bsim
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1000
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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Greg K.
Reged: 12/11/03
Posts: 11453
Loc: Clifton Park, NY
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C'mon Synta, how about a 16"?
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Astro-Tech AT111EDT f/7 - Celestron CGEM
NexStar 11 GPS
Orion SkyView Pro 8EQ (w/ Autostar mod)
15x70 Celestron SkyMasters
Orion 90mm Mak
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DCS
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/03/05
Posts: 736
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
Post Laureate
Reged: 10/21/06
Posts: 3255
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
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 4887
Loc: Massachusetts
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"Flextube" truth in advertizing?
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Discovery 17.5" f/5. IM 7" f/15 MCT. Eon-120ED
Lunt 60mm Ha on Nexstar mount.
CG5ASGT, Orion Skyview AZ
9 Nag. 35&19,Pans. 24.5 4kSWA. 14&4.7 5kUWA Meades
6, 9, 12.5 UO-AO. 3mm Edge-on. 7mm BO-TMB
Zeiss, Leupold, Bushnell spotters
Zeiss, Leica, Fujinon, Nikon, Pentax, Bushnell binos
One each generic rescue Greyhound
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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
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/04/05
Posts: 782
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 r130sf | GSO 10" dob
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Almach
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/27/07
Posts: 1185
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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Darron Spohn
super member
Reged: 02/20/08
Posts: 182
Loc: Round Rock, 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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Swayze 8-inch f/4.3 Dob
Televue Nagler 22mm T4
Televue Nagler 12mm T4
Televue 6mm Ethos
14-inch Hubble Optics mirror (Dobstuff kit in-house)
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InkDark
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1828
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
If you could stop time, for how long would you stop it?
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
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BooBoo
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/21/06
Posts: 1295
Loc: Lancaster, 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: 160
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
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1000
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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sixela
Postmaster
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 10789
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 self made Dobsonian on Tom Osypowski equatorial platform
Orion Starblast (114mm f/4 reflector, Alt/Az)
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InkDark
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1828
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
If you could stop time, for how long would you stop it?
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
Edited by InkDark (04/07/08 08:48 AM)
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SteveL
super member
Reged: 03/18/07
Posts: 160
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: 160
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: 160
Loc: Cambridge, UK
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Steve
www.steves-astro.com
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bsim
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1000
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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InkDark
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 1828
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
If you could stop time, for how long would you stop it?
"...since that time, I have not complained about the weather one single time. I’m glad there is weather." – Alan Bean, Apollo 12
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