Every now and then you find a product that you just love. For us, it’s this Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope. You are well aware that none of its components or functions is exceptional, but the entire package as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts (andthe high quality of Orion telescopes is well-known). Maybe it’s something that simply works, after you have tried countless alternatives that don’t, maybe it’s something that gives off a friendly feel, something that seems to have been built with love, care and respect for the customer or maybe you just love its color.
These are just some of the reasons to love the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope.
Without making any grand claims of its superiority, the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 EQ Reflector Telescope is, in a way, a love letter to affordable telescopes and their owners. A product that is as likely to become a scientific instrument as it is to become a friend.
What is the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope?
The Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope is a great addition of the Orion SpaceProbe series of telescopes and probably one of the best reflector telescopes you can get for this price. With a 3 inch aperture and 700mm focal length, it is unusually powerful for a cheap telescope and the two Explorer II 1.25 inch eyepieces that it comes with – 25mm for 28x and 10mm for 70x magnification – make it a great tool for exploring the solar system, from the rings of Saturn to Jupiter’s moons and even beyond, being able to show some of the more conspicuous deep space objects.
(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)
Additionally, the equatorial mount makes the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Telescope not only look cool, but move great, making it easy to perform manual slow-motion tracking, particularly with the included slow-motion controls. The tripod is light, but solid, already a staple of Orion telescopes, and is made for standing with very little bending required, a huge boon for any astronomers with a bad back.
Pros and Cons to Using the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope
PROS:
- Great scope. The Orion Spaceprobe 3 EQ reflector telescope is a powerful and solid scientific tool that makes other telescopes in its price range seem bland and inadequate by comparison. The fact that it is a reflector telescope, with a large aperture, makes it capable of getting decent looks beyond the limits of our solar system, with particularly bright nebulae or star clusters coming nicely into view.
- Solid design. Not only does the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope look great, but it’s very obvious that is was designed and manufactured with great care and inspiration. The equatorial mount is sturdy yet allows for detailed movement and the slow-motion option that it promises is more than just a gimmick.
- Good tripod. While many affordable telescopes make the mistake of placing a decent scope on a junk-level tripod that makes it nigh impossible to balance and get more than 10 seconds of stargazing without shaky fits and needs for constant readjustment, the SpaceProbe 3 Orion 09843 offers a light, yet stable tripod, its aluminum frame putting to shame the “solid steel” tripods of much more advanced products.
CONS:
- Confusing assembly instructions. There is the occasional Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope review making the claim that assembly was difficult for someone with no prior expertise and that is a shame, since this is a great telescope for beginners. Indeed, the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope manual offers the needed instructions, but without offering the images that have become an industry standard in recent years. Nevertheless, this is nothing that an Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope YouTube tutorial can’t fix.
- Some screw issues. While it may not always be the case, more than one Orion SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope review mentioned difficulties in getting the screws to tighten in the right manner, for both the tripod and the mount. These seem to be isolated incidents and it is possible that the fault lies with the user rather than the product, but enough use reviews call it out that it is worth a mention.
Where to Find the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope?
The Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope (teal), since this seems to be the most popular color, can be found on Amazon for what is probably the best offer for the product, having its usual price of $149.99 down to more than worthy $127.36, with free shipping. That’s less than half the price of its cousin, the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial reflector telescope, so this one is definitely a more budget-friendly option.
Extra Info:
Maintenance Advice
You will usually find the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope for sale without any sort of protective case, so you will have to make your own arrangements for keeping it safe and sound from the usual dangers. Being quite a sturdy telescope makes it a product that doesn’t need to be pampered in any specific way, so the normal care you would give to any optic instrument applies.
Telescope Accessories
The Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope comes with several accessories, including the two aforementioned eyepieces, as well as a finder scope, a focuser, a collimation cap and a copy of the Starry Night astronomy software.
Warranty and Guarantee Information
Orion offers a one year limited warranty for defects in materials and workmanship.
Our Recommendation
This is simply a great telescope. We would go as far as to say that it would be worth it even for double the price it carries, but being able to find the Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope best price of less than 130 dollars makes it an offer that is hard to resist. The power of its optics, the sturdy and durable nature of its equatorial mount and aluminum tripod make it stand out from the plethora of cheap telescopes that cut corners by pumping as much plastics as possible in the product. There is a reason why almost every Orion SpaceProbe 3 EQ reflector telescope review you will find online is highly enthusiastic and that is the undeniable value you get for the price with this telescope.
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