Carolyn:
You are such a doll for asking!!:flower:
I have had it a couple of weeks now, and like it a lot. I bought the basic kit with the aluminum tripod, soft carry case, & upgraded to the 2" diagonal. It gives very nice views. I added an aftermarket 2x barlow from a local store. With the barlow and the 9mm EP, mars is small but clear. Yesterday I think I saw the polar Ice cap. (I am a new astronomer and have only seen it once through another scope) Saturn shows up clear and the Cassini division was a thin black line that wiggled in and out because of the seeing. Alberio splits cleanly (as it should) M57 was a fuzzy smudge but findable. The Pleaides are pretty through the 25mm EP. Oh yeah, Jupiter was noted with a couple of bands and a polar "cap" (not sure exactly the correct name) The moon is very nice at all the magnification levels I have available. A light purple fringe is noticable around the edge of the moon at 106x. Not objectionable at all to me and not noticed anywhere else.
That has been the extent of the cooperative weather viewing.
I have done a little terrestial viewing and it shows whatever I am looking at clearly in focus.
The things I don't like are pretty minor. I do not like the tray on the aluminum tripod. Held on by 3 little wing nuts and bolts.
You have to unbolt at least 2 of them to collapse the legs. I leave mine all bolted up and just weave it in and out the door. I also don't like the controls on the red dot finder. It sits low to the tube and the on/off switch is in the front and on the bottom of the finder. It works well and alignment is quick to set up. I bought a Rigel Quickfinder and like the way it sits up higher and the controls are easier to get to. The downside to it is it is held on by 2 sided tape. I mounted it to the dew shield and can rotate it around to be upright, no matter how I align the scope.
I am going to upgrade to the wood tripod. The aluminum one settles down at 106x within about 1.5 seconds when disturbed, so it is well within all the normal parameters. The wood one is supposed to be more stable. (and a little extra money came in)
The wood tripod still has the center tray as a bolt in, however it uses 3 good size knobs so it should be easier to manipulate.
One last thing. The scope arrived missing 1 screw from the focuser assy and had some play. I discovered the missing screw about a week after I got it and the day before Vic Maris (the owner) called me, as referenced above. I had the screw 2 days later, adjusted the focuser like he told me, and it is smooth and now has NO play in it.
I was thinking of upgrading to the Crayford focuser option prior to the fix. Now i am not going to.
I have been debating whether to change to 80/9D. After reviewing my reasons for choosing the Nighthawk in the first place I am going to keep it. One of those reasons is I am in the National Guard and fly a lot, and everything but the tripod fits in 1 bag. If I upgrade it will be to a 4-5" scope and this one will remain as the travel/always set up/guest/other scope.
Well, this has been long winded but I hope the info helps. I have been planning to write an upgrade to my initial review, so thanks for the reason. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
BTW, if you do not want a bad case of SAS (Stellarvue Aquisition Syndrome) stay away from this site.
Stellarvue Users Group :
Blessings;
Keith CSN (Certified Stellarvue Nut)
We talked for several minutes while he answered a couple of questions I had for him. He took the time to explain a couple of things to me about my scope, (an AT1010 Nighthawk) without appearing in the least bit rushed. (and I know a small business owner is always rushed!)
