GS or Saxon 10' DOB

[Eardrum73]

hi-hi Everyone!

Wow...The 12' gargantuan water heater is really difficult to move around.... Should have resisted the tempation of the great deal Andrews offered me and gone for a 8' or 10' dob instead. Oh well no point crying over split milk.... (can't blame Andrews though, I pretty much asked for the 12')

I got the one with the right angel finderscope.... from the sound of things it may not have been the best .....opps did I err?

Yes i got the premium with the crayford and fan.

It also came with:
4 eyepeices... 40mm, 25mm, 9 mm and 6.5 mm.
1 Barlow - 26mm (just how do I fit the eyepeices in the Barlow?????)
1 Moon Filter
4 Colour filters - Red, Blue, Yellow and Green
1 2005 Astronomy Book/Diary/map
1 Andrews Binoculars!

All for $999, I just couldn't resist!

I got the Eyepieces, Barlow and Filters right in front of me as I am typing this...
I have unscrewed the barlow (the silver metal bit from the back part) and still can't find a place where the eye peices can sit firmly in the barlow.... if I put it in it will just trash around, and I canwhat must I do?

And thanks for the bit about the color filters Janokiss, I just screw it on to the back of the eyepeice. so thats one down!!!

[davidpretorius]

Originally Posted by Eardrum73

hi-hi Everyone!
I got the one with the right angel finderscope.... from the sound of things it may not have been the best .....opps did I err?

Yes i got the premium with the crayford and fan.

It also came with:
4 eyepeices... 40mm, 25mm, 9 mm and 6.5 mm.
1 Barlow - 26mm (just how do I fit the eyepeices in the Barlow?????)
1 Moon Filter
4 Colour filters - Red, Blue, Yellow and Green
1 2005 Astronomy Book/Diary/map
1 Andrews Binoculars!

All for $999, I just couldn't resist!

I got the Eyepieces, Barlow and Filters right in front of me as I am typing this...
I have unscrewed the barlow (the silver metal bit from the back part) and still can't find a place where the eye peices can sit firmly in the barlow.... if I put it in it will just trash around, and I canwhat must I do?

And thanks for the bit about the color filters Janokiss, I just screw it on to the back of the eyepeice. so thats one down!!!

right angles seem to be the go!

one end of the barlow should be 1.25" and fit where the eyepieces go into the focusser

the other end should be were the eyepieces now go. i do not own a barlwo yet, but hopefully there is a grub screw to hold your eyepieces in.

good stuff with the crayford.

actually, do you actually have a barlow, i reckon you simply have a 26mm 2" eyepiece??? i have never heard of a 26mm barlow???? usually 2x or 3x barlow.

[Eardrum73]

Ello again,

I tried out my new scope for the first time tonight and unfortunately my experience with it was rather ordinary - downright dissapointing actually. But I think it more to do with the user the the actual scope itself - or at least I hope so anyway!

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o:p>The finderscope seems to be much clearer than the 12'</o:p><o:p> dob itself !!!!! How can this be? </o:p>
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<o:p>I was using the 40 mm eyepeice and the sky does not look no where near as large or as sharp as the finders scope.</o:p>
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<o:p>Then I tried the 9mm, and 25mm to no avail, just a big blurry haze came up where the stars should be..... </o:p>
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<o:p>And then I fitted the Barlow which also yieded the same massive blur. </o:p>
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<o:p>Right now the best view I could get was from the free Binoculus that came with the deal! </o:p>
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<o:p>I was expecteding closer view of the stars, the scope did not seem to resolve anything close to what a 12' scope should, the best view I got was same as if I was looking at the night sky with my eyes. (with 40mm)</o:p>
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<o:p>Am I doing something wrong?</o:p>
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<o:p>I did leave the scope outside for at leat 45 mins to let it cool down so it can't be the temperature.</o:p>
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<o:p>I check for collimation, and to the best of my knowledge (which ain't great as I am a noob in all this) I "think" its collimated.</o:p>
<o:p>I think its not the collimation anyway, as I think if the collimation is "out" then the objects should "resolve" appear larger... but not clear. The image I was getting was not even large, just same as if I was looking into the sky with my naked eyes.</o:p>
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<o:p>Could it have been the environment? light pollution etc? shouldn't I have been able to see at least a large blur? instead of nothing at all.....</o:p>
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<o:p>Any advice guys? </o:p>
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<o:p>Will try again tommorrow night if there are clear skies, and will let you know how I go......</o:p>
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[Eardrum73]

Oh dear... it must have been the 2' eye piece, Maggie the shop assintant said it was a Barlow... so I took her word for. (given I am a newbie and all.)
She even said that it would double the power of all my eyepieces and proceeded to calculate what half the size of my eyepieces would be. LOL. I don't think she was being deceitful though - like me, all this was probably new to her as well.

[davidpretorius]

if she said it would double then it is a barlow, but still 26mm??

can you take a picture of all your eyepieces together and post to the forum?

also did you try the moon and how were you focussing?

when you were turning the focusser did the stars look like cd's discs?

[Eardrum73]

Would that I could DavidPretorius.... but I don't own a digital camera at the moment

But I think you are right in saying that its an eyepeice. As it really does look exactly like the smaller eyepieces just oversized!! It also printed 26mm -Fully Multi-coated on the surface.

Now I have a 25 and 26 mm eyepeice... LOL, what a joke!

I didn' try to look at the moon for two reasons,

1)The moon was always getting lost in the cloubs.
2)the glare - at that time I still didn't know how to screw on the filters yet. - doh

Cd disks? no not at all....

When I used the 25mm and 9mm it was all a big blurry haze.... turning the focuser had no effect.

When I used the 40 mm it just looked normal like looking at the stars my eyes. ( a little worst infact), it did not enlarge the star shapes or anything.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

You did well not to resist because you got a super deal! Wow! I'm so filled with envy!

Put the Barlow back together! There is no need to pull anything apart. The Barlow (as you received it) should be inserted in the focuser and then the eyepieces can be inserted in the the Barlow. But normally you do not need a Barlow; just an eyepiece in the focuser.

First, you should try out the scope with the 40mm and then with the 25mm eyepiece in the focuser. Once you manage with those, then you can move onto the 10 & 6.5mm eyepieces, although the latter will probably be rather uncomfortable (short on eye relief).

I'm guessing you did not get any collimation tools. After you had a good look around, you might notice some artifacts (e.g., coloured edges) around the edges of planets like Venus, Jupiter and Mars, or on bright stars. That is a good indication you need to collimate your scope. It's easy, but you need to read up on it. Check this Orion XT10 users' guide (same scope as yours just 2" smaller):

http://www.telescope.com/text/conten...yQuestXT10.pdf

Regardless of collimation, the above document is a good read, and will give you an idea of how to use your telescope.

BTW... The right angle finder is a GOOD THING! You normally pay extra for this! It's just that for us beginners a straight through is better for targets well below zenith. Once you learn the sky, right angle finder is what you want on a Dob. Just about every Dob owner with a straight-thru finder wants a right-angle one! If you'd still rather have a straight-thru finder, I'll swap you and pay for postage both ways and send you $10!

[davidpretorius]

Originally Posted by Eardrum73

Now I have a 25 and 26 mm eyepeice... LOL, what a joke!

I didn' try to look at the moon for two reasons,

1)The moon was always getting lost in the cloubs.
2)the glare - at that time I still didn't know how to screw on the filters yet. - doh

Cd disks? no not at all....

When I used the 25mm and 9mm it was all a big blurry haze.... turning the focuser had no effect.

When I used the 40 mm it just looked normal like looking at the stars my eyes. ( a little worst infact), it did not enlarge the star shapes or anything.

no not a joke, the 26mm 2" eyepiece will give you wide views. I have a 2" 30mm ultrawide from andrews and it is my favourite eyepiece.

the 25mm normal eyepiece will probably give you more magnification, so don't feel ripped off.

is the focusser actually moving in and out? there are two screws under the focusser that control the in and out movement. if the screws are undone, then turning the knobs will have no effect. try doing up the screws one at a time and see if that makes the focusser go in and out.

i would definately try the moon to start with, as it is really easy to focus on and then you can move to other stars and objects. the moon will drown out a lot of stars at the moment. the moon is great to look at. your 9mm will blow you away at how close you seem when you look.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Sorry you weren't successful on first light. Try during the day, to get a feel for how the whole optical path works.

The optics should always be good enough (even if miscollimated) to show you something that you can get a reasonably good focus on. It is a full Moon so try looking at the Moon first. If you can get a good focus, then good.. Then try to find the Lagoon Nebula. Once you've done all that you're ready to explore on your own.

"Blurry haze" with no help at the focuser sounds like dew to me. Always keep an eye on the glass surfaces along the optical path. (Yes, sorry, there is always more than what you're told before buying your scope.)

[Eardrum73]

Ok - from what you guys have said it all sounds like a user issue... (phew)
I will play around with the moon first and and then I'll the lagoon nebula and the stars later.

Yes the focuser is moving in and out, when I had the 40 mm on, it got blur and clear... until I could find an optimum spot.
But I still feel that the 40 mm eyepeice should have at least perform better than my eyes though. (or the finderscope for that matter.)

Dew at the focuser - eek! How do I fix that? cus the focuser is inside the tube. Can't put due shields on..... or did you mean the diagonal mirror Janokiss?

The one thing thats not so good about the GS dob is that it is supplied with hardly any instructions.... Just assembly stuff and thats it!
I mean just look at the Skyquest manual Wow. Now thats instructions!

But no - I don't feel ripped off at all, even better now that I know my 2' 26mm will give a wider feel of view....

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

The Skyquest is the exact same Dob you got (except you got the 12", or XT12, for which there is no downloadable manual yet). So you have instructions, just not specific to the accessories that came with your scope.

If you do have dew, it is obvious. If you're not sure, just shine a torch on the suspect glass surface, and you will see clear reflection vs haze.

[davidpretorius]

i spose beginners eagerness.

30mm and 40mm eyepieces at first seem like a waste of time.

when i got mine 3 months ago, hardly used the 25mm and 40mm as jupiter as out and i wanted to get as close as possible. as time went on and you start to look at lagoon and taratula and other nebulas on a dark night with no moon, that is where a nice wide view comes into play

to work out magnification, divide the mm of the eyepiece into the fl of your scope. i assume your scope has a focal length of 1500mm, so divide 40mm into that and you get 35 x magnification. so the smaller the mm on the eyepiece the more magnification. more magnification great for planets, not good for a dak night when you want lots of stars in the field of view.

have a look at the cardboard on the finder in this video of my scope. i got some cardboard rolled into a circle and stickytaped around the finder scope. no more dew.

http://www.precons.com/iis/gallery/m...050915_001.avi

[netwolf]

Eardrum73, where abouts in sydney are you perhaps one of us can drop by and help you. Or better yet maybe you can drop by one of the star parties that are on in the near future.

[Eardrum73]

thanks for the Skyquest manual Janokiss. The skyquest has collimation, how to view, how to use, etc etc...

the GS one has base assembly and fitting the tube on the base and thats it!

But with the web these days thats not a big issue at all, I am happy with what I got.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

No worries, Eardrum. You've got a great scope, and you'll get the hang of it in no time. Then you'll want to take it to a dark site for a real experience. That's what I did but with only an 8" (200mm) Dob. I can only imagine how much better the 12" would be (and I'm turning green as I'm writing this).

[Eardrum73]

Ya, I noted the cardboard dew shield on the finderscope the first time I saw your video. But I think what Janokiss meant was dew in the diagonal mirror or focuser. But I don't think that was the case with me last night.... I think (and hope) that it was just beginner user error on the focusing.

hmm I see, so nebula's are best on dark nights with wide fields of view....

And the smaller mm eyepeices are good for planet detail when the moon is bright. (Neat add this to the list of things I learnt today )

Damn... my neighbour had their backyard light on as well. My have contributed to my inagural downfall in celestial viewing.

[Eardrum73]

Thanks for the offer Netwolf, I reside in the north west of Sydney in a suburb called Kenthurst.
But at this stage I would like to give myself a few more chances to work things out by myself. I am still all new to this, but I am not going to be phased by one night of poor viewing. Nothing better than to improve oneself with trial and error. No need to hit the panic buttons yet

The star parties definitely sound interest.... definetly something I will want to seriously consider in the future.

[davidpretorius]

if the weather is looking good for the next star party i would make that your #1 priority. do not worry about looking silly. these forum guys will drop everything and help you. this is what makes this site stand out! the #1 priority is to help others.

try some stuff yourself for personal pride, that is important too, but i would hate for you to be disheartened.

i have sat out there at night and been awestruck the first time i saw the orion nebula with a 40mm eyepiece mind you!! the 40mm also on the tarantula nebula, again as it is so big and wide. indeed if you eventually get to imaging orion,the 40mm needs to be reduced to get all the detail in!!!.

hunting down and finding neptune and uranus, i was holding by breath. no they do not look like a dinner plate at this distance, they are bluish and not much bigger than a star, but still beautiful.

moon first, get that focussed with all 5 eyepieces, i will private message you with my mobile and i will talk you thru it.

get to a dark sight, pull out the 2", start out at the south and work your way north thru the milky way you will sit there all night, guarenteed!

[Eardrum73]

Hi there,

didn't get a chance to see anything last night too busy with other commitments. When I get a chance to look at the night sky again I will post and let everyone know how I went.... (hopefully that will be sooner than later....)

At this stage my knowledge about astronomy and telescopes is rudementary at best, hence I can't really post and give advice to others....

But I am confident in giving advice/experience about my other hobbies: Aquariums/Fishkeeping, Scuba Diving, games........ so if you have any questions feel free to ask me anything thing regarding these topics

(wrong forum i know... but hey.... I could always post the response in general discussion....lol. )

[netwolf]

Hi Eardrum,
I reccomed you have a read of this sight to understand some of the basics. This is where i started. You can ignore the comment about $500 to a certain degree as these days prices are more competetive and this article was written methinks some time ago.
http://astronomy.trilobytes.com.au/scope.htm

Another good one i would reccomend.
Main index
http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/Science/.../Astronomy.htm
Look under Telescopes.. for this sub page.
http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/Science/..._Telescope.htm

Regards