The problem with lightweight telescopes...

Wind.

No one ever seems to mention this when you see all those great pics of ultra-light dobs all over the internet.

I am building an ultra-portable 8" F6 dobsonian, but recent experience has shown me that making anything too lightweight is a problem. In my last design I needed to attach a baffle, but this turned my scope into a weather vain! The no-baffle, no-shroud approach won't work, because I frequently observe from the city.

I want to make the final version of the scope a string scope with a single-ring secondary assembly, but I'm thinking I need the extra weight of trusses and the two-ring assembly.

Anyone else find themselves adding weight to a scope for this reason? Any words of wisdom?

My problem with my 8" f6 string scope wasn't and isn't the wind vane effect. My problem was balance. With a single ring the eyepieces become a higher percentage of the overall weight and covering the range from lightest eyepiece to heaviest was almost impossible. I ended up adding a spring from the alt bearing to the rocker box and now have no problems at all.

Well I don't think wind is an issue limited to just ultra-light dobs. regarding baffeling.. well I would experiment with baffels before you commit to the shroud. Also make sure a hole is cut in the baffel to let the wind escape through.

On the flip side, in an 8" scope, there seems to be little reason to go out of your way to be ultra light... a simple lighteight configuration will do about as much as you can hope for anyway in scopes that small.

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Bill