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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
Hi folks.
I just found an ad for this scope http://www.telescopes.com/products/m...uxe-42932.html which is sold by a not-ridiculously-far-away dealer. The dealer advertices the same model in 8" and 10" as well. Is this scope worth considering? What about the optics? Mechanics? Storage? Handling? I ask because the three national astronomical optics dealers I know of are 700 km, 1000 km and 2000 km away from me, so it is slightly unpractical to drop by to have a look myself. Any opinions and comments are appreciated. Rune |
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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
Rune Allnor wrote: Hi folks. I just found an ad for this scope http://www.telescopes.com/products/m...uxe-42932.html which is sold by a not-ridiculously-far-away dealer. The dealer advertices the same model in 8" and 10" as well. Is this scope worth considering? What about the optics? Mechanics? Storage? Handling? Hi: It's certainly a good value, and if you like dobs, it could be the scope for you. Tom Trusock has an excellent review of the scope at: http://www.cloudynights.com Peace, Rod Mollise Author of: Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope and The Urban Astronomer's Guide http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland |
#3
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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
Rune Allnor wrote:
Hi folks. I just found an ad for this scope http://www.telescopes.com/products/m...uxe-42932.html which is sold by a not-ridiculously-far-away dealer. The dealer advertices the same model in 8" and 10" as well. Is this scope worth considering? What about the optics? Mechanics? Storage? Handling? I ask because the three national astronomical optics dealers I know of are 700 km, 1000 km and 2000 km away from me, so it is slightly unpractical to drop by to have a look myself. Any opinions and comments are appreciated. Rune There was a LONG thread not to long ago on these. The consensus is that they are good scopes for the $$, and you will be happy for the $$ spent. -- AM http://sctuser.home.comcast.net OS X 10.4.8 |
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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
"Allan Mayer" wrote in message
. .. Rune Allnor wrote: Hi folks. I just found an ad for this scope http://www.telescopes.com/products/m...uxe-42932.html which is sold by a not-ridiculously-far-away dealer. The dealer advertices the same model in 8" and 10" as well. Is this scope worth considering? What about the optics? Mechanics? Storage? Handling? I ask because the three national astronomical optics dealers I know of are 700 km, 1000 km and 2000 km away from me, so it is slightly unpractical to drop by to have a look myself. Any opinions and comments are appreciated. Rune There was a LONG thread not to long ago on these. The consensus is that they are good scopes for the $$, and you will be happy for the $$ spent. -- AM http://sctuser.home.comcast.net OS X 10.4.8 I agree, and I OWN one... I was also part of that thread... -- Jan Owen To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address... Latitude: 33.6 Longitude: -112.3 http://community.webshots.com/user/janowen21 |
#5
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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
"Rune Allnor" wrote:
Is this scope worth considering? If you're interested in a portable Dob of 8 to 12 inch aperture at an affordable price I would say; "Yes!" What about the optics? I've used the 12" on two nights so far. For deep sky use the 12 inch optics are excellent. I've viewed DSOs (and examined star images) at magnifications up to 245x with good results. For planetary use: I don't know; but based on observations on a rising Saturn, the view continued to improve as the planet climbed higher in the sky. I felt the scope could have handled more magnification than was used (155x); but the structure the scope/mount was set up on wasn't stable enough. (Planetary observation wasn't planned for on that night!) The included 2" 26mm QX eyepiece performed very poorly compared to a 2" 27mm Panoptic. The QX had *much* poorer performance as one shifted one's view away from the field center. The scope cries out for better eyepieces! Mechanics? I would give excellent marks to the optical tube assembly. Collimation changes "a little" upon disassembly and re-assembly; but the overall design is well thought out and well executed. The edge-laminate within the recess in the mount for one altitude trunnion (in the scope I used) was not glued adequately; but the weight of the scope pressed it into place. If necessary, such defects can be corrected by the owner. Don't plan on setting the OTA (off the mount) onto its tail bone. The Collimation and/or locking screws can stick out far enough that you'll be resting the OTA's entire weight on the screws! The "hand holds" at the bottom of the fork tines were not laminated. It was necessary to remove a small roller-bearing from the azimuth bolt in order for the bottom of the OTA to clear the top of the azimuth bolt. The absence of that bearing had absolutely no other effect on the performance of the mount The bolt did *not* turn (loosen or tighten) when the scope was moved in azimuth. It's advisable to install the eyepiece tray "upside-down". Otherwise the alt. brake blocks the use of one of the holes. Storage? The base for the 12" is about 25" in diameter. The assembled OTA is 56 to 57" in length; but there's no need to store the OTA assembled. Handling? The deluxe version moves a bit easier than I would like in azimuth; but it's perfectly manageable. The "stiction" in altitude has a nice feel to it. There was no need to use the alt. break when swapping between (not overly heavy) 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. The mount and the lower section of the OTA each require two hands to carry. A third hand and arm would be handy to open and close doors! IIRC, the lower OTA section weighs about 36 pounds; and the mount weighs about 33 lbs. Those are the heaviest, single components. The total weight of the telescope and mount is about 80 lbs. You'll want a shroud to cover the truss assembly (prevents or substantially delays dew and frost from forming on the mirrors) It's easy enough to make a good, inexpensive, home-made one. Otherwise more than one version is available commercially. (I can't speak for those!) Willie R. Meghar |
#6
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Opinions on Meade truss-tube Dob?
Willie R. Meghar skrev: "Rune Allnor" wrote: Is this scope worth considering? If you're interested in a portable Dob of 8 to 12 inch aperture at an affordable price I would say; "Yes!" It seems this scope that might be worth considering. Thanks to everyone who commented. Thanks! Rune |
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