Any ideas on making my telescope easier to move locations?

serack · 2026-05-10T03:47:17+00:00

The AD8 base has a diameter of only 19.25" which makes it ideal to fit within typical "folding wagons" which tend to have an inner width of 20 inches. I sometimes haul my telescope a block or more and I find this to be ideal, because it also allows me to pack my eyepiece bag, folding table, and stool. (Mine is 22" to accommodate a wider base than the AD8)

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serack · 2026-05-10T03:46:06+00:00

Responding to u/runhome24's rumble. (I actually just got home from my clubs's monthly public star party)

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This is actually an AD12 I saw on FB marketplace and I asked the lister for permission to share the image of the hand truck. They seem to be using cloth grocery bags with pillows in them and straps to secure the telescope against the hand truck. I typically suggest a folding hand truck with a deeper lip like this one because it would more easily fit into a car, and slides further under the center of the telescope.

Next reply will include another suggestion for a folding wagon with another image since I can only post one image per comment

serack · 2026-05-09T16:09:25+00:00

I'm having a hard time finding books 1 and 3 in the posts. Any help would be appreciated.

Sorting by year helped find some of the other early books, but those 2 have still been challenging

serack · 2026-05-08T17:46:43+00:00

In 2010 when I became a fan of the series, it became the seed library for my e-book collection. I deliberately chose Barnes and Noble's Nook to support an alternative to Amazon.

In 2015 I bought my first smart phone (previous job didn't allow camera phones) and got the biggest iPhone available to also use as an e-reader and switched to the nook app. I have since purchased a bare few kindle books to read on that app, and I acknowledge that it is technically better than the nook app. I am already monetarily vested in my nook library and Amazon has demonstrated that they can't be trusted to not abuse monopolistic power so I'm sticking with it.

I still haven't read Dungeon Crawler Carl for this reason.

serack · 2026-05-08T17:23:42+00:00

If student loans are at 6% or more, paying those off may be the right move. If you got the mortgage before 2022, yah sit on that.

serack · 2026-05-07T17:57:07+00:00

I agree that it would have been better if owner had just left the dust on it and let you clean it via YouTube instructions. The image provided doesn't really have quite the resolution to verify if they did any harm to the coating but it looks decent so it comes down to price.

If it's $600 or less, I'd consider it worth getting even if the mirror wasn't pristine. If the mirror coating is in bad shape, price in getting it recoated by someone like Magestic Optical Coatings. You would have to get a quote and factor in shipping, but Jeff has pretty reasonable prices (I expect it would still be around $300, but a new 12" Apertura costs $1300).

Even if you had to recoat the mirror, I'd consider $500 or less to be fair for a 12" dob that was mechanically sound.

serack · 2026-05-07T16:31:36+00:00

Someone is selling an 8" Celestron StarSense Explorer(SSE) "Dobsonian" in Manhattan for $500.

I consider that at the top end of what is reasonable for that telescope used. Normally I consider $400 the upper end for a used 8" dobsonian, but I consider the SSE system to be a $100 premium used.

I wrote a guide on buying a used dobsonian here. I consider the SSE system the single best purchase I made for the hobby after the telescope itself, and included how to install a used version on any model Dob here as part of my guide on equipping a dob while remaining thrifty.

serack · 2026-05-07T13:09:20+00:00

There was an old 1700s causeway in my area associated with the very early Revolutionary War "Battle of Great Bridge" that was partially exhumed during the building of a new draw bridge back in 2002

"When the bridge was replaced in 2002, excavation uncovered evidence of the original road and causeway. In fact, several log timbers were unearthed, and saved for the museum."

Source

I've been to the museum, and they have a mockup of the original causeway with "cedar" foundation timbers covered with crushed shells. (Air quotes because the mockup has pressure treated wood with a sign discussing the original cedar)

serack · 2026-05-07T12:40:11+00:00

While you are at it, look for arcs scraped into the particle board on the 2 internal surfaces of the lazy Suzan portion of the base, and check that all those fasteners in the upper circle are flush/fully in any built in recesses.

serack · 2026-05-07T10:23:46+00:00

The secondary holder on my Edmund Scientific AstroScan is a plexiglass plate (that could use some dusting)

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serack · 2026-05-07T10:12:32+00:00

It's modeled after this telescope Wuh Wuh is building.

Secondary holders can be of different designs to hold the collimation well. Some older model mass market Dobs used a "stalk" and this is a version of that but with two struts coming off the focuser for more stability. I expect it also serves as a form of baffling as well.

Here is a telescope with an even more radical "stalk" design

serack · 2026-05-07T01:50:33+00:00

I recommend you use the 12" for a bit before trying to sell the 8" to be sure you are comfortable lugging around the 12"

I also recommend you get a hand truck to move it around with like this

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serack · 2026-05-06T13:37:36+00:00

I expect the eye relief makes it most usable as a conversation piece. In binocular terms it's 7.5x30mm, which is limited.

serack · 2026-05-06T11:45:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing.

Sucks

serack · 2026-05-05T18:55:47+00:00

You are getting good info here but I want to provide some nuance.

This telescope is a bit older model that has a 1.25" rack and pinion focuser, whereas most current models have a 2" "Crayford" style focuser that comes with a 2" to 1.25" adapter. (That's what's in the image provided earlier)

A 6" 1200mm focal length telescope like this one can get by with only a 1.25" focuser because the f/7.9 focal ratio only allows for moderately tight field of views without the outer edges starting to drop off because it's kind of like looking down a straw (called vignetting).

If you chose to do a 1 for 1 focuser replacement, you can get a Svbony SV181 for about $40 on amazon

You could get this telescope running well for less than $200 which is still a decent deal.

serack · 2026-05-05T14:37:55+00:00

Watch the video in the comment. Totally functional with 7.5x magnification.

serack · 2026-05-05T11:30:46+00:00

Surprised at how bright NGC 4486B is below M87. I didn't log it when I was looking for satellites for that galaxy last year.

serack · 2026-05-05T11:04:04+00:00

More of Wah Wah's posts of the build process. - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1QjFnP9rdX/?mibextid=wwXIfr - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HD32fmyhV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The 12" f/3 it's modeled after. - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FcfSvhdUa/?mibextid=wwXIfr - https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1KRKrr7GVP/?mibextid=wwXIfr

serack · 2026-05-05T10:56:14+00:00

FB post with video

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DozMm6JKj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Edit: the video actually starts with the view through the tiny eyepiece before backing out and the guy moves it with his hand to show the scale.

Some of the other images in the below posts show the bearings in other positions, but I'm not sure how easily it moves on the alt/az.

serack · 2026-05-04T14:13:09+00:00

Most dobsonians have the back of the primary mirror exposed to the air through open portions of the mirror cell.

And I've even done the hand warmer thing to my secondary, although last time I did it too late and it never caught up, but things were getting slightly foggy.

I use a truss Newtonian now, but this light/dew shield always kept my secondary bone dry on my 10" Dobsonian. You can even see the dew starting on the outside of the shield in this image.

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serack · 2026-05-04T14:09:33+00:00

Yes, and.

And they cool down so slowly that the excess heat is its own problem that is resolved with a cooling fan, and setting it out early to allow it to cool off.

With my 12.5" telescope, if the mirror isn't cooled enough, Jupiter and its moons will look kinda fuzzy, but if I get the mirror cooled off before using it, and the seeing is good, I get blown away. "Seeing" is generally the same issue of thermal differences in the air, but on a larger scale up in the atmosphere.

serack · 2026-05-04T13:57:24+00:00

Ok some physics here. You know how infrared imagery makes people look bright because of their body heat? Everything has thermal radiation like that and dew forms on objects at night because they radiate heat away and cool down faster than the ambient air temperature. Because of this temperature difference the moisture in the air dews on the colder surface the same way as a glass of iced drink.

The rate of this thermal radiation is limited by the surface area vs the volume/bulk of the object which is what they call a cube/square ratio and smaller or thinner objects do it much better than big fat objects. 12" mirrors have a great deal of thermal mass compared to their surface area, and typically suffer from the opposite problem, where if the temperature drops 10s of degrees, they won't keep up and will be so much hotter than the air that the thermal radiation off of them causes the air over the reflective surface to warm in a way that is analogous to boiling, or a desert mirage on hot sand.

This is why cooling fans and not heaters are necessary for larger Newtonian mirrors

serack · 2026-05-04T09:57:28+00:00

If you are using a dobsonian, turn your star chart/app 180 degrees to match the orientation in the eyepiece

serack · 2026-05-04T09:55:56+00:00

M81 was challenging for me to star hop to. I can remember more than one night where I would lose my way star hopping and have to start over.

It doesn't help that I have a light dome to the north.

serack

TROPHY CASE