Scopes I've Owned

 As I continue to look to purchase one more dob sometime in the next year, I've reflected on the telescopes I've owned. My first telescope was a Tasco refractor when I was a teen. Then my next scope was an Orion XT8.  

My XT8 has a Telrad and a 9x50 finderscope. I cannot find an image of that scope as I sold it. It was similar to these two images: 

The Orion XT8 served me well for a couple of years. I will never forget setting it up in my backyard and using a Sky Pocket Atlas and Turn Left at Orion to Star Hop to M81 and M82. What I will not forget is my frustration in star hopping. I used the telrad to get me to the area, the finderscope to get me near the galaxies, and then messing up when I went to the eyepiece. I was forgetting that a reflector has a reverse image! Once I figured that out I got right on both galaxies and when I got on M81, I let out a yell for joy and jumped around! I had done it! I will never forget that excitement. 

My other memory is finding Saturn with it on that first observation at around 11:30 p.m. My wife usually is well asleep by that time but I had to run into the house, wake her up and have her looked. She was a good sport about it and enjoyed the view. However, I think she enjoyed going back to bed and getting sleep even more! 

The XT8 is also the scope I started finding Messier's with, completing about half with that scope. 

My next scope was up to an Orion XT10.  Aperture fever didn't take long and my son began observing with me using the XT8.  So I purchased my Orion XT10.  I wanted something with just a little more aperture so I purchased that. I made a few adjustments to it, putting on Astronomy Shoppe's Collimation knobs for collimation which helped immensely. I also got a Howie Glatter Laser and TuBlug which I love to this day! From Astronomy Shoppe I purchased Scope Gripps to replace the spring mechanism attaching the tube to the base. I still have my set on my 10 inch dob and love them even though they are no longer made LINK.  

The XT10 I really enjoyed and finished observing my Messier's and then did all of them again in the 10 inch. It is also the scope that I started the Herschel 400 with. I put a lazysusan on the base with a brake and that fixed the striction issue I had for azimuth motions.  I also put some scope handled on them and used a welder's magnet as a counterweight with felt on the bottom of the magnet so as not to scratch the tube. 

My Orion XT10 at Lakeside, Utah West Desert, Utah. 

Orion XT10, West Desert, Utah. 

Orion XT10 with Zambuto replacement mirror. 

I spent a several years using the XT10 and then aperture fever hit again. At this point I ordered an Orion XX14i.  I had the mirror tested, refigured and recoated and that was a very good scope to use. I used this scope for the Herschel 400 and 400II and was happy with it until I used a Zambuto mirror in the XT10. I then wanted to replace the mirror in the XX14i with a Zambuto. Carl told me after looking the mirror over that I should order a new mirror and build a scope around it. That is how I ended up with my 14" dob. 

My 14" was another scope that I just fell in love with. I knew I had to keep premium mirrors in my scopes and so I ordered a Zambuto 14" mirror. I choose at the time of the build to go with DobStuff. I choose on purpose a 3 strut design after talking with Dennis Steele and emailing Albert Highe. I know some questioned my sanity for putting a Zambuto into a design by Dennis, but I found the scope very good when I received it. I reused several items from my other dobs, a 9x50 finder and a telrad. I had a Moonlite Focuser put on it and a cooling fan. Here is the 14" dob over the years. I made several adjustments to it to make the scope mine. I put on some milk jug washers to improve the azmuith motions, which were good, but this I believe improved them. I also included a washer there.  I moved the teflon pads on the rocker which also improved the altitude motions. I labeled my struts so I always put them back into the same slot. 

The scope holds collimation with the strings and struts in place and I adjusted the type of turn buckles for the strings. I will never forget the night in Utah's West Desert when myself and two of my observing friends and companions, Jorge and Jeff Porter looked at M51.  The view in the scope with the Zambuto was incredible! This scope showed the arms and details I had never saw! I finished the H400 I & II in this scope and started going after the remaining H2500.  

I LOVE this scope and I have held unto to it and use it when I need a quick observing session in Utah's West Desert or I don't want to load the 17.5" up that evening. I feel as I continue to get older, I will use this scope even more than the 17.5" but we'll see. It is light weight, easy to transport and wonderful to use! Oh, I also got the  transport poles so the upper cage transports on the mirror box. The mirror then loads into the rocker box for easy transportation.

14" over the last couple of months in 2025. 

14" in 2013 above. 

14" in 2012. 

The 14" I loved and enjoyed for over 2 years. However when my friend Jeff got his 16" Starstructure with a Zambuto Mirror, I knew aperture fever had hit me yet again. I began looking around and Dennis had a 17.5 Terry Ostahowski mirror that had been checked and recoated. I purchased the mirror after looking at the report on it, and this time wanted a truss dob. I opted for a single ring again to save weight and because I like the compact design.  The scope came together the summer of 2014 and I received it in time for fall observing of 2014.  

Like with the 14" I made adjustments. I had made counterweights for the 14" by taking pcv pipe, capping the ends after filling them with bb's and then painted them black. I then attached them to the mirror box supports with black ties. I did the same with the 17.5" to counter weight. I have made other adjustments and later in April or May, I will be adding to fans to each scope that are attached in the mirror box to cool both mirrors down more quickly.  

These images are from 2016-2017 out on the Forest Land south of Vernon. 

The following are from this year, 2025.  The coatings on both mirrors are holding up great and the one adjustment I have made this year is to have my friend Shane and his son help me to take the wires from the fans in the scope and make it to where they direct directly to the power source that runs them. 

There was one more scope that I owned for a couple of years, a Webster 24" that I purchased used. We use to own a cabin up in the Unita Mountains and there I had built a rolled off observatory.  I used the 24" there as there was no way I could transport it in either my 2001 Nissan Pathfinder or in either of my Subaru Outback's. We sold that cabin and when we did I sold the 24" at that time. I LOVED that scope also, and the views were incredible. I just couldn't take it to dark sites and it wasn't, in my opinion, worth it for me to use in my backyard. 

Now I am considering a 20" to a 24". My wife has reminded me that the 24" might be too big but we'll see. I thought I would order it this spring, but with what we are doing with the money coming in from the farm this year, and with what is going on in the economy, I am going to wait until 2026 when we get our second payment to order a new dob. I know which one I want if I order new. However I am also going to watch the used market to see what comes up over the next 12 months. 

One thing I want to clarify. For me, cost, the ability to make a dob your own and tweak it, and most of all, having scopes that you use are the most important part of this hobby. My scopes are my tools I use to have experiences in this hobby. Are there better scopes? Yep. Are they better for me? Nope. I am very happy with the scopes I have had, the adjustments and tweaks I've made to make them work for me. I know my friend Shane is amazed every time he uses my 14" now. I am still amazed at the 17.5 and the images I get from that scope.  I love the ultralight composite scopes, which I consider both the 14" and the 17.5" to be.  There are compromises but I believe I have mitigated them.  Both scopes hold collimation and they are a blast to use. 

In the end as others consider telescopes, look at your budget, what your wanting to observe and then decide what to purchase. For me, it has always been to maximize the details and objects I can see with the tools and equipment I have. Primary though, is to just get out there and enjoy the hobby, nature and the night sky. 

I have three other scopes that I need to add. The first was my first solar scope that I purchased from Chuck Hards.  Here it is. 

This was a wonderful scope and I used it a lot. I eventually purchased a Lunt LS35ThadDx DELUXE Solar Telescope.  This scope I also really enjoyed and I gave the ATM solar scope to an observing friend.  Here is my Lunt LS35. 

My scope that I use at home  and several times a year from a dark site are my refractors. Here is the AR102 Explore Scientific. It has some chromatic aberrations and I usually use a yellow filter to correct when looking at Venus, Jupiter, the Moon, etc. I use the Twilight I mount and my AR102 now has a 9x50 RATC and a Red Dot finder on it. 

  

I'm going to be purchasing the Astro-Tech AT102EDL here in the next couple of weeks so I can view without the chromatic aberrations. 

I'll use the Twilight I at times with the AT102EDL but I am also going to buy the Celestron Omni CG-4 German Equatorial Mount because it has tracking. That way I can get on the object I observe and stay on it. 

I can see the day coming in about 10-15 years where this scope and the 14" will be my mainstays!