However, they do work and hold the finder quite steady regardless of the nature of the screws, so I guess it is not really all that important. The focuser is very smooth and sensitive. The finder stock is not tall enough for my tastes, you have to contort your head so you can get eyes at the right level to see through. It has been a difficult task to test the optics this winter due to the bad weather. I did a color sketch with watercolor pencils that got used in a montage of images from the Mars opposition and made one of the “image of the day” websites! Tony, RA finder was a must for my old inflexible neck although the straight thru original is well built. Store #0906712 Elec. I think I was trolled here, but anyway not much to knock about this lil achro. My question is that : Is this cope will be a good choice for a starter? All of these fine features are of no avail if the optics are substandard. This set up has flimsy tripod legs and lots of backlash but it is light and easy to use. : Elec. So the next time it was out, there were high cirrus clouds but a much steadier atmosphere. Before the sky was completely covered with a layer of thicker clouds I slewed to M 42 in Orion. Explore Scientific FirstLight telescopes are designed to be easy to use and affordable making them a perfect choice for STEM, astronomy outreach and beginner astronomers. Jim, exactly! Even my wife didn´t rant too much... OK I went Crazy and ordered one from OPT. No, when the weather warms a bit I am really looking forward to just setting this scope up and looking at stuff! There is colour, but no astimatism, out of roundness, very little spherical aberration, etc. At the current sale price of $299 it is almost a steal! Could you please advise me some models? This means anything with a vixen style dovetail can be mounted on it. Manufacturer rebates, terms, conditions, and expiration dates are subject to manufacturers printed forms NYC DCA Lic. The first change was to drill and tap the mounting plate for the Nextstar GT so it would fit on a Sirius Tripod. Unfortunately, larger ED’s or APO’s were out of my price range. Clamps help to make sure the scope is oriented the way you want it. These telescope packages are great for anyone getting started in amateur astronomy. Some simple arithmetic may help explain: $299 4" achromat, ready to use/complete; take away included 99% 2" diagonal ($99); take away dual speed focuser ($145); take away 8x50 finder scope and bracket ($49) for a total of $293 value. Click or scroll to zoom Tap or pinch to zoom Click or scroll to zoom Tap or pinch to zoom Click or scroll to zoom Tap or pinch to zoom Explore FirstLight 102mm Doublet Refractor with Twilight Nano Mount - FL-AR102600TN by Explore Scientific. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. Sometimes you have to use the finder but it is usually right on the edge of view in the eyepiece. Since this was written I have done a couple of other things with the scope. Since I already have a 90mm F-15.5 achro for planetary I sold the APO. Deal. As mentioned earlier, “The Beast” is my 6” achromatic F/8 refractor that sits on a Sirius mount with a extension pier. My overall impression is outstanding! The interior of the rings are covered with felt to keep the tube from being scratched. It definitely did not affect the detail visible on the face. Deal. Overall, it is a real bargain. My only complaint is very minor. Staring at a monitor from your warm house is a plus but as I get older I long to grab a scope let the photons roll into the Mark 1 eyeball! These are nice looking scopes that come in 102mm, 127mm and 152mm diameter lenses and F/6.5 focal ratio. All of the products that I have ever bought from them, including the 8” F/4 astrograph that was sold, have been great. Now what about the optics? That means you get what's left,  a very nice OTA with excellent f6.5 collimatable optics, very nice hinged and knobbed rings set, dovetail bar with adjustable tilt axis, carry handle mounted to the rings for...now wait for it...$6. There was a bit of purple fringing around the limb of the moon but not really any worse than “The Beast.” I used the 25mm, 70 degree, 2” eyepiece first just to check it out. Also the crosshairs are hard to see when looking through the finder. It also came with a 25mm, 70 degree Bresser 2” eyepiece that wasn’t even mentioned in the ad! The moon was full so any CA would really show up. It also has a Baader dovetail clamp attached. Why does ES put those comically large dew shields on their scopes? I am in my 60s with arthritis problems too so it just fits the bill, in terms of size, weight, and manageability, and especially at $299 ready to use. When I switched to the 25mm, 2” eyepiece there was some purple fringing around the edge but I did not see it as being objectionable. Home Explore FirstLight 102mm Doublet Refractor with Twilight Nano Mount - FL-AR102600TN. Assembly  primarily was taking off the rings and stripping off the protective foam, then putting it back together. We close every Friday evening to Saturday evening for Shabbos. I have the 80mm triplet and its a good scope, optically. I purchased the AR102 bundled with a Twilight 1 alt-azm mount almost 2 years ago for $600 and change. Explore Scientific includes several accessories, including a 25mm eyepiece that yields 40x, a 90° star diagonal to put the user's head in a comfortable viewing angle, a universal smartphone eyepiece adapter for easy astrophotography, and a wide-field unmagnified red-dot finderscope. Several functions may not work. Plus, the Celestron Minus V filter (Same as the Baader Fringe Killer) does a good job on the CA and doesn’t change the color of the view much. And at the 300 sale price, I can't see how you could go wrong. Well I must confess I got one of the AR 102 for Christmas .At first I thought another cheap scope, but after a night under the stars I hand to resend my first thoughts, It offered the best of everything you would look for in a scope. The 127 caught my attention first but the price was over my budget. Not responsible for typographical or illustrative errors. Please enable javascript for your best B&H experience. There were high clouds and even stars overhead were twinkling. Even with foam in the tripod legs, tightened up bolts, wooden blocks to force the legs out and bungie cords around the bottom of the tripod to help with vibrations it still jiggles a lot. I plan on doing more planetary imaging in the future but primarily with "The Beast" and not the AR 102. This was a concern with me since I did want to look at the planets from time to time. I was impressed. The reviews on that scope were terrific, however, it just seemed to be a little on the small side. However,  Highpoint has been extremely helpful in all my dealings with them. The scope delivers very crisp view and as others have said, the build quality is great. With a quick look at the ¾ moon in twilight (clouded up at dark!) As expected, focusing was a bit more demanding but the 2 speed focuser made that chore much easier. Wow, what an improvement. It is a great deal for the money, even at the non-sale price of $399. Just remember the faster a scope is the quicker it takes to capture a good image. Just some thoughts from someone who has been down this road. WMV, Wayne, I am with you, even if you don't like the finder, sell it off for $40, already have a good diagonal, there is another $80 on the used market and you end up with a great little 4" achro that is F6.5, has about the same color correction as a 5" F9 but a hellovalot more portable ota which doesn't require a big mount. The weak link to this set up is the Celestron GT mount, not the AR 102! There was not a negative review that I could find on the internet or in their links. One of my favorite scopes  is “ Dimestore,” my Meade 60mm, “junk” telescope. Hd. However, there’s just not enough aperture and though the Alt/Az mount is Ok, it could be better! Light weight, but well built. You have until Feb 01, 2021 to return or exchange items bought after Oct 19, 2020. I couldn´t resist at the price and pulled the trigger too. So when you add the $100 eyepiece, the $100 dollar 2” diagonal and a $200 dollar, 2 speed focuser with the AR 102, the telescope ended up being free! 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