Orion XT10 IntelliScope Telescope

Having never owned a telescope, and having little knowledge about who to consult as I decided to take the plunge, I purchased the Orion XT10 (online) after doing most all of my research online. Now don't get me wrong; I've been admiring the sky for years from afar. One of the most dog-eared books from my childhood was about astronomy. Heck, I could actually find and name a half dozen constellations or so - but that was it.

What I'm getting at here is: despite the fact that I was a beginner, I expected to rise beyond that stage quickly. I was prepared to lug a 55 lb. hunk of metal and particle board 10 or 20 yards into my back yard (you can make two trips at 25 lbs. plus - some assembly required), and then let it acclimate for a 1/2 hour to optimize its performance before using it. I was also willing to invest the extra three or four hundred dollars that you really should on the kind of accessories (like a laser collimator, Telrad or similar viewfinder, binoculars, red flashlight, star charts and at least two stargazing books, etc) without which, using this scope would be much more difficult and therefore be potentially much more frustrating. But more on that later.

This scope is strictly for viewing. You'd be wasting your time trying to do most any kind of photography with it.


Shipping and Assembly:

My XT10 arrived in Massachusetts, having been shipped from a dealer in PA on time and in perfect condition. It was well packed in two boxes, but, assembly involved more than a cup of coffee and a screwdriver. Three of the screws were packed such that I didn't find them until after I had assembled the thing having used three of my own. Luckily these were wood screws used to hold the base together and it was not critical that they were identical to the ones supplied by the manufacturer. On the other hand, one of the four screws used to mount the circuit board to the base was missing and I had to be a bit more careful in selecting a replacement so as not to damage the board. The assembly instructions were written well enough but the illustrations were too small and lacking in necessary detail. I've put together more than my share of "knock-down" furniture. I'd give them a B- for ease and a B for clarity.


Collimation:

After I got over the perfunctory assembly frustrations, (I was not very good with Lego blocks as a child, so even with all my experience, I expect a certain amount of aggravation), I checked the collimation using the deluxe laser collimator that I was smart enough to purchase with the scope. It was ever-so-slightly off center, still in the little bulls-eye ring but ever-so… Of course I decided that that would NOT do so I attempted to improve upon it. As it turned out, ever-so-slight = pretty-darn-good. Not that I regret that in my attempts to "improve" on the factory shipped collimation, I completely messed it up. It took me at least an hour and a half to get it back to as good as how it was shipped, and NOT any better. Bottom line: I got my first lesson in collimation, and most importantly: as it turns out, even having been shipped across the continent from manufacturer to distributor, and then to me, amazingly, it was exceptionally calibrated right out of the box.

Since then, I've found that I prefer to make minor adjustments to the scope almost every time I use it; but you know what? ..It's not that hard and it's almost become a ritual. Kind of cool, actually. But then, I was raised Catholic and though fallen, sometimes feel the need to genuflect before going down an isle in a grocery store - I like ritual.

Performance:

When you're a newbie like me, and you have just purchased something that even experienced users rave about, you want to be wowed by what you're going to see the first time you aim the thing at the sky. Well, amazingly, I was not disappointed; I bagged my first two Messier objects on the first night out - M13 in Hercules, and the Ring Nebula in Lyra. Sure, it's child's play for the experienced, but I just about peed in my pants. I was just not prepared to lose myself in a globular cluster like that. (I went out and bought a $250 7mm Nagler eyepiece within a month in order to lose myself even more). It turns out that scopes are only as good as the eyepiece that you use. The two it comes with (a 25mm and a 10mm) are very acceptable, but picking out eyepieces to augment and improve on this small offering quickly becomes a high priority.

The base is constructed of laminated particle board. I'm sure that if you leave it outside, even covered, over time it will deteriorate. But the important part of this scope is well constructed, and the Dobsonian design saves you major bucks because you're not paying for what turns out to be almost the most expensive part of many a standard (refractor) scope.

Right now I'm grateful that the focuser accommodates both 1.25 and 2" eyepieces, because my next eyepiece purchase is going to be one of those low-power wide field of view models that are designed for the 2" insert points for performance reasons.

The Computerized Object Locator:

It seemed like a no-brainer that for $100 extra, you can get a dedicated computer which, after a simple two star alignment routine, is able to direct you to point the scope at any of several thousand objects in the sky. Well, the alignment, though a simple process, proved to be mostly inaccurate. I would not be surprised to eventually find out that in my case, user error is part of the problem, but I have a tough time achieving a "warp-factor" less than 1.0, much less the .5 suggested in the manual. Most of the time, I'm in the 1.8-2.5 range, which translates to poor locating. So.. most of the time, I've ended up doing things the old fashioned way - and you know what? ..THAT is the way to learn your way around the sky. Bottom line: I always keep my Computerized Object Locator attached because ..it looks very cool.

This is one fantastic scope for a beginner. The size and weight of this thing make it barely portable in one piece by one person - but that is exactly what I like about it. If this scope doesn't capture what you're looking for as a beginner, then you'd best go out and find another hobby. As I'm sure you know from the little bit of research you've probably done during your search for a telescope, power specs mean nothing. Light gathering is what it's all about, and with this scope, you get the maximum amount of aperture for the money (value-wise, you can't beat Dobsonians, 'cause the mount is dirt cheap, and the mirrors Newtonians require are MUCH cheaper to manufacture than the lenses found in refractors and MAKs). If you think it might be too cumbersome and heavy, then there's no question in my mind that the XT8 and XT6 would be very good alternative choices.

The XT10 is NOT a Goto. There is no motor. You have to move the Optical Tube Assembly manually - But, ..you WILL learn your way around the sky. Moderately light-polluted skies are no match for the light gathering abilities of this 'bucket'. You WILL learn to collimate a scope. Despite the fact that the stock scope functions just fine, you WILL feel the need to spend close to what you paid for the scope on accessories. For example, the 9x50 finder-scope that comes with it is a fine piece of equipment, sturdy, good optics etc. But, unless you know what you're looking at, it can actually be too powerful because when looking for a Deep Space Object in a 'quiet' part of the sky, all these stars pop up that you can't see with the naked eye in an effort to confuse you. An accessory like a 1:1 view-finder that seems to project a bulls-eye in the sky (like the Telrad) is almost essential for a beginner like me. -- It routinely saves me hours of frustration. And on the same subject, did I mention that you should really have a good pair of binoculars?

All things considered, this is a monster at a relatively entry-level price point for a telescope. Once you get over the fact that it doesn't fit into the normal "long thin tube on a tripod" stereotype that most people think these things need to look like, its value becomes apparent. I'm thrilled with mine.