StellaLyra 12" Unboxing

[Chris]

Very very nice Michael! Congratulations and looking forward to hearing all about first light

[Mr Spock]

No first light tonight. The sky is clear but the patio is flooded 

[nightfisher]

lets hope you get a first light soon, nice looking scope

[Guest]

That is a dead ringer for my Orion Skyline. A couple things you might want to look at for possible upgrade.  The collimation screws for the secondary.  On mine they were Philips head screws, I replaced them with Bob's Knobs thumb screws.  The other thing is the springs that tension the primary mirror.  The upgraded springs are much better then the original.  One thing you may have a bit of a learning curve on is setting the tension on the focuser to raise or lower your eyepieces.  There is no sweet spot that does it all.  You will have to adjust it depending on the weight of your eyepeices.  I don't know what the dew situation is in your area, but you may need to consider some form of dew control.  For me here in Ohio dew heaters are a must.  Other then that....you will love that scope.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Guest

[Mr Spock]

Yes, I was already thinking about Bob's Knobs. Adjusting the secondary was a bit traumatic. I did notice the primary springs are a bit weak. I've not had issues with the focuser and dew isn't a problem here.

I will be strengthening the rocker box (or replacing). It's a bit like jelly at the moment.

Also adding feet to the bottom of the tube where the locking bolts are so it can stand on its end a bit more safely.

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Yes, I was already thinking about Bob's Knobs. Adjusting the secondary was a bit traumatic. I did notice the primary springs are a bit weak. I've not had issues with the focuser and dew isn't a problem here.

I will be strengthening the rocker box (or replacing). It's a bit like jelly at the moment.

Also adding feet to the bottom of the tube where the locking bolts are so it can stand on its end a bit more safely.

I failed to mention that the upgraded primary springs also came from Bob's Knobs.  The feet are a really good idea for the bottom, but since I leave mine set up in the garage it's a non-issue for me.  When I replaced my secondary adjusters Bob sent me the 35mm screws and they do protrude significantly.  I traded a couple of emails with him about it and he was willing to send me the 30mm if I wanted him to.  It wasn't worth the hassle so I just kept the 35s.  If you do go the Bob's Knobs route maybe send him a picture of the existing screw so you get the right length.  

[Franklin]

The fit and finish on this looks to be a step ahead of the competition. Dual speed focuser, 9x50 RACI finder, cooling fan. How do they do it for the money? 👍

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

The fit and finish on this looks to be a step ahead of the competition. Dual speed focuser, 9x50 RACI finder, cooling fan. How do they do it for the money? 👍

GSO must make that scope for a half dozen companies.  Orion Zhumell, Apathura, and a couple others.  People can say what they want, but for right around a grand .....they are good scopes.

[Guest]

Mr Spock, something to consider.  I am now running into people that also you your scope, just under different names.  Most of them have opted to get the GSO coma corrector for use with wider angle eyepieces.  I have been following four different guys on a different sight  and all of them have now got it and all of them report it is worth the money.  I guess I will be getting one too soon.

[Mr Spock]

The widest I’m usung is a 22mm LVW which is 65deg. Coma us there, but nog enough to worry about.  
 

I have ordered the Bob’s knobs snd updated springs. I’ll also be getting some rubber feet so I can stand the tube on its end. 

[NGC 1502]

8 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

The widest I’m usung is a 22mm LVW which is 65deg. Coma us there, but nog enough to worry about.  

The Vixen 22mm LVW is a truly legendary eyepiece.  I do accept that even very well corrected eyepieces don’t correct for Newtonian coma, but the 22 LVW comes darned close to doing that.  Whatever you do don’t sell it, unless of course you sell it to me😁

If Vixen resurrected the LVWs made to the same high standards as the originals they would surely be hot sellers.

[bish]

Unless you have double patio doors I assume that the base firs through a standard door way. I considered getting a 14" flex but think I would have to take the base apart to take through the house.