Quote Originally Posted by Noisykids View Post
what i'm looking at is only 700 bucks and has a 10" primary. that seems huge for that kind of cmuf. it's not motorized but has encoders in the mount which you don't have to use so you can do it like they did in the old days by star hopping. i've found the andromeda galaxy by doing that. then again, there is a 10" dobsonian with no bells and whistles almost brand new on craigslist a couple of towns away for really short money.

the biggest problem with my current scope is the finder is a half a binocular screwed to the tube. plus the whole thing is jiggly even after being rebuilt. at one point during it's life the duct tape wedging the spider in place dried out, and the whole thing fell onto the primary, damaging a minimal area. i don't know where the tool is anymore so even if i had the psychic energy i don't know if i could repolish it, or god forbid, have to go back to fine grinding and repolishing.

i guess i've done enough observing to know that i'm not going to get national geographic quality views. I made a 4" dobsonian out of a purchased mirror before i committed to making a mirror and was walking home with it one night after looking at a spectacular view of saturn. i got accosted by a drunk down the street who wanted to know what i had. i set the scope up, let him take a peek, and he came away from the eyepiece saying, "Wow, that's really real."
Star hopping is the tried and true method. Even with the encoders it's not fool proof so sometimes you have to nudge the tube a bit in the right direction to center the desired object. I had to learn where stars and other objects were back before there were encoders so I have kind of a biased opinion on those. I think it's best to just know where all the major naked eye objects are in relation to each other. Then if you're out somewhere and see someone new at the hobby with a little scope or a pair of binoculars having a hard time you can say, "No, it's over there."

An 8" is a huge improvement over a 4". It has over twice the light gathering capacity. Things start getting exciting with an 8" mirror. A 10" is even better. As you've noticed the other accessories make a difference. I know how frustrating a bad finder scope can be. They don't have to be an actual telescope themselves. They just need to be steady and aligned correctly. A cheap 10" dob that is sturdily made is a great find. Bells and whistles don't help that much but good quality does. Remember that magnification not only increases the view but it also increases the wobbles. Check any scope you can see in person to make sure the wobbles are kept to a minimum.

Lori