The base is
nicely clad in a water resistant vinyl (this is good); however IMHO,
I now am very pleased
While the assembled telescope is pretty heavy, it breaks down into a number of smaller easier to manage segments for transport. with the scope motions. We used an Astrosystems “Light Pipe” and got down to business. 9x50 “straight-through” optical finderscope. Product Description: The XX14i is a 14 inch aperture f/4.6 Newtonian with a modified truss-tube on an altazimuth mount. portion of the lower tube assembly, and perhaps this was affecting the
Orion SkyQuest XX14g is $3268.13 more expensive than the average reflector telescope ($319.98). The lower
Indeed, the biggest problem was the fact that when trying to get the truss captive bolts into the holes on the upper OTA, you couldn't see what you were aiming at very well due to the presence of the big rectangular truss connector mounting plate. With the XX14i, the only thing I would be losing over my Go-To NexStar 9.25 GPS SCT would be tracking, as the Orion Intelliscope could still fill-in as a finding unit with me doing the manual labor instead of electric motors. An In-Depth look at the Orion SkyQuest XX14i IntelliScope 14 inch f/4.6 Truss Tube Dobsonian. Accordingly, they are slightly more expensive to purchase. larger than the circular section of the base, with three 2” tall pipe
M13 was
The Crescent Nebula was also highly detailed, and I ran into a nice red carbon star (the variable RS Cygni) in the area just by accident. I am fortunate to own a
The instrument comes in four rather large packages for the OTA, the mirror and cell, and the mount components. Alignment of the Intelliscope is actually easier to do than the procedure I use for my NexStar 9.25GPS. The cord plugs into a phone jack on the side of the rocker box, and Velcro is provided to hold the hand unit anywhere that is convenient. This pack is equipped with a strip of Velcro so that it can be attached wherever it is convenient. I won’t say much on initial assembly; the forum posts have a lot to
While a mass-market optical system of this size and relatively modest cost cannot be expected to be all that close to “premium” quality, it should have at least easily met both the Rayleigh and Marechal standards. [/caption] Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope, (MSRP $349.99) Orion Telescopes. The completed mount has captive bolts with knobs, allowing the azimuth disk and ground board to be disconnected from the rest of the mount. For those not used to the world of large aperture portable Dobs, one thing to understand is that, despite their looks and ability to break down into smaller pieces, these scopes still tend to be physically BIG and heavier than they look. In any case, this color may make me somewhat less likely to use the Intelliscope in the future when my full dark adaptation needs to be maintained. People sometimes say that 14 inches is a “sweet spot” in usability, and I heartily agree. mount assembly appears to be well designed and robust. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, Article: Orion XX14i Truss Dobsonian Telescope, This is not recommended for shared computers. and, again, the eyepiece or collimating devices are better centered. No, the motions are not “Obsession” quality,
So, bottom line: I have no hesitation recommending this scope for
this way for a long time. The focuser is a fairly nice 2” dual-speed focuser that has a focusing range of from 3 inches to 4.5 inches above the surface of the tube. This forced me to get the secondary pulled up about as far in the front OTA as it would go just to get it properly centered in the focuser and “light pipe” collimation tube. motion to be, especially after adding the “milk jug” washers to its
my XX14i appears to meet the Orion specifications in respects to date. used on its other solid tube dobs and its Sky View Pro German
The seeing was quite good and the view of Jupiter was nice with considerable detail, but once I got to around 238x, thing started to look a little funny, mainly with the moons of Jupiter. Now 3-elements probably isn't really enough to properly deal with a f/4.6 light cone. M31 was a whole new galaxy with loads of light and dark detail that I had previously noted only in photographs. on tightening down on the altitude friction mechanism when I use
Most of the vibration was in the altitude direction, which is expected considering the design. The Intelliscope encoders for altitude and azimuth are also internally mounted, and the cabling is provided with standard phone-jacks and Velcro for easy disconnect when the base is totally torn-down for storage or transportation. I put up a question on Cloudynights as to what I should do about this and Orion abruptly contacted me, asking for the mirror back for testing. Orion definitely needs to redesign the dove-tail with the stop on the back end, so that if the screw is not super tight, bad things won't happen. Orion 10023 SkyQuest XX12i IntelliScope Truss Dobsonian Telescope . Putting Orion's shroud on the trusses first and then trying to attach the upper OTA is a nightmare, so don't bother trying that. Orion XX14i truss Dobsonian review By Stan Herman. The lower OTA is about 16.5 inches across, 22 inches long, and weighs about 55 lbs with the rear counterweights installed. : The Orion SkyQuest XX14i Truss-tube Dobsonian is a fairly nice large aperture instrument for the amateur who needs something a bit bigger than what is usually offered by the solid tubed telescopes. inches, two dobs, 14 and 10 inches and a collection of binoculars up to
The 4-vane spider uses tapered 0.8 mm thickness vanes and tensioning adjustment knobs on the outside of the tube. Review of the Hubble Optics 14 inch, f/4.6 Premium Ultra Light Dobsonian Tele... My experience with the Starizona Landing Pad, A quick Review of the MIGHTY MAX 12V 100AH BATTERY, FIELD TEST OF THE BAADER MAXBRIGHT® II BINOVIEWER, My Experience using SkyWatch for the Alphea All Sky Camera from Alcor Systems, Astroart 7 - A Review and "How To" (Part 1), My experience using two 80-millimeter long-focus refractors, interstellarum Deep Sky Guide Desk Edition. For those not used to the world of large aperture portable Dobs, one thing to understand is that, despite their looks and ability to break down into smaller pieces, these scopes still tend to be physically. A dim deep Red is the color that has been scientifically demonstrated to have the minimum impact on night vision for astronomical observing. I really liked the way the primary mirror was packaged, as it came already installed in its cell inside of a custom styrofoam holder that mated well to the outer box. The Dobsonian revolution triggered the creation of number of larger aperture altazimuth Newtonian telescopes that have pushed amateur observing to limits unheard of just a couple of decades ago. I’m more of an avid telescope user than an amateur astronomer (I
provides heater power for all night viewing. Until then, here are the “grades” I give the SkyQuest XX14i: B- (could have been better both in weight and in the ease of setup). color, and allowed me to see a moon transit (with its shadow). I believe it does provide more accurate collimation. The scope when fully horizontal requires a clearance radius of about 45 inches from the azimuth axis in order to turn 360 degrees. The Intelliscope: This item almost needs a separate review. I’ll break my review down into two parts – my initial night out (July 2010) and my latest (third) session (October 2010). general, I came up with an easy solution to my counterweight “issue.” I
The springs seemed to be a bit on the light side, but with the locking screws engaged, the mirror cell was solid. have to decide whether or not to invest in the autocollimator. One of the first things I noted Orion doing wrong on the design of the XX14i was the dove-tail base of the finderscope''s bracket. Several functions may not work. as well as the Orion Stratus series down to 8mm, and all worked fine. have belonged to the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC) since
Much of the hardware on the scope however is captive, which is a nice touch. and it was very sharp. The Intelliscope encoders for altitude and azimuth are also internally mounted, and the cabling is provided with standard phone-jacks and Velcro for easy disconnect when the base is totally torn-down for storage or transportation. Once most of the hardware was in-place, it was time to put the trusses on the lower Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) and connect the upper OTA to ready the scope to go outside. perfectly for any eyepiece combination that I use. The cooling fan is a thin three inch square computer fan that is placed to blow air directly onto the middle of the back of the primary mirror, and runs off of 12 Volts DC. However, this is not the case. Note: When I got home, and after
“Vector” 4.5 A-H battery pack, strapped to the front of the baseboard
movements did appear to be OK.). obtain equal resistance in altitude and azimuth. Its price tag, aperture, and truss tube design are tell-tale clues as to who would make the best use out of owning one. The weight of the lower OTA alone made me construct a small wooden transport platform with four very large casters to move it around more easily. Looks like somebody in the Orion design room went to sleep here after doing such a good job with captive hardware elsewhere.