New 20" Dob, I'm now officially obsessed !

Nope, I didnt the clouds were all over the sky, so that was out.
I've heard of servocat, maybe in the long term I could get it but for now I'm gonna hold off.
I like the idea of going manual for now.

Time to update the avatar Dave!

I was thinking that, but how do I fit such a massive scope into that ? :lol: I'm still hanging onto the 12", its now my weekday scope.

BTW, does anyone know of anyone else who has one of these obsessions??
It would be interesting to trade ideas with locals on this.
I'm on the yahoo groups obsession group. You should see what some of those guys have done to their scopes. :shock:

Dave,
Apparently there is a John T. in Galway who has a 20" also.
www.obsessiontelescopes.com/obsessed/20-inch-owners.html

Hate to put a damper on things but three questions need to be asked:

1. Is it dangerous?A step ladder on a dark night sounds risky to me.

2. It it easy to find objects while pushing around such a bulky object?

3.How does it behave in the wind,especially with the shroud on?

I have been considering an Obsession for quite a while but
my instinct is to go for the 18 inch model simply because it looks "managable".

Peter.

1. Is it dangerous?A step ladder on a dark night sounds risky to me.

2. It it easy to find objects while pushing around such a bulky object?

3.How does it behave in the wind,especially with the shroud on?

1 - depends on your stepladder... however, some things are workt risking life and limb for! That said, my 20" is an f/4 and doesn't require a ladder even at the zenith, but it has other drawbacks.

2 - A well balanced big-dob is as easy to move as a well balanced 8" dob. You just have to maintain it correctly for the movements to remain butter-smooth.

3 - Wind is a bit of a problem. No avoiding this. However, a properly baffled truss style dob does not require a light shroud... which would seriously increase the danger from the wind.

My 2c worth - (from experience),

Phil.