New 10" Dob!!

[Dez]

Hey everyone!

Just felt I had to share my excitement with the arrival of my new telescope early this week!!!! After much research, many questions and suggestions here at IIS (thanks again for helping), practical considerations and anticipation, I am now the proud owner of a new Bintel 10 inch Dob..:D And let me tell you, she is looking gorgeous!!

Looks like a few significant changes in this model from the previous ones. Apart from the right angle finderscope and 10:1 micro focuser which I’m sure will be great, the colour of the OTA – White!!! My personal opinion… great move! And the wife definitely agrees. I think it looks much more like an ‘optical instrument’ as opposed to a ‘water heater’ as its new home is in our study. A small thing I know, but if it makes the wife happy, it’s gotta be good!!

After putting together the mount, tapping in the staples holding the teflon pads to avoid scratching the alt surface, I sat back and stared at it for a couple of hours. You just can’t beat that feeling of a new toy!! (Scientific instrument to the wife :whistle:) Not a mark on it anywhere, just beautiful.. I checked collimation with the Orion collimating eyepiece I bought with it and I tell you, the boy’s at Bintel definitely do a great job of setting things up.. Looked spot on to me! Definitely a bonus as I was hoping I wouldn’t need to adjust it before my first observing session.

Of course, I haven’t had a first light chance yet, which I’m sure is no surprise to anyone with this weather at the moment. Will report on this when the sky clears..

Anyway all I can say at this stage is Woooooohooooo!!!:D :D

Cheers

Dez

[mrsnipey]

I know you'll love it Dez.
I've got a 12" Bintel 'water heater' :) and I love it.

[programmer]

Now that's just sad :P

Well done. I have a similar instrument.. be interested to see what you think.

[Ric]

Congrats on your new scope Dez.

I know how you feel, I was looking and checking out my LX200R for hours as well when I first got it.

Have a great time with your new scope, looking forward to your first light report.

Cheers

[Alchemy]

well done, white eh.... icemans gunna be in the crowd now.
good thing theyve got a new paint job the old one was thin... and i mean thin, will have to paint mine , probably in summer.... thinking a metallic blue might be nice.

well just as well you think shes georgeous as you will be cuddling up on some cold nights together.

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Congrats Dez, you're going to love that scope!

I bought a 10" GSO from Andrews about 18 months ago, it had that beautiful white paintjob too, much thicker coating than what I've seen on older units. I loved that scope, and now I don't have it I miss it heaps - of course this is somewhat offset by the 12" dob that replaced it, but the 10" was a great unit!

[Dez]

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, very excited and looking forward to getting her out under clear skies. Not sure what the forecast is but I'm hoping for even just a couple of hours this weekend. Five night nights I've been waiting now!!!

I'm sure I will be very happy with this scope. A lot of people are mentioning they're 12" owners... I was considering the 12" but went for 10" mainly for ease of transport, as I'd like to get out and about to a few dark sites and the 12" would make that difficult. The northern edge of Sydney where I am is not too bad I guess, but there's still a lot of sky glow. And I won't even start talking about the trees in my backyard!!

Actually, a quick question or two... The manual I received with the telescope had a small section of the print missing, the part about lifting and moving the OTA. It just finishes in mid sentence, without clarifying the best way to pick up and move the OTA, for example during setup. I was just wondering is it ok to pick up the scope by the metal primary mirror ring around the base of the OTA and the top ring of the OTA??

Also, as the base and OTA need to be moved seperately, when moving the base, how do people store the OTA??? Do you stand it up resting on the primary mirror screws?? Do you lay it down somewhere?? I just don't want to damage or stress anything...

Thought I'd add a little pic so you see just how gorgeous she is!!

Cheers

Dez

[xelasnave]

Great news Dez..
As a learned friend told me...you can be sure the opitics are better if they are in a white tube..well I have taken this to heart and painted all my ota's white..definite improvement in the optics...
Well in truth I dont think he knew what he was talking about but white sure looks the part.

You have made a great choice and I am sure you will find it is the best money you have ever spent... wear it out from use.

alerx

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Dez you're dead right about the difference in portability - while the 12" is not much bigger (longer) and not much heavier than the 10" in truth those differences seem to multiply instead of adding to each other, making the 12" much more of a task to move around manually.

I was very happy with my 10" :2thumbs: and had no plans to upgrade to the 12" at all. It was simply a case of an offer that I literally couldn't refuse came along, and without that I would probably still have had the 10" today otherwise.

[taminga16]

Dez, when I have to move my telescope I just stand the OTA on it's end (it sits on the adjustment screws), I also free the springs when it is not in use and cover the scope with a good quality plastic bag. I have modified a hand truck to transport the scope up to the paddock ($27.00 from Bunnings) and it saves the double handling and risk of falling over small furry animals etc whilst carrying everything.

Regards,

Greg.

p.s. check the projects page for trolley details.

[astro_nutt]

Hi Dez and congrats on your new scope!!!..I have one of these beauties too..easy to move around and to transport....a couple of extra things I did do when I first put it together is with the base assembly..and this applies to any base made from particleboard with exposed edges...smear a film of silicone onto the exposed edges and allow to dry before assembly...this will help stop moisture being absorbed into the particleboard and thus turning it into a crumbling biscuit!!!...after assembly go over the whole base and optical tube..(not the teflon bits!)...with a quality furniture wax to repel moisture...every so often give the teflon bits and the hubs a clean with metho....
Cheers!

[Campus Dweller]

A 10" Dob is a great choice. I bought one 11 years ago after much deliberation and hope to use it for many more years to come.
Congratulations:thumbsup:

[Dujon]

Hello, Dez, congratulations on your purchase - as others have said you won't regret it (unless you become infected with aperture fever).

To transport mine I always do it in two stages. To shift it (without a trolley) as one unit I find very awkward and fraught as, apart from gravity and the springs, there's nothing holding the OTA and the base together. I always carry the OTA in the manner you suggested simply because I find it easier and more accurate (in avoiding objects and thus damaging the finder or focuser) than wrapping my arm(s) around it.

Mine I store assembled, sans springs, with the tube pointing vertically. This is more for space reasons than for anything else. Naturally all dust covers are in place and eyepieces stored in a little carry case.

[Bobj]

Yep! Additionally, I have an old, white bath-towel, which I drape over the rig while waiting around, also to cover my shoulders in cool weather. Another thing. I have a 2.5ft x 2ft section of 9 ply that I put on the grass/ rough/gravelly section on which to put the dob. It makes it easier for the trolley.

[Dez]

Nice one Greg! I checked out the projects page and the trolley looks like a good strategy to me. I have the packaging foam too so off to Bunning on the weekend!! Cheers :)



Some more good advice! I may even loosen the base screws to get a protective coating in there while it's still brand new. :)

Well, I got out for first light last night, finally!! Just been very busy with work and family, and even last night was a very short session. I'll put together a first light report shortly, probably start a new thread for this.

Yeah, I gotta say, after the very brief session I had last night, I'm feeling pretty happy with the choice of scope I made:D:D Definately met or exceeded expectations! More of that to come...

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions, I think I have a good handle on how to move it around safely now. Just looking forward to getting out there more often now.. Looking like clear skies tonight:D

Cheers
Dez

[ngcles]

Hi Dez,

Congrats on the new purchase -- a good choice, you won't go wrong. Ain't it nice to get a new toy!

Looking forward to reading an observing report or two after you have had a few sessions with it.

Best,

Les D
Contributing Edtor AS&T

[StarLane]

Dez, definately the best bang for buck scope you will ever buy, I love mine. Now all that money you saved you can spend on eye pieces, make the view that much better.

[Dez]

Yeah, it sure seems there's a lot of people talking up the 10" Dob!! It's always nice to hear others confirm of a good selection.:) I'll definately post a first light/observation report but I'm just holding off until I've had enough observing time to include detail on a variety of objects at different times of the night. So it'll be from a number of sessions rather than just one..

To be honest, I am finding it a little difficult to locate many objects at the moment. I'm reasonably familiar with some parts of the sky, but at the moment I'm only getting out from dusk for approx 3 hours or so. I'm finding between RA 19h through to 3h difficult to orientate myself with and therefore locate specific objects. I guess it's just a matter of patience and persistence so will definitely keep at it. I have sky charts, Stellarium and have just downloaded the trial version of Voyager 4, so will also play with this a bit. How nice would it be if you could just flick a switch and the constellation outlines and DSO markers flashed up in a dull red for a minute or so just like in the software...:P

I'll keep at it though as I know there's plenty out there to find. I've recently bookmarked the Wildcard-Innovations website... Mmmmm... Argo Navis :D Very tempting device, but I'd like to maybe go low-tech for a while first... maybe!!!

StarLane, I think a couple extra eyepieces on top of the standards supplied will be a good investment, and definitely to be looked pretty soon. I'm not quiet sure what to get yet :shrug: So many choices and probably too little observing time to be making an educated buy at this time. I'm thinking it would be a good move join a local astro club and/or attend a few observing sessions. Any recommendations for the Hornsby area???

Thanks for all the positive comments, and a report to come soon :)

Cheers

Dez