Greetings!

I've had a Coulter Optical Odyssey 10" dob since 1987. Since I moved out to California, I've been able to take it to some seriously dark skies. The best feature of a dob like this? Having to learn the sky to be able to do anything with it.

I did have the chance to use a Teleport dob at a recent star party. Holy cow are those things -smooth- to the touch. No vibration whatsoever. Of course, that comes with a steep price...

I've also done afocal photography through my dob. Great for the moon and planets!

Hi, everyone! I am a newbie to all of this, having just received my first "grownup" telescope (an Orion XT8) last weekend for my birthday. So far, I have viewed sunspots (on paper) with my son, and last night played around with the moon and taking photos thru my eyepiece via my iPhone (my first foray into astrophotography!) with the rest of the family.

We are avid offroaders (we drive Jeeps in the woods over large rocks) and the nature of the activity means we are often in very dark locations. I wanted something to do in the evening after we're done riding. I have two astronomy-related items on my bucket list: seeing Jupiter's red spot and seeing Saturn's rings for myself. I think my telescope will be able to handle both tasks well (once I figure out which eyepieces I need).

I look forward to learning lots here.

Hi all, I'm a newbie here and just bought myself an f/6 8" lightbridge dob. Heard it's a great way to start. Currently have a 26mm qx wide angle meade and 5mm hyperion. I was told that a 5mm is a great ep to hunt for galaxies/clusters, but so far I've had no luck. Jupiter was a bit faint and I found it better to use my 26mm.
What would be an ideal ep for dso? I also have a 35mm extension that I am unsure what it is for. Can somebody please try to explain how that would affect the mag?

Thanks all

Hi newbie here also to this group. I'll be getting my Orion XX14i on Wednesday. Had a 6" reflector for many years but wanted a light bucket.

Hi all
New to the forum but just had to find the Dob section and say hi.
I have two Dobs (yes i am greedy) a 10" and a 16"
The 10" used to be on an equatorial but i got fed up with setting it up all the time and made a Dob mount for it. Now its used probably more than the 16". As light pollution is a factor for me. I am only about 25 miles outside London.
The 16" is reserved for nights around the new moon and for frequent trips to dark skies.
Look forward to exchanging eyepiece tales with you all.
Good hunting and clear skies to one and all
Regards Steve

I thought it would be nice to bring the Dobsonian Telescope Group kicking and screaming into 2012. Happy new year to all Dobsters.
I have a Skywatcher 200p collapsible with auto tracking.

I'm lucky enough to live in a dark sky area in the south of France. I also have access to a 500mm telescope at our local observatory.
As you can imagine, the combination of darkness and 500mm leads to some very very good viewing.
Despite this, do I feel disappointed back at home with my humble 200mm (8")? Absolutely not!

Its nicely portable (especially when its taken outside in two halves!), affordable (I paid 380 Euros) and grabs a lot of light! Its simple to operate (just as well in my case).
Any downsides? No good for AP so I'm told (not that interested) and the finderscope on mine is straight through (stiff neck inducing).

All in all, a great scope for beginners/intermediate users. But then again, I'm probably preaching to the converted!

Clear skies to you all.

Alec.