Looking to get a Bintel BT252-B 10" Dobsonian ????

[liljpo]

Hello all,

I am very much a beginner in this... i just bought an astromaster 130eq as my first scope and although i got to see some amazing things i am going to return it for something abit better...

And

I want to get the Bintel BT252-B 10" Dobsonian but im not 100% sure about it. I dont no much about much when it comes to this but it has become an interest for me.. so if anyone could tell me if this is a good telescope or give me any other suggestions that would be great.

Thanks

[erick]

Yes Jessica, that is a good telescope.

But tell us more about what you want to do with it? What do you want to see? Where will you be observing from? Bright suburban or dark skies? Will you have to move it far? Will you have to carry it in a car to places? Are you the "tinkering type" or would you refuse to adjust a screw on it?

If we know these answers, we can better advise. Eric :)

[liljpo]

Honestly with this telescope i just want to learn what is out there, find my way around the sky. But i guess to start with i would love to have great views on planets and the moon. But im sure over time i will learn what else is out there. I will have to take it out on drives because unless its an ultra clear night i cant see much from my house.. I dont mind having to adjust things on it, but nothing too complicated though...

[rmcpb]

Jessica,

Brilliant scope but it is fairly big so you will have to be able to move it around in two pieces and get it into and out of your car for the dark sky trips.

My advice is to have a look at one before buying and if you do buy you MUST GET a collimating eyepiece, its the only must have with this scope. All the other accessories are add-ons which can be collected later.

[liljpo]

Hi Rob, how big we talking? Bigger than the AstroMaster 130? Also what is a collimating eyepiece?

Also does this telescope come with a mount or not???

Thanks for your reply as well

[stephenb]

Hi Jessica,

Regarding transporting this telescope in a car, if you look at the picture of it on the BinTel website, the white tube is one piece, and the black base is the other piece. The base is quoted at 10kg, it is a bit bulky but it has a carry handle. The tube (OTA) is 13kg. May I suggest if you get a chance, pop into the BinTel shop in Melbourne and look at it in the flesh. I know my 12-inch BinTel Dob tube fitted snugly across the back seat of a VT Commodore, and the 10-inch is smaller so that may give you a guide?

The staff will be very helpful I'm sure. Many more people will provide you with the advice on this scope, but I can vouch for BinTel's Melbourne shop. You are guaranteed excellent customer service and ongoing assistance. :thumbsup:

Oh, and "collimating" a telescope just means "adjusting" the mirrors so they are in alignment. There are only two mirror, the big primary and the smaller secondary mirror, and a "collimating eyepiece" is almost essential to get these mirrors aligned. But it is not a hard job, once you do it a couple of time, it will be second nature to you.

[JethroB76]

Sorry Jessica, had to chuckle at this question:lol:

The tube of a 10" Dob is about 1.25 metres long and about 30cm in diameter.
As Stephen has mentioned the tube weighs about 13kg, of which most of this weight is at the end holding the mirror. The mount is quite large in diameter (perhaps 0.5 metres) and is also quite tall which can make it awkward to transport in cars..

You really need to see one in person, to get a good idea on the bulk of the scope - if you are going to be observing alone some kind of handtrolley may be useful if you choose to manouvre it in one piece..

great scopes, just very bulky:thumbsup:

[liljpo]

lol thats ok JethroB76 transportation for it should be ok, because ill always have company.. i appreciate the insite though.

Stephen this mirror thing sounds abit tricky but im hoping that the people there will show me what i need to do... I think ill be going there to check it out in the next few days so i can get abit more of an idea about.. also thanks for your insight...But also Would you reccomend any other telescope or is this as good as ill get for that money????

[h45e]

I thought you only need to align a collapsible dob?

[Stuart78]

It is a very good scope, i own one, they can be awkward to put in car and move around but i always move it on my own so with help you would be fine, the guys at bintel will help you out even ask them to pick one up have a go at moving it, apart from all that it is a great scope,i bought mine with a 1 collimater,BT ED 2"barlow,BT 2" 26mm eyepiece,i find myself using the 2" eyepiece a hell of alot with this scope it gives awesome wide views, and the barlow doubles the magnification of all your eyepieces making it a very worthy addition..:thumbsup:


P.S, if you decide to purchase this scope ask them to show you how
base goes together cos the manual left alot to be desired.:shrug:

[gman]

Hi Jess,

I bought a 10" from Bintel last year.
Great scope for observing etc.
Was collimated prior to being picked up by Bintel and I have never had to touch it since.
Only mods I needed to do was the milk bottle bearings to the base as in the projects section of this web site.
Came complete with a 32mm 2", 15mm & 9mm eyepices
Had to build the base but that was no biggy to complete

Cannot fault this scope for the bucks.

With that being said, I am looking to change directions myself and move into a bit of astro photography and am looking to change my scope to a refractor so mine will be up for sale soon on this site.
(need to save some funds in the next few weeks)

[toryglen-boy]

give the collapsible skywatcher dob some thought, i have a 12" scope, and i can move it around in an my MX5

ok so thats a lie, but it does callapse down quite a bit !!

;)

[Paddy]

Collimating is not very hard and will take just a few minutes when you get the hang of it. This link gives a useful guide that will get you going when the time comes.

http://www.andysshotglass.com/Collimating.html

A 10" dob is a good compromise between aperture and portability and will collect nearly 4x the light you 130. I was very happy with my 12" bintel dob, until...

[stephenb]

In my opinion, if you intend to move a tube Dobsonian around it is always handy to check collimation before use and know how to do it. A very handy skill to learn.

[liljpo]

Thanks to you all, im still a little confussed but im sure when i get it, everything will make a bit more sence. Im getting it on Thursday, will deffinently be checking back in when i use it... But thank you for all the information you all have given. It has been a great help.

Also, anyone from Melbourne know were they have the astronomy groups? Is the closest one Heathcote?

[erick]

Jessica, there are various groups. Yes, the Astronomical Society of Victoria use a site at Heathcote and have an evening planned for 28th March.

The Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society have a site down south on the bay. Search "The Briars" on this site.

I'm heading for the Snake Valley Star Camp over the weekend of March 28. See here:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=39294

Nice bunch of folks will be there. It's smaller than others - maybe 20-30 maximum over the weekend. If you come you'll get all the help you need to make good use of your telescope. Snake Valley is 20 min south-west of Ballarat and the skies are dark.

Search for "Border Stargaze" on this site. Very popular star camp.

[liljpo]

Thanksss... ill deffinently look into it. i have plenty to learn

[liljpo]

Just 1 more question. Has the Bintel BT252-B 10" Dobsonian price increased by heaps over the last few months??? because i have been reading other forums and im seeing prices alot lower than the ones on the site at the moment????

[Galactic G]

Yes, the BT252 has gone up in price. Mostly because it has a new 'brake' system on it (apart from fluctuations in the dollar). It's the part that 'balances' the scope in the Altitude direction (up-down). The prices referred to in most of the older threads will be referring to the old scope that had a brake system that used springs to create friction on the Altitude bearings. The new system has knobs that you can tighten up so the scope doesn't become unbalanced if you put heavy eye pieces in it.

[pgc hunter]

Everything, not just telescopes, have gone up in price, due to the global economic crisis. It has nothing to do with the new "brake" system, but rather with the fact that the aussie dollar is now worth a measly 50-60 US cents. just look at the prices for items such as the Naglar/Ethos eyepieces and Celestron SCTs. They'll make your blood curdle. Some items have virtually doubled in price within the space of half a year. If you subsribe to AS&T, compare the prices in the June/July issues with the prices now .You will be shocked and appauled. Infact, I've noticed that some of the vendors don't even post the prices for certain items that they used to before. No doubt because they've gotten so high that they'll scare off potential customers.

Now is an extremely poor time to go shopping for astro goods, unfortunately.

[Galactic G]

My point was that when Bintel were running out the stocks of the scopes with the old "tension" system (as I should have called it) the scopes were very cheap. As soon as the new tension system was introduced they went up a couple of hundred dollars. Now with the dollar as low as it is the scopes have gone up a bit more.

What's interesting is that in Jan 2004 you paid AU$989 for the 10" scope. The dollar at that time was around 80c US.

[GeoffW1]

0.64 to 0.65 US$ this week, but yes, the great days of US$0.85 to 0.90 are gone and won't be seen for a long while.

Now a question, because there are lots of people here with experience in the various fields (mine is the metalworking and manufacturing industry, with some plastics):

What parts in a Bintel Dob could not possibly be made in Oz for a mass market price, with commensurate accuracy?

I know the trouble is that the cost would still wind up too much, because our domestic market is tiny, but I am curious about the optics especially. The tubes can be made by any competent sheet metal worker, and the various plastic parts can be made here, as well as die castings.

Cheers