Thinking of moving to 8" or 10" DOB from refractor

Need your advice. I have an Astroview 120EX by Orion. Thinking of moving to an Orion 8" or 10" DOB. I live in a semi-light polluted area (streetlights). What difference would I notice? I never looked through a big DOB before. I mostly look at the planets and Moon, but might try deeper sky stuff. I am very mechanically inclined so collimatin no problem and size not either. I guess I am asking, will there be that much of a difference to warrent the change? Thanks

I say go for it, it's worth it just for the moon and planets alone. I went from 4" f/15 refractor to 10" f/8 dob in a *severely* light polluted area adn will never go back, it's a huuuuge difference.

Gary,
Seriously consider taking your scope (either the refractor or a Dob if you get one) out to dark skies. This will make by far the biggest difference for viewing deep sky objects! DSOs under dark skies can look excellent even in small scopes. Low surface brightness DSOs will often be dissappointing from the suburbs, even with a big scope. So one alternative to getting the big scope if you've got a limited budget, would be to spend the money on gas to get you out under those dark skies more often. You'll be amazed at how much more impressive those faint fuzzies look in your refractor under those conditions!

Best of luck in any case!
Tim

Since you're fairly handy, you might consider building you own scope with purchased mirrors. It is quite straightforward, you can save money and get the f length and aperture you want for best views. I've built several now from 8~15 inches. A plus is you can keep your refractor and have the best of both worlds. David Kriege and Richard Berrys book has simple plans and lots of info is available. Regards, Pete

I have looked at M13 through a 4 inch refractor an 8 inch dob a 10 inch dob and a 17.5 inch dob from town here and I step up in aperture I see a big difference. That led to the purchase of a 12 inch dob that arrived today. Not that I plan on getting rid of the 4,the 8, or the 10 but I had to get the 12. You will see the difference right off.

Hi Gary,

You said you are mechanically inclined so my advice is to buy the book by Richard Berry called "Build your own telescope" and then build a 10" f6 scope. This way you can put more of your money into a really good mirror and diagonal. You will also have a lot of fun. A scope like that can be the SINGLE scope that lasts you a lifetime in this hobby. If the mirror is a good one it will stun you with planetary details. It will also do a wonderful job on DSOs especially if you get it to a dark sky. The f6 ratio is pretty forgiving on collimation tolerances and one eyepiece designs.