Orion SkyQuest XX14i IntelliScope Truss Dobsonian Telescope Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This review is written under the assumption that, for the most part, people looking for a telescope in this price and size range have some prior experience with telescopes in general, and understand the basic terminology I use in the review.
What attracted me to this scope was the large 14" aperture, the portability made possible by the design, and the computer object locator (COL). I own larger and smaller scopes, but generally with Dobsonian style scopes the bigger you go the harder it is to store, assemble, set up and take down when you're done. This design from Orion eliminates a lot of the hassle with larger Dobs, allowing you to gain aperture while still being able to store it in a closet and be able to handle the larger pieces much easier than with most other Dob designs.
That being said, it is not a lightweight. At a minimum you'll be lifting well over 50 pounds (the lower tube assembly), and lowering that piece onto the assembled base is made more difficult by the care you have to use to avoid damaging electronic components that are in the way. One slip and you could easily ruin the COL's ability to function. A number of people don't like the azimuth motion of the scope, there are only three teflon bearing surfaces riding on an Ebony Star ring (a type of laminate) which act as the azimuth bearing, and the movement isn't the smoothest I've felt. Altitude motion is fine, and adjustable. The COL is very simple and operates quite well if you follow the easy instructions for aligning it. Optical quality is quite good, premium aftermarket eyepieces are not wasted on this telescope. Do yourself a favor and get a good laser collimator to align the mirrors, too.
The scope arrives in four boxes, and each box has plenty of small pieces in bags with no extra parts. The instruction manual is well-written, but there are conflicting instructions in some cases which will cause you to scratch your head. You WILL need to have more on the ball than just being able to read and follow directions straight from the manual, a case in point being getting the azimuth encoder spaced properly from the encoder disk in the base (conflicting instructions between the scope manual and an addendum to mounting instructions included with the COL, a problem not solved by a phone call to tech support in my instance). In my case, the cooling fan needed some filing on the mounting holes before it would fit where it's supposed to go also. Most people who have experience with Dobs can easily overcome these problems as minor distractions, but if you have no experience or expect every single piece to fit like a glove you're in for a surprise. The root of most of these problems lies in the fact that the whole shebang comes pretty much straight from China, imported and sold by Orion. The boxes aren't opened to check for missing parts and pieces, perfect fit or problems before they're shipped to you, but Orion usually does an outstanding job of backing their product if somethings wrong.
Overall, it's very hard to find a scope that does as much for so little. Having a 14" scope of any type that you can store in a closet, that has very good optics, and that will find things for you to look at in the night sky was more than anyone could ask for until this telescope came along. Add the shroud and storage cases and you should be happy with this purchase for years to come.

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