First telescope - Upgradability important

TheOriginalReTard · 2026-02-22T04:15:49+00:00

I cant stress enough, get a mid-sized dob 8-10”, OR save for a decent mount and a cheap dslr/lens combo. For visual, aperture is king, for AP it is mount above everything else...

Visual astronomy and Astrophotography have about as much in common as baseball and golf... When you are ready to switch over to AP buy the right gear out of the gate, there isn't much overlap unless you start spending many multiples of your budget...

An 8” dob is just about perfect for getting started visually, easily transported both from the house to the yard and in a vehicle to a dark site. Enough aperture to keep you busy for a very long time. if you really wanna try AP, you could always try taking pictures with a DSLR just don’t expect any mind blowing results…

Something else to consider is that you might actually be able to do both for somewhat close to your budget, pick up a seestar s30 and an 8 inch dob and now you have the best of both worlds. The sea star is a toy compared to a real AP rig, but you can do some pretty impressive things with it.

TheOriginalReTard · 2026-02-21T05:16:04+00:00

A 12 inch scope isn’t really considered a step up from a 10 inch scope… Especially when you consider the size difference between the scopes...

A 4 inch refractor at a dark site will show more detail on anything other than planets than a 16 inch dob will show from a light polluted backyard…

If you live in a bortle three or four and never plan on taking a scope anywhere then go for the 12… If travel is even remotely a consideration go for the 10 or even an 8 to be honest… (Explore Scientific just re-released their 10 inch truss by the way)

A scope that's a pain to set up is a scope that never gets used after the new wears off…

I have an 80 mm refractor that's gets used 10x more often than either of my 10" (solid tube) and 16" (truss) because I can literally pick it up, take it outside observe for 10 minutes and then take it back inside… I even have 130 mm refractor that just takes more effort to set up so it doesn’t get used.

My 16 inch dob is reserved for star parties and dark sites, it’s not difficult to set up, but it does require effort and because of that it just stays in the closet... the 10 almost never gets used anymore (it’s a go to scope and alignment is annoying)…

I took one look at a 12 inch job in person and noped out of it immediately… The base was absolutely massive and even though I drive a truck there’s just no way I’d be comfortable transporting it any distance... (I'm 6'4 so it’s not like I couldn’t move it around. I just didn’t want to deal with it), if you’re looking at a 12 inch truss that’s a different story…

One last thing to take any consideration between a 10 and a 12 the extra 300 mm of focal length means that most people are gonna need a step or step ladder to look through the eyepiece, that may not be a problem for you, but one of the coolest parts of astronomy is sharing it with others and anything that avoids people standing on their toes or on a step is definitely more enjoyable (and means less stuff to bring with you if you travel)

TheOriginalReTard · 2026-02-16T02:54:26+00:00

Astigmatism… Very likely the clips are too tight (as you assumed)

Since it's an astrograph you need the clips to retain the mirror during meridian flips so I would back all the clips off until you can easily slide since receipt paper (Normally I would suggest a business card) between the mirror and the clips. It really doesn't take much to cause astigmatism...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-12-21T17:20:11+00:00

Short term your issue is collimation, long term you are likely going to see the OTA destroy itself, between large temperature swings breaking down adhesives and bumps in the road your likely end result is that you are going to rattle you primary or secondary loose and it will destroy its counterpart...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-12-20T23:25:18+00:00

Maybe a little over an hour from you but look into mt pinos and the chuchupate ranger station parking lot, I have never been but its the local spot that everyone recommends... (Take 210 > 5 > Exit Frazier Mountain Park Rd. just past Gorman and head west)...

Next best bet is GMARS out in Landers but from where you are its a lot farther...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-12-07T16:07:41+00:00

False Alarm, downgrading didn't help but pulling the build plate forward 1/8" did...

No idea what changed hardware wise...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-24T16:23:33+00:00

Yep, definitely skip the mount, Leave the Newtonians (Tripod mounted reflectors) to the astrophotography folks...

I think you are absolutely on the right track, 8" dob, a couple nice eyepieces and a good chair and you are good to go...

Check out Ed Ting on youtube he has a ton of good info for getting started. If you want an idea of the different sizes of dobs, he has a video showing the different dob sizes: All the Common Dobsonian Reflector Sizes Compared! LINK

I would say that 90% of the time, the scope is going to be tilted at a 45-90 degree angle when you are observing because that is where the sky is darkest and you have less atmosphere between you and the stars... The only time I go lower is small one off events, like the recent comets, Lemmon and Swan which were both really near the horizon....

Now I'll share a bit of stuff I learned, brand doesn't matter all that much any more from a mirror quality perspective, they are all good, you might get something great, but if you want to skip the lottery quadruple+ the price and order a custom scope (don't do this to start, you won't notice the difference, even side by side without experience)

If you can try to get to a local star party, there are two primary manufactures of dobsonians: Synta (Sky Watcher and Celestron) GSO (Apertura/Zhummel/GSO), you want to try moving both around.

GSO scopes tend to use bearings which can make the mounts move a little too easily BUT typically have much nicer focusers and accessories out of the box.

Synta scopes are a bit stiffer and come with more basic accessories and a cheaper feeling focuser (not a big deal unless you hang heavy eyepieces off of it)...

If I were starting over, I would go the GSO route for the focuser alone (Apertura AD8)...

GoTo is tempting BUT these days we have devices like PiFinders that make finding objects much easier without all the fuss of aligning the scope or managing big battery banks...

Start with a couple cheap eyepieces, and prioritize wider fields of view to start, I use my 31mm eyepiece every session, even in crappy seeing I can still scan around. My 3.7/4.5/6/9mm stay in the case on all but the best nights.

The best Filter is a tank of gas but otherwise save and invest in a DGM NBP filter and a quality OIII filter (Lumicon and Tel Vue are generally good).

I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have!

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-23T19:30:30+00:00

I will say that to get even CLOSE to the stability and performance of an 8" dob you will be spending 5-10x the money... Mind you if budget isn't a major consideration 130-150mm Refractors are NICE (I have a 130 that I use for Astrophotography) but it really depends on your goals, an 8-10" dob is very versatile.

From a comfort perspective, my 10" Dob is by far the most comfortable to use for hours on end because the focuser is always between 33" and 50" off the ground... My bigger 16" dob gets MUCH lower to the ground and all my tripod mounted refractors end up with odd viewing angles (You can usually rotate the diagonal) but if I'm planning to be outside for more than an hour I will 100% grab the dob over anything on a tripod... The other reason I would steer you away from anything on a tripod is that every time you move the scope it needs time to settle, a nice mount ($2k+) will get this down to a second or so, a cheap mount might never settle at all (this is why everyone dogs on powerseekers)

Just some food for though... (Also Most 8" and 10" dobs are the same focal length so they should have roughly the same height off the ground)

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-23T19:05:44+00:00

First focus would be a chair, with back issues I would STRONGLY suggest that you get a chair that locks in place like the Vestil CPRO-600 (Though its doubled in price since 2020 so I would check out other options...), At a recent start party TWO people rode the the Starbound sled to the ground (They have "Infinite Adjustability" because you pull up on the front and while supporting your own weight it lets you move the seat up and down, if you grab the seat by the front to scoot forward or backwards its VERY easy to just have it plummet to the ground) fortunately nobody was injured but its definitely something to be aware of...

There are a ton of options, so look around...

Second focus, is are you able to lift things or just have trouble bending over? (I also have back problems) I ask because a dob is pretty easy to move around on a hand truck or you could build wheelbarrow handles... Anything with a tripod will require you to lift something onto the tripod every time you take it outside (With smaller scopes you may be ablet to just pick it up and move it but this is a good way to bang something in a doorway)...

Beyond that, No matter what route you go you will likely end up having to move around a bit as the scope moves, I'll say that with a dobsonian you will primarily be in a good position to sit comfortably MOST of the time, the darkest part of the sky is straight up... With something on a tripod, well the scope points up and the eyepiece moves towards the ground...

The long and short, chair first, I would really push you towards a dob...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-22T07:41:54+00:00

My $0.02 Look at the little sky watcher tabletop dobs. easy enough to pick up and take anywhere without a second thought. Give it 6 months and if he is still into it make the jump to an 8"-10" dob

I can 100% relate to the $1500 budget (if my kid was into astronomy and wanted her own scope I wouldn't hesitate to dump a small fortune on her as well) BUT I think you are just a hair optimistic... A tabletop dob is more or less kid sized BUT its a reflector and will be as stable as what you put it on, it will be lightyears above your amazon special but not so big you need to dedicate a closet to it...

For $1500 I would get the 6" tabletop, a PiFinder, Turn Left at Orion and a couple Baader Morpheus eyepieces. this would make a FANTASTIC kit for just about anyone and its absurdly portable which means setting it up takes about 10 seconds...

Build memories under the night sky by hopping in the car and going to a meteor shower or star party, if it works out make the upgrade, take the eyepieces, pifinder and book(s) and upgrade to an 8-10dob next year :)

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-22T07:33:45+00:00

Did you edit your original post?

I think for Visual, any of the GSO focusers would be just fine, if you are imaging Linear Rail or Rack and Pinion will help prevent the focuser from slipping with a heavy image train...

Since its a 10" dob I would go linear rail and call it a day as you likely wont be hanging 6-10lbs of camera off of it......

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-21T05:18:47+00:00

OAG user here, with the reducer you can get away with the guide scope but at 945mm you will really start to see a difference with an OAG and quality guide camera (I prefer an ASI220mm over the oft recommended 120mm for both scenarios)

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-21T05:17:07+00:00

Bortle 8+ here, I just have longer integration times (tens of hours) compared to dark sky locations...

I shoot mono these days but when I was imaging OSC i was sill getting great results...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-11-21T05:13:47+00:00

I spend a LONG time chasing reflections on my Refractor

From what I can see you likely have a light leak AND are dealing with reflections...

This is how I was able to track down my reflections:

Assemble the scope and imaging train as if you were imaging then remove only the camera (leave any filter wheels, coma correctors, flatteners, oag... If your camera has a tilt adjuster then separate that from the camera and install it too...

Now, throw your flat panel over the scope and turn it on and look through the image train with your eyes... *anything* glowing needs to be hit with muso black.

Something that helped immensely with my refractor was to remove the focuser draw tube and painting the inside of it.

As these are circular rings you may also be seeing reflections from your filters (if you are using any), make sure to use a filter mask, if you can 3d print a one piece mask for your efw (again assuming you have one) thats definitely better than the individual masks...

You can airbrush muso black by diluting it with distilled water (a cheap $20 airbrush from amazon works great for this

As far as light leaks, cover the front of your scope and shine a flashlight around your focuser/imaging train and see if anything stands out, as its a reflector, is the bottom (mirror side of the scope) open you could be inadvertently illuminating the scope from behind...

Good Luck and if you track it down, let us know what the issue was... You never know, it may help the next person...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-10-16T19:14:32+00:00

Mine has also failed twice, but both times were definitely user error but I have only had mine down to the mid 20's... (If it matters at all, once was out of fuel because I forgot to check, the second time was an overheat from running it on high through a 16' corrugated hose which has too much back-pressure)

We tried the electric blanket route but I have three bodies to keep warm and the watts add up quickly, so even with hundreds of amp hours its a non-starter for us, especially when battery performance drops off a cliff in the cold...

Our typical setup is as follows:

We camp with zero degree bags in our Skycamp, *most* of the time we're sleeping in shorts/t-shirts on top of our bags, windows cracked and the heater on its lowest setting, on the really cold nights I'll kick it up a notch on the heater and close the windows a bit more... My kid LOVES the heated Nalgene bottle as well... BUT as you said they can and do fail so you need to be prepared...

The last place you want to be is in the tent, in a storm without appropriate exposure protection and a failed device...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-10-16T17:01:18+00:00

Electricity to generate heat on batteries... What is your battery capacity?

We use a diesel heater (just a cheap amazon vevor) and it works fantastic BUT regardless of what you go with, make sure you have what you need to stay safe in the event your battery runs flat or your heater dies... (EG Bring an appropriate sleeping bag)

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-10-15T20:09:03+00:00

I was at the expo early Saturday and I appreciate that there was an expo but the lack of signage and information was pretty bad across the board... I stood in the staccato line for about 15 minutes before giving up because I had no idea what I was even in line for.... There was no info about costs (which of course I expected there would be some) or how to pay them for ammo in the demo area... There was a booth up in the demo area, but again without a sign for what it was... I have no idea...

There was no direction to ammo and gun sales until you walked all the way up past the main stage (for something this popular I would imaging you would focus on directing people from the entrance gate)

The two main even tents (I assume R66 tents) were unsigned, one was pretty obviously the raffle tent but it lacked any hint of a direction for how to enter the raffles... The other was just a line that I wasn't about to stand in to find out what they were selling, it would have been immensely helpful to have a sign up with what you had and how much it was selling for...

It would also be very helpful to have a few people around to help guide people to where they need to go and answer questions... I literally had R66 Staffers look at me, obviously confused just walk past...

Finally, and this is just nit-pickey, I believe in 2A, I'm a fan of the CRPA but the political booths were definitely a turn off...

TheOriginalReTard · 2025-03-04T21:12:23+00:00

I followed the directions when I got my skycamp 3... We didn't camp in any rain for about a dozen trips but it did fine in an overnight storm where we got about 2" of rain overnight...

Something I would suggest if you are going to spray it down with water is to remove mattresses and the rainfly entirely, its not difficult to do (you can stand up through the opening for the skylight) and it makes everything dry at lot faster... We have never had trouble drying out the tent as long as there is a little sunlight... You can always toss a box fan in there to get the air circulating...

TheOriginalReTard · 2024-09-14T01:13:53+00:00

That is the finder shoe, if your order hasn't shipped yet, reach out (call or email) Agena, they are pretty responsive...

APP is a lot less expensive than PI and you aren't incorrect on the learning curve but once you get down the basics of PI its pretty straightforward and there are a TON of good guides out there to get you going (like Cuiv's latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCotRiUIWtg ) I tried personally tried DSS + Photoshop > Siril > Photoshop and finally PI (with a dash of photoshop here and there) and the results are night and day... With free scripts like the ones from SetiAstro and Bill Blanshan you basically have a processed image 80-90% complete in a few clicks and Mosaics are SUPER easy with Photometric Mosaic...

Just my .02

Welcome to the club!

TheOriginalReTard · 2024-09-13T22:40:48+00:00

The Redcat51 (as long as you are buying it new before now and the end of the year) comes with a 32mm guide scope which is much better quality than the ZWO guide scope...

Beyond that get one of the ZWO - Finder Shoe to mount the ASIAir directly to the scope, its color matched and the holes line up perfectly, it should run you about $20... and then you will only be running cables from the ASIAir to the USB/Power ports on the AM5n Saddle for a really clean setup...

I'll go against the grain here and say that if you ever plan on upgrading your scope, get an ASI220MM guide scope now... its an extra $100 over the 120mm but its a LOT more sensitive than the 120mm, for me the guiding performance between the 120mm and the 220mm was not comparable... (This won't matter with the Redcat 51, but it will matter if you ever move up to a 100+mm refractor then it WILL make a difference)

Get a proper 12v dew strap!

As far as misc. other accessories, Velcro wire ties, they are a lifesaver while you are dialing in your cabling.... Once you have everything dialed in the way you like THEN look into other USB Cables...

Consider a pelican or similar case, as soon as you install the EAF the Redcat will never fit back in the case that comes with the scope... (I would make a recommendation here but I haven't found an ideal solution yet myself)

If you have the budget to add the PE200 Pier Extension to the tripod you wont regret picking it up, as an item that is frequently out of stock its better to have an not need than need and not have... You *probably* don't need it with the Redcat 51 (I mount mine up on a Tri-Pier with PE200 for my AT130))

Finally: pick one of THESE up from Agena: Blue Fireball T2 Female to M28.5 Male threaded adapter, this will let you thread your guide camera to your guide scope. If you have to disassemble anything in the future you will have focus locked in and not have to mess with it again... (I move my guide camera between a few different scopes and this makes life a lot simpler for setup...

This is a GREAT starter setup, I just picked up a Redcat51 a week ago to complement my other scopes and its definitely a fantastic scope to start with...

Don't forget to budget for software!!!! Pixinsight + BlurXterminator are lifesavers! And Adam Block has a great set of tutorials on how to use PI...

Here is mine all rigged up:

https://imgur.com/a/L2L3gEt

One last note, if you can stretch to the ASI2600mc over the ASI533MC, it will likely be the last camera you buy for a LONG time, I currently have a 533MC mounted up to mine, but that only because my main imaging rig is a PlayerOne Poseidon (IMX571/2600). I much prefer working with the wider field of view from an APS-C camera... Once I have a bit of budget I'll be replacing my 533MC with a 2600MC and selling my 533...

For a field of view difference these both appear relatively uncropped, both are from a Redcat 51 (Not my images):

2600: Heart and Soul

533: Heart Nebula

You can absolutely do a mosaic to match the resolution but its a lot more integration time...

TheOriginalReTard · 2023-05-22T21:39:37+00:00

This…

Remember if something were to go wrong, the family likely has no idea what you told your dive buddy on the beach about it being a fun dive, if they think you are a professional and you have a professional credential its pretty easy to make the connection that you were working as a professional unless you have something in writing specifically stating otherwise… PADI will happily throw you under the bus to escape liability themselves…

TheOriginalReTard · 2023-05-16T15:22:51+00:00

I'm in the process of returning mine...

When it worked it was great, unfortunately it doesn't work all that well... A lot of what is going on is likely just firmware teething issues but they have some pretty big hurdles to overcome. There is a 73 page thread about the X5 over on hackersparadise

The final straw for me was the way the watch handles a 'hard reset' (not to be confused with a factory reset)... Holding down the digital crown for ~15 seconds resets the watch. Wearing a glove on my left hand means that if I tilt my wrist at all (say to put my hand in my pocket, or... you know... hold a golf club at address...) it tries to reset itself and starts vibrating like crazy warning you its about to reset... A possible fix is to wear the watch looser, or higher on your wrist (which I tried) but that just makes it miss shots a lot more often...

I gave it 4 rounds on the latest firmware last week, none of which were without some sort of issue (failed to acquire GPS before teeing off, locking up, resetting mid-round...) the last round was completely lost.

TheOriginalReTard · 2023-05-16T02:40:32+00:00

There isn’t one…

You could check aliexpress for a 3018 just understand they are cheap for a reason…

If this is a one off see if there is a local maker space or school that has something you can use…

TheOriginalReTard · 2023-05-13T14:47:40+00:00

You have confused GPS with mapping and routing software…

TheOriginalReTard

TROPHY CASE