12" Lightbridge

[jet486]

With the strength of the aussie dollar and the reduction in price at Bintel of the 12" Lightbridge I'm seriously thinking of purchase this Dob and I was wondering what other accessories should I get to enhance my use of this Dob?

[astronut]

There are quite a few accessories needed........but the scope out of the box will work very well.
Take the time to get to know the scope and then ask these questions again.
First purchase, immediatley should be a collimation device. Either a Cheshire or Laser.
I've had my 12"LB for 4 1/2 years. I LOVE IT!!!!:lol::lol::lol:

[jet486]

Thanks Astronut. Just wondering with collimation would you recommend Bob's Knob's which would be fitted at Bintel?

[Radiation]

I just got a 12" LB and you will want collimation tool, I've been using a laser one and it does the trick. Checked it against some Catseye collimation tools and it was pretty close.

A shroud might be useful if there will be external light sources. The scope doesn't come with a finderscope (just a laser dot finder) if you think you'll want one.

The only problem I've had with the scope so far is that the white "locking" knobs for collimation affect the collimation when you lock it. I'm not sure what the solution to this is, but I know of one person that drilled new holes and moved the locking knobs closer to the adjustment knobs - that worked really well if you're willing to drill holes.

You'll also probably want more than one eyepiece if you don't already have some.

[bmitchell82]

Cats eye collimation is extremely accurate and due to being a passive collimation tool rocks. laser gets you kinda close but meh.

Things for when you have $$$.

Argo Navis
Teleview Paracorr
Eye pieces.

[jet486]

Thanks fella's. Brendan with the funds what eye pieces would you get?

[sasup]

You cant go wrong for the money.

[bmitchell82]

Im not the person really to ask about that due to the fact im a Astrophotographer mainly. I have in my kit though a set of Meade S5000 40mm, 26mm, 20mm and a 2x ED 2" barlow.

go to the Eyepiece forums they will answer your question in 2 seconds flat!

[jet486]

Thanks everyone.

[norm]

10mm Pentax XW
24mm Panoptic
17mm Nagler or 17mm Ethos


Cheers,

norm:)

[cjpops]

I was going for the saxon 8" but decided to spend a little extra on a larger one.

The 12" Lightbridge got my attention (same the OP here - the price is quite good) - however i might have to settle for the 10" model, for a while i assumed it came with a few eyepieces and a barlow... guess i was wrong.

Is there a cheap "pack" that has eyepieces and laser pointer for this dob somewhere? Or perhaps there's another dob is 'better value' than this?

[Jeff]

If you're going to buy the LB 12", it already comes with the 2" Meade QX 26mm which is a good started eyepiece for open clusters ... albeit with a few "seagulls" for stars towards the edge.

Suggest a good budget companion eyepiece is the Bintel SuperView 15mm (1.25") $39.00. This will do a reasonable job on smaller open clusters, globular clusters, etc.

Using this in conjunction with a Bintel Barlow 2x (1.25") $35.00 will give you decent views of Jupiter & Saturn .... although they drift from view pretty fast at high magnification using a Dob.

Using the 15mm in conjunction with a Bintel GSO ND-96 Moon (1.25") filter $15.00 will also give some great views of craters on the moon. If the moon is very bright (eg. almost full), you might be better off with 2 of these filters together.

Enjoy!

Jeff

[cjpops]

Gday Jeff! How are you?? I think I mightve bought a meade etx from you a couple of years back.

Thanks for the info, ill be getting them with my new lightbridge.. Im wondering if the 10" will do..

[sasup]

Ok this is what can be done to a 12 LB for under $5000. First three Televue eye pieces (two neglars and an ethos 9 t6-17 t4 and ethos 6mm), moonlight two speed focuser cr2, Kendrick duel dew heater ,Argo Navis and stellar cat go-to. Jeff was the one who got me fired up over the LB

[Satchmo]

I don't understand why you owners gloss over the azmuth motion problem . Out of the box , it moves nothing like a proper Dobsonian , and seems next to useless as is ( at least from what I saw of Sasup's scope at IISAC ) . You would need to jack the rocker box up on teflon pads and get rid of those roller bearings. Then it might work as a Dobsonian should :)

[cjpops]

I had no idea you could upgrade/modify LB dobs..

Geesh ive got so much to learn.:eyepop:

[sasup]

Thanks mark tell it as it is. Mark has a good point and I fixed this by installing a 4.5mm teflon pad. This has stiffend the scope massively.

[Bern]

Hi all, an interesting discussion, since I am looking at a 12" portable Dob, either Skywatcher or Lightbridge. The big plus for me is that the LB breaks down into smaller components, but this may mean more collimation and longer set-up time. Are these two points valid? On the otherhand I think the SW has a pyrex primary, whereas the LB doesn't. Am I correct, and do pyrex mirrors perform better than non-pyrex ones, all other factors being equal? Both scopes look like they come from the same factory, so I assume there is little to distinguish them, bar some peripheral components. As for their mounts, the SW (black diamond model) blurb says:

"The bearing system has been redesigned as well. The new Sky-Watcher collapsible Dobsonians feature buttery smooth azimuth bearings. Even the twelve-inch model can be rotated with just the push of a finger. Like our traditional Dobsonians, the collapsible Dobsonians feature Sky-Watcher’s patented tension adjustment control on the altitude bearings. This eliminates the need and added cost of clumsy counterweight systems to balance the telescope.
The secret of the design is to correctly balance the optical tube with special designed handles on the base. The design adds enough friction and tension to allow the tube to move easily when nudged but to stay in position when not. Users can easily add or reduce tension by turning on the handle. This feature solves the common balance problem found on many Dobsonians."


Is this the issue Satchmo is referring to with these scopes?Does the redesigned SW Blackdiamond address the problem?


Eenee meenee miney moh,
what is the best way to go?


Cheers
Bern

[cjpops]

Oh gosh I can't make my mind up..

I'm ready to buy, is there a significant difference in viewing with the 10" Lb and the 12"??

I'm wondering whether I get the 10" and spend the spare cash on better eyepieces...

[andrew2008]

I've owned a 10" and currently have a 12" skywatcher dob. There is definitely a difference between the two. Most though would say it isn't a significant difference but doing a side by side with the same eyepieces the 12 should be brighter and go just a bit deeper. 12" is where DSO's really start to show detail under good skies. It's probably best to try both beforehand if you are looking to decide which is better. I'd buy the 12" over the 10" but beware, it is significantly bigger. The 10" solid tube was manageable to pickup in one piece and walk into my yard. I wouldn't dream of trying it with the 12" and have made a frame with wheels attached to the base for ease of moving it.

[cjpops]

I just got my 12" LightBridge and man it's huge.. i'm so nervous with it.

It's too cloudy tonight so hopefully tommorow night i can get started with it.

Expect a lot of questions from me in the next few weeks - I might attend a Melbourne Astro Club to get the 'hang' of things.

[Alchemy]

Wondered why it rained today..... Now I know.

Forecast ...... Cloudy.

[sasup]

xxxxx222222222

[astronut]

Sorry Mark,
Can't agree with you here.
I've had mine for 4 years and the roller bearings have and still do work very smoothly.
My 2 cents.:)

[Jeff]

Hi Craig (and others),

Glad to hear you got the 12" LB.

I originally owned a 10" LB for a couple of years. It was a little easier to carry the OTA, and the OTA fitted nicely across the backseat of my car without disassembly. Eventually I upgraded to a 12" (after a side-by-side comparison with the 10") primarily due to more enjoyable views of planetary nebs and galaxies.

Re. Mark's comment about "the azimuth motion problem", I actually prefer the roller bearings for azimuth motion (effortless to move, yet stable at the eyepiece). I use my LB on a nice flat concrete surface, however the roller bearings can be annoying if the base is sitting on an incline (need to align the base with the incline).

Glad to hear you're still enjoying the skies. More than happy to spend an evening at the eyepiece if you're still getting the hang of things and keen to drop around. Just drop me a PM sometime.

Jeff

[cjpops]

Thanks for your kind words Jeff might join you on your next group stargazing.. Im reading up melbourne astronomy club also, very interested joining.

Ive already hit a wall with my setup

I was attempting to adjust the scope and dot finder to a distance pole and found it difficult (first time) for whatever reason the adjuster 'doesn't' move up or down when im turning the hex screw. Not sure if its me or the red dot's faulty? Or it moves extremely slow etc... Im sure im doing something wrong, ill try again later on..

[JethroB76]

I found my LB red dot finder to be all but unusable. Unable to adjust alignment and multiple blurry reticle images. Its quite possible that it could be faulty - get it checked out when you go to a club meet, or if your vendor is local

[cjpops]

After having a look at the viewfinder itself, i tightened up the both up/right screws and then tried again.. The dot is now moving.

It seems it adjuster screws was very loose in the first place. Thanks everyone.

[Kevnool]

The Solution is to throw them over your shoulder.
They dont do anything but give you heartache.
Why would you want to collimate you scope then put it straight out when you tighten them up.
Your solution really is to upgrade those 3 cheap springs that came with the scope and replace them with good quality compression springs.
Then you will have no movement at all.

Cheers Kev.

[cjpops]

Looked at Eagle Nebula, Jupiter and Venus before it went down.
Absolutely stunning!

I've already got a 15mm eyepiece and was wondering if i bought a 2mm Barlow adapter would it be worthwhile? Wasnt sure if the view would be blurry/useless