Ok... so aperture fever has hit me pretty hard. Went from a TV76 to a
NP127is and from the 8" VC200L to a C14 but I want BIGGER!!!! Another
reason I want a dob is because of the session @ Coe 2 weeks ago. My Gemini
decided to fry itself halfway thru the night so I ended up with a fully
manual GEM for the rest of the night. Turns out I found having a manual
scope to be loads of fun. I didn't even have DSC so it was all up to me, my
starmaps and the starbeam!! I nailed everything I went in search of
(nothing infinitely small and faint, just some Messiers I haven't gotten
around to and I was showing a friend who is just starting out where in the
sky the Ms were) and it was quite a satisfying feeling.
So, I'm looking for recommendations on biggish dobs. While size is
relative.. big for me is 15 - 18". I don't have transportation for anything
bigger and would rather not have to lug a ladder around as well. Plus, I'm
only 5'6". I don't mind a step stool or maybe a starchair so 18" seems to
be my limit. On the transportation side, all I have is an midsize sedan
(Audi S4). I don't know if the 18" rocker box will even fit.
Right now, I'm looking at Obsession and Plettstone, possibly Starmaster. I
like Obsession because of its track record and the overall quality.
Plettstone has me intriqued with its smipler and lighter designs but I'm
worried about rigidity and if I might be giving something up going from the
Obsession to the Plettstone (even though the Plettstone is more $$$).
Feel free to contact me off list if you'd rather keep it under wraps.
TIA
Vincent
-- What TAC Is About. http://www.observers.org/Join.shtml Webcam, DSLR, CCD Imaging use NorCal AI. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/norcal_ai/ Designing and improving TAC's website. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tac-ops/ Sub-scribe or Unsub-scribe from TAC http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/sf-bay-tacReceived on Mon Nov 27 20:40:10 2006