10/20/2012
My buddy Doug from Cincinnati came up this weekend with his new 10" Dobsonian "in hand". This type of scope was new to both of us and I was excited to check it out. Here is a pic...
Here are the specs for it copied off Apetura's website:
Technical Specifications and Dimensions
| Primary Mirror Diameter: | 10" |
| Primary Mirror Details: | 34.2mm, Parabolic, 1/12 wave |
| Primary Mirror Coating: | Aluminum and silicone dioxide (SiO2); reflectivity=93 % |
| Optical Design: | Newtonian Reflector |
| Mount Design: | Dobsonian, clutch mounting with tension knobs |
| Focal Length: | 1250mm |
| Focal Ratio: | f/4.92 |
| Focuser: | 2 inch, dual speed Micro 10:1 Crayford style |
| Eyepiece 1: | 2", Superview 30mm, 68 degree FOV, Eye-relief=22mm |
| Eyepiece 2: | 1.25", Super-Plossl 9mm, 52 degree FOV, Eye-relief=6mm |
| Finderscope: | Right-Angle, Correct-Image 8 x 50 viewer |
| Star Diagonal: | 1.25 inch |
| Limiting Stellar Magnitude: | 14.5 |
| Optical Tube Length: | 48.5" |
| Fully Assembled Height: | 54" |
| Optical Tube Assembly Weight: | 34.8 lbs |
| Base Height: | 25.625" |
| Base Diameter: | 22" |
| Base Weight: | 31.4 lbs |
| Fully Assembled Weight: | 66.2 lbs |
| WARRANTY | 1 year for materials and workmanship |
I was not involved in setting it up out of the box but Doug said it was not too difficult. I was surprised by how long the tube was: 4' .5". A little difficult for one person to load and unload from a vehicle. Another issue was moving it around the yard once it was setup. It took both of us to pick it up(fully assembled) to move it. My backyard has a few trees in it so moving the scope is necessary to gain access to different parts of the sky.
It wasn't the best night for stargazing. Clouds rolled in and out and the atmosphere was very turbulent. We did view many objects though, but I can't give a good report on the optical quality of the scope because of the conditions. Also, Doug found out that his eyepiece tube is out of square so every time we switched from a 1.25" eyepiece to a 2" eyepiece, the collimation would be off. This seemed to effect the quality of the image through the scope.
I will post more about this scope in time when it gets a proper break-in.
I have the same telescope, it is an amazing big monster, very good optics, I don´t have major collimation problems, the collimation gets out of center a little bit, here and there, but that is due to the weight of the primary,once you get used to those things, you can get some spectacular views of the planets and DSO's; my next step is to build an equatorial plattform to start doing some amateur astrophotography, my equatorial position is 15° north, and I hope the plattform works well.
ReplyDeleteregards.
Mario Medina
Guatemala
Thanks for your input Mario! The guy who owns this scope (Doug) is thinking of building a EQ platform also. I hope you visit again and let us know how it works.
DeleteThanks
Mike
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ReplyDeleteThis is Doug. I should add that Opticsmart was very responsive, asked a few questions and shipped a new eyepiece adaptor free of charge. I've purchased a few things from them since the scope and they've always been friendly with blazing fast shipping.
DeleteAs for the scope, I love it. We had a few great nights where the atmosphere is clear and calm. Jupiter really pops in the scope, easily resolving the bands and GRS. Color is visible in the Orion Nebula and the Great Cluster in Hercules is truly awe inspiring.
Pistorbanic and I stargaze as a team when weather and schedules permit. I've lost track, but he can attest to seeing some reasonably faint objects in the AD10 that are just on the threshold in his Skywatcher 8".
In my humble, limited opinion, I think the Apertura AD line of scopes are probably the best "bang for buck" Dobs out there.
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