Has anyone used a Skywatcher Synscan 12 GOTO Dobsonian?
Hi all,
I have a friend who is thinking of buying the above telescope.
Just wondering if anyone on IceinSpace has one, and if they are any good? By any good, I am wondering if the optics stay collimated. My friend has no experience in collimating telescopes. The other thing is of course if the tracking works as advertised.
I picked mine up a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, I have only had a couple of opportunities to trial it due to the weather we have been experiencing in Adelaide. But so far, I am quite impressed.
I have purchased a stacker trolley to assist in moving the scope around, but the scope is movable without it. So, for first light, I carried the base out followed by the OTA. I must admit, it is a bit awkward trying to align the tube into the guide on the base. Once I have some time, I will modify the trolley such that I can wheel the whole unit out in one piece. For second light, I transported the complete unit in one go....... talk about 12 inches of grab and go!!
One thing I have noted is that contrary to what I have read, the scope is not that difficult to move around the sky without power. Of course not as smooth as an unpowered dob, but much easier than I expected, but I digress.
On setup, I did not bother checking how level the base was, just pushed the scope to Alpha Centauri and powered up the baby. Went through the normal Synscan routine, and proceeded to a two star alignment. I got the "ailgnment successful" display, so proceeded to choose Omega Centauri as the first go to object. Given my lacksadaisical approach to levelling and setting the time, I was very pleasantly surprised that Omega Centauri was within field of view of the 24mm Panoptic. The goto is very loud, especially in altitude, but once it is tracking, you cannot hear it. I centred the object and left it for about 10 minutes, and when I came back, it was still fairly central. I did a couple of other gotos, and the objects (M104, Antares, M4 and Centaurus A) were all in the field of view.
Second light I did take a bit more care to ensure the base was level. Once again I did the two star alignment, this time using my 12mm illuminated reticule for better centering accuracy . Over the course of the evening, I found that all objects were within the field of view of my 13mm Nagler. I left the scope on Tarantula with the 13mm for about 15 minutes and when I came back, it was still close to centre in the eyepiece. So I am extremely pleased with the tracking.
In terms of holding collimation, I would say that it is pretty stable considering the extension/retraction process. Just a minor tweak required.
All in all, very pleased with the unit so far........ a very nice addition to my EQ6 Pro.
I have a friend who is thinking of buying the above telescope.
Just wondering if anyone on IceinSpace has one, and if they are any good? By any good, I am wondering if the optics stay collimated. My friend has no experience in collimating telescopes. The other thing is of course if the tracking works as advertised.
Regards,
Paul Floyd.
I'm getting a 16" on Saturday and I'll let you know what my impressions are, provided the weather cooperates
I picked mine up a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, I have only had a couple of opportunities to trial it due to the weather we have been experiencing in Adelaide. But so far, I am quite impressed.
I have purchased a stacker trolley to assist in moving the scope around, but the scope is movable without it. So, for first light, I carried the base out followed by the OTA. I must admit, it is a bit awkward trying to align the tube into the guide on the base. Once I have some time, I will modify the trolley such that I can wheel the whole unit out in one piece. For second light, I transported the complete unit in one go....... talk about 12 inches of grab and go!!
One thing I have noted is that contrary to what I have read, the scope is not that difficult to move around the sky without power. Of course not as smooth as an unpowered dob, but much easier than I expected, but I digress.
On setup, I did not bother checking how level the base was, just pushed the scope to Alpha Centauri and powered up the baby. Went through the normal Synscan routine, and proceeded to a two star alignment. I got the "ailgnment successful" display, so proceeded to choose Omega Centauri as the first go to object. Given my lacksadaisical approach to levelling and setting the time, I was very pleasantly surprised that Omega Centauri was within field of view of the 24mm Panoptic. The goto is very loud, especially in altitude, but once it is tracking, you cannot hear it. I centred the object and left it for about 10 minutes, and when I came back, it was still fairly central. I did a couple of other gotos, and the objects (M104, Antares, M4 and Centaurus A) were all in the field of view.
Second light I did take a bit more care to ensure the base was level. Once again I did the two star alignment, this time using my 12mm illuminated reticule for better centering accuracy . Over the course of the evening, I found that all objects were within the field of view of my 13mm Nagler. I left the scope on Tarantula with the 13mm for about 15 minutes and when I came back, it was still close to centre in the eyepiece. So I am extremely pleased with the tracking.
In terms of holding collimation, I would say that it is pretty stable considering the extension/retraction process. Just a minor tweak required.
All in all, very pleased with the unit so far........ a very nice addition to my EQ6 Pro.
I have the 12 Goto and I think she's great. Perfect balance between maximum aperture and portability for me.
Goto function works perfectly and tracking is superb. Search for my posts and you can see some of the DSO objects I have imaged too.
I would highly recommend it to anyone that is a visual observer that also has an interest in AP.
It's not a starter scope due to a reasonable cash investment and it's size, but as a progression from a starter scope in my opinion it's perfect.
Thanks for that information. I will pass it onto my friend.
I have a question that I would like to ask. Have you tried planetary imaging with a webcam using your 12inch? I am assuming it should work well. Registax should be able to cope with rotating the images slightly.
Regards,
Paul Floyd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Ward
I have the 12 Goto and I think she's great. Perfect balance between maximum aperture and portability for me.
Goto function works perfectly and tracking is superb. Search for my posts and you can see some of the DSO objects I have imaged too.
I would highly recommend it to anyone that is a visual observer that also has an interest in AP.
It's not a starter scope due to a reasonable cash investment and it's size, but as a progression from a starter scope in my opinion it's perfect.
Thought this might be an appropriate update with my 12 Inch Goto.
Up until now, I had not had the opportunity to view the moon with the 12 inch dob. Last night, there seemed to be a break in the clouds, and the seeing did not look too bad so decided to quickly get the scope out, let it cool down a bit and see what it could do. I gave it a good collimation then did a quick star check and everything seemed spot on.
Initially with the 24mm Panoptic, absolutely crystal clear. Progressively went through a couple of more eyepieces and then thought what the heck.... took out the 4mm Burgess Optical/TMB Planetary. I though this would be pushing things. At 375x, the view was absolutely mesmerising. I then decided 'no guts no glory' and got out the 2.5x Powermate. At a staggering 937.5x I was viewing individual craters. I then set that rate mode to #2 and basically panned across the surface of the moon. I was absolutely gobsmacked at what the scope was bringing up. I have never really studied the moon with such a large aperture, but WOW! With the tracking set to lunar mode, it tracked wonderfully.
I then decided to get the DMK out. Part of my reason for purchasing this dob was to see whether it would be a possible candidate for some high res lunar imaging. As the cloud cover was increasing, I did manage to capture a couple of avi's with the DMK21 and a 5x Powermate. I will have a go at processing tonight, but I think I need more practice in IC Capture and playing around with the Gain and Gamma settings. But, the tracking seemed to keep the image very smooth. Damn clouds!!
All in all, because of these preliminary results, this scope is a definite keeper!! I know I had this one advertised to try and go to either the 14 or 16, but I think this one is too good to move on.
Hi Daniel, You can't go too wrong with the DOB and one that tracks. Mine on its own does not track or goto but with assistance similar to yours can work well.
Hi Daniel, You can't go too wrong with the DOB and one that tracks. Mine on its own does not track or goto but with assistance similar to yours can work well.
The scope is heavy, but I transport it as a complete unit utilising a sack trolley. To make this even easier, (yes honey, in case you are watching, after I finish painting the house ) I want to build a small 1m by 1m insulated "storage shed" alongside the observatory and have the dob on a trolley structure so that I can wheel it out on to the lawn. Might even make it tall so that I do not even have to collapse it - however not sure how stable this will be for pulling it around?
Thought this might be an appropriate update with my 12 Inch Goto.
Up until now, I had not had the opportunity to view the moon with the 12 inch dob. Last night, there seemed to be a break in the clouds, and the seeing did not look too bad so decided to quickly get the scope out, let it cool down a bit and see what it could do. I gave it a good collimation then did a quick star check and everything seemed spot on.
Initially with the 24mm Panoptic, absolutely crystal clear. Progressively went through a couple of more eyepieces and then thought what the heck.... took out the 4mm Burgess Optical/TMB Planetary. I though this would be pushing things. At 375x, the view was absolutely mesmerising. I then decided 'no guts no glory' and got out the 2.5x Powermate. At a staggering 937.5x I was viewing individual craters. I then set that rate mode to #2 and basically panned across the surface of the moon. I was absolutely gobsmacked at what the scope was bringing up. I have never really studied the moon with such a large aperture, but WOW! With the tracking set to lunar mode, it tracked wonderfully.
I then decided to get the DMK out. Part of my reason for purchasing this dob was to see whether it would be a possible candidate for some high res lunar imaging. As the cloud cover was increasing, I did manage to capture a couple of avi's with the DMK21 and a 5x Powermate. I will have a go at processing tonight, but I think I need more practice in IC Capture and playing around with the Gain and Gamma settings. But, the tracking seemed to keep the image very smooth. Damn clouds!!
All in all, because of these preliminary results, this scope is a definite keeper!! I know I had this one advertised to try and go to either the 14 or 16, but I think this one is too good to move on.
Cheers,
Daniel
I have tried a quick process on one of the avi's. This was with the DMK21 and a 2.5x Powermate, giving approximately 3750mm focal length (f12.5), stacked in Registax and touched up in PS. A bit of a breezy night, and alot of learnings yet to happen with focus, gain and gamma settings, but the potential seems there.
And just for the sake of the excercise, here is one with the DMK21 and a 5x powermate (f25 or around 7500mm focal length). The focus was a bit soft and the seeing was starting to jump around after some clouds had passed through, but quite pleased with the tracking.
Just need some clear skies and some nice seeing and a bit longer avi's.
And just for the sake of the excercise, here is one with the DMK21 and a 5x powermate (f25 or around 7500mm focal length). The focus was a bit soft and the seeing was starting to jump around after some clouds had passed through, but quite pleased with the tracking.
Just need some clear skies and some nice seeing and a bit longer avi's.
Cheers,
Daniel
I love that, the shadows cast from the edges of the crater !!
Great Stuff
Dobs have come such a long way. I can still recall reading Mike's first article on imaging with a dob. Now the have goto they would be the simplest platform for Planetary imaging. But hats of to Mike and the others who were far more paitent then i back then.
Daniel those are some great images you have of the Moon. I would really like to see what a Qhy5 could do on the moon through these dobs. While the CMOS chip is not great for Planetary, for the Moon it has turned out some amazing shots.
So many temptations now. All i need is to win the lotto.
My experience of the Dob agrees with Daniel's, and I don't think I would have as much involvement in astronomy now as I do now without the combination of Goto, the Dob design, and the 12"
Tom those pics are awsome i would be so so so proud if i could get shots like that i have the same camera and scope as you so this can be possible for me to do one day woohoooo
Daniel im glad you decided to keep your scope it is a beautiful scope I LOVE MY JOHNNY im just getting ready to try and take some pics with mine too (as soon as the weather gets better) The only problem i do have with the scope is that it is a bit too heavy for me to get outside by myself so looking at your trolley looks just like what i need what did you make your dew shield out of and where did you get that cover from i need one of those too
. Over the course of the evening, I found that all objects were within the field of view of my 13mm Nagler. I left the scope on Tarantula with the 13mm for about 15 minutes and when I came back, it was still close to centre in the eyepiece. So I am extremely pleased with the tracking.
!!
Tom those pics are awsome i would be so so so proud if i could get shots like that i have the same camera and scope as you so this can be possible for me to do one day woohoooo 
im just getting ready to try and take some pics with mine too (as soon as the weather gets better)
