#5 My Telescope, Part 1

     I have two scopes, actually, but I will talk about the main one today.  After using an equatorial 8" reflector for over 30 years of observing (more to come on that topic), I decided it was time to upgrade.  I made the decision about five years ago, finally getting around to making the purchase last September (2012).  I wanted something notably larger in aperture, so I was not going to get an equatorial mount.  I had put off owning a Dobsonian scope for years, as I preferred star hopping with the equatorial.  North was north, south was south, east was east and west was west.  Period.  None of this zigzag nonsense for me.  Until now.

     The scope had to be portable, within reason.  I own two VWs, and it had to fit in either the Golf hatchback or the Tiguan.  I had to be able to lift all the parts and assemble them myself, sometimes in the dark.  I was looking at a 14" or a 12", eventually deciding on the 12".  Had I known just how portable and easy to assemble the Orion telescopes were, I would have chosen the 14".

     So I am the proud owner of the Orion Skyquest XX12i Dobsonian Telescope.  I also got the shroud, which covers things from the main mirror tube up to the secondary assembly.  It helps keep out stray light and blowing dust.  And I purchased the storage bags to pack everything for traveling.  All in all, a pretty good deal.

     It arrived in three boxes, and one fine Saturday afternoon my wife, best friend and I got down to work setting it up.

Christmas in September!  Deb opens Box #1.  First came the great unpacking project, using a long checklist to make certain each part had arrived.  According to the instructions (below), some assembly was required.

Despite the rather intimidating diagram, putting the base together wasn't all that difficult.  Once the base is assembled, it stays assembled.  It fits nicely into the back of either of our vehicles.

Phase One was to put the Dobsonian base together.  Though this posed few difficulties, adding the "push to" components was tricky, not helped overly by the instructions.  A few phone calls to the Orion help line on a Saturday afternoon helped us get the results we needed.

Phase One is nearly complete!  Because of some problems adding the push-to components, it took a couple of hours.

 The completion of Phase One was a suitable time for a coffee and tea break.  Mapman Mike triumphantly holds onto the assembled base.  Randy seems relieved.  First light cannot be far off now!

Unwrapping the 12" mirror was an exciting moment.  How often does one get to see a brand new telescope mirror suddenly appear in one's home?

     The mirror came with a free blemish (not the central dot, which is for mirror alignment purposes).  Randy patiently removed a small, sticky spot, carefully using wet and then dry Q Tips.  Afterwards, the mirror was as good as new.  The rest of the assembly was easy.  The entire project took about 5 hours, including unpacking and itemizing everything.  Needless to say it was cloudy that night (and for many nights afterwards (and since).

Continued in Part 2...