Re: computerized dobs- how accurate?
- From: "Don't Be Evil" <g626700-gg@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 23 Sep 2006 10:56:19 -0700
Jason Able wrote:
In this age of instant gratification, especially where youth are concerned,
I have begun the search for a telescope that will allow as fast a finding of
DSO and other objects as quickly as possible. I am a fairly new school
teacher and we have an older Meade 8" Dob at school. Last year, I tried to
use the Dob to find DSO's, but it took too long to star hop and the kids
became impatient, which started leading to discipline problems. I see that
Orion offers a dob with a computer that is supposed to slew? to objects once
they're punched in to the computer. How well does a scope like this work
and can it quickly and accurately place a DSO in the eyepiece? Several
reviews I've read suggest alignment problems. The bottom line is that I
would either like to purchase a new dob, able to accurately find a given
object quickly, or adapt our existing dob to perform the same task.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jason Able
I have one and love it. It seems to depend on how exactly you center
the stars during setup. I use a 5mm eyepiece for that purpose. The
result is that objects are always in the center 2/3rds with the 5mm and
dead center with lower powers. You could probably get it better using a
reticle eyepiece.
It does depend on carefully checking the vertical alignment when
assembling the scope. And, it's much less accurate on soft ground.
It does not slew. Rather, it guides you manually aiming it. This
works very well, and only takes about 20 seconds, but it does mean
that it doesn't track objects as the earth rotates. Nonissue for
low-power deep sky observing, but a little hassle with planets and
other high-power targets. Nevertheless, it moves so smoothly that I
can easily track planets at 480x, the theoretical limit of an 8".
You might really prefer a scope that tracks when you have a line of
schoolkids waiting. I usually have to re-aim between each viewer if
I'm using high powers. Options would include an EQ platform for your
existing dob, a small newtonian reflector on an EQ or computerized
alt-az mount (large ones are too tall for kids to see into without a
ladder), an SCT or an MCT. What's your budget?
Greg
.
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