I'm concerned about the impact the offending post (sorry Andrew) might have on potential female buyers on dobsonian telescopes.
Girls looking to buy a 10" dob take heed please- if I can manage a 10" dob so can you. I'm 5 4" and weight 44kg- it's more than half my weight (The tube is close to 16kg and the base is around 10kg). When I upgraded from a 6", I was going for an 8" but everyone on the forum had more confidence in me than I did in convincing me (and me succumbing) to the 10". I took it that they knew best. They were right & I've never looked back. These guys know what they are talking about! Hubby fitted wheels to the base, so it's easy to get it out. I can't carry it to put it into the boot to go to a dark site, but no big deal because hubby does that for me. All the girls I know that have got the 10" are capable of carrying a 10" by themselves. If you're not easily able to put wheels on it, a $20 trolley from Bunnings will do the job (your local astro shop I'm sure will even show you how to load it on with a trolley of theirs). If she needs to climb down steps to observe & lives on her own (say in a unit) and is as weak as myself, then I guess there could be a bit of a problem, but I'm thinking a garage would accommodate the scope anyway.
Point 1: Manual star hopping.
Seriously- I could never read a map- get lost in a circle I would. But there I was star hopping across the universe finding a ton of objects manually. As far as I'm concerned (& most will agree), the best learning is done by learning manually. I did two and half years of it before getting guidance on the dob.
Point 2: Being a girl.
No surprise to most, I'm very much a girrly girl- hate the cold, hate discomfort, weakling, couldn't read road maps, Ron even reserves his little concrete slab just for me at his star parties
, if a guy wants to carry something for me- carry away I say
, the list goes on- I'm a preverbial feminists nightmare
, yet many here on this forum have given me constant support and encouragement because they believe in me. It really is amazing what one can do when one is passionate about something and I refuse Russ' help when he offers it when I'm observing at home. So basically I say this to all girls out there who might be afraid of buying a dobsonian scope or getting into astronomy- If I can do it- anyone can!!!
Here's proof- big dob and feather weight astro girl that handles it- piece of cake
And that's Brian Cox in the pic with me. Don't ask me how he got there, he just is.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...se.php?a=91089