I sent my LX200 of to www.telescopeservice.com this morning. UPS folks were terrible. First they said "It's nice that you have written "Fragile" all over that box but firstly conveyer belts can't read and secondly our big guys will just throw it around anyway!". Oh yeah, that is a GREAT way to get customer confidence in your shipping service. We went over my packing job and the manager's ongoing attitude problem got the better of me. She insisted on opening up the entire package to see the scope and how it was packed, insisting I put foam popcorn all over the thing. After trying to explain the concerns about these things causing static electricity and potentially damaging the circuits on the scope, let along getting into all sorts of places where they should not be, she just continued to insist on packing it HER WAY. I finally put my foot down and told her the scope was packed to the specifications detailed by the telescope manufacturer and told her politely to "just ship the thing". Since when did UPS counter staff become experts in telescope shipping anyway? So, I left the scope with them to ship, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I somewhat felt like Han Solo looking back at his beloved Millenium Falcon in "Return of the Jedi". How did it go... "I just got a feeling, like I'm never gonna see her again". Sick feeling really, and I have a feeling I may regret it. I DID get a rider on my home insurance policy for the scope, both for the trip to CA and for ongoing use out in the field, so I am covered if anything goes wrong. But still...
Anyway, been looking around for a Dobsonian as a second scope. As indicated earlier, I want a "grab and go" scope that packs some punch. I love the dobsonian design. It's easy to set up, easy to navigate and the newtonian reflector OTA is a nice light-grabbing design. I went to the local astronomy store to check out the Orion XT6 Classic. It's a nice scope, well built. Good reviews, should be fine. But, while my wife entertained her friend this evening, I surfed around and came across a scope seller called DBA Astronomy. They are selling an 8" Dob ("Deep Space Hunter") with crayford focuser, RA finder and cooling fan for $395 shipped. The scope uses GSO optics, the same that Dad's has, and seems to be a copy of the Hardin model. Hardin brought out their own line of Dobs, also called Deep Space Hunters, which also received good reviews. So, would it make sense to get another 8" scope in Dobsonian format that would be easier to set up than the LX200 just for casual use? Or should I go with the 6" for easy transportablity?
Folks coming to this blog, feel free to chime in.
2 comments:
I wouldn't get a Dobsonian if I already had something with the same aperture size. The beauty of a Dob is that you can get a much bigger aperture for a cheaper price that an equatorial/tripod mount.
Save up for a nice 12" or 16" Dob or, better yet, find a local museum or shop in your area that is holding a telescope building workshop (they recently had one here and a colleague of mine built a really nice 16" Dob for super cheap).
Ya know, I would LOVE a huge lightbucket like that eventually. I just don't have the space. I thought about the Meade Lightbridge, which is a large truss design that is easy to take down, but there are some iffy reviews about it. I will eventually have something like that...
I bit the bullet and bought the XT6. I really wanted something with a bit of umph that I could take out front on a whim. I did that just tonight and it was perfect.
Still, the thought of a big Dob lingers... Maybe in my retirement when I have that large house and roll-off roof observatory!
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