In developing a system that was resourceful and minimalist, John Dobson quite rightly earned himself a kind of immortality, telescope-wise. Yet even after the decades of development and tweaking that have occurred since, the concept continues to evolve today.
In this new range, each component of the classical Dobsonian has been reappraised, with nothing omitted from a hard gaze of potential redesign. This new system combines an ability to pack down into just two aluminium cases (plus trusses) for easy transport, yet can be fully assembled without tools in minutes. Following assembly, re-collimation (should it be necessary) is accomplished entirely from the eyepiece end of the telescope, saving both time and knees.
Motion of the scope in use is smoothed by the employment of very large altitude segments, with manoeuvrability assisted by the lightweight aluminium construction – which not being pressed board is also immune to the invasion of dew deformation. Further nice touches are the use of not one, but two cooling fans for rapid equilibrium of the primary mirror, which (unusually for a Dobsonian) sits on a modern floatation system to minimise flexure.
Each fitted with a two-inch focuser and red dot finder, these Dobsonians currently come in three apertures: 254mm (10-inch) f/5, 305mm (12-inch) f/5 and 406mm (16-inch) f/4.5. Remarkably, even the big brother in this range weighs in at only 38.4kg.
Prices: 254mm £582, 305mm £756, 405mm £1,664
For more information: www.explorescientific.co.uk
