Orion 10020 SkyQuest XT12i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope

It is a great telescope and I am having an excellent time using it. The assembly process was not too complicated and I was able to complete it alone in a couple of hours. My shipment arrived quickly and was very securely packed. A packaging error caused an incorrect part to be sent in my box, but I had a replacement part within a few days after calling directly to Orion. The intelliscope feature proved to be very difficult to use until I found a simple solution to the issue through searching forums. It's difficult to locate precisely with the azimuth encoder disk since it tends to spin on the base. Thanks to double-sided tape, as many others suggested, that problem is now solved, and logical alignment can now be accomplished quickly and easily. This telescope's object finder has already led me to several deep sky objects and I was even able to locate them in my light polluted backyard. This scope looks awesome, and I can't wait for it to see a truly dark night sky. You will have difficulty transporting your children without a vehicle large enough to transport them. Despite the fact that the scope fits in the back seat of my crew cab truck, the stand will fit just fine in the bed as well. For the most out of this massive telescope, invest in a good pair of eyepieces. My exploration scientific 82 degree set is wonderful, and I have been using it ever since. You might also want to consider a crosshair eyepiece to assist you in accurately pointing at your It works very well for me to use the Orion 20mm illuminated reticle.

Miranda Avery

| Mar 23, 2021

The "intell" part might not This unit is easy to put together, and easy to use (even in full manual mode). *Branded*Branded*In retrospect, I probably could have gotten just as well the full manual version.

Emmie Bowers

| May 29, 2021

My only complaint about it is that it's a little cumbersome to pack, but I've been enjoying my camping trips with it.

Melanie Cantrell

| Jul 22, 2021

As soon as I started using this telescope, I figured it would be of average value. Due to the encoder disks never staying in position, I was constantly getting warp factors of 30 or more. It was necessary to spray WD-40 I added 40 to the base of the thing to make it rotate smoothly since it wasn't rotating smoothly before. There is also approximately an 8° error between the finder scope and the OTA, which renders it useless.

Alison Woodard

| Jun 09, 2021

I can certainly say that this scoope is among the best The number of scoops is now 3. I have given my grand daughter a refactor that was my first and now it is the first scoop. In the second scoop, there is a four. Despite the age of the reflector, the 5 inch is Having had my 4 in the past, I could see things that were not visible to me with my 12 incher. There was no way to reach out to 5. The new scoop has even caught the attention of my grandchild. I just realized she is just shy of 3 years old, and she talks to me about things.

Fiona Sims

| Apr 26, 2021

The quality of the scope is great, and the only gripe I can find (if you can call it that) is the sheer size of the weapon. Because I knew what the size of the telescope was before I purchased it, I feel this isn't really a fair review of it. While three pounds of gear may not seem like much, it is a considerable load to transport anywhere on your own. In my mid-30s, I am a member of the military The twenties were the best times of my life In spite of exhaustion and motivated to get it out in the field, I had to admit it was physically draining. If you are transporting your telescope by vehicle, or another mode of transportation, it really is important to know the dimensions of the vehicle. I assumed that I would be able to fit the telescope in my moderately-sized vehicle Almost any compact car will do. It turned out that I wasn't right. In fact, I can fit the scope in my car in two pieces (base and tube), but the two take up so much room that I cannot even fit my wife inside the car at the same time as While this may not be the fault of the scope, it is something that all potential buyers should be aware of before buying. If you are new to telescopes (Orion classifies this scope as "advanced"), you may find the setup a bit overwhelming, but it isn't nearly as challenging as it seems. "Collimating" would be the next step, in which you would fine tune mirrors to ensure the telescope's alignment is perfect. I found a laser collimator to be a real help to me when I was doing this- Alternatively, you can purchase them from any of the companies listed above. There were many pictures and the instructions were simple. I was able to set up very quickly with my wife's help.
As for setting it up in the field, the XT12 is fantastic. It is incredibly easy to setup the scope, other than the sheer size and weight of it. The tube assembly is positioned on top of the base after the base has been laid out. After that, you just need to screw in two knobs on the side of the base and you're done Observation may be less ready (as one may need to wait for the telescope to acquire the right ambience temperatures)! While I have no complaints (except of course for the size, which is not the scope's fault), I have been lucky enough to see a few stars so far, including M42 in Orion, Venus, a double star, and the Pleiades. Seeing Sirius through the scope, it is as if the sun is shining- What an amazing thing! You may want to choose a smaller scope if you live in a place that has a lot of rain, fog or extremely cold temperatures since the XT12i requires moderate effort to carry to and from a It is possible to purchase an additional bag (another hundred dollars or more) from Orion which covers the scope temporarily from rain (which can be useful when you are setting up in the field and a small amount of rain falls). My house is on the "windward" side of an island, so I have to contend with clouds and rain constantly.

Would I recommend the scope if I had to choose? Without a doubt! This is a really good one- I am amazed by how well it is made and how it is viewed through. Though, you might wish to upgrade to premium eyepieces (think anywhere from another 300 to There are better ones for 1000 dollars) because the stock ones aren't that good. Upgraded to Tele Vue Nagler 31mm and 7mm eyepieces (they nearly cost a thousand dollars each - Or almost as much as the scope itself would cost). As well as the carrying case for the scope (another 100 bucks or so), a barlow (more money), and several other accessories, I felt that I needed to buy them. Consider this the price of quality observing does not end after the purchase of the telescope. The costs of a hobby are often hidden just as those of many other activities. As a result, in astronomy the expenses are moderate to People of small stature and especially the elderly or those who are young/old would not be recommended to use this scope. ability to physically transport and set up this unit may be too much for someone who is not physically fit. As long as you can handle the size, I feel this is a perfect scope for families and children too.

Seeing the moon through the XT12i (oh and buy a polarizing or moon very I am amazed. In addition to myself, my wife was also with me and we have never marveled at the pure and majestic beauty of the moon. We were able to capture such an incredible view of the moon with the XT12i that it is hard to describe. Whenever I go to bed at night, I constantly gaze at the sky to see if I'll be able to pull out the 80-foot satchel I also highly recommend investing in a set of quality binoculars (Celestron, Orion, Bushnell, Garrett Optical) to afford you flexibility when viewing the sky, but without spending an arm and a leg. I hope this review has been helpful! EDIT

In other words The month of November In the two weeks since I had my initial scope review, I have taken my scope out many times. A lot of celestial objects have been visible to me recently and I have been very pleased about that. The globular cluster Omega Centauri (and many others such as M13) on my scope is one of my favorite views, as are Jupiter and Saturn, the Perseus Double Cluster of open clusters NGC 884 and NGC 869, and many other things. When I had stable seeing, I had been able to see the Giant Red Spot on Jupiter and its different colored bands on a number of nights. I've also had the opportunity to view at least 5 videos Around Saturn there were six moons (I believe they were all moons, but some may have been stars that appeared near their orbits). Venus is the most beautiful planet in the sky Along with the moon, it and Jupiter are my favorite objects in the solar system. Moonwatching is still one of the most amazing things to do. The list of open clusters and nebulae I have viewed is quite lengthy, along with all the To me, one of the best ways to appreciate science is to roam the Milky Way band with an eyepiece that can view a wide-field 31mm (bought separately) and observe Don't be afraid to install and use the Intelliscope feature as well. It took me a long time to install it, and when I finally did, I wondered why I had It is easy to set up as long as you have a flat surface. Although I do recommend it highly, I am still very satisfied with There is a 12" light bucket included, but due to its large size you may not be able to use it everywhere.

Maria James

| Sep 18, 2020

Sadly, it is so heavy to move in and out of the house that I don't do it as often as I should. A tip is to place the base on three cement blocks if you are about 6 feet tall. You don't have to bend at all in order to bring the eye piece right up to your eye. It's just star hop with a telrad that I do, not using the Intelli part. It would be easier to transport an 8" if I had to buy it again, but I would not like to sell my 12" if I had the choice. The 2" eye piece that goes with it should be of good quality and have a wide field of view.

Dion Sloan

| Feb 06, 2021

There is no doubt that Orion makes decent telescopes, but prospective purchasers should be aware of the following It is impossible for Orion to deal with you if you buy one of their scopes second-hand you will not receive phone calls, parts will not be delivered, or anything else a decent company would do. Do those folks who are purchasing new from Orion find that to be an issue? In the case of selling your scope in order to upgrade, the buyer will be out of luck when it comes to getting parts, which is why he or she may contact you so that you can act as a go-between There is a battle between Orion and Titan. You can expect that this will affect your scope's resale value later on. While I hope Orion changes its absurd policy, there are other scopes available that would suit me better.

Knox Conner

| Nov 23, 2020