06:06 PM
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GUS.K (Ivan)
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Hi Deepak, welcome to the forum. A dobsonian is a great all around scope, great for lunar and the planets and especially so for deepsky. A well collimated dob and some good quality eyepieces will show you some amazing views, biggest bang for your buck out of all scope options.
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Old 19-07-2019, 06:38 PM
m11 (Mel)
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Hi Deepak,

I think the dobsonian is an ideal beginner scope. If you can, grab an 8 inch and ensure its collimated as Gus has mentioned.

The planets,moon and deep sky stuff are all viewable with the dob.

The question is also whether you want goto or manual to begin with as well.

All the best,

M11
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  #5  
Old 19-07-2019, 07:39 PM
Ukastronomer (Jeremy)
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1. Join a club FIRST

2. Read about it, all you can.

3. One of the only scopes you will buy and NOT regret getting is a DOB, personally I don't know an astronomer who hasn't had or doesn't have one.

Don't get too large a DOB that means too heavy to move about or needs a ladder to use, for me 8-10"

Get one that takes 2" eyepieces as well as 1.25"

http://skywatcher.com/product/bk-dob-10-synscan/



.
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Old 19-07-2019, 08:20 PM
Wavytone
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Pretty sure CAS would have a scope you could borrow to try, before buying.
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Old 20-07-2019, 12:10 AM
RyanJones
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Hi Deepak,

I’ve never owned a dob but I’ve head plenty of good stories about them from a lot of people and it seems like bang for buck that’s the way to go. I’ve got Maks , SCTs, Newts and a refractor and they’re all good at what they do but none are good at everything. As far as moon and planets go I’d suggest an SCT. The draw back is also their pitfall. Long focal lengths require decent alignment to stop things drifting quickly out of view but that focal length is great magnification with a shorter OTA. I love my Newts for imaging although I have and do image with the SCTs too. Shorter focal lengths and faster F ratios capture light quicker and give you a big field of view and they’re considerably cheaper per apature, but fast scopes create field curvature which means objects outside the center of the field of view can lose focus unless you’re using something else in the optic train to compensate for this. Last bit not least is the refractor. Not cheap for larger apatures and they can suffer from chromatic aberration ( certainly on the less than premium ones ). They are quite compact though and give you ease of use with no collimation. For all of these there are pros and cons. Choose a scope that works well for you primarily want to use it for and get something easy to use so that you use it more.

Hope this helps
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Old 20-07-2019, 02:10 AM
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xelasnave
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Welcome to Iceinspace.
For your first scope a 6 or 8 inch dob would be a great choice.
They are great all round scopes.
You can do very limited photography with a dob (which is really the mount part of the set up) and for photography you will need an equatorial mount...and you can take the scope in your dob and add a bracket so it will ride on an eq (equatorial mount) and use an ordinary DSLR fitted with an adaptor (t ring) that enables attaching it to the scope.
But dont rush into the photography just enjoy the visual side for starters.
And dont get carried away with buying accessories. .its a trap☺. If you buy new you will also get a couple of eye pieces ...be happy with those for a long while...good luck and let us know what you buy...Two good vendors are Bintel and Andrews Communications...chech out each.
Alex
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Old 20-07-2019, 10:04 AM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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Hi All,

Thank you all for your responses and taking time to discuss. Well, in that case, I will get a Dobsonian 8" telescope. How do I find that is collimated?

I'm currently reading this article to understand what collimatation is and how to collimate a Dobsonian telescope.

https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-...o-collimation/

Two scopes that I have in mind,

1. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sk...v=6cc98ba2045f

2. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sk...v=6cc98ba2045f

3. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bi...v=6cc98ba2045f


The first two are Skywatcher brand and the third Bintel and I'm not sure which of these is bang for the buck.

The 1. comes with 2" Crayford Style Focuser with 1.25" adapter and Super 25 and 10 eyepieces. While the latter comes with 2" Focuser with 1.25" adapter and 1.25" Super 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. As suggested by Jeremy, the 3. is a 10" scope that seems to come with 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. I don't have a fair understanding of eyepiece specifications and the differences among the three here.

Thanks again.
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  #10  
Old 20-07-2019, 10:16 AM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ukastronomer View Post
1. Join a club FIRST

2. Read about it, all you can.

3. One of the only scopes you will buy and NOT regret getting is a DOB, personally I don't know an astronomer who hasn't had or doesn't have one.

Don't get too large a DOB that means too heavy to move about or needs a ladder to use, for me 8-10"

Get one that takes 2" eyepieces as well as 1.25"

http://skywatcher.com/product/bk-dob-10-synscan/



.
Thank you.

I will be joining soon, in a day or two!! The only 10" scope in my budget is this one from Bintel.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bi...v=6cc98ba2045f

Let me know your views.
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  #11  
Old 20-07-2019, 12:18 PM
m11 (Mel)
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The scope should have a cheshire eyepiece, I use a laser collimator to check the alignment.

If you have the space, the bintel solid tube are pretty good. They have the dual focuser as well.

The standard plossls as Alex has said will serve you well.

All the best.

M11

Quote:
Originally Posted by hypersonics View Post
Hi All,

Thank you all for your responses and taking time to discuss. Well, in that case, I will get a Dobsonian 8" telescope. How do I find that is collimated?

I'm currently reading this article to understand what collimatation is and how to collimate a Dobsonian telescope.

https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-...o-collimation/

Two scopes that I have in mind,

1. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sk...v=6cc98ba2045f

2. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sk...v=6cc98ba2045f

3. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bi...v=6cc98ba2045f


The first two are Skywatcher brand and the third Bintel and I'm not sure which of these is bang for the buck.

The 1. comes with 2" Crayford Style Focuser with 1.25" adapter and Super 25 and 10 eyepieces. While the latter comes with 2" Focuser with 1.25" adapter and 1.25" Super 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. As suggested by Jeremy, the 3. is a 10" scope that seems to come with 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. I don't have a fair understanding of eyepiece specifications and the differences among the three here.

Thanks again.
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  #12  
Old 20-07-2019, 12:34 PM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave View Post
Welcome to Iceinspace.
For your first scope a 6 or 8 inch dob would be a great choice.
They are great all round scopes.
You can do very limited photography with a dob (which is really the mount part of the set up) and for photography you will need an equatorial mount...and you can take the scope in your dob and add a bracket so it will ride on an eq (equatorial mount) and use an ordinary DSLR fitted with an adaptor (t ring) that enables attaching it to the scope.
But dont rush into the photography just enjoy the visual side for starters.
And dont get carried away with buying accessories. .its a trap☺. If you buy new you will also get a couple of eye pieces ...be happy with those for a long while...good luck and let us know what you buy...Two good vendors are Bintel and Andrews Communications...chech out each.
Alex
Hi Alex,

Thank you. Any particular brand between Skywatchers and Bintel?
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  #13  
Old 20-07-2019, 12:37 PM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m11 View Post

They have the dual focuser as well.

The standard plossls as Alex has said will serve you well.

All the best.

M11
Where did you find the dual focuser info for Bintel. I'm struggling to find
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  #14  
Old 20-07-2019, 02:11 PM
m11 (Mel)
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I have a few bintel scopes and they have the coarse and fine focuser.

The link you have listed for the bintel.scope:

BINTEL Dobsonians are equipped with a*CNC machined 2″ Crayford focuser allowing extra smooth 10:1 fine focus control without backlash.*
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Old 20-07-2019, 02:29 PM
m11 (Mel)
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I have a few bintel scopes and they have the coarse and fine focuser.

The link you have listed for the bintel.scope:

BINTEL Dobsonians are equipped with a*CNC machined 2″ Crayford focuser allowing extra smooth 10:1 fine focus control without backlash.*
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  #16  
Old 20-07-2019, 04:24 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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I’ve used both Bintel 8” and 10” dobs and both are excellent value and great beginner scopes for star hopping and finding your objects. Ideal for backyard observing
I also have a Skywatcher 12” Goto dob which is more of an intermediate level scope
To be honest I prefer the Bintel GSO dual speed focuser in lieu of the Skywatcher focuser but that’s just personal preference
You can’t go wrong with either brand in 8” or 10” manual operated dob to get you started in the hobby
Welcome and Good luck !!
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  #17  
Old 20-07-2019, 04:27 PM
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Rainmaker (Matt)
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Deepak,
There is an Observatory Night scheduled for Saturday 27th at Mt Stromlo, the guys there will be able to answer some of your questions. CAS does have some 8" Dobs that are available for use by new members.

An 8" Dob will be a great way to start into the pastime. A red dot finder and a couple of eyepieces as well as an app like Stellarium on your phone and you're all set. As for collimation, the solid tube Dobs seem to hold collimation well. You will get lots of help and advice from guys like Ed, Bill and Andrew who are regulars at the club events.

If you have any problems with getting the initial setup/collimation done feel free to send me a PM, I am in Canberra also and happy to help.
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  #18  
Old 20-07-2019, 05:37 PM
Ukastronomer (Jeremy)
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Can I say that if you believe that you can only do limited astrophotography with a dob then you need to visit the link below, people would like you to believe you need EQ setups and guide scopes in the £thousands

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1940...oup_highlights
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  #19  
Old 21-07-2019, 08:48 PM
TwistedRider (Drew)
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Just adding my 2c worth

Love my dob.

I started astronomy about this time last year, so still learning, but happy to help with beginners info.

I have the SkyWatcher 10" Collapsible Goto.
Love it to bits and have had some basic photography images turn out ok. Only using a mobile phone so photos are a lot worse that what is seen through the eyepiece.

Have had very clear and amazing sights of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn. Also a few nebula and clusters

No reason the smaller sizes would give less enjoyment.

Dual speed focuser would be great, and likely to be the 1st major scope upgrade part. Otherwise it's very hard to fault. Collimation is simple and takes all of 5-10 minutes once you are familiar with it.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.
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Old 22-07-2019, 02:33 PM
hypersonics (Deepak)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainmaker View Post
Deepak,
There is an Observatory Night scheduled for Saturday 27th at Mt Stromlo, the guys there will be able to answer some of your questions. CAS does have some 8" Dobs that are available for use by new members.

An 8" Dob will be a great way to start into the pastime. A red dot finder and a couple of eyepieces as well as an app like Stellarium on your phone and you're all set. As for collimation, the solid tube Dobs seem to hold collimation well. You will get lots of help and advice from guys like Ed, Bill and Andrew who are regulars at the club events.

If you have any problems with getting the initial setup/collimation done feel free to send me a PM, I am in Canberra also and happy to help.
Thank you @Rainmaker.

I will get in touch once I make my purchase, which might happen within about a weeks time. Yes, I will be there on the 27th for the Observotary Night.
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