EQ Mounted Newtonians Archives

Celestron ExploraScope

It came with no focuser, just the OTA and the small base the OTA sits on. I put the lens from my Coronado PST into the hole where a focuser should be and tightened a

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion Spaceprobe 130ST

The 130ST has a wide field of view for low power observing. At first I was concerned that the maximum magnification of this scope was

Read story →    0 comments   

Meade DS 114 Telescope

A department store telescope that is covered with wonderful images of Galaxies and Planets that I now realize were probably taken by the

Read story →    0 comments   

Mizar 150SS Newtonian Reflector

The 150SS has a 150mm f/5 parabolic primary mirror housed in a 650mm long, 180mm wide tube. The mirror is not center marked. The secondary is screwed to a three

Read story →    0 comments   

Bushnell Voyager 4.5 inch Reflector Telescope

This scope is great for just grabbing something quick for a few minutes of sweeping the sky to get a closer view of naked eye and nearly naked eye sights. For a casual astronomer, the views are

Read story →    0 comments   

Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ

The Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ I took one home for under $200!. They come boxed and the installation is easier than you might expect

Read story →    0 comments   

Celestron NexStar 114 SLT

I was visiting my Daughters family in Phoenix AZ last summer and my Grandson talked to me about his interest in astronomy. I decided to purchase one for him. After reviewing numerous scopes for quality and ease of operation I decided on the

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion Atlas EQ-G (SkyWatcher EQ-6)

Although this is a big beefy mount it is still quite manageable. It’s much more manageable than a fork mount system because you can put it together in pieces. The Tripod weighs about

Read story →    0 comments   

Antares 200mm Newtonian

First Light - Review of Antares 200mm Newtonian (Model 520)

Read story →    0 comments   

Omni XLT 150

Omni XLT 150 EQ Newtonian

Read story →    0 comments   

Anttler's Optics 8" f/5 HPN Newtonian

Repeat after me - No one telescope can do it all. Every scope is a balance of constraints and compromises

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion 8" f/4.9 Reflector

I am a refractor lover. Here on the Cloudy Nights forums, people like me are generally called "slobbering refractor freaks" (SRFs). I've had refractors from 60mm on up to 5" in aperture over the years, the best of which has been my trusty little Orion 80mm ED refractor (which I also reviewed here on Cloudy Nights). But like all telescope owners, I eventually caught a bad case of aperture fever. The largest scope I've ever owned was an equatorial (EQ)-mounted Meade 10" reflector. I sold it in 2003 because I wanted something more portable, allowing me to set up and observe almost immediately. I ended up with an Orion 4" refractor, which was soon sold to fund the purchase of my beloved ED80. For over a year, the little ED80 had been my primary scope. Many other refractors came and went, but the ED80 remained. However, memories of that big Meade 10" kept coming back to me. I decided to go ahead and buy another moderately sized telescope that would complement my ED80.

Read story →    0 comments   

Celestron C150HD 6” F/6.6 Newtonian

As far as the views go, they are very good but not excellent. Cool down time varies from about 15 mins. to 30 mins. They are as good as or better than is to be expected from the $400 - $500 price tag. There is some (but not distracting) coma on stars. Deep Sky Objects (DSO) are appropriate to the 6” aperture.

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion Spaceprobe 130 EQ

First, let me tell you that I have no connection whatsoever with Orion Binoculars, and Telescopes other than being a customer. Having gotten that out of the way, I will proceed with the review.

Read story →    0 comments   

Meade 16" Starfinder EQ Newtonian

For the price, this is a lot of scope. Compare to the Parks model at $16,000 and it's not hard to go wrong. Plenty of opportunity to upgrade/reinforce these components. An ATM'ers delight, not much changed from the 80's when this was invented, and the price is right in that era too.

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion SkyView Pro 6LT

Aiming the scope at Saturn and increasing the magnification to 267X using the included 9mm eyepiece and a 2X barlow, I was surprised that my polar alignment was pretty good and Saturn stayed within the FOV for quite a while. Centering Saturn was a breeze using the dual-axis drive

Read story →    0 comments   

Sovietski TAL-2, 6 inch Newtonian

The telescope arrived in two huge cardboard boxes. Inside each, bubble wrapped, is a large Baltic Birch plywood case. Both cases have a plaque identifying the contents and serial number, and a detailed list inside the lid. The case hardware is mat black, with a bit of a handmade look to it, but functional. Inside various spacers and mounts are made of plywood and long bolts with thumb wheel nuts. Fingers rotate to lock items into place. You will have to remove/rearrange the spacers to use the case for daily storage. The OTA goes in place with the finder on, if you unscrew the eyepiece holder and remove one long case bolt.

Read story →    0 comments   

Orion (UK) Europa 150mm Newtonian Reflector

I purchased the Orion after spending months agonizing, as I suspect most beginners do, over which scope to purchase.

Read story →    0 comments   

KONUS Konusmotor 500 Rich Field Newtonian

The bright yellow tube is made from a fairly heavy aluminum, and the mount seems more than capable of handling the weight. The scope came with a tracking motor which takes a bit if getting used to. Once set, it seems to track decently enough for long time photography.

Read story →    0 comments   

Discovery 6" EQ

I’ve been an on/off observer for about 40 years. Currently I do my observing in the Southwest. Over the years I’ve owned mostly Newtonians, from 6” to 10” models. For nearly 20 years I used an 8” Dobsonian as my primary instrument.

Read story →    0 comments   

Post Mortem of a Celestron Firstscope 114

This review, like many other reviews, is of a used telescope with unknown history. This particular example (shown in Figure 1) was purchased from a pawn shop sight-unseen and had previously suffered: there were scratches and dents on the optical tube, the optics were quite dirty, and some screws were missing. Consequently, this particular example may not be representative of this model.

Read story →    0 comments   

Meade 1060-Research Series (10 inch Newtonian-Equatorial)

This scope is a well-engineered, massive, simple, brute-force design. It functions well mechanically. It provided very good optical performance.

Read story →    0 comments   

A Beginners Review of the Meade LXD 55 10” UHTC Schmidt Newtonian

Please be aware that I am relatively new to the hobby of astronomy so this review is not based on a comparison of a wide range of experiences. However I think my experience would be of interest to other, relatively inexperienced would be astronomy buffs.

Read story →    0 comments   

Tal M Newtonian

I had read a lot of good things about Tal scopes and decided to buy one just for fun. I selected a 80 mm f6.6 Newtonian that sells for $270CND ($169US). These scopes are made in Russia and unfortunately the one I received had suffered during its long trip.

Read story →    0 comments   

Celestron Firstscope 114 Premium

For my first foray into amateur astronomy I was only able to spend a small amount of money. The decision came down to 70 to 80 mm refractors and 114 mm reflectors. The former are small in size, highly transportable, and generally easy to maintain. But an aperture of 70 or 80 mm is small, and essentially limits such telescopes to solar system and double star observations, though as 'richest field' instruments that can be very useful for sweeping though star fields, particularly the Milky Way

Read story →    0 comments