JeffPo's Telescopes Page
Last update: 09/05/19
Below you'll see the various telescopes that I own and use. Why more than one you ask? Well, the more you get into the hobby, the more you'll realize that different scopes and do the job differently. While one telescope can certainly serve you well, I have found that depending on how I want to observe, or how much time I have, or how much energy I have, I will use a different telescope to fit the circumstances. If I'm wanting to do some deepsky astrophotography, I'm going to need a telescope that can handle the equipment and give me tracking. If I just want to take a quick peek at the moon or Jupiter, I can use one of my smaller and easier to setup telescopes. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Telescopes
This is a Meade LX100 8" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, purchased new in 1994. It's the telescope I use most of the time for serious astronomical work. I've actually upgraded it, replacing the right fork mount, the internal computer board, the control panel, and the hand control. It now functions like a computerized LX200 telescope. I just punch in an object on the keypad and the telescope automatically slews to that object. Likewise, I could also interface it with a laptop computer. The Schmidt-Cassegrain design uses a folded light path such that you get a much longer focal length than the actual length of the tube. This telescope was bought with astrophotography in mind, but I've only dabbled with that. I mostly do observing. I also learned to use the setting circles on the mount and before I upgraded it with GOTO capabilities, I use to use those setting circles to dial in objects. They were big and accurate enough to always place the object in the field of view of the eyepiece.
The LX100 is kind of a rare bird among telescopes. Meade didn't make many so there seems to only be a handful of owners out there. Mechanically and optically it was on par with the LX200. The only difference is that it didn't have the GOTO capabilities and it didn't come with a declination motor by default. If you need the owner's manual, I have uploaded a copy of mine here: MeadeLX100.pdf
If you have a LX100, I highly recommend replacing the right fork arm with the right fork arm from a LX200 of the same era (don't forget the cord). It's easy, and it's plug and play. That will give you a built in declination motor that also matches the slewing speeds of the right ascension motor. This greatly aids in observing and astrophotography. The default add-on declination motor for the LX100 isn't geared properly so it's about 32 times slower than it should be. Contact me for more details.
This is a Vixen 80 refractor on an aluminum alt-azimuth mount, purchased new in 1993. This is my grab and go telescope for quick views of the planets, bright deepsky objects, moon, sun, eclipses, transits, etc. It actually came with .965" eyepieces. I have never looked through them because I purchased a hybrid diagonal so I could use my 1.25" eyepieces. The telescope gives great views of the planets and moon. I've also done some astrophotography with it.
This is a Meade 10" Starfinder equatorial, purchased used in January of 1996. I bought it because I stumbled across the ad for it and it was local to my area. The mirror is a relatively fast f/4.5 focal ratio. It's on a German equatorial mount and it has a clockdrive for tracking. This is a great telescope for deepsky objects. The mirror in this telescope was refigured to make it better than it was before.
I thought the mount might prove cumbersome to setup and I was right. It was really a hassle to set it up since I had to disassemble just about everything to get it out the door. I quickly began work on a dobsonian mount modeled after the one in Richard Berry's book on building your own telescope. The wood doesn't look good close up because of all my putty work, but I plan on painting the mount a Meade blue. The scope performs wonderfully. It is easy to use and setup and is great for observing deepsky objects. I use this scope when I want to go "deep". Building the dobsonian mount basically gave me two types of scope. I use the equatorial mount on those "serious" nights when I want tracking, and I use the dobsonian mount on those "lazy" nights when I just want to easily setup and observe the sky.
This is a Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, purchased used in June of 2015. It has a built in GPS and GOTO electronics similar to my Meade LX200. The 11" mirror makes it the biggest telescope I own. It has been in storage until recently. I've only tried to use it once, but it's having some issues with some bugs in the software, so it's never really seen first light yet with me. I hope to have the kinks worked out soon so I can see what the this scope can really do.
This is an Orion Shorttube 80, purchased used in August 2013. It's a small refractor with an 80mm objective. It has a relatively short focal length of 400mm. I got it for use as a spotting scope, though some people use them for stargazing. It could also be used as a guide scope for astrophotography, and I've seen some decent images taken with them.
I also have an Orion SkyQuest 8XT Dobsonian telescope, purchased used in March of 2014. I got it as quick setup telescope, given it's light, and has a decent 8" size mirror. It gives pretty decent views. Very easy to use. My only real complaint is that the bearings for the mount aren't very smooth so the telescope can be a little "jerky" when moving it. With a dobsonian, you want it buttery smooth. It's still very usable, but I might try to upgrade them later. Home telescope makers usually use teflon on ebony star formica for the mount bearings. That's what I used for building the dobsonian mount for my 10" Starfinder telescope.
Past Telescopes
I mentioned on the other webpage my Sears 60mm refractor on an alt-azimuth mount. I got it around 1976. It came with an assortment of eyepieces, a moon filter, and a solar projection screen. It wasn't a great scope, but it really opened up the universe for me. I enjoyed viewing Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon through it. It even performed okay on some of the brighter deep sky objects, like the Orion Nebula (M42). It was great for viewing sunspots with the solar projection screen. I sold this telescope to buy the Vixen refractor.
I also use to own this Coulter 8" f/4.5 reflector on a dobsonian mount, purchased new in 1988. It was called the Odyssey 8. There was nothing fancy about it. The mount was made from press wood and the focuser was a push-pull design made from plumbing parts. The original mirror had some astigmatism, so I had them give me another one. This scope was my first "real" scope. It was capable of showing me some of those faint fuzzies...which it did wonderfully. I used it for a few years before I even put a finder on it. That's how easy it was to use. I sold it to help finance the Meade LX100 telescope.