Orion Optics 8 inch reflector - worth a refurb ?

[Justin P]

Hi all,

alongside some other rather ‘vintage’ scopes that I have is an 8 inch Orion Optics Europa reflector scope.

Its an old one, and I believe has a 1/4 wave mirror (although I confess to not knowing much more than this !)

Long story short I contacted Orion and apparently the mirror would benefit from a re-coat and potentially a new focuser. 
 

Its not a massive spend ( but it’s not insignificant either) - I’d be interested to hear if anyone has had a service such as this completed - and most importantly what the results were in terms of performance ? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

 

[Guest]

For me...if the service costs more then half of what a new scope costs....I don't think I would mess with it 

[dweller25]

I would compare the Orion Optics service cost with a new Skywatcher 8” Dob as the mirror quality will be very similar…..

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

Also it may be worth Googling Orion Optics to find other peoples opinions.

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by dweller25

[Justin P]

4 hours ago, dweller25 said:

I would compare the Orion Optics service cost with a new Skywatcher 8” Dob as the mirror quality will be very similar…..

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

Also it may be worth Googling Orion Optics to find other peoples opinions.

 

Thank you David, much appreciated. Funnily enough I have passed this link onto a friend and he purchased one immediately - a little off topic but a happy customer !

Im keen not to add to the collection so this is a restore or pass on job. Thanks again for the reply though. 
 

Best, Justin 

[rl]

I'd give the mirror a wash, collimate and check it out on a decent night first. The pre-zygo mirrors could be a bit variable to say the least. The early cells were a bit agricultural. It's going to be a couple of hundred to fit a new focuser and re-coat....

[Justin P]

On 23/02/2022 at 19:08, rl said:

I'd give the mirror a wash, collimate and check it out on a decent night first. The pre-zygo mirrors could be a bit variable to say the least. The early cells were a bit agricultural. It's going to be a couple of hundred to fit a new focuser and re-coat....

Many thanks for this, that’s exactly the current plan. Will keep you posted ! Thanks again !

[AstroPhil]

On 23/02/2022 at 19:08, rl said:

I'd give the mirror a wash, collimate and check it out on a decent night first. The pre-zygo mirrors could be a bit variable to say the least. The early cells were a bit agricultural. It's going to be a couple of hundred to fit a new focuser and re-coat....

"agricultural" certainly fits with my experience of my c.1992 OO 8" newt! ...which I still have 😉

[davidc135]

I could be wrong but I'd put money on an average GSO mirror being better so probably not worth spending money on, unless you know someone who could check it.

David