Looking at 10" truss Dob. Opinions/experiences?

[JD]

After a long break from astronomy, I'm looking to get a 10" Dob. I have seen a few scopes I'm interested in but need a bit of advice.

Does anyone here have experience of the Sky Watcher 10" Dob, with its collapsible design? What I want to know is how well this scope holds collimation. Never having owned a Dob, it seems to me that whatever I get will have to be collimated fairly regularly anyway. It really comes down to whether or not the convenience of a collapsible tube is worth paying extra for or whether it just introduces more complexity. The alternative is the GSO/Bintel scope which is about $95 cheaper at the moment. Sure, it's not as compact but it probably doesn't need such regular collimation either. It also leaves me with some spare cash to invest in a Telrad and a laser collimator.

Whaddya think?

[omegacrux]

Hi JD
I had a Skywatcher 10in collapse dob for a while .
They are a good scope I hardly ever collimated it , I later sold it to Scosenby , Scott .
If I got another one I'd probably go for the solid tube , but the collapse dob fits in a sedan easily and give great views

David

[JD]

Interesting, thanks. I'm only looking at a collapsible design to save some space (and who doesn't need that!).

[barx1963]

I use a truss tube dob (20") which is even more variable than these collapsible dobs and it is really not a big hassle. Usually only takes 5 minutes once setup and if it is a long session I will check it again later in the night.
I formally had a 12" solid tube and had to check that each night also, so really not a big deal.

Once you have collimated a few times it is really quick

Malcolm

[raymo]

I have had extensive experience with SW dobs, both collapsible and solid,
and can safely say that the collapsibles hold collimation as well as the
solid tubes do; seems counter-intuitive, but the collapsing mechanism is
built like a brick outhouse. There is the added benefit [that I'm getting
tired of pointing out] of being able to use SW dobs for prime focus imaging,
which most other dobs/newts don't allow.
raymo

[JD]

Thanks guys.

Is it worth the extra cost, do you think (don't wanna start a flame war here)? What about a shroud?

[Allan_L]

YES. It is worth the extra for ease of transport and storage.
Re: Shroud.
Where do you live?
Here in coastal NSW where dew is a constant companion, the shroud helps protect the mirrors from dew. This may not be a concern in some areas.

It is also a benefit if you are observing where stay light may be a problem.

Another benefit is that it may stop stray foreign matter from depositing on your mirror (from any number of sources).

These are all issues that a solid tube would not encounter, of course.
You must decide.
But I have had two SW collapsible DOBs and would recommend these without hesitation.

[JD]

I'm in Melbourne so a shroud is probably going to be essential. At that point the various costs start to add up.

Still, a hard choice to make between a truss type and a solid tube. The issue is one of storage rather than transport, so footprint matters more than anything and they will probably be about the same.

[MichaelSW]

JD.

Here is link to an IIS Thread on DIY shrouds.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=141084

[JD]

Thanks for that. Food for thought!

[raymo]

I've had two collapsible SW dobs, and never bothered with a shroud, until
one day my wife knocked one up in 20minutes. The primary mirror is far
enough down inside the tube for a shroud to be rarely necessary.About the
only reason I ever used mine was to prevent anything falling onto the
mirror.
raymo