Hi Folks,
Just a few quick, non-technical impressions of the Orion (Chinese knock-off) 100ED refractor and Skypro mount combo. I noticed that Orion put this combo on sale for a short time for $998. Having once owned a 4" Vixen fluorite apo,I knew what a good 4" scope was capable of. After sitting in the Albuquerque Fed Ex hub for 5 days, I called and motivated Fed Ex to deliver it. The two boxes (1 ea 60 lbs and 1 ea 4 lb)arrived in good shape. Everything inside those two boxes was nicely and tightly packed...no damage. All parts and pieces were present. It took maybe 45 minutes to assmble everything and secure the drives. Of course I had the obligatory several day new scope curse of bad weather, but last night and this morning I was able to do a little viewing. The double cluster was awesome with stars coming to a pinpoint. Andromeda looked nice. Mars was too low and I did notice a little blue tinge, but it was not too objectionable. Surface marking were visible on the planet. Saturn looked very nice with the Cassini division visible. No false color noticed. The mount seemed to work well. I didn't take a super long time aligning it and really just pointed it north.
Like I said, just a quick, non-technical first impression. So far, I think a 4" ED scope with a mount (2 drives) for a grand was a good deal. It's my quick look, secondary scope. I'm happy.
Well, I have my C-14 set-up on the hill and will go out soon for a little more observing.
Clear skies!
Harry
Just a few quick, non-technical impressions of the Orion (Chinese knock-off) 100ED refractor and Skypro mount combo. I noticed that Orion put this combo on sale for a short time for $998. Having once owned a 4" Vixen fluorite apo,I knew what a good 4" scope was capable of. After sitting in the Albuquerque Fed Ex hub for 5 days, I called and motivated Fed Ex to deliver it. The two boxes (1 ea 60 lbs and 1 ea 4 lb)arrived in good shape. Everything inside those two boxes was nicely and tightly packed...no damage. All parts and pieces were present. It took maybe 45 minutes to assmble everything and secure the drives. Of course I had the obligatory several day new scope curse of bad weather, but last night and this morning I was able to do a little viewing. The double cluster was awesome with stars coming to a pinpoint. Andromeda looked nice. Mars was too low and I did notice a little blue tinge, but it was not too objectionable. Surface marking were visible on the planet. Saturn looked very nice with the Cassini division visible. No false color noticed. The mount seemed to work well. I didn't take a super long time aligning it and really just pointed it north.
Like I said, just a quick, non-technical first impression. So far, I think a 4" ED scope with a mount (2 drives) for a grand was a good deal. It's my quick look, secondary scope. I'm happy.
Well, I have my C-14 set-up on the hill and will go out soon for a little more observing.
Clear skies!
Harry
