Advice on 8" Sky Mentor dobsonion

"Jax" wrote in message ...
"C3PO" wrote in message
...
Alex
I would suggest that you do as I did and build your own Dob.You get
much more bang for the buck

Arthur

Could you supply a component list with prices and vendors? I would like to
build my own just for better quality, but can't get anywhere near the price
of the complete scope.

If you do not want to grind your own mirror, there are many web
sites which give you step by step instructions on making a dobsonian.
Here is one that I used:
http://members.aol.com/sfsidewalk/cdobplans.htm
It also has a list of vendors.

I got my mirrors and spider from Murnaghan Instruments. You can
visit them online at: http://www.e-scopes.cc/ The overall cost of my
8" was slightly lower than the store's telescope, but I am very happy
with mine. It is a very satisfying experience.

There are many web sites describing mirror grinding. Please use
one of the search engines. Also, subscribe to the Amateur Telescope
Makers (ATM) mailing list (http://astro.umsystem.edu/atm/). Lots of
helpful folks who grind lots of glass!

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 02:31:04 GMT, Alex A wrote:

Hi

I'm planning on buying my first telescope and an really excited about
it. I've gone to two local stores (I live in Toronto, Canada) and they
advised me to get a big dobsonion telescope, since they're not too
pricey, and good for beginners. The people at the stores told me I'd be
able to see pretty much everything in the night sky with an 8" dobsonion
given good conditions. Is this true?


If its your first scope , the 8 inch dob, and especially this one, is
a great choice .

Dont be sucked by the Orion Intelliscope with optional dsc computer.
The computer is a seriously crippled one with a tiny number of objects
in its database. Use the savings to buy a good star atlas.

On 09/30/03 18:12 +0900, Geoff wrote:

Dont be sucked by the Orion Intelliscope with optional dsc computer.
The computer is a seriously crippled one with a tiny number of objects
in its database. Use the savings to buy a good star atlas.

Eh? From the Orion site:

" The IntelliScope database includes over 14,000 celestial
objects: 837 stars (including double and variable stars), 7,840
NGC objects, 5,386 IC objects, 101 Messier objects, 8 major
planets, 99 user-entered objects, and 12 monthly tours!"

That doesn't sound seriously crippled to me. What am I missing?

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

In article , Trane Francks
wrote:

On 09/30/03 18:12 +0900, Geoff wrote:

Dont be sucked by the Orion Intelliscope with optional dsc computer.
The computer is a seriously crippled one with a tiny number of objects
in its database. Use the savings to buy a good star atlas.

Eh? From the Orion site:

" The IntelliScope database includes over 14,000 celestial
objects: 837 stars (including double and variable stars), 7,840
NGC objects, 5,386 IC objects, 101 Messier objects, 8 major
planets, 99 user-entered objects, and 12 monthly tours!"

That doesn't sound seriously crippled to me. What am I missing?

He may be thinking of the 26,000 other objects listed in some other
goto (or pushto) products.

I figure that 14K would get me started, and press for firmware upgrades
to add the remainder a couple three months down the road. :}

14,000 objects would take me years to look at.
By the time I'd have them all finished I'd be able to look at them by flying by
them with my own Angle wings.

On 10/01/03 11:40 +0900, Steve Hix wrote:

In article , Trane Francks
wrote:

That doesn't sound seriously crippled to me. What am I missing?

He may be thinking of the 26,000 other objects listed in some other
goto (or pushto) products.

Perhaps. Then again, it's worth bearing in mind that we're
discussing $150 DSCs. For $800 you can have an XT10 with DSCs? A
$170 cheaper gets you the XT8? Fine, maybe it doesn't have the
40,000 of one of the other makers' GPS scopes, but it's also
about 10,000 objects richer than, say, the NexStar 4 GT (4,033
objects). Assuming it works, it could wind up being the deal of
the year. Mount an XT10 IntelliScope on a homemade EQ platform
and you could find yourself with one SERIOUS mother of a scope
for peanuts.

It will be very, very interesting to see how well the encoders on
the mount hold up to wear and tear. Somebody hurry up and buy one
of these scopes so we can get a review!

I figure that 14K would get me started, and press for firmware upgrades
to add the remainder a couple three months down the road. :}

One thing's not quite clear with this controller: can one enter
R.A./Dec to hit targets not in the controller's database? If so,
decent star charts would get you to where you want to go.

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

Some random comments:

Mount an XT10 IntelliScope on a homemade EQ platform
and you could find yourself with one SERIOUS mother of a scope
for peanuts.

Mounting the thing on a homemade EQ platform would confuse the computer, you
would have to realign it constantly.


I think that it has been established that the DSCs with a 200 object database
is the one that Hardin Optics sells.

This is about $300 complete. While this is not a huge data base, DSCs in
themselves are useful because they allow one to enter coordinates from another
source like a PDA or a star chart.

Of course a large database would be a great idea and it seems odd that they
would not include a large database.

jon

In article , Trane Francks
wrote:
On 10/01/03 11:40 +0900, Steve Hix wrote:

He may be thinking of the 26,000 other objects listed in some other
goto (or pushto) products

Perhaps. Then again, it's worth bearing in mind that we're
discussing $150 DSCs. For $800 you can have an XT10 with DSCs? A
$170 cheaper gets you the XT8? Fine, maybe it doesn't have the
40,000 of one of the other makers' GPS scopes, but it's also
about 10,000 objects richer than, say, the NexStar 4 GT (4,033
objects). Assuming it works, it could wind up being the deal of
the year.

It's probably going to be my post-New Years present (tax consequences
of selling stock make for odd holidays), unless the Celestron C6R-GT
wins the argument... Astronomics' price looks awfully good.

Mount an XT10 IntelliScope on a homemade EQ platform
and you could find yourself with one SERIOUS mother of a scope
for peanuts.

It will be very, very interesting to see how well the encoders on
the mount hold up to wear and tear. Somebody hurry up and buy one
of these scopes so we can get a review!

Assuming that they're optical encoders...you never know, though.

I figure that 14K would get me started, and press for firmware upgrades
to add the remainder a couple three months down the road. :}

One thing's not quite clear with this controller: can one enter
R.A./Dec to hit targets not in the controller's database? If so,
decent star charts would get you to where you want to go.

According to the online description of the Intelliscope controller, I'd
say yes: "...99 user-entered objects..."

I could ask the guys at Orion next week...I'll be picking up a repaired
binocular(s?) at the Cupertino store.

Dont be sucked by the Orion Intelliscope with optional dsc computer.
The computer is a seriously crippled one with a tiny number of objects
in its database. Use the savings to buy a good star atlas.

There is a data base of 14,000 objects. Hardly tiny. Here is the list of the
included objects:

""The IntelliScope database includes over 14,000 celestial objects: 837 stars
(including double and variable stars), 7,840 NGC objects, 5,386 IC objects, 101
Messier objects, 8 major planets, 99 user-entered objects, and 12 monthly
tours!

This is a huge data base and should keep an observer occupied for a long long
time.""

Regarding the various options. I think an 8 or 10 inch DOB is a good choice.
Lots to see and intuitive to use, certainly the most bang for the buck.

With a DOB one big issue is whether you will enjoy searching the sky to find
new objects or if you will become frustrated with the effort required. I enjoy
searching and "discovering" new objects, putting them into my personal database
that passes for a brain and then slowly assembling the big picture. I like to
stand under the stars and just point my finger at various gems and jewels that
hidden in the treasure map of the night sky.

Regarding building your own. If your goal is to look at the stars and enjoy
the night sky, building a scope will be a detour and take some real time. And
given the low cost of the 8 and 10 inch Asian DOBs, it is not clear to me that
one really saves much, if any money. Probably if one grinds ones own mirrors,
there is a savings.

I think that purchasing the Sky Mentor 8 inch F6 Dob could provide you with
many hours of pleasure and learning. Similar scopes have provided me with
great fun and enjoyment over the years.

If you are the sort of person who appreciates elegent simplicity over masterful
complexity, then a Dob is likely a good choice for you.

jon

On 30 Sep 2003 13:46:15 GMT, (Jon Isaacs) wrote:

Dont be sucked by the Orion Intelliscope with optional dsc computer.
The computer is a seriously crippled one with a tiny number of objects
in its database. Use the savings to buy a good star atlas.

There is a data base of 14,000 objects. Hardly tiny. Here is the list of the
included objects:

""The IntelliScope database includes over 14,000 celestial objects: 837 stars
(including double and variable stars), 7,840 NGC objects, 5,386 IC objects, 101
Messier objects, 8 major planets, 99 user-entered objects, and 12 monthly
tours!

The one I read about had a database of only 200 objects !
There was much discussion about this on the yahoo group "xt
telescopes".