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Orion Europa 10 inch...Go or no go?


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Looks good to me

Does it have the front dust cap? If not u can make your own.

Coming with any eps? Cept the one in focuser? Again norm if it not u will have to buy more eps Barlow filters maybe laser collimator.

It looks like a drive is attached which is an upgrade but does it have the hand controller and battery pack? If not just take it off and u can buy new one if those are missing. As long hes not charging for the price of drives and it missing parts.

All else looks good just look down tube to the main mirror. Dont worry if it has a little ust that's normal for a used open front reflector. 

Joejaguar 

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8 minutes ago, joe aguiar said:

Looks good to me

Does it have the front dust cap? If not u can make your own.

Coming with any eps? Cept the one in focuser? Again norm if it not u will have to buy more eps Barlow filters maybe laser collimator.

It looks like a drive is attached which is an upgrade but does it have the hand controller and battery pack? If not just take it off and u can buy new one if those are missing. As long hes not charging for the price of drives and it missing parts.

All else looks good just look down tube to the main mirror. Dont worry if it has a little ust that's normal for a used open front reflector. 

Joejaguar 

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your response. It comes with 10mm, 25mm and X2 Barlow plus all filters. Seller has not mentioned drive but I'm not fussed on that as I am planning to do manual star-hopping.  I have seen other telescope with those slow motion controllers (long cables) hanging out which this one doesn't have. Do you think that will be a problem? 

Thanks again for your input

 

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Hello Asghar

A shower cap would make a good dust cap.

Knobs on flex cables aren't important. (I like them for a refractor, where you sit at the back of the telescope.)

I suspect the mount and tripod may struggle with the task of carrying such a big scope.

How much will it cost you?

 

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I used to own a couple of Orion Optics Newts (many years ago). I can't help thinking that this tube looks like those.
Not that there is anything wrong with an old scope. Provided the mirrors are good.
Dust is not an issue. It is easily cleaned, with care.
More problematic is that it may be old enough to have degraded, or may not have the 'lasts for years' coatings seen on newer scopes.
The mirrors in OO my old scopes gave excellent results.

Is the tube end cap missing?
If so a replacement from Orion was expensive when I asked. A thin bit of flimsy plastic.
I used a shower cap. Or if you are creative with a 3D printer, you can make one.

On the old OO scopes, the main mirror cells was somewhat basic and the tube end cap weak. You could easily lose collimation with rough handling.
Some of the secondary mirror spiders (the frame at the front holding the diagonal mirror) were - agricultural is the best word for it.

The focusser is single speed and will take only 1.25" eyepieces.
From your comment on the eyepieces provided, they may well be those supplied with the scope.

The small finder scope is going to annoy you. These are very much a personal choice. But 30mm straight through on a newt is not a first choice for many.

The mount may be an issue as it looks like it was supposed to be motor driven, and there are bits hanging off.
Can it be driven manually? There is no sign of the drive electronics.

The aluminium tripod is going to be quite flexible with a scope of this size/weight.
I know, I used to own one.

You have not mentioned a price. But (in my opinion) you don't want to be paying a lot.
The tube is probably worth around £100 if the mirrors are good.
The mount/tripod - well it depends on the mount condition.

An equatorial mount takes a bit of time to get the hang of. Some don't like them on a first scope.

To get it into perspective. You can get a Skywatcher 200 dob for £300 new from First Light Optics. This is a good first scope.
If you look around you may get a used one, not too old, for around £200.

Keep asking. Hope this helps,

David.
 

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I have the 8” version of this scope and whilst the views are ok there are a couple issues that David picked up above. 

Firstly,  I have mine on an EQ5 with aluminium tripod and it is a bit bouncy especially in stronger winds - I think the 8” is pushing it for this mount so 10” would be a challenge.  I think a dobsonian basenis more suited from here on up  

 

The Primary cell is quite frankly awful - all the adjustment is exposed which in one hand makes it a doddle to collimate, unfortunately you will get a lot of experience as those same exposed screws means it loses collimation all of the time. 

 

The positive is they are generally cheap so a good intro into the larger scopes. 

 

Cheers

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Thanks everyeone for your valuable input.

 

I will be getting the setup for £100 but cannot be sure how much extra work I have to put in it. I think I will pay a little extra and go for the skywatcher 200p.

 

Many thanks again.

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A wise choice Asghar.

The Orion scope may well have been worthwhile. But if you are unsure of the condition of various parts, walking away is the best option.

A 200P new, or used from the sale section of this site is a good move. The reason for qualifying secondhand from the SGL site is that members are generally honest about equipment condition, and it is usually well looked after. The 'bay' is best avoided.

Keep asking the questions, David.

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I see the slow motion control in the 1st pic look close. its not the long cable kind its the short version ones but its there. 

Yes the tripod is something u can start with but u should look for a 2" steel tripod used if u can. the finder upgrade to a telrad or rigel. The eps is ok to start and u can upgrade them over time. the mount is ok but ya I agree wont be solid on a 10" scope. you will have vibrations and will have to wait many seconds for them to calm down in windy days even slight winds it may be a pain. The focuser is ok u may be able to just get away with a 1.25" 32mm ep since that ota is about f/4.8 its already wide field. If its cheap enough then sure but that's a big scope and weighs a lot.

personally I would max go 8"f/5 on that mount for weight and portabililty. if u go bigger I would go sct then.

joejaguar

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The scope is OK but it's way undermounted in my opinion - the mount is about the equivalent of a Skywatcher EQ3-2 and the aluminum tripod is hopeless with such a scope on board. You would need to invest in a replacement mount and tripod which is going to add £200 or more to what you pay. overall.

Now if you could get the scope tube alone for well under £100 and make a DIY dobsonian mount for it, you might have a lot of observing potential for very little outlay :icon_biggrin:

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  • 3 weeks later...

I signed up here because I bought this Orion 10" scope.  It all seems pretty good and works fine, just needed collimating.

It has 2 stepper motors but no handheld controller, so it's manual control only. I don't have any experience with motor controls but would to get it working.

What would be my options for a replacement controller or maybe an upgrade to a goto system?

ps. I don't have a lot of money.

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