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Manual dobsonian or Go-To dobsonian?

Equipment Dobsonian Buying Advice
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Ekrem avatar
Ekrem avatar
Hello. I want to buy a dobsonian, obviously I like to use manual (never used a go-to before).

I am considering the 300p or 350p model of the Sky Watcher Skyline series. Obviously these models are very large so would it be too difficult to try to bring an object into the frame continuously? Also, some people say that Goto scopes have a shorter lifespan compared to manual scopes. Should I be worried about this?

Finally, would it make more sense to buy the Skyliner 300P (Go-To version) or the Skyliner 350P (not Go-To)?

Have a nice day.
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
The motorized version is much much easier to use profitably and even more so at high powers so to me it would be a no-brainer: go with the GoTo one. Properly maintained hardware can last a lifetime, so it is up to the owner to keep everything running. This said, like everything that exists one day it will fail.
Ekrem avatar
Ekrem avatar
andrea tasselli:
The motorized version is much much easier to use profitably and even more so at high powers so to me it would be a no-brainer: go with the GoTo one. Properly maintained hardware can last a lifetime, so it is up to the owner to keep everything running. This said, like everything that exists one day it will fail.

Frankly, my mechanical knowledge is not good. As long as there is no manufacturing defect and I use it clean, it will not cause any problems for a while, but my mechanical knowledge is not good. I'm worried about this situation.
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
If it breaks down, which is very unlikely, then you'll have to pay someone to fix it for you, like most other things we can't fix ourselves (cars, computers, house goods etc etc).
Mike Dobres avatar
Mike Dobres avatar
Go for a GOTO! I've owned a SW GOTO 350 Dobson for the past 4 years. I am its third owner, and I think it's about 10 years old now. Still working great! I keep it covered outside 90% of the time - though I live in a nice dry Mediterranean climate!  I use it for both visual and AP. I 've imaged DSOs, planets, the moon and the sun with it.  Though more recently, just for planets and planetary nebulas. For DSOs, I bought a smaller 5" newt.  Check out my profile for examples. You'll need to sort through the one's taken with the Dob, since I have three  other scopes (it gets addictive).   You will see that DSO imaging involves hundreds or thousands of short 2 to 4 second exposures. This is because the tracking of the Dobson mount, is not precise enough to allow longer exposures - but it works. The big advantage of such a large scope is that total integration time can be as short as 5 mins (see my image of the lagoon nebula) but typically 20 mins +/-. So, it's particularly well suited to EAA with Sharpcap software, though I have done a few of 2-4 hours!

As far as keeping the image in frame continuously, Sharpcap and NINA have a recentering tool, that will platesolve and recenter the image after it has drifted a certain number of pixels.

For visual, of the moon and planets, it's exceptional. I can clearly see the banding pattern on Jupiter, and the rings of Saturn are very clear.
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Mike Dobres avatar
Mike Dobres avatar
Ekrem:
andrea tasselli:
The motorized version is much much easier to use profitably and even more so at high powers so to me it would be a no-brainer: go with the GoTo one. Properly maintained hardware can last a lifetime, so it is up to the owner to keep everything running. This said, like everything that exists one day it will fail.

Frankly, my mechanical knowledge is not good. As long as there is no manufacturing defect and I use it clean, it will not cause any problems for a while, but my mechanical knowledge is not good. I'm worried about this situation.

Even a manual Dobson requires a certain amount of  'mechanical knowledge'. This includes correctly collimating the mirrors, to  ensure images are sharp, and making adjustments to the focuser if it sticks, slips or wobbles, and maintaining and protecting the mirrors.  All  are obviously needed for GOTO Dobs as well.

Apart from the above, I've fiddled  very little with the mechanics of my GOTO. I did try to  reduce the backlash by adjusting the spacing of the worm screw in the drive system. But this was just me being picky, and is not something that most GOTO Dob owners deal with.  Oh yeah, and I blew the mother board of one of the drives when I accidently plugged the remote for the focuser into the hand control socket. But that was a dumb accident that is I think a very rare event. Apart from that, it's been very maintenance-free. I have opened up the drive units to clean and grease them, and carefully cleaned the mirrors. But apart from that, it's a pretty fun and sturdy instrument.
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Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
if it's for visual, GoTo is not necessary, but I think you'd have to be good at star hopping, and if you use smaller FL EPs, then, if the AFOV is not particularly large, you'd have to nudge frequently

for imaging planets, I'd say it still is not, but I think it's unpleasant to keep on nudging the scope to keep the planet in the FOV

for DSOs, it is necessary

my 2 cents.
Steven avatar
Steven avatar
Goto.. always.. they're pretty solid anyway, so mechanical longevity isn't high on the list of things I'd be worried about… the wear and tear is minimal on goto-parts of it anyway.  - nothing that a little grease from time to time can't deal with really..

I'd rate ease of use much much higher on the list of things to look for.
Having to star hop your way to targets, dealing with coordinates and such.. having to keep a target in frame.. frustrations will get to you eventually. And I reckon the experience will be much more enjoyable with a goto mount - and you maintain the option to expand.. as in.. guiding, planetary imaging, lunar imaging, etc.. all do-able without goto, but all much easier with. 

So.. Goto gets my vote.. I'd rather have it, than using a manual one, only to figure out in a few uses that you should have gotten the goto..