[PetarB (Petar)]

I've been a naked-eye and binocular observer since the age of 8 (i'm now 37) and its time I bought myself a scope. Recently, when just making out the the moons around Jupiter through my binoculars, I've been itching to see more. And as for those deep sky objects...

So to dip my toe in the water I've decided to get a 12" GSO Dobsonian. The collapsible Skywatchers looks good, however the mechanics of the collapsibles makes me think they will have to be collimated a lot, in relation to a rigid tube. The GSO seem to be good value for money too.

Any advice on these scopes? Any 'gotchas'? From what I read, 'stiction' seems to be an issue for the mount.

I imagine I will get a Telrad, is this the best finder for this size/type?

I will probably do most of my observing from my backyard... I'll have to move the scope out a few metres when observing. I hear a lot of complaints about moving these size scopes but I'm pretty fit. Perhaps I could build some sort of trolley?

Anyway, I look forward to any advice and insights...