GSO 10" dob Vs Orion XT10 intelli - Help!!

harwayharry (Wayne) · #1 31-12-2004, 03:15 AM

I am wrestling with a buying decision between the XT10 intelliscope
and buying a Guan Sheng 10" dob and fitting the Argo Navis DSCs.
Maybe someone out there can shed some light on a couple of items for
me.

1. I have been told that the intelli controller has a marked bias towards the northern hemisphere in preference to southern (me)- any knowledge?

2. Any Comments on pointing accuracy of either scope in general and/or on different surfaces (lawn vs driveway etc)?

3. Is consistency in the delivered optics an issue with either scope and if so what is back-up like from local dealers? I have heard that some XT10i scopes start showing some problems at higher magnifications and that the GSO plate mirror can have some difficulty handling temps down at around -7C (Canberra).

Any other general comments or advice also appreciated.

Saturn%5 (Graeme) · #2 31-12-2004, 08:31 AM

G'day harway7.

I went throught the same thought proccess you are going with.

I went for the 12" gso dob instead of the orion scope for a few reason.

1 I was told that the control set up was more northern skys, but could be made to work here in OZ.

2 Warranty, From what i have read Orion do not sell from there website out of the USA & Cananda So there could be a long delay if anything goes wrong with the scope to get warranty done.

3 I thought the argonarvis would be better on the gso that what Orion offer on there scope.

And when it comes to outside temp i have had my scope out in -3 with no problem at all and i must say the Lagoon looked well

Hope this helps you a little bit when you make ur mind up and I guess get what your happy with.

harwayharry (Wayne) · #3 31-12-2004, 09:37 AM

Thanks Graeme

Astro-Optical are now stockist agents for Orion in Australia (at least for 10&12 XT intellis) so whatwever I buy Sydney will be as close as I get for servicing.

Really interested to hear some more about your experience with the GSO 12 and Argo Navis and how well optics/mount/object location have gone.

cheers
Wayne
so far 4" Celestron Refractor

seeker372011 (Narayan) · #4 31-12-2004, 11:48 AM

The last issues of both Sky and Telescope and Astronomy had reviews of the Intelliscope.

Astronmy(January ) magazine's review was slightly more positive..Sky and Telescope less so ...worth getting hold of the magazines-from your library at least - before you make up your mind

MintSauce (Gordon) · #5 31-12-2004, 12:42 PM

Sky&telescope did a review, I had it and can sum it up later, if I remember they knocked the mount - but did some tricks like most people do to dob's to get it moving, and the accuracy of the push-to was a little lacking, but got objects into view of a low power eye piece.

as I say if you like I Can sum up or even scan in the review for you.

G.

MintSauce (Gordon) · #6 31-12-2004, 12:51 PM

oh how much is the Argo Navis DSCs setup? as it may be something I'd like to add to my scope as I was looking at intelliscopes but they are a little expensive to import (if only we lived in US

)

G.

MintSauce (Gordon) · #7 31-12-2004, 12:53 PM

also I have an 8" GSO as does a couple other members here, also the 10" and 12" are popular, mine cost half the price of a 10" and I think it's an excelent scope so far, not found anything to complain about (other than sticky mount, but as I say that's a general dob thing).

Starkler (Geoff) · #8 31-12-2004, 01:38 PM

The gso dob is reported to be very slightly better optically, with a slightly better focuser, but not enough to make a serious difference.

The orion intelli controller has an annoying feature of switching itself off after 15 min without a button being pressed. It then requires having to repeat star alignment.
It is powered from a 9v battery with no provision for external power.
There are also some small mechanical issues with the encoders where they can be easily damaged.

I went the cheapest possible route to fit dsc to my gso scope running PalmDSC on an old palm pilot

http://palmdsc.dougbraun.com/

Dave Ek decoder box

http://home.earthlink.net/~david.ek/digicircles/

I was lucky enough to obtain a hardware kit including encoders, mounting hardware and cables from Kendrick in USA designed for the Orion XT "classic" which happened to fit the gso dob.
I think they are no longer available.
Total cost to me was about $400 (including the palm pilot).

An argo navis or similar set up will set you back about a $1000

beren · #9 31-12-2004, 02:33 PM

If anyones interested heres a link to a Argo navis review {and some other digital setting circles} at Cloudy nights

http://www.cloudynights.com/premium2/accessories.htm

harwayharry (Wayne) · #10 31-12-2004, 05:19 PM

Thanks to all for your comments so far - very helpful. If you think of more, keep it coming!!

harwayharry (Wayne) · #11 02-01-2005, 09:00 AM

Thanks all - decsion made

After lots of feedback from different forums, I have actually decided to go with the Argo Navis and GSO. The cold conditions seem to upset the Intelli controller more than the GSO mirror and the AN controller has a built in heater. Also found out (as an indicator) that of the 800+ stars in Intelli only 8 are south of the celestial equator - northern bias? - I think so.

Anyway, how much time will I actually spend at -7*? Probably not as much as I think!!. Can always change the mirror if there are problems. In any case, the Intelli is a unique proprietory system and not transferrable to other scopes like normal (AN) DSCs.

Thanks again for your advice
kind regards

harwayharry (Wayne) · #12 02-01-2005, 09:18 AM

Sorry - correction to final message - meant to say that there appear to be only 8 reasonably bright alignment stars south of the CE in Intelli.

iceman (Mike) · #13 06-01-2005, 04:38 PM

Hey Wayne, welcome to the forums! Great to have you on board!

How much was the argo-navis and where did you buy it from? What sort of mods are needed to a standard GSO dob in order to fit the AN?

harwayharry (Wayne) · #14 07-01-2005, 10:08 AM

Hi
The controller etc is Aus$599 - the mounting kits vary with the scope but for a 10" dob they are around $300+.

There is an "order form" on the Wildcard web site where you can check (without buying) - note that GSO dob = Bintel dob for these purposes.

iceman (Mike) · #15 07-01-2005, 01:09 PM

The AN doesn't power the movement for you does it? Does it simply tell you when you're in the right position, or does it move the alt/az for you?

mch62 (Mark) · #16 07-01-2005, 03:19 PM

No , there just very good digital setting circles so to speak.
They give you a read out of what your scope is pointing at.

I was contemplating getting them at one stage but decided to fork out some more $s, build a large fork mount and go the Go-To route in the form of Mel Bartels System.
It is designed to work with a Dob or EQ scope.
All you need is his system a cheapy CPU to run it on (picked up an old p3 in the papers for $50) so it can interface with a planetarium program (although it will run with out in basic drive mode) and some modification to you existing Dob mount in the form of some large ply discs ect .
It is going to be more expensive than the A.N. but gives you one hell of a tracking platform in either ALT AZ or EQ modes .
Have you checked it out Mike?
He has designed it to be the most affordable system for the amature with out comprimising functions. It just depends on how handy you are . There is a Yahoo Forum web site for questions and info from others.

Mine should be here in the next few weeks.

http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/#servoitemsforsale

Mark

harwayharry (Wayne) · #17 07-01-2005, 06:13 PM

Hello again

This is a "push to" rather than a go to system - same as the Orion XT Intelliscope, so its worth checking out the Orion (Telescope.cpm) web site and review information on the XTi to give you a good idea of how this works. Cloudy Nights has 2 excellent articles on DSCs and Argo Navis (as well as reviews on the XT10) and I relied to some extent on these in making my decision. Ed Ting's review on the XT10 is also worth a look.

I can't tell you yet how well it all works but the CN Argo Navis forum will tell you what current users think. I went this route because I wanted the combination of aperture bang for the buck combined with a guidance system that would tell me what I was looking at (as well as guide me to what I wanted to see - if you get my drift) and the push to system seems to me to give me just that and helps me learn about guiding the scope to points and specific phenomenon in the night sky.

I can't recommend strongly enough that you visit all these sites and the Wildcard site as well as seeking any advice you need through forums. Don't rush into a decision before you have at least 99% of the facts and opinions you need!!! It is amazing how many points arise through this sort of research that you may not even have thought of - certainly worked for me.

Good Luck

Starkler (Geoff) · #18 07-01-2005, 06:39 PM

Push-to is great !
You can still use your scope if your battery runs flat.
Try doing that with an ETX or a goto sct scope

Orion · #19 07-01-2005, 08:25 PM

I’ve been using the ArgoNavis for a couple of years now and it is flawless.
The GoTo system I have is from StelarCat these two work great with each other. It is just right for big Dobs.
Might not be what you’re looking for though.

Orion · #20 07-01-2005, 08:28 PM

I’ve been using the ArgoNavis for a couple of years now and it is flawless.
The GoTo system I have is from StelarCat these two work great with each other. It is just right for big Dobs.
Might not be what you’re looking for though.