Re: Recomendations on a BIG dob

Vincent,

I gotta add my 2 cents here.

I'm well acquainted with aperture fever. I started with a 12.5"
Starmaster, sold it, bought an 18" Starmaster, then sold that to build
a 16" ultralight. I learned a valuable lesson: Portability is a
critical point to consider when buying a telescope.

Starmaster and Obsession both make wonderful scopes, but they are NOT
lightweight, nor are they compact. Plettstone is both lightweight and
highly compact. but don't take anybody's word for it. A lot of
TACos own Plettstones. Get out, have a look at one, give it a feel,
take a gander through the eyepiece. Better yet, drive to Plettstone
and have Michelle give you the tour. Jeez... just getting a look at
her woodshop is worth the 3 hours drive. She does beautiful work.

As for aperture.... I went from 18" down to 10". Don't let anyone
tell you aperture doesn't count. It counts a LOT, every single inch.
If you can afford the 18", if you can lift it comfortably, and if it
will fit it in your vehicle, I highly recommend the larger aperture.
It does make a difference when you start going after the fainter
fuzzies. Of course, there's something to be said for buying a 15"...
if the dreaded fever hits again, at least you'll be able to pacify it
with an 18", rather than having to go up to a 20" or 24". :)

Good Luck!

Jane

On 11/27/06, Vincent Huang <vhuang168@No-Spam> wrote:
> 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/
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http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tac-ops/
Sub-scribe or Unsub-scribe from TAC 
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