[ngcles]

Hi Darkskybondi & All,

You may be interested to know that one of the the 'scopes you are looking at purchasing (the 12" Skywatcher solid tube dob) was recently reviewed in Australian Sky & Telescope July/Aug 2008 p46-48. It will give you all the weights and measures you need to know -- and a whole lot more info.

If you live in Bondi and are keen on deep sky (as the user id implies), then the 'scope will most likely need to travel in your vehicle to dark skies from time to time. It is a big 'scope (the 12" tube dob) and you should measure your car carefully to ensure it goes in comfortably before you purchase.

Remember, the best 'scope for you is one you will use the most often. Choose accordingly.

Suggest you also do a search on threads within IIS for eyepieces and advice on them -- a subject that provokes nearly as many different opinions as there are Indians in Bangalore. Eyepieces are generally a pretty subjective choice/preference. Advice is good but is no substitute for trying it out for yourself. Join a club/society and go to the field nights where you can borrow a few eyepieces from others to try them out or at least look through them in other people's 'scopes.

Just one further piece of advice on eyepieces from me -- it is better to have a small number of high quality ones than 10 mediocre ones. Use the supplied ones which are reasonable starter quality until you can save a bit more and then down the track, get ones really worth keeping for a lifetime.

Good luck with your choice of 'scope.


Best,

Les D