"Starboard" wrote in message
oups.com...
As a astro-newb and soon-to-be owner of an 8" Dob (which for those not
familiar, can accommodate either 1.25 or 2" eyepieces & accessories), I
am clueless as to the advantages and disadvantages between the two, and
hence, also clueless into which size future investments should be made.

I guess one could say I have put the cart before the horse in that I
have already made purchases for 1.25" accessories, e.g. filters and
barlow... I did this because it seemed money well spent; 5 filters and
barlow w/ shipping for $90. In my mind, I was maximizing my abilities
with what accessories where coming stock with the Dob.

However, if 2" is "noticeably superior", then I am "destined" to resort
to 2" (and all necessary, associated, accessories), ergo making all
current 1.25" purchases - wasteful. Of course I could send back the
1.25" accessories and exchange them for 2", but then I'd have to
purchase 2" eye pieces as well; spending more money. Is it worth it?

Please make up my mind for me.....

Errol NOLA


It depends entirely on what your likes and objectives are, whether 2"
eyepieces make good sense for you...

I have an 8" f/6 equatorial reflector with exceptional optics, and it has
a 1.25" focuser. It delivers a 1.2 degree field WITH a Paracorr, and a
bit more without.

I have completely refurbished this scope over the years, adding top
quality mirror cells, exquisite mirrors (primary by Mike Spooner,
certified secondary by Antares), new focuser, etc, but it still has a
1.25" focuser, even though I could easily have installed a 2" BOTH times I
replaced the focuser. I just never felt the need.

But if you want to go somewhere beyond about 1.2 or 1.3 degrees of actual
field, you WILL have to go to a 2" focuser... I am a DSO type person, so
I DO like larger objects, but I have found over the years that, while 1.2
degrees doesn't encompass EVERYTHING I like to observe, it does get MOST
of it. So I have stuck with a 1.25" focuser, and have never been unhappy
with that decision...

I did upgrade my 13" Dob's focuser to 2", but that was to try to maintain
*about* the same maximum field I have in the 8"...

Everyone's tastes are different, so what works for me may suck for you...

But what I would suggest would be to get your new scope, use it for awhile
with what you HAVE. And while you get used to the scope and it's
capabilities, and how you can best use them, you will also begin to
understand what kinds of things you most like to observe. And as you do
THAT, you will sort of fall into an understanding of what kinds of
eyepieces will be required to deliver the types of objects you most like
to view... NEVER, EVER, let the rest of us tell you what YOU should
like... That is a VERY personal thing, and only YOU know the answer, and
can't really know the answer until you have some eyepiece time.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how things go... I'm sure you will have
more questions after your scope arrives, and you start to use it. But for
now, don't WORRY too much about things like what size eyepieces do you
need... Once you have received your scope, and you have used it awhile,
that will become apparent to YOU, and you can move accordingly...

Oh. I forgot to mention that I have a LOT of 2" eyepieces, but that STILL
has not convinced me that I need them on my 8" f/6...

--
Jan Owen

To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
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