New here

[BigJohn]

Hi

I'm john from Cranbourne new here have been following the forum for month thought Id take the plunge. I am in the market for my first scope for visual use not sure if I should go for Guided Dob or EQ mount. ?

Not sure about size 6", 8", 10", 12"??

Thanks for your help..:hi:

[ianB]

Hi B.J
As they say Size matters, generally I often here people say bigger is better when it comes to Astronomy, as for the mount that may depend on if you intend to do astrophotography, anyway I hope someone will come along and give you a more detailed answer.

Welcome,

IanB

[Allan_L]

Hi John,

Welcome to IceInSpace :welcome:
For viewing the Dob is king (IMHO)
Size, big is best up to ...
a)what you can reasonably afford (allowing some for other accessories)
b) what you can easily carry to you observing site.

For most an 8"DOB is a good starting point.

Best advice is to get along to an observing session to see the various scopes and talk to their owners
OR
take the 30 minute drive to Camberwell to Bintel showroom to see scopes and get good advice and help.

Good luck with your purchasing :thumbsup:

[barx1963]

Hi John and welcome.
Just noticing we have a lot of new people from Melbourne area at the moment!!
Anyway, your question is a perennial one, which scope is best?

The short answer is the one that you use the most. And the factors that will affect that are personal such as health and fitness, motivation, areas of interest, technical know how etc.

Add to that budget and you have an interesting conundrum.

I usually recommend a smaller dob in the 8" to 12" range as a starter. Of course a 12" is going big at the beginning and can often result in ones better half wondering why you have just bought a new hot water tank, but you will not have to upgrade any time soon! 8" is usually a safer bet in dobs as they are very portable and easy to handle, not too expensive, can do a hell of a lot and easy to sell on if you decide (as some do) that astro is not for you.
Unless you are dead keen on imaging, usually avoid EQ mounts. A little story now follows. My first scope was a 130mm newt on an EQ mount. Preferred it to a dob because "it looked like a real scope". Used it for about a year and a half and managed to see the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, M42, Omega Centauri and a couple of double stars. That was it. Got an 8" dob and within 6 months had knocked over almost all the Messiers and a few hundred other objects. They are simply much easier to use. There is a reason why at star parties almost all the keen visual guys are using dobs!!

With guided, or technically tracking dobs, you will be paying a fair bit more for electronics. Can make the job easier, but you are often sacrificing aperture for convenience (and reliance on batteries!!)

Anyway
Good luck and the advice about Bintel is spot on BTW!

Cheers

Malcolm

[Eggmoon]

As another Melbourne person here, I think the best telescope would be any with anti-cloud systems! If only we could get one with that it would be worth whatever they want you to pay for it.

The Melbourne weather can be very frustrating.... so make the most of the good days, and as part of that, make sure whatever you buy is portable enough to get away from the city lights now and then... a good hour or a bit more driving away from the city makes a huge difference.

Geoff.

[BigJohn]

Thanks allot guys looks like a 12" DOb might be the go not sure which brand.?? GSO seems value for money but the SW look nicer..

[barx1963]

Good choice, just make sure you know how big these things are!! I had a GSO 12" for a few years and loved it, but they are big.

Malcolm

[Allan]

A 12" Dob is a great piece of equipment and can be a lifetime telescope because you will never see every object in the sky that a 12" can show. But I agree with the suggestion to try and use one before you buy, so you understand how big they are and what is involved in the setup.

If someone were to ask me what the perfect starter visual telescope is, I would say an 8" or 10" un driven Dob. You could buy one cheaply second hand to start with. If you enjoy your observing then you could sell it for what you payed and then get a nice 12" with GOTO, which would make for a nice upgrade over the first Dob.

[BigJohn]

Thank you Allan

Your post convinced me to splash out on the 12". I had a look at Ozscopes its huge but I think I can mange it.. There are little pricey might have to sell something around the house doubt the boos will let me spend that amount..

[BigJohn]

I might part with my Dell 6430 laptop bought it for the daughter to do her graphics stuff she uses a MAC now. The Classified section wont let me post it oh well looks like I will have to wait 30 days.

long time to wait for my new telescope..:sadeyes:

[BigJohn]

If anyone is interested in a laptop will take $600 delivered in Melbourne comes with 2 bags one being a premium Dell backpack, Dock station, extra battery, 12v car plug.
14 inch,Quad core i5 with 8gig ram, 256gb solid state disk.

http://www.dell.com/au/business/p/latitude-e6430/pd


thanks

[creeksky]

Hi BigJohn, Welcome.
Perhaps try looking for second hand in the Icetrade classifieds here first and other options,would be much cheaper,Bigger is better.
But for me so far, an 8 " just what I can carry and fit in my car (small Pajero i.o.)
Maybe consider a 10" then you can upgrade if it becomes a serious passion.
being a small bloke, I do not think I could even carry just a 10 inch Tube Dob,let alone the base.
When I got my 8" Dob yesterday the young guy in his 20's could lift the whole set up easily. I am in my early 50's and it was embarrassing to see how weaker I am :) though he was taller than me....

[BigJohn]

They appear to be modular design, so I think should be ok to lift..

Thank you for the advice will keep my eye open if I can sell this laptop..

[raymo]

I'm in my late 70s and can carry my collapsible 10" tube assy, or the base quite easily. The tube assy is approx. 14.5 kg, and the base around
the same. You carry it like a suitcase, using one of the extension tubes as a handle, and even doing that doesn't upset the mirror collimation.
I am neither large nor athletic.
raymo

[ShOrEbReAk]

hey and welcome.

I took the plunge over Christmas and bought the EQ mount over the dob.
Now at stages I wish I had bought the dob for the ease of use but once you get your head around the EQ mount you can do a lot more with it.

Just a steeper learning curve with the EQ. Portability is probably easier with the EQ ,but I haven't used a BIG dob either.

Troy

[creeksky]

Thanks raymo, I just learn't now how to carry it , thought that handle was too low to turn the Dob-much easier now!

[Jemmo]

I'm a new comer from the mornington peninsula and I've gotten a lot of help so far I decided to get a 10" bintel dob. A fella on here got me a number to ring and got it cheap so maybe put an ad up in the wanted section you might save yourself some money

[creeksky]

See bigJohn, it can be done! Cheaper than selling the farm.We are eagerly awaiting to see how Jemmo goes with getting a 10 inch, he seems very dedicated with what he has.
So Jemmo have you got it yet?

[Jemmo]

Not yet I have to make the 3 hour drive on sat to pic it up. I'll attach a photo of it

[AstralTraveller]

I think you will find that a carry handle makes moving big dobs much easier. I have tube rings and a long dovetail bar on my 10" solid tube and can carry it one-handed. I have that arrangement because I had ambitions of going equatorial, but it turns out my mount is too small. However you could make up something cheaper with a bit of work and common hardware.