Hey guys,
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Well since this is my first post I will quickly tell you a bit about myself. I have been an armature astronomer on and off for the past 10 years in the Campbelltown area of <st1:City><st1:place>Sydney</st1:place></st1:City>. During that time I have owned two telescopes, a 60mm refractor and a 114mm equilateral reflector. Despite there small size I had a great time with both of them, but I have now worn them away.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[IMG]http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/ /><o:p></o:p>
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<FONT color=black>So I am now seriously considering purchasing the deluxe 12 inch GS-980 dob from Andrews this week. I have already measured up one of our vehicles, which is kinda like a semi-station wagon, and was glad to see the tube easily fits in the back. But I am planning on picking up the scope myself so I am wondering what are the dimensions of the box that it comes in?<o:p></o:p>
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<FONT color=black>And another question, I am also planning on purchasing the 5.2mm ED eyepiece while I am there. I plan to use it for high power observing of the moon and planets and small compact DSO. It will yield a magnification of about 290x, but will that be too much to track in this dob?<o:p></o:p>
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<FONT color=black>Anyway thanks guys for reading, and I will keep you up to date with how the scope goes.
G,day joe welcome to this fine forum With a 300mm Dob you seriously can't go wrong as long as you can handle it's bulk. In my opinion x290 maybe a bit of a hassle with a Dob, but never say never
You can go wrong depending on what you expect, I have the GSO deluxe dob (4 months old) and am happy with it's performance but very dissapointed with its build quality, rust, mirror coatings, AZ mount bearing, chipboard mount etc. For the money I expected better. I would never buy one again, just so you cant say I didnt tell you so.
Thanks Nightshift,
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Personally I dont expect a great build quality for a 12 inch dob priced at about $1000. But I do expect it to last me for some years without requiring any major improvements or repairs.<o:p></o:p>
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Also are chipboard mounts common place for most dobs today?<o:p></o:p>
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welcome and go for it and the eyepiece. it aint $7000 for a sct where you want the best of the best, but you will get many years and many satisfactory views and images!
With a 300mm Dob you seriously can't go wrong as long as you can handle it's bulk. In my opinion x290 maybe a bit of a hassle with a Dob, but never say never 
