bsim
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 632
Loc: New York City
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We finally get some pictures of the new Synta aka Sky-Watcher truss/retractable dobs.
Sky-Watcher Flextube 12"
Sky-Watcher Flextube 10"
Sky-Watcher Flextube 8"
I think there are lots of questions about stability, durability, and ability to keep collimation. The "Flextube" name doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
I'd like to see an Orion version with Intelliscope COL, dual-speed Crayford, 9x50 RACI, and light shroud.
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Teeter's 10" F/6 Truss Dob / Sky Commander DSC / Round Table Platform
Celestron C80ED / MoonLite CF Tri-Knob / Astro-Tech Voyager
William Optics ZS66 / Bogen 3011 / UA MicroStar Deluxe
Orion XT8i, Orion XT4.5
Canon 10x30 IS, Constellation View 2.3x40 Bino
Howie Glatter Laser / tuBlug
13 & 8 Ethos, 35 & 24 Panoptic, Nagler 3-6 Zoom, TV 8-24 Zoom
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Greg K.
Reged: 12/11/03
Posts: 9771
Loc: Clifton Park, NY
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C'mon Synta, how about a 16"?
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NexStar 11 GPS
Orion SkyView Pro 8EQ w/ Autostar
15x70 Celestron SkyMasters
Orion 90mm Mak
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PeteH
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/03/05
Posts: 506
Loc: Cypress, Texas
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Looks like a great dob, but I'm not sure it's wise to have the word "flex" anywhere in the name of a telescope product.
-Pete
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Jason D
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/21/06
Posts: 1675
Loc: California
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I suppose FlexUse or FlexMove or even FlexPayment would have been OK... But they had to pick FlexTube, ummmmm...
Jason
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XT10 classic with premium optics
Tri-knob CR2 with compression rings
Round Table Platform
4.5" StarBlast
6" StarBlast6
TV EPs
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Luigi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 1739
Loc: Massachusetts
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"Flextube" truth in advertizing?
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17.5" f/5 Discovery Truss
IM715 7" f/15 MCT, Eon-120ED refractor
CG5A coffee grinder, Orion Skyview Alt-AZ
35,19,15 Pans.9 Nag. Meade 24.5 4kSWA, 4.7 5kUWA.
BO-TMB 7mm planetary.
Zeiss Diascope 85
Zeiss, Leica, Canon IS, Fujinon, Nikon binos
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pike_fly
sage
Reged: 10/10/07
Posts: 365
Loc: Roxborough Park, Colorado
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I'm betting "Wobbly-tube" was taken...
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Lee
8" Celestron f6 Dobsonian
10" Zhumell Dobsonian
Class 4 Bortle Scale Backyard Site
View Lee's Gallery
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Starkler
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/04/05
Posts: 656
Loc: Australia, Melbourne
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Seems all the dob makers are concentrating on the OTA in the quest to make scopes more portable. As a 10" f5 OTA will fit across the back seat of most any mid sized car I want to see something done about the bulky dob bases!
The base of my 10" gso dob has to ride on the front seat as it wont fit in the trunk.
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Geoff
15" SDM truss dob | Vixen ED115S
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Almach
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/27/07
Posts: 1175
Loc: Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:
Seems all the dob makers are concentrating on the OTA in the quest to make scopes more portable. As a 10" f5 OTA will fit across the back seat of most any mid sized car I want to see something done about the bulky dob bases!
The base of my 10" gso dob has to ride on the front seat as it wont fit in the trunk.
I am sending 'positive waves' over to Tom at Disc Mount to create a new type of dob mount. This mount will consist of a fixed base, a column and a Disc Mount head that will handle a reflector OTA up to 10". This setup will dismantle into three pieces for easy transport.
In my dream world this Disc Mount head will also track.
Mmmmmmm ... I'm going to my happy place now ...
I'm back.
I envision such a mount costing a few $$$$ but I would buy something like that in a minute.
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Jim
Optical Star Fleet:
Orion XT10 f/4.7
Orion XT4.5 f/8
Orion 102mm f/7 ED
70mm f/7 Skywatcher Refractor
8x40 Nikon
Ocular Arsenal:
BO/TMB, Orion Sirius Plossl, Pentax, Televue
Ocular Support:
TV Paracorr, 2x & 2.5x Powermate, 2x TV Barlow, WO Binoviewer
Orion Skyview Mount
Observing since 25 December 2006
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fotobits
member
Reged: 02/20/08
Posts: 35
Loc: Texas
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Quote:
Seems all the dob makers are concentrating on the OTA in the quest to make scopes more portable. As a 10" f5 OTA will fit across the back seat of most any mid sized car I want to see something done about the bulky dob bases!
The base of my 10" gso dob has to ride on the front seat as it wont fit in the trunk.
First Base Collapsible Dobsonian Mounts
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“There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Quote:
Seems all the dob makers are concentrating on the OTA in the quest to make scopes more portable. As a 10" f5 OTA will fit across the back seat of most any mid sized car I want to see something done about the bulky dob bases!
The base of my 10" gso dob has to ride on the front seat as it wont fit in the trunk.
Yes, so true!
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
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BooBoo
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/21/06
Posts: 1017
Loc: Tarzana, California, USA
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Gotta admit, the idea of a collapsible 12" is attractive. Would make it much easier to fit one into my Honda Civic. My 8" SkyQuest barely fits across the back seat or in the trunk.
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BooBoo
aka Barry
"Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth." - Ptolemy
Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian
 Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Had a chance to use the 12" version over the weekend. The "flextube" name is unfounded. Pretty much collimated out of the box, we stuck a laser collimator into it and "abused" the tube, giving it a lot of twist and shaking, extending and lowering the secondary housing over and over again. Once the abuse had stopped, the laser dot hadnt moved... at all. Highly impressed...
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Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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bsim
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 632
Loc: New York City
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Steve, that's good to hear that the tube doesn't "flex" with the struts. Are the struts made of aluminum or steel? When the tube is extended how are the struts secured? Is it just a knob?
Did you use a pre-production version? What about a light shroud? Sorry about all the questions 
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Teeter's 10" F/6 Truss Dob / Sky Commander DSC / Round Table Platform
Celestron C80ED / MoonLite CF Tri-Knob / Astro-Tech Voyager
William Optics ZS66 / Bogen 3011 / UA MicroStar Deluxe
Orion XT8i, Orion XT4.5
Canon 10x30 IS, Constellation View 2.3x40 Bino
Howie Glatter Laser / tuBlug
13 & 8 Ethos, 35 & 24 Panoptic, Nagler 3-6 Zoom, TV 8-24 Zoom
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sixela
Postmaster
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 9434
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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Quote:
Once the abuse had stopped, the laser dot hadnt moved... at all.
And what about collimation stability when you move in Alt?
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400mm f/4.46 David Lukehurst truss Dobsonian on Tom Osypowski equatorial platform
Orion Starblast (114mm f/4 reflector, Alt/Az)
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Good to hear. Can't wait for those to be reviewed. Now lets see how Orion will respond (RACI, Crayford focuser, collimation thumb screws, transportation bag ... maybe COL)  .
(I'm also interested in the questions asked by bsim and Alexis.)
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
Edited by InkDark (04/07/08 08:48 AM)
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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We used it between the terrible weather we had this weekend (snow, torrential rain, windy like you wouldnt believe... yes, it was a star party!) so didnt realy get a long time to use it or to look at it in great detail.
Struts - Aluminum I think (not 100% sure). Each of the three struts are primarily secured with wingnut type nuts where the wing bit is a bar that can be pushed through from one side to the other (hard to explain), and they also have the a friction type screw on each strut to stop the whole secondary housing come crashing down accidently if the primary screws come loose for any reason.
Pre-production - No, it was the first 12" retail version in the UK (as far as I am aware).
No light shroud, and none available at the moment that I know of (although it really does need one). Might be interesting fitting one, to be honest. The Meade LBs have the V section bars round the outside, so a shroud will fit around the outside of any light path, but with only three vertical struts on the Flextube, a shroud will need to fit the upper and lower ends and will need to be self supporting for its tubular shape.
Collimation in Alt - no idea to be honest. Other than the 15 minute abuse session, and the "quick, its stopped snowing and the sky is clear" 3 hour push-to session, the unit sat in the tent the whole time. M13 very low on the horizon looked great, but what do I know, I`m just an imager
Other things:
- The side panels have support wings at 90 degrees to prevent them flexing
- The Az bearings are roller bearings, located between 2 metal sheets (very smooth!)
- The Alt tension can be adjusted with one hand, using only one of the handles.
- Unlike the LB, there are no white lips on the inside of the secondary housing.
- When collapsed, there is a ~1" gap between the secondary housing and the top lip of the base, which will let dust in. It really requires two lens caps, one to cover the base and one to cover the top of the secondary housing.
I was looking for a visual scope to keep me busy whilst my main kit is imaging. I was going to go for a NexStar 6SE as a grab and go, but after looking through the 12" FT, I am reconsidering my options.
Oh, and lastly, if ever a Dob requied a set of Star Wars R2D2 decals, this is the one.
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Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Also, no news about a 16" version as yet... shame, i`d grab one of those in a second!
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Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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bsim
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 632
Loc: New York City
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Steve,
Thanks for the many pictures and for answering the questions. Now, I see how useful the tension control handles are for carrying the beast.
I have little doubt that Orion will be selling a modified version of the flextube with COL in the near future. I have a feeling the 12" will be very popular. When retracted, it's 92.5cm or 36.4in which should fit in almost any car. Now, only if the large base could be collapsed. Then it would be a really "portable" 12" dob.
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Teeter's 10" F/6 Truss Dob / Sky Commander DSC / Round Table Platform
Celestron C80ED / MoonLite CF Tri-Knob / Astro-Tech Voyager
William Optics ZS66 / Bogen 3011 / UA MicroStar Deluxe
Orion XT8i, Orion XT4.5
Canon 10x30 IS, Constellation View 2.3x40 Bino
Howie Glatter Laser / tuBlug
13 & 8 Ethos, 35 & 24 Panoptic, Nagler 3-6 Zoom, TV 8-24 Zoom
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Thanks Steve for the report and for the pictures. Looks very promising. This is a very interesting scope design and is wetting my appetite for a second scope! If you ever have another field trip with the scope please feel free to report again.
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
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panhard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/20/08
Posts: 2265
Loc: 43.88 n 79.17 w
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Yes I think they pulled goofed when they chose that name. First thing I thought of was. The scope waving in the breeze. 
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Orion xt10i
8 & 17mm Hyperion eye pieces
koning 32mm 25mm skywatcher eyepieces
lumicon 0111 & antares variable polarizing filters
12x50 binos
A love for this hobby
"What goes around comes around."
"She who must be obeyed."
Herb c
cloudy nights my # 1 site
43.53°n 79.17°w
Edited by panhard (04/09/08 12:53 AM)
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Jeff-g
member
Reged: 03/23/07
Posts: 41
Loc: Colorado Springs, CO
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I agree that looks like R2D2s tiwn brother. What a laugh..
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Celestron SLT 102
Hardin DSH 8"
Baader Hyperion 24mm & 17mm
EQ Platform
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Quote:
No light shroud, and none available at the moment that I know of (although it really does need one). Might be interesting fitting one, to be honest. The Meade LBs have the V section bars round the outside, so a shroud will fit around the outside of any light path, but with only three vertical struts on the Flextube, a shroud will need to fit the upper and lower ends and will need to be self supporting for its tubular shape.
I was thinking, wouldn’t be possible to make a semi-rigid shroud by placing bicycle spokes between two pieces of some sort of material (like the wood planks in an oak barrel)? What material is used to make a shroud anyway? Does it matters what is used?
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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I went to a local dealer today (to finally get a Telrad) and I asked the vendor if he had any news about when those Sky-Watcher retractable Dobs are going to be available. He told me that he heard that the 12” is going to appear first on the market (before the 8 and the 10 inch). Without being completely sure, he’s expecting them to be available before the summer! 
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
Edited by InkDark (04/08/08 06:21 PM)
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nightstalker
super member
Reged: 03/30/07
Posts: 157
Loc: Great South Land
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looks great .. pity they couldn't of dropped the height of the base ..its just so begging to be done ..shorten the bottom tube ..lengthen the poles ..and move the bearing
mounts .
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27 pano ..28 mm pretoria.. 13mmt6 ..7mm nagler
12" truss dob...graham
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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It’s very interesting (looks very transportable and portable for the aperture) but it seems a bit expensive though! Much more than the LB. 
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
Edited by InkDark (04/09/08 05:37 PM)
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epee
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/30/06
Posts: 534
Loc: Suh-van-nuh, Jaw-juh
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You'd think a shroud could be made like those childrens collapsible play tunnels so that it would pop open on flexible fiberglass stalks as the tube was extended.
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Jim Girardeau
Orion XT12 Intelliscope
Celestron 11X80mm binoculars
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Thats odd... in the UK, the 12" Skywatcher Flextube is UK£50 (~US$100) cheaper than the 12" Meade LightBridge
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--
Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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I must be doing something wrong. If I do a conversion (on the net) of pounds into Canadian dollars, I get 600 pounds = 1210$ CAD. The 12" LB is going for 900$ CAD. Clearly I'm wrong somewhere here. On the other hand, a 12" Sky-Watcher retractable Dob for 800$ CAD is good news. 
Steve, one more question. Does the 12” come with a fan or maybe a rig to hook up one?
The specs are available for the 12” but not for the others. Does someone know what is the F/ratio on the 10”?
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 158
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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No, you are not doing anything wrong...
12" LB -> £700
12" FT -> £650
UK astronomers pay silly prices for kit (but lets not get into that whole shouting match right now )
Sadly the 12" unit isnt mine, it was someone elses that we kind of "looked after" for the star party weekend.
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--
Steve
www.steves-astro.com
Edited by SteveL (04/10/08 10:46 AM)
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InkDark
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1261
Loc: Montreal, Canada
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Quote:
12" LB -> £700
12" FT -> £650
UK astronomers pay silly prices for kit
Well the good news is that the price went down a bit - When this thread started it was advertise at 650, as you said, but now it is at 599! - 12" SW FlextTube
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Jimmy
"Rarely Have So Many Understood So Little About So Much" - Palle Yourgrau
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
What do you mean by “Saving the Earth”? The Earth is not in danger! Don’t worry about the planet it will be here long after we are extinct...
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