Hi Vincent,
I'll throw in my hat and recommend a Plettstone. Michelle makes both a 15" and an 18", so you'll have to decide for yourself which size is right for you. I have an 18" Plettstone that I picked up over Memorial Day weekend this year, and I am very happy with the scope. I know that the Obsessions are a bit cheaper, but there were a couple of factors that led me to the Plettstone instead.
1. It is the "smallest" 18" scope you can buy. Our only car is a VW Golf, and the 18 fits in my car just fine. There is no way on earth I could ever fit an 18" Obsession or Starmaster in my car.
2. Michelle is a local. I'd rather spend my money with someone that reads and posts to TAC than otherwise. Plus she is very good with her customers. She constantly kept me updated with the progress of my scope, and was happy to answer any questions I had during the construction. And she was close enough that I could drive out to pick it up.
3. She makes beautiful scopes. As far as I am concerned, just about all other makers of dobs these days should be aspiring to quality and attention to detail that Michelle puts into her scopes. She does not make tons of scopes, but each one is truly lovely. And the motions are just perfect.
As far as rigidity is concerned, I would say that my 18 is very slightly less stable than my old Starmaster 14.5, but the difference is minor. You must understand that I am a big fan of overmounting my scopes, and I find the Plettstone to be perfectly suitable for me on all but the very windiest nights. Of course, there aren't many dobs that will stand up well to the wind, and I think Michelle's are as good as the best available.
So, there you have it. If you'd like a look at the Plettstone 18 before you make your decision, feel free to contact me off list and you can stop by sometime to have a look.
Best of luck with your decision.
Mark
----- Original Message ----
From: Vincent Huang <vhuang168@No-Spam>
To: TAC <sf-bay-tac@No-Spam>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 7:40:02 PM
Subject: [TAC] Recomendations on a BIG dob
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
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-- 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 21:29:17 2006