[BowzerS14]

Hi all
I had my 8" Bintel scope out on saturday night, it seemed to be clear but the stars and so on were all glimering, not so good. Also it was a full moon nearly, i think, and it was dam bright, so bright it ruined everything around it.

Anyway just a few questions
Does any1 else have problems with the balance of there dobsonian when it gets closer to the vertical. As my gets near this point it just tips all the way up. Is there any simple counterweight system i could use or is commonly used?????

Also what should i be able to see in terms of magnification with the 9mm eyepiece. I alinged the finderscope and searched for a few targets but even with max magnification they were tiny little dots (I know the 9mm still only gives me about 133x and my targets are very distant but what can i expect to see with this).
I really need to sit down and have a proper look at some star charts so i know what im looking at!!! lol.
I only had this one chance to use so i dove in and didnt take much time to study any charts.

Cheers and thanks for ur help