12 replies to this topic

[annoluce]

Hi everyone,

I start this topic to request your help and support to chose my new Dobsonian telescope.

I own a skywatcher flex tube 300p. That is not enough unfortunately :-)

the place where I want to be is around the half meter. So my choice will be either a 18 or a 20 inches scope.

what I need is:

 

1. Extreme portability and lightweight, truss, heaviest component still manageable from 1 person

2. Should fit into a small car I have a Dacia sandero which is small, so disassemble the easy way is needed

3. Not too high at zenith i would like to avoid having to use ladder, maybe just a small step

4. Good optical quality

5. Tracking and goto

 

unfortunately I live in Europe. Europe is not the place where you want to buy dobs. For many reasons: pricey, difficult to find, difficult to import. We don’t have the culture of dobsonians here.

 

now, I was particularly looking at:

 

1. SW stargate 

2. Obsession

3. Hubble optics

 

the 1st is not recommendable for many reasons, has very bad reputation and is heavy.

the second is one of the best options, but I really don’t know how I could import it without literally oblterating the vantage of purchasing in US and paying in USD. Custom and shipment is very high.

HO is another good one. It matches all requirements and is sold in EU by Astroshop, but with an awfully high mark up, also considering shipping and customs. The good is that the goto kit comes at “only” 1500 EUR instead of stellarcat sold at more than 3000 USD.

 

Am I missing something? Someone is able to point me to the right direction?

All suggestions and comments are welcome.

 

Help me be a victim of the aperture fever!

[junomike]

These are made in France.

[havasman]

There are European Newtonian builders serving the market that commonly requires similar attributes to those you describe. A few are - 

 

http://www.stellarza...servatoire.html

 

http://www.dietermartini.de/

 

http://www.reginato.it/

 

https://sites.google...dobsonfactory3/

 

http://telescopes.ni.../en/scopes.htm 

 

I can't find a website for Sumerian but they and some of these others build some of the most beautiful and graceful scopes out there. And they're in the Eurozone which might be easier for you to negotiate.

 

http://www.dobsonians.co.uk/    Eurozone for a while anyway...

 

Good luck with your project!

[junomike]

Sumerianoptics

[nirvanix]

Explore Scientific now sells a 20" f/3.6 truss dob. Primary mirror is quartz.

 

https://www.teleskop...-6-Gen--II.html

 

https://telescopesca...ries-dob2036-00

Edited by nirvanix, 23 July 2019 - 10:20 AM.

[RaulTheRat]

Yes the market in Europe is difficult for goto dobs. I recently bought a Stargate and am awaiting a replacement due to problems (a faulty primary mirror, as well as a problem with goto), hopefully my replacement will be ok, I think these _can_ be good but the QC is not great so you are gambling on getting a good one and are reliant on your dealer to do a decent job fixing any issues you may have.

Hubble I wasn't keen on due to the ultralight design (too much flex and collimation shift, nowhere to put a telrad or other finder stuff) as well as the fact that the goto looks very exposed to damage during transport.

Like you said, obsession or another US maker ends up expensive, plus if anything gets damaged during transport it's a real job to get it sorted.

Sumerian look amazing and I almost bought one, but again it's ultralight only which put me off in the end - I think for a purely manual dob it's an excellent choice, I wish he still made the Canopus instead of only the Alkaid as that would probably have convinced me to go that route rather than chance the mass produced scope.

Then you have the more traditional dobs from the French makers, Dieter and Lukehurst in the UK. The UK is out due to the Brexit mania, and the others still require a separate goto install which is harder to source and more expensive in Europe. For sure any of them can provide a good quality scope though so I don't think that's an issue, they do lack some of the refinements and features of the American scopes though IMO - I think the experience and scale of the US makers shows and their designs have been refined over a lot of scopes to the point where they've incorporated a lot of nice extra stuff.

In the end I think it's a difficult decision, if my replacement Stargate has problems and I end up having to get a refund (which I surely hope isn't the case) I'll have to investigate again, I think in the end if you have the money that getting a US produced dob is the easiest route to a one-shop solution, and is perhaps the best way to go but it will end up being EUR 12k or more.

[niallk]

If you have the dosh!
https://skyvision.fr...dobson/?lang=en

FWIW - I imported an Obsession to Ireland: extremely well packed for shipping / no issues.

But - I would look closely at David Lukehurst, even with Brexit.

Edited by niallk, 23 July 2019 - 01:04 AM.

[annoluce]

Friends how to say... thank you so much, super duper. I will have a careful look to all the suggestions, I was not aware of so many opps in my old Europe.

more on this so I’ll come back with options and more discussions... and questions... eheh

[Woj2007]

https://www.tauruste...es.com/en/home/

[25585]

If you have the dosh!
https://skyvision.fr...dobson/?lang=en

FWIW - I imported an Obsession to Ireland: extremely well packed for shipping / no issues.

But - I would look closely at David Lukehurst, even with Brexit.

Piero DP on CN has recently bought a Lukehurst 12".

 

Lukehurst home page http://www.dobsonian...telescopes.html

[25585]

Orion Optics UK do a 20" Dobsonian now. https://www.orionopt...uk/VX/vx20.html

[niallk]

Yes Piero's Lukehurst dob is a beaut

I asked on Stargazers Lounge if anyone had or used an OO VX20 - didnt hear from anyone who had! The alt bearings look very small.

I was considering one before opting for Obsession.

Edited by niallk, 25 July 2019 - 03:10 PM.

[annoluce]

Hi guys

after a lot of thinking and tons of online reviews and forum, I decided that no option available was good for me or exactly what I wanted. 

So I decided to go for a custom made Doctelescope 20” truss, lightweight Dobson. 

It will be equipped with Nexus and StellarCAT. 

Delivery expected mid September, then after testing I will publish a thorough and extensive review. 

 

Stay tuned!

 

Max

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by annoluce, 08 August 2019 - 02:01 PM.