[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Hi Antony,

I have owned / do own: 4" Newtonian, 8" f/6 GSO Dob, 80mm ED refractor, 4" SW Mak, 12" GSO Dob, 10" SW Dob, 8" f/4 custom made Dob (GSO optics), 6" Intes Mak. I was living very close to where you are when I got started, so I can empathise with your light pollution woes. I spent many nights in the back yard and occasionally in local parks with my 8" GSO Dob in Mt Waverley, as well as out in the country under clear and dark skies. By far the most satisfying and easiest to use scope was the 8" GSO. Unfortunately one carefree / careless night, having a bit of a party at a friend's place, we left the scope in the driveway and someone came along and took it. I still miss that scope. It was the best all rounder.

If you ever decide to sell yours, please do let me know!!

So my advice to you is to try and make your 8" dob work for you. Simple mods can make a big difference. Some things I did to mine: attached handles to the base which made i much easier to move around, made the alt-az bearings smoother (like ebony star on the base), got her a better finder, learnt how to keep it collimated precisely, got some nice EPs, binoviewer... And every clear-night dinner party she'd be there to knock the guests socks off. I did and do the same things with all my other scopes. But the 8" f/6 really hit the sweet spot for performance, ergonomics and mobility.

You might like to upgrade to one of the newer collapsable models. Maybe even a goto model. But that would be well over your budget, so really I think you have the best scope your money can buy.