Hardin 8" Reflector

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Brand and Model:Hardin 8" Reflector
Price ($USD):$299.00
Type:Newtonian
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:8"
f Ratio:f6
Focal Length:1200mm
Finder:8X50
Electric Power:n/a
Mount:Dob
Tripod:n/a
Weight (lbs):43lb
Dimensions (w/h/d):OTA 44.5"
Description:8" reflector with enameled metal OTA in grey color. Base is laminated Dobsonian in black. Standard finder is 8/50mm. Focuser is 2" rack & pinion with 1.25" adapter. Also comes with 9mm & 25mm 1.25" Astrola plossls.

Vote Highlights Vote
Hardin 8" Reflector
Mine wouldn't even come to focus. I had to pull all the eyepieces out of the focuser to get focus. I called Hardin, and they said that they had accidentally ground the mirrors to the wrong focal length!

That is a pretty serious mistake, in my opinion, and it shows how little quality control there is on these scopes, since they sent them out without even checking them. I sent mine back for a refund, and will never order a scope from them again. Thank goodness they took it back!

Overall Rating: 0
Optics:0 Value:0
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=420129

Hardin 8" Reflector
After seeing the great price on these, I ordered one from Hardin.

I would like to say it is a great telescope, but it isn't. My star tests revealed that it was horribly undercorrected, and was maybe 1/3rd wave at best.

Another problem is the cheap construction. The spider is made of plastic - making this scope incredibly frustrating to collimate. Furthermore, the base on mine arrived with the laminate coming apart in several places. Also, mine would not stay in position in the alt axis - it would constantly droop.

Although I didn't expect this to be a high-quality instrument for this price, it would be much easier to overlook the faults if it at least had a good mirror.

I returned it and promptly ordered an Orion Skyquest. I am happy to report that the Orion has much better optics, and is well built. I have seen several Orion scopes, and none of them had bad mirrors like the Hardin did.

Although these Hardin scopes seem attractive because of their price, they are best avoided. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is - you really do get what you pay for.

Overall Rating: 3
Optics:1 Mount:5 Ease of Use:4 Value:3
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=317885

Hardin 8" Reflector
At $299 this is a tremendous value. Someone said theirs has a plastic spider--mine is four-vane thin metal. In fact, the whole scope is of amazing quality for the price. The supplied eyepeices are good and the finder is an 8X50. The metal 2-inch rack-and-pinion focuser is nice, collimation was right-on out of the box, and the planets look much better in this scope at f/5.9 than my 10-inch at f/4.5. $300 sure buys a lot more now than it did ten or twelve years ago! I am very happy with my Hardin DSH-8.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=405569

Hardin 8" Reflector
I just got one of this and it has very bad astigmatism. I loosened the clips to see if that was the problem, but it isn't. It is so bad, that I get a double image on Saturn. Hopefully Hardin has a good return policy on these junkers.

Overall Rating: 4
Optics:3 Mount:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=338299

Hardin 8" Reflector
It's not really the 8" reflector that I am so impressed with. It's the 6"reflector by Hardin.

I set it up for the first time the night of the lunar eclipse. I went to the locale planetarium, and took it up to the observation tower. For the next two hours, I had every child and adult lined up to view the moon.

I checked out other, far more expensive scopes that people had set up and was surprised that my little scope looked at good as the big boys.

If anyone is looking for a great scope for starters or a child, this is perfect...

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=317868 

>It's not really the 8" reflector that I am so impressed with.  It's the 6"reflector by Hardin.
>
>I set it up for the first time the night of the lunar eclipse.  I went to the locale planetarium, and took it up to the observation tower.  For the next two hours, I had every child and adult lined up to view the moon.
>
>I checked out other, far more expensive scopes that people had set up and was surprised that my little scope looked at good as the big boys.
>
>If anyone is looking for a great scope for starters or a child, this is perfect...

I am VERY interested in the 6" Hardin Dobsonian and was delighted to find your "review-ette" amongst the 8" scope reviews.  Please email me and let me know your latest sentiments with longer use regarding this telescope.

Thank you,

CDS
CollinofAlabama@hotmail.com
Hardin 8" Reflector
Hardin currently sells two versions of their 8" Dob. Note that the $299 version comes with a bad base that doesn't stretch the tension springs enough to hold the scope in position in altitude. i.e., the scope drifts in the vertical, and *not* just when changing eyepieces. Hardin offers a $349 version with a "new, improved" base that stretches the springs an additional 1/2", providing sufficient friction in altitude. With the "new, improved" base, this is an excellent scope. Otherwise, it borders on being the equivalent of a Department Store scope.

Overall Rating: 1
Optics:8 Mount:0 Ease of Use:7 Value:3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=297725 

I wonder if this poster installed the springs incorrectly.  This is a common issue.  See http://www.darofamily.com/jeff/links/dob/ for correct installation.

Also, I can't believe this scope was rated a 1 for a spring problem.  The optics are excellent and a simple average of the posters rankings makes it at least a 4.5.

Regards,

>Hardin currently sells two versions of their 8" Dob.  Note that the $299 version comes with a bad base that doesn't stretch the tension springs enough to hold the scope in position in altitude.  i.e., the scope drifts in the vertical, and *not* just when changing eyepieces.  Hardin offers a $349 version with a "new, improved" base that stretches the springs an additional 1/2", providing sufficient friction in altitude.  With the "new, improved" base, this is an excellent scope.  Otherwise, it borders on being the equivalent of a Department Store scope.
Why not just buy the less expensive one and do a little surgery to stretch the springs an extra 1/2"?  Seems like a quick/easy fix to save $50!


>Hardin currently sells two versions of their 8" Dob.  Note that the $299 version comes with a bad base that doesn't stretch the tension springs enough to hold the scope in position in altitude.  i.e., the scope drifts in the vertical, and *not* just when changing eyepieces.  Hardin offers a $349 version with a "new, improved" base that stretches the springs an additional 1/2", providing sufficient friction in altitude.  With the "new, improved" base, this is an excellent scope.  Otherwise, it borders on being the equivalent of a Department Store scope.
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