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Hi Jessica.
I have owned one of these fine scopes for a few years and have found them an honest instrument to observe with.
They do travel well (namely accross the back seat covereed in a doona and secured with the seatbelts crossed over) and hold their collimation which is a snap to do thanks to the knurlled knobs for the primary but you will need an allen key for the secondary..have a look at some of the $2 shops and pick up a set of allen key drivers..(remember never tighten more than with two fingers!!)
As for the mount..give the hubs on the tube and the contact rollers on the mount a clean with metho every so often so it doesnt stick ..the teflon pads on the azimuth base could do with a clean also
I've ditched the finder for a right-angle one (more comfortable)
I always allow at least 30-40 minutes for the mirrors to cool before a collimation check.
You wont have to worry about cleaning ther mirrors for at least a year provided to cap the tube when not in use..don't be horrified if you shine your torch on the primary and see a haze..it's normal and doesn't affect your image!!!
A 2x barlow, 12mm, 15mm, 32mm will give you good views of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Mars as well as deep sky objects like the great Orion Nebula M42
When viewing..take your time and allow your eye to adjust to the image..you will see more detail after a minute or so.
Use and enjoy!
Cheers!
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