[deepblue]

Hello Guys

I wanted to introdice myself to you all and ask for your considered advice.

Always wanted a scope as a kid but couldn't afford one and even had the option of doing astronomy at Uni but declined as had other pursuits to follow at that time during the hours of darkness !

Anyway, things have moved on and my interest rekindled by living down in Oz and the availability of relatively cheap (compared to years ago when I couldn't afford one) great quality large aperture reflectors. Like most newbies I am drawn to large aperture to gather the most light and the Dobsonian mount looks easy to use for hopping around.

An thinking of a 10 or 12 in Guang Shen dob and wanted to get a few pointers. I realise the 12 in is large and heavy, but has anyone had experience of moving the 12in around. Is it do-able - I am fairly large and strong with no bad back as yet....

The OTA comes off from the mount, but how difficult is it to take off/put back on the mount?

Also a question on colimaters. The laser variety sounds perfect for the newbie but I have read elsewhere on this site that best not to use them. What type of colimater is best/easiest to use?

Finally eyepieces - what focal lengths would be appropriate for the GS980 to give a good range of magnification and wide field of views?

Oh, I forget to ask where are the best sites for viewing in Sydney? I've been up to Tania Park in Balgowlah Heights where you get uninterrupted 360 views. Light pollution a bit of a problem but don't know how compares to other sites on the North Shore...

Appreciate any help and comment

Cheers

Deepblue