Dob advice

[Tamtarn]

Congratulations on your new scope.

You have chosen well for portability and the 12" will give you great viewing.

Have you checked Bintel Sydney for your laser, as they can post one overnight if they have stock.

David

[xelasnave]

Go for the 12inch.. put some little wheels on it for around the house and buy a truck if you want to go anywhere with it... you may find you end up with a few scopes..everyone says they wont but look at the gear list of so many here...its like golf you would not go out with just a 2 wood.

Best wishes whatever you decide to do you will have a great time..my first was a 4 inch and then a 6 inch...I now use the 6 inch for imaging and as happy with it today..more so actually..as the days of its arrival.
best wishes and good luck.
alex

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Go for the 12inch.. put some little wheels on it for around the house and buy a truck if you want to go anywhere with it... you may find you end up with a few scopes..everyone says they wont but look at the gear list of so many here...its like golf you would not go out with just a 2 wood.

Best wishes whatever you decide to do you will have a great time..my first was a 4 inch and then a 6 inch...I now use the 6 inch for imaging and as happy with it today..more so actually..as the days of its arrival.
best wishes and good luck.
alex

hehe.. you're a bit late Alex. He's already observing though his 12" LB.....

Cheers
Chris

[xelasnave]

I realised after I posted that I missed it but left is as a support thing...
alex

[PCH (Paul)]

Hi Andromeda,

Good Buy

I have a 12" LB and as the guys have said, the stronger springs for the primary mirror are pretty much mandatory as the springs supplied will barely hold the weight of the mirror with the scope pointing directly upwards. And the Bobs Knobs certainly make colimation much easier.

Sometimes for newbies, colimation can be a bit confusing, so you might like to take a look at this link if you haven't already seen it. It gives us a simple to understand explanation of what it is we're trying to achieve.

http://www.andysshotglass.com/Collimating.html

Happy viewing

[andromeda]

Thanks all!

I did a "by eye" collimation and it seemed pretty good on my first viewing session. Once I have the laser collimator I'll see the difference.

I haven't noticed the softer springs being a problem yet. I emphasise because I've only been out with it once. Damn cloudy Melbourne nights!

Agreed, Bobs Knobs are a definite, wheels too! I need to read up a bit more on eyepieces. The 26mm wide angle that came with it is excellent, I aimed the scope at Jupiter and could see it clearly as a sphere with it's moons. Awesome! But I was hoping to see some bands/colouration maybe? Bleh. (Would info from http://www.scopesim.com/ be accurate?). A Barlow may be a good purchase.

However, I think I'll be patient and wait to head for some darker skies.

I'm just really, really hanging out for some clear nights! Hopefully some decent viewing over the weekend! Again, Melbourne weather!

Thanks!
-andromeda

P.S. Still semi-on topic here I guess . Maybe I should start a new eyepiece thread.

[PCH (Paul)]

Hi Andromeda,

".. (Would info from http://www.scopesim.com/ be accurate?). ......."

I don't think that simulator is too accurate. I believe you'll see a good deal better than that seems to suggest ...

Cheers,

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Hi Andromeda,

Indeed congratulations on your new scope! Seems like your next adventure will be the establishment of an eyepiece set. My goodness, how much research and obsession can go into that! I found the info in this forum very useful.

Have fun!

[thorsdad]

Hi Andromeda,

I also have just upgraded, to a gso 200 x 1200 dob. Looks like the melbourne weather will be cloudy for at least a month now.
Ah well, we won't have to water the garden.
Hope it clears up soon, looking forward to putting it through it's paces. Interested to see how you go with additional eyepieces. I got a 9 and 25 1.25" plossl included and 2x barlow. Wondering whether a 2" 65 deg ep might be worthwhile.

Cheers