Explore Scientific 12" 305mm f/5 Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope

2018-12-31T05:26:13

No eyepieces came. I did not realize the range of their expense. Some of them contain 6 or 7 lenses and weigh as much as a pound or more. Some in an economy price range perform better than 90% as well as the best. There is a universe of eyepieces. You would be surprised at how well some of the least expensive ones compare to the higher priced. A Barlow lens will double the power of each eyepiece. In mine the lens element may be unscrewed from the Barlow lens housing and screwed into the eyepieces thus increasing the power maybe 25 or30 per cent giving you some varied and pleasing magnifications. A variable adjustment filter is a must for viewing the moon. The moon will nearly blind you using this scope. I collimate the scope without a collimation laser or tool. I position the telescope vertically and remove the eyepiece. This allows me to see the primary mirror through the secondary mirror. I hold my eye very near the hole and center the primary mirror in the secondary using the 3 adjustments. Next, I adjust the primary mirror using the wrench that came with the scope. I adjust until the reflection of my eye is centered in the small circular marker on the primary mirror. I slowly back away from the eyepiece viewing hole to a distance of about 6 or 7 feet. If the reflection of my eye and the primary center mark is perfectly centered, I know that the mirrors are in perfect alignment. Seeing stars as perfect points with uniform fading crosshair rays is good collimation. I notice that the scope is holding alignment better each time I move to my viewing location even with the minor bumps and agitations while rolling my homemade platform. I have a black rubber car mat with tiny black knobs that cushion against shock and prevent the scope from sliding while rolling across the lawn. One night the laser dot finder scope snagged on my back door as I was pulling the scope out into the yard. The rocker box pulled out of the primary mirror box toppling the scope to the ground. The only damage was the plastic piece that connects the finder scope to the circular bracket housing the secondary mirror. I located a piece of 1/4 inch thick high quality veneer wood and cut a piece 2 and 1/2 inches long with a 2 inch base to mount in the telescope bracket and a 1 inch top with a center notch that mounted perfectly into the finder scope. I painted this little piece of wood flat black and it functions as well or better than the original part. For kicks and a back up, I ordered another similar red dot laser finder scope from China for about $10. Hey, a country boy can survive and often even proudly rise. I can do a lot of minor, sometimes major fixes and have found that often a roll of duct tape (preferably high quality, professional) can get you through some usually temporary, sometimes permanent quick and essential fixes. As an astronomer never forget the sky is the limit, but as a adage all limits are made to be broken.Write your review here. It must be at least 10 characters long. Consider whether you would recommend this product and what you like or dislike about it.

MIKE R.