First Scope

[Shaun]

Hi to all,

This is my first post, after reading much on this forum and other places i bought my self a Dob from BTOW (Sky-watcher 8") i did look at andrews but as i had to get it sent to me it was $130 cheaper, well after two weeks of stuffing around i finaly got my scope, not bad after being told a 24 hour delivery time..

I hope to test it out tonight because i had so much hassel getting the scope the shop gave me a barlows lens and another eyepiece extra, the extra leyepiece is flossel 17 and i must say this looks and feels like a better quality then the two that came with the scope not sure of what they are but they say super 10 and super 25 on the boxes, one does say k25.

I also bought some filters 4 coloured ones, think i will by from andrews in future.

I live about 550km east from perth so it gets pretty dark out here thats one of the reasons i bought the scope i am hoping to use it for deep space watching and some planets aswell.

[Ric]

Hi Shaun, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new scope. now it's arrived your going to have a lot of fun with it. I used to work in that area a long time ago and the sky is awesome out there.
Don't forget to keep asking questions and have a great time here

Cheers

[bizarro (Greg)]

Hi Shaun and welcome to IIS ,

Your eyepieces are probably all Plossls which are a style of eyepiece design. Different designs are available and have various features. Cloudy nights (www.cloudynights.com) have good eyepiece reviews and worth reading when you have a few spare hours. It's a lot to wade through. Plenty of experienced people here so don't be scared to ask questions.

Hope you have clear skies tonight and let us know what you see. Living in light polluted Sydney I'm already jealous of what you'll be able to see.

Cheers,
Greg

[jakob]

Shaun,
Good luck with your scope!

Whre you are I think any scope will be great.
Where I am the air is polluted and not to mention light pollution.

I have a 4" Goto Macksutov, which I enjoy from dark sites but this week I bought a 16" Dob!

I' mlooking forward to learn how to find things to look at as the dob has no Goto!

But first I have get the hang of collimating. No luck tonight, all clouds .

Happy star gazing!

[Shaun]

First question, free star maps where can i get them please?

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Originally Posted by Shaun

First question, free star maps where can i get them please?

Check out the "sticky" threads at the top of the list...you will find a couple of threads on this topic.

Cheers!

[erick (Eric)]

Shaun

Skymaps is a good place to start. Here is the direct link to June's map:-

http://skymaps.com/skymaps/tesms0706.pdf

[Shaun]

Yes i will have to learn collimating but lots of info on this site about that, learning where things rae will be interesting.

Glad i got filters with the scope the moon was hurting my eyes, no clouds here but a few stars very bright outside, where the moon is dark you are lucky to see 50 feet in front of you i need to get one of those red lights for seeing what lens i am trying to use.

[erick (Eric)]

Shaun, You get used to finding eyepieces in the dark - if you have them in the same order on the rack. I added a second rack to my dob to take barlow , 2" to 1.25" adapter etc. They all go into the same holes each time and I can find the right one and swap over in the absolute dark. Only need the red light on if I have to look at a planisphere or chart.

[Shaun]

Just a couple more questions for now, should i always put the caps back on my eyepieces when i place then in the rack because can only get the top one on if in the rack?

Where can i get extra lens caps one of the eyepieces that was sent to me was just in a plastic bag in the box?

Can you get right angle adapters for the finder scope it was impossible to sight the moon about midnight as it was straight up?

[Rodstar (Rod)]

Originally Posted by jakob

I have a 4" Goto Macksutov, which I enjoy from dark sites but this week I bought a 16" Dob!

Congratulations Jakob!!! Very exciting! All that observing through large scopes at Kulnura has had its effect!!!!

Can't wait to hear all about it.

[astro_nutt]

Hi Shaun..I
I'm sure Andrews, Bintel sell a replacement right-angle for about $99.00..also spare eyepiece case are available for a few dollars each..
You could try a multi-compartment hobbybox from Hardware/variety stores for about $10.00 to store your eyepieces, filters, collimation tools, cleaning equipment, etc.
As for eyepiece care..don't clean them unless you really have to..if you have to remove any dust..use canned airbrush or similar..the eyepieces have an anti-reflective coating which can scratch easily..fingerprints or oily deposits can be removed (after dusting first) by using the corner of a rolled-up tissue damped with isopropyl alcohol and using the weight of the tissue only move the tip across the surface of the eyepiece...you can finish off with a "lens pen"
If you had to assemble the base of your Dob..a handy tip would be to smear some silicone on the exposed particleboard edges, holes. this will help stop moisture being absorbed and damaging it.
There is a lot learn and do..so browse around this great forum...Lots of good folk here!
Cheers!