I'ld like to sell my 8" Dobsonian telescope DIY-ed by fellow singastro member ggodetucsamoht. The OTA is the celestron C8-N, which was bought locally about a year ago, with the warranty period ending just this month. I had used this scope for several sidewalks, and found the portability to be a really big plus. However, I'm deciding to sell it as I already have another 8" Newt. For this, I'm looking at about $800 (price is negotiable).
The original thread here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12459
I found the smoothness and balancing of the scope pretty good, but like all dobsonian mounts, looking at objects near the zenith would require more careful manual tracking. Here are some pictures of the scope and mount, with further explanations:
This is the whole dob placed on a small trolley, which could easily be pushed around for ease of transportation. For safety reasons, it is good practice to tie a small rope around the scope to prevent any accidents should it bump against anything.
The OTA and base can be easily separated into two parts, simply by lifting the top half off.
Both the secondary and primary mirror are modified to be fitted with thumbscrews so as to ensure easy no-tool collimation. The springs for the locking screws have also been replaced, such that there is no longer a need for a separate thumbscrew to lock the primary in place. If there are any newbies interested in purchasing the scope, I'll be happy to teach collimation, an essential yet simple process to ensure that the scope's optics are maximised.
The OTA itself is the Celestron C8 Newtonian, which has a fast focal ratio of f/5 and a focal length of 1000mm. This is relatively short for an 8", which favours viewing of deep sky objects such as nebulae and star clusters. For planetary viewing, a shorter focal length eyepiece and/or barlow will be needed. With 8 inches of aperture, details such as the cassini division on saturn, syrtis major and the polar caps on mars, as well as the great red spot of Jupiter are well within reach.
The OTA also comes with the stock 9 x 50 finderscope mounted on the standard bracket.
The scope can also be changed from a dobsonian configuration to be mounted on any large enough mount, simply by removing the two brackets at the side so that a dovetail can be bolted on. The OTA is light enough to be carried by medium capacity EQ mounts, such as the CG-5 or EQ-5.
The focuser that comes with the scope can take in both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces and accessories, with a single speed crayford focuser with lock. The eyepiece holder also has a T-thread, which couples with the standard T-ring for prime focus astrophotography.
The dobsonian base uses teflon as the surface for moving parts, which gives very smooth motion. An eyepiece holder is also fitted at the side, which accepts the standard 1.25" eyepieces and accessories.
Interested parties are welcome to PM me for questions and/or offers, or whatsapp/sms me at nine-zero-zero-two-nine-nine-zero-six. Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Ivan