Posts Made By: Edward J. Butterly Jr.

A while back somebody offered me a binoviewer in trade. I sorry I don't know what brand. Would a binoviewer be usable on a Guan Sheng XT8 with a 2" diagonal?

Thanks,

Ed

Hi,

I managed to break off one of the pins on my Altitude encoder (4000 step) for an Orion Skywizard III. Is it possible to replace the connector or do I have to bite the bullet and replace the entire encoder?

Thanks in advance,

Ed Butterly

That's not too bad of a deal. My $425 telescope ended up costing me $18425 (before tax and tags for the wife's minivan).

Also happily married
Ed B.

Brian,

I bought a Stargazer Steve 6" Reflector from the first production run. I believe it is still ~425 shipped to the continental US. It's not real hard to put together and it's only about 25 lbs finished. Steve supplies a Rigel Quikfinder for this scope and the SG4, which is much easier to use than the 6 x 30 finderscopes supplied with other scopes. I had a few minor problems which were my fault. Steve Dodson (the owner) went out of his way to take care of me, including supplying a new diagonal at cost when I scratched the original. I sent him quite a few emails before I decided on the scope, all were answered quickly.
The base is very compact (~1 x 1 x 1.5H). The tube is ~51" long, I can fit it in the back seat of my Dakota Pickup Extended Cab.

On the other hand, last year I picked up an Orion XT8 used. I can see more with it, but it is much heavier (~47 lbs). I also put together an XT6 for a friend. I was also impressed with quality of construction and the views through the scope. The base is considerably larger than the Stargazer 6".

If you want a scope with a little character that can be as nice as you want it to be I would go with the Stargazer 6". I would get rid of the XT8 and keep the 6", but I am sentimental about the 6". The collimation requires a little more tweaking, but its easy to do.

The XT6 and XT8 are lower maintenance but everybody has one, plus you are going to have to get a bigger finder to replace the 6 x 30 or a Rigel Quikfinder or Telrad. Still they are good solid scopes.

I have seen the Cassini Division on Saturn and Jupiter's belts and the GRS with both scopes. It's not just the scopes though, the more I observe what was once difficult to see is now easy.

Good luck,

Ed B.

It's a simple matter of give and take. All I had to do to get my first scope (Stargazer Steve 6" F8) was buy her an 18k minivan. I just got an Orion Starblast, all I had to do was sell my motorcycle.

Ed

Hi all,

Just wanted to thank all of you for the suggestions. I guess I will try and solder a connector to the pins first before I open it up.

Thanks,

Ed Butterly