Zhumell 8-Inch Dobsonian Reflector Telescope

After much research!

I purchased this 8" dobsonian after doing a lot of research in to the quality of this scope and how it compared to another popular brand 8" dobsonian telescope. I read all t...Read complete review

I purchased this 8" dobsonian after doing a lot of research in to the quality of this scope and how it compared to another popular brand 8" dobsonian telescope. I read all the reviews [@]and found them to be very useful.This scope appears to be virtually identical to the other dobsonian in many ways. The Zhumell ,however,comes with some nice additions that the other one does not.The zhumell comes with a 9mm 1.25" lens and a 25mm wide field lens in a 2"format.The scope also comes with a fan for the mirror already attached to the mirror housing. The other one comes with a 9mm and a 25mm in a 1.25"format and no fan. [...].Assembly was very easy it took me about 20 minutes to assemble the base and mount the scope. I did experience some of the problems with the telescope hardware and the base that others have described,both here in the reviews section and on other web sites. The rings that are supplied for you to pull on so that you can mount the tension springs to the optical tube are flimsy and are stretching out after using them 5 times. They are also very painful to use,as they will dig into your finger.A trip to the hardware store will solve this problem,just buy a larger and beefier ring. I also found that after two weeks one of the lower spring mounting bolts was beginning to pull out of the particle board side support. There is an insert threaded into a hole that only goes halfway through the panel. The incredible tension from the spring is too much for the insert. Again a trip to the hardware store will fix this. I purchased two bolts 4" long and of the same diameter and thread pitch of the bolt supplied.I also picked up 4 2" flat washers,two regular nuts and two vinyl locking nuts. I drilled a hole as big as the bolt through the side panel leaving the insert in the side panel,using it as a guide for the drill bit.I put the bolt through a 2" washer and threaded it in from the inside of the mount through the insert and out the other side.I then put on another 2" washer and tightened it down with a standard type of nut. I installed the original bushing that came with the scope for the spring mount, the spring and the supplied washer, and then the vinyl locking nut then I just cut off the exposed bolt and filed it smooth.This is much stronger than the original design and I have had no more problems with it.I have added some pictures of the finished product at the bottom of this review to show what it looks like. I also recommend checking every nut and bolt for tightness.Many of the nut were not much more than finger tight. You may have to remove the mirror assembly to access some of the nuts but that is a simple procedure. Just be very careful with the mirror after you have removed it. A bit of low strength locktite on all the nuts and bolts is recommended.All that being said,this telescope is a very nice telescope.I have had it out 3 times since purchasing it on 3/20/2008 and have been very pleased with the views. Saturn is a beautiful sight through the 9mm lense. I have pulled 3 galaxies out of a light polluted eastern sky,M81 M82 and M51, in Ursa Major. The 25mm lense works best for the deep sky objects such as the previously mentioned galaxies and provides stunning views of star clusters.I stongly recommend this telescope [@].