[Conan the Librarian]

You need to upgrade to a 22 or a 25 and go out where it is really dark (Oke-Tex star party is a good one). I’d save up for one myself, but, I am retiring soon, and, we’re going traveling on our sailboat. I don’t think I could get a 22 on the boat. I hope to buy a small table top dob, or, a small schmit-cas on a tripod to use when we stop at an island.

I’ve a buddy with a 22” new style Obsession. I enjoy it when he shares.

I’ve a 12.5 homemade (not by me) that I love. I can assemble it in about 10 minutes and it’s ready to go. Just wish it had a finder instead of a tel-rad. As it is, it does have a Sky-Commander, but, I really prefer the hunt for objects with a good finder and some patience.

[Dad was my hero]

I was looking for over two decades at the 18", originally the one they now call the Classic then changed my desire to the ultra compact (UC) when that came out. In high school I ground my own 8" mirror as a project for senior astronomy class. I finished the whole package after graduating and used that for almost four decades. I gave it away when we moved to FL thinking the skies would be no good d/t the humidity since central PA skies were lousy when it was "clear" but high humidity they were hazy.

I thought occasionally about the 20" but wanted the UC design. Then I thought about the 22" but I didn't want to have to use a step ladder for much of the viewing. I've gone through almost all the Messier objects when using it. I just wish there was less light pollution where I use it but it is within walking distance from my house.

It took me about a half hour to get everything packed into my car and same to get out and another 20 minutes to set up then half an hour to drive to somewhere with less light pollution. All in for packing and traveling I figure a minimum of 2 hours shot, granted the first hour can be done before sunset but you aren't always sure what the night sky will look like until the sunsets. With the shroud the light itself doesn't make much difference for viewing but makes it difficult for me to spot the typical nightsky landmarks to align the scope to. It has the Tel-rad which took me a little time getting used to but I'm ok with it as opposed to the old cross hairs finder scope I had.

But if you don't have one, the portability isn't as good as their videos make it appear. The mirror box base alone weighs almost 100 lbs and putting it into the back of my BMW X5 strains my back.

You might want to be cautious which dob you buy if you are planning to use it near salt water. I remember reading some of the details about a Mak-Cas that said NOT to use it if you were near a body of saltwater - just something to think about.