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Enjoy your cheep Chinese crapppp.

I missed it; did you install the Teflon block?

Do you have stock in painters tape? Wheels con/360 circle con/level con/handles pro/CD disk sub pro/those disk need the raised area around the hole removed so the disk can ride on the whole disk and not the raised ring in the center. I removed the ridge on the disk and stacked them as needed on my 8 in dob and you can move it with your finger tip of your little finger. Lots of good ideas but a lot of over kill also.Learn where things are and you can scratch some of these projects.I was getting a thin cresent glow of light in my eye pieces so I black out the edge of the 2nd mirror and the focuser tub and that corrected that problem. When I got my 8 in dob it came w/9/50 finder the next year they put that pain in the neck finer on the XT"s. great show just keep them coming...

Another free idea that helps a lot is putting a small felt circle on the backside of the box. Then, when the telescope comes to rest vertical, it will not be jarred out of collimation.

Could you comment on the trunion configuration? Specifically, do you like the deep slot for altitude bearing and the configuration (ie angle between) the two teflon pads.

Orion became NOrion, Meade appears to be gone too. I didnt know they went bust. Sad times.

I was wondering if my man "Flexing" or "Risking" his telescope. 😂 Great video ⚡

Regarding the ratio of teflon to weight, I have heard the magic number is 15 pounds of telescope per sq inch of Teflon. I wish you would have asked him what type of Dob he would design today if he could.

An excellent video. A friend has an XT-10 and wanted a two speed. I told him about the Lacerta and he just bought one from Canada. He found your video and it answers all the questions. Thanks

Certainly would not put spider in or take it out of a vertical tube 🙈 A cardboard disc in tube would be very wise to cover that expensive primary mirror. Lucky find 👍

I think the name changed worked! Just found your channel and love it. A while back, I picked up a broken Meade Telestar 114mm scope. It's a DS2000 series but I'm not exactly sure which specific one. It needed e few repairs and I also wanted to try some DIY upgrades to it. The mount seems to work although I think it could be better (a lot of slop in it). If you ever have a chance, can you open one up on your channel? I don't mind messing with a scope but the mounts scare me.

Thanks very much for explaining both the Crayford focuser, and its generous inventor, John Hall. Much appreciated.

Oh jeez I remember buying my first telescope at Frys Electronics in the 90s. It was an Orion. I was able to locate accessories for it online from ebay in the early 2000s. Good memories for a good company.

I don't solder at all. I split the end of both wires into two parts. Then wrap one part of wire 1 with one part of wire 2. Then the other part of wire 1 withe the other part of wire 2. I bent the one wrap to wire one and the other wrap to wire two. Finally I shrink-wrap the connection. No solder, no special connectors, just shrink-wrap.

Is it 90 degrees in your recording space?

How ironic: A telescope user and enthusiast cannot figure out how to use a video camera.

Great interview! I had one of the early XT10 scopes with the rack and pinion focuser but ended up selling it recently. Clear skies.

So if it's single knob movement tracking, why are there two flex knobs?

I know that this video is a few weeks old...but can you tell me what the diameter of the 12"dobsonian that you had printed out for yours? Now I know that not all are the same, but my 12" Apetura Dobsonian says the base diameter is 24.88" so I asked Staples and they said their limit was 24" and that i would need to try at another place. Did you take your protractor print somewhere else and if so, where? And, if need be, the person at Staples asked if I really needed to have it at 24.88" and could I get away with it being only 24"X24"??What do you think?

I thoroughly enjoyed this video! It’s great to see behind the scenes. More please!😊

I have one of these on exactly the same wooden tripod. Mine is called a Celestron Premium 80 but looks the same. Bought it from David Hinds optics using an inheritance from my Godfather and Godmother. It is now mounted on a Sky watcher EQ3 go to mount and works well. Happy days! 😊

Nice interview but let's face it John Dobson was the real deal!!

New subscriber here. Really enjoyed watching this project!

Best video on the Bahtinov mask! Thanks

One possible reason for not hearing from ex-employees is that they may have had to sign an NDA.

Fascinating interview being from an engineering background 🛠️🔭

excellent interview ..

Can I use this adapter with Astrohopper?

John do you know if he worked on any other type of scope other than a dob?

Awesome interview! I always learn useful info with your channel, and hearing more about the history behind the XT scope makes me appreciate my XT8 even more 🙂 great job John!

Great interview John! You are one of the few youtube channels that try to teach something and wont try to sell you something :-)

How can I get intouch with you i have a scope thats needs to be repaired

Just curious, why did you use the heavier, nominally scratched secondary instead of the new one? Also, since there were voids on the secondary mount I was surprised that you applied the silicone to the mirror hoping to hit a solid spot on the mount rather than the other way around. Always look forward to your videos.

Excellent video, you are better conversationally than 99% of any engineer I work with (and my employer is loaded with them). Any chance you will do some observation “tips” type videos in the future? Thanks again for the great content.

Legendary company that will be hugely missed.

I really enjoyed this one. You really did a good job with the interview; it felt very comfortable and engaging.

wonderful

Very nice to hear his story rather than dwelling on and beating up on the death of Orion. Well done, sir.

would love to hear more about what happened to Orion and to all of the warranty telescopes / people's money they have.

Nice interview John We need to do one one time.

Excellent and entertaining! Just one comment I can't resist: Saying the Moon is "the low-hanging fruit" thrilled all the flat-Earth advocates. ;-)

Thanks to Jack for the QC on the Orion scopes from his era. I have two Orion reflectors from the era that I still enjoy. The 130ST is really handy and easy to use. Fun video, TX.

Appreciate all of the videos. Can you discuss how to fix the hinges on an old wooden tripod? I have an old Jason Japanese refractor that I would love to fix up.

Neat.

Great interview John, Refractor. I love what Jack Quoted about John Dobson!

First of all, great interview! I wish however we knew what killed Orion Telescopes. Such a shame and what a quick exit from the market. Strange.

Great interview! Your videos helped me decide on my first scope, and some great QOL improvements. It's a complicated hobby for someone who knows nothing about it, and your videos make it much more approachable to the beginner. Thank you and keep up the great work!

Great explanation! I like the effect of diffraction spikes. I actually add them to stars in Photoshop because I usually use a camera and lens for astrophotography.

R.I.P Orion ... you will be missed.

That was neat to watch. Very cool to learn a little bit more about my favorite telescope. Couldn't agree more with his comments on the RACI finders. They just work so well with the dobsonian.