Zhumell 10" f/5

5.0 What a scope! I just love it.

Greatest scope (to me anyway) - my path to the universe

Side hub bearing bolts need to be attended to

I have a 10" Zhumell dob and just love it. It is the best astronomy purchase I ever made. This is my first real scope and what a scope it is!

After much research on the internet and especially on Cloudy Nights, I bought the scope. This arrived in two very large boxes, one about the size of a coffin and it is a big scope. Assembling the base was simple and the scope was in its cradle and all ready in no time.

That was two years ago and I have learned much in that time as collimation takes time to learn. Now I can collimate it in under two minutes, but back to the scope. As I said, this is a very large scope and it is not really intended for someone say 5'6" tall weighing 130 pounds which I am not. I am 6' 240 pounds so the heft of this scope is not an issue. The mirror and optics are phenomenal. I have seen the moons of Saturn, the Orion nebula and other faint fuzzies out there and the wow factor is definitely there. I wish Zhumell made a truss 16" and I would have that next. I just love that scope and the 2 speed crayford focuser is just awesome . And when you buy this Dob make sure that you also buy a Telrad. It makes star hoping a breeze. I have done some upgrades to the base. For this, check out the Cloudy Nights Zhumell upgrade mega thread.

The only problem I had as other GSO owners have is you have to either put locktite or lock nuts on the bolts that hold the hubs on because they loosen up, and if a nut falls off it will hit your mirror. I went the extra mile and used both. To the base I added easy sliders so now it turns effortlessly. I took the holding springs off and added a home made braking system. I just love this scope as it easy to use and make upgrades to.