Telescope Reviews: New Zhumell Owners -- Upgrade Mega List Thread

Nice addition to the database thanks Jim.

Since I've had my replacement scope from Telescopes.com for a few weeks now I can start back on the modification/upgrades. Here is my current list of upgrades in what I consider more or less priority order.

Lock nuts on the Alt bearing bolts. Every Zhumell owner should do this before even using the scope. Just this week someone from Czechoslovakia posted about damaging his bearing by over tightening the bolts.
Replace the springs on the primary. The stock springs are severely under sized. I replaced mine with some from Ace and can actually take my primary out of the tube and put it back in without losing collimation.
Replace the laser collimator. I am on my third Zhumell laser. These things have more issues then I can name and can actually do more harm then good to the scope’s collimation. At a minimum use this with a Barlow to make it functional. I suggest getting a good set of tools like the CatsEye equipment or a real laser like the Howie Glatter.
Replace the collimation knobs on both the primary and secondary. This makes collimation so much easier. I got mine from Scopestuff but they are available from a number of different places including the famous Bob’s Knobs.
Replace the small brass rings on the Alt springs with a larger metal keyring. The brass rings are very weak and too small to use, they are down right dangerous. There are other solutions, see Scope-Gripps below for one example.
Add a Green laser pointer. I find this tool indispensable. I have the Scopestuff holder mounted just below the focuser, it doubles as a nice handle for moving the scope.
Add a Red Dot pointer. I and most others have the Telrad, although there are other options such as the Rigel. I’ve mounted mine on the 2” riser and added the dew shield with the mirror. Notice I actually put this after the GLP above. The Telrad is very nice but if you have marginally poor skies it can be difficult to use.
Add some quality eyepieces. The included 2” 26mm eyepiece is all but useless IMHO. The 9mm plossl is OK but of limited use. If you could add just one EP I would start with something like a 13mm Hyperion/Stratus. I’m a firm believer in quality EPs in fact I have roughly 3X the amount of $$$ invested in EPs then the scope itself. Thank you Uncle Al.
Add a Barlow. Presto you just doubled your Eyepiece collection. Many people recommend the Orion Shorty Plus but also check out the GSO 2” 2X sold by several vendors such as OWL.
Flock the Scope. I went one foot in on both ends of the scope and had a little extra which I used to go further down into the scope opposite the focuser. It is hard for me to judge how much this added to the contrast as I replaced my mirrors and most my eyepieces at the same time.
Replace Alt bearing Springs with Scope-Gripps. These are sold by the Astronomy-Shoppe and are pretty much required if you have any large eyepieces and finders mounted on your scope.
Various modifications to the Azimuth slides. A lot of people add wax and magic sliders and various “milk jug” washers or EbonyStar surfacing. My system came with the lazy susan system and I am very happy with it. The only mod was to lengthen the center bolt and add a lock nut.
Reverse the included Finder mount. I find it strange that the lip on the finder mount is at the bottom instead of the top. I reversed mine because if it comes loose the finder can slide out and crash to the ground. It is a little harder to keep the finder aligned this way but it does work and I feel better not worrying about the finder sliding out.

Possible future upgrades.

Add Degree Circles for a “Push-To” system. To be perfectly honest I haven’t had any desire to add this as I’m having too much fun with my Star Atlas and Telrad Charts learning the skies. Maybe down the road I’ll consider it.
Add a new Focuser. The stock focuser is OK but has a lot of slop in it. I’m thinking either a Moonlite CR-2 or a Feathertouch, neither is cheap.
Add some filters. Couple of Nebula filters and maybe some color filters for planetary viewing.
Add a new Finder Scope. I’ve been smitten by the Stellarvue F50.
Add more Eyepieces. Can you say Ethos? When does it end? I could use a few more high powered EPs for planetary use too.
Upgrade Scope to a truss and start all over. You will notice the Oringinal Poster has already done this.

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SpaceCoast FL.

Zhumell 10" Dob
Celestron NexStar 5
Naglers: 7T6, 12T4, 17T4, 31T5.
Stratus 21mm. Half a dozen other EPs.

Edited by Tom in FLA (08/12/07 01:18 PM)