14 replies to this topic

[Jeepstir]

HI to everyone. First post from a total newby here, although I've used this site for reference many times. There's a lot of information and knowledgeable people here and I figured it was time to actually join and learn more. I apologize up front for this long post.

 

As an introduction, I've been retired a little over 5 years and keep myself pretty busy with mostly outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking, biking, kayaking, offroading, and more. I've always loved astronomy, and when I was in my teens and 20's had several telescopes and really enjoyed them. But that was almost a half century ago. Then, last year a friend gave me a Celestron Powerseeker 127 EQ that belonged to her late husband. It needed a few small repairs and a couple parts replaced, but since then I've taken it out numerous times and had great fun with it. I live in the woods and am completely surrounded by trees so when I want to use it I have to pack it in my Jeep and go somewhere open. About 6 weeks or so ago I also picked up off of Craigslist for $50 a Meade DS114S with Autostar 494 which I haven't actually used yet. Total impulse purchase driven by my desire to learn how these computer drives work. It also needed some superficial repairs, and everything seems to work fine--including the electronics--but the mirrors are dreadfully dirty, so I'm in the process of learning how to safely clean them.

 

Now, unexpectedly, I may have the opportunity to pick up an Orion Atlas 8 EQ for next to nothing. It's been in storage a long time and will almost certainly need a lot of work to make it usable, probably including parts. I have no idea what the overall condition is and will not be able to find out until I actually have it, if I get it. What I'm wondering is, with Orion out of business if it's worth the effort. I've searched this site for info but can't really find much. I've found a few old reviews and comments that make it seem like a nice telescope, but I'm concerned about finding parts. I'm a good fabricator, but I have my limits. I know this is probably not the best telescope for someone who has to haul everything to an observation site, but I may have a solution for that. If someone knows a better forum to post this let me know, I looked for a more specific forum but didn't see one, and this one seems to have a wider view. Anyway, I'm just hoping for some info, opinions, criticisms, etc. Thanks a lot, Kenny

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

If everything works and it just needs a good cleaning then it's worth the effort. Check the mirrors to see if they still look shiny. Expect dust and grime but that should clean off. If the scope's electronics are dead then I'd pass as Orion is out of business and parts will be difficult to impossible to find IMO. This is the scope in question, right? Best of luck to you! 

 

https://telescopes.n...controller.html.

[Jeepstir]

Thanks for the welcome, and thank you for the reply Cosmos!

 

Yes, getting parts is what I'm mostly concerned about. Plus it's 800 miles from my house so I'll have quite a drive to go get it, but ultimately I don't mind, I have the time and my Jeep is a diesel and great for cruising. 

 

It was shown to me on a friends phone via a Facetime connection. I've asked for some photos but have not yet received them. Here's what I saw: The tube is not attached to the mount and is missing one mounting strap. The base is not a tripod, it is a 2" to 3" pedestal mount with 3 flat legs. No dust cover on the tube. There is a primary mirror and appeared to be a secondary mirror, but I could not tell the condition of either. The EQ mount seems to look different than the one in the picture, but I can't say exactly what is different about it. No finder scope. There are no weights on the rod, but they are probably easy to replace. On the box where I assume the motor is there is a female plug for a 120V cord to be connected. There is no hand controller, although there seemed to be a place on the motor box to attach one. The whole thing is really rather dirty and dusty. It is unlikely I will get much more detailed information about it, the people who have it are too busy and not very communicative.

[sevenofnine]

Honestly, that's going to be a lot more work than I would want to tackle. It would be easier to build your own if that's what you'd like to do. There are astro sites that sell parts but by the time you add them all up a new one is actually cheaper. Seriously consider this 8" Dobsonian reflector that includes a warranty and customer service after the sale. It will be a much better start to this wonder-full hobby. Good luck! 

 

https://www.highpoin...n-telescope-ad8.

Edited by sevenofnine, 16 June 2025 - 01:37 PM.

[carolinaskies]

Thanks for the welcome, and thank you for the reply Cosmos!

 

Yes, getting parts is what I'm mostly concerned about. Plus it's 800 miles from my house so I'll have quite a drive to go get it, but ultimately I don't mind, I have the time and my Jeep is a diesel and great for cruising. 

 

It was shown to me on a friends phone via a Facetime connection. I've asked for some photos but have not yet received them. Here's what I saw: The tube is not attached to the mount and is missing one mounting strap. The base is not a tripod, it is a 2" to 3" pedestal mount with 3 flat legs. No dust cover on the tube. There is a primary mirror and appeared to be a secondary mirror, but I could not tell the condition of either. The EQ mount seems to look different than the one in the picture, but I can't say exactly what is different about it. No finder scope. There are no weights on the rod, but they are probably easy to replace. On the box where I assume the motor is there is a female plug for a 120V cord to be connected. There is no hand controller, although there seemed to be a place on the motor box to attach one. The whole thing is really rather dirty and dusty. It is unlikely I will get much more detailed information about it, the people who have it are too busy and not very communicative.

What you are describing sounds more like one of these... If so it's a hard pass in my book if it's not within 30 miles an maybe $150.   They are 1980s tech and you can buy a much more modern mount and optics.   

[Jon Isaacs]

First: Hello and to Cloidy Nights.

 

Pictures would be helpful.

 

As Paul said, it sounds like an older scope, not an Orion Atlas.

 

It could be a very good scope or a scope that might need serious work. It might be a 6 inch.

 

The good thing is that older scopes are easy to fix. 

 

I would not drive 800 miles without knowing more. It certainly has more potential than your existing scopes but the electronics will merely be tracking.

 

In this case, one photo would be worth a thousand words.. 

 

Are you looking for a project or are you looking to stargaze?

 

Jon

[Sky King]

Welcome! I have the Orion Atlas 10 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope, which is the next size up from the 8. I just have the telescope tube and paid $399 for it. It's big and heavy and I rarely use it. I had a purpose in mind when I bought it.

 

Maybe if you could tell us what you hope to gain or what you expect to view with it and we could see if it's a match or suggest other options. Clear Skies! 

[darkcloud]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

If everything works and it just needs a good cleaning then it's worth the effort. Check the mirrors to see if they still look shiny. Expect dust and grime but that should clean off. If the scope's electronics are dead then I'd pass as Orion is out of business and parts will be difficult to impossible to find IMO. This is the scope in question, right? Best of luck to you! 

 

https://telescopes.n...controller.html.

Even when Orion was in business, they would only supply parts to the original purchaser, so anyone who bought a used Atlas mount couldn't get parts from Orion anyway.  However, the Orion Atlas mounts were made by Skywatcher. I suspect you might be able to source parts from Skywatcher.

[Jeepstir]

Thank you all for the nice welcome and the replies!

 

Carolinaskies, that looks very much like it; the base may have been a little taller, the mount was similar, but yours seems to have a permanently attached cord, this one did not, there was a knob of some sort on the side of the box, and it did not say Meade, and the tube is about the same. The colors are different, but otherwise that's it. I didn't realize it was so old.

 

Jon, it was definitely an Orion Atlas 8 EQ, she showed me the label on the side and I wrote down what it said: also had Equatorial Reflector Telescope, Parabolic Primary Optics, Diameter 203mm, FL 1000mm, and some more. I asked for a few photos because I knew I would be researching it, and she wrote my e-mail address down. But it's been 2 days and nothing yet. I'm a tinkerer. I've restored cars but they are all gone but my old Jeep. I'm now working on a several old guitar amps to get them back in working order to sell. A couple are already promised. My ears are too screwed up to play any amplified music so there's no point in keeping them, and a few are very desirable.

 

Sky KIng (I used to watch that show on TV when I was a kid), I really don't have any expectations or goals, to be honest. Like I said above, I'm a tinkerer and like to fix and/or restore things. If I was able to get some enjoyable viewing out of it it would be great, I've been having fun with the Celestron, but I'm already seeing the limits of it. I'd like to eventually try some astrophotography, but I think I'll need something better. I like that Dobsonian the sevenofnine linked me to.

 

From everything I'm hearing here I'm beginning to think this may just not be worth the effort. The price will probably be free or close to it, but driving 800 miles for it is a bigger consideration. If it was close by it would be a different story. I haven't written it off yet, but I'm starting to.

 

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it.

[Jon Isaacs]

 

Jon, it was definitely an Orion Atlas 8 EQ, she showed me the label on the side and I wrote down what it said: also had Equatorial Reflector Telescope, Parabolic Primary Optics, Diameter 203mm, FL 1000mm, and some more.

 

The mount does not sound like an Atlas mount. But again photos would be useful.

 

It's possible it's an Atlas mount in a pier or an Atlas scope on an older mount.

 

Does the mount itself look like this one?

 

https://www.cloudyni...cher-eq-6-r2083

 

Jon

[Sky King]

Here's the 10" package!  

 

Jeepstir, I would stick with what you have and learn the sky and listen to the crickets.  Many good books out there, Turn Left at Orion comes to mind or Nightwatch. You can read about the different types of telescopes first. Explore the forums here and see what others are doing. The best telescope is the one that gets used. Keep it fun!  (Sky King was a great TV series!)   

[Jeepstir]

Hi Jon, no it doesn't look like that at all. The one Carolinaskies posted above is the closest I've seen that looks like what I remember. But I've been thinking more about it and I remember the "box" that I assumed the motor was in had a U-shaped handle on the back that I remember thinking looked like the handle on a kitchen cabinet. The top of the box was curved and the bottom flat. There was no identification of any kind anywhere on the entire mount that I saw.

 

Yeah, pics would be great. I don't see myself going any further without more information. I don't know how to get in touch with this woman, but if I don't hear anything from her soon I'm going to see if my friend can contact her and give her a polite prod.

[Jeepstir]

Here's the 10" package!  

 

Jeepstir, I would stick with what you have and learn the sky and listen to the crickets.  Many good books out there, Turn Left at Orion comes to mind or Nightwatch. You can read about the different types of telescopes first. Explore the forums here and see what others are doing. The best telescope is the one that gets used. Keep it fun!  (Sky King was a great TV series!)   

Wow! What a monster THAT is! I can see why you don't use it much, not something you want to be carrying around and setting up and tearing down. But I bet when you do it's quite an experience! I love my trees, but think I'd have to cut some down to build a small observatory so I could keep it set up.

 

I've always been a bookworm. Back when I was younger with my telescopes I had several books I used for reference and learning. I will check out those 2 books you noted. I've been using this Celestron quite a bit, and I have a few friends, plus my son and his wife, that have been getting into it with me. We've been living in a rain forest here for most of the past 5 days, but I can't wait to get away from the DC lights and set it up again.

 

There are a few old Sky King episodes on YouTube. I've watched them all.

[carolinaskies]

Thank you all for the nice welcome and the replies!

 

Carolinaskies, that looks very much like it; the base may have been a little taller, the mount was similar, but yours seems to have a permanently attached cord, this one did not, there was a knob of some sort on the side of the box, and it did not say Meade, and the tube is about the same. The colors are different, but otherwise that's it. I didn't realize it was so old.

 

Jon, it was definitely an Orion Atlas 8 EQ, she showed me the label on the side and I wrote down what it said: also had Equatorial Reflector Telescope, Parabolic Primary Optics, Diameter 203mm, FL 1000mm, and some more. I asked for a few photos because I knew I would be researching it, and she wrote my e-mail address down. But it's been 2 days and nothing yet. I'm a tinkerer. I've restored cars but they are all gone but my old Jeep. I'm now working on a several old guitar amps to get them back in working order to sell. A couple are already promised. My ears are too screwed up to play any amplified music so there's no point in keeping them, and a few are very desirable.

 

Sky KIng (I used to watch that show on TV when I was a kid), I really don't have any expectations or goals, to be honest. Like I said above, I'm a tinkerer and like to fix and/or restore things. If I was able to get some enjoyable viewing out of it it would be great, I've been having fun with the Celestron, but I'm already seeing the limits of it. I'd like to eventually try some astrophotography, but I think I'll need something better. I like that Dobsonian the sevenofnine linked me to.

 

From everything I'm hearing here I'm beginning to think this may just not be worth the effort. The price will probably be free or close to it, but driving 800 miles for it is a bigger consideration. If it was close by it would be a different story. I haven't written it off yet, but I'm starting to.

 

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it.

That picture was merely an example from that period some 30 years ago of the popular mounts for static observatory locations.  Most of those ran on AC voltage and could have attached cords or not.  But if it's one of those then it really doesn't make sense to travel so many miles as you'll spend more in gas than it's value.  If it were nearby then the opportunity might be nice, but really these days if you keep watching 6-10" telescopes become available readily on Facebook and other sites.

I ADMIN the Telescope Equipment Trader group on FB and see many telescopes around the world offered up, from small cheap ones to expensive ones.  I watch my local marketplace too and see various telescopes with reasonable pricing if someone has the mind to be watchful. 

[Jeepstir]

That picture was merely an example from that period some 30 years ago of the popular mounts for static observatory locations.  Most of those ran on AC voltage and could have attached cords or not.  But if it's one of those then it really doesn't make sense to travel so many miles as you'll spend more in gas than it's value.  If it were nearby then the opportunity might be nice, but really these days if you keep watching 6-10" telescopes become available readily on Facebook and other sites.

I ADMIN the Telescope Equipment Trader group on FB and see many telescopes around the world offered up, from small cheap ones to expensive ones.  I watch my local marketplace too and see various telescopes with reasonable pricing if someone has the mind to be watchful. 

I thought the picture you posted might be a random pic as an illustration of what you were saying, but it didn't really matter, it was still, visually, the closest thing I'd seen to the one I saw on the facetime call. The whole thing came about from a random comment I made to my buddy Paul about having fun with the Celestron I had been given. He's a science/tech/gadget nerd like me. He then said he had recently been talking to his friend Tina in FL, and she had mentioned this "big telescope" they needed to get rid of, wherever it was she worked, so he called her. I was never looking for another telescope, although the idea of maybe getting something nice for little or nothing, even if it required some driving and work, intrigued me. But everything I've learned here from all of you guys has pretty much put me off. The age, 120 volts, unknown condition, 800 miles, it all just doesn't add up. I'm going to check out your FB site. I have no doubt I will want to upgrade sometime in the not-to-distant future, and that should give me at least a nice starting place. And I too watch multiple sales and auction sites looking for whatever may interest me; computers, Jeep parts, tools, guitars, amps, outdoor equipment, and now will be adding telescopes to my search terms.
 

Edited by Jeepstir, 17 June 2025 - 11:30 AM.