Mag One Portaball 10"


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Brand and Model:Mag One Portaball 10"
Price ($USD):approx. $2100
Type:Newtonian
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:254mm (10")
f Ratio:f/5
Focal Length:1270mm
Finder:1x
Electric Power:
Mount:unique
Tripod:
Weight (lbs):lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Mag One Portaball 10"
Incredibly easy-to-set-up, user-friendly and stable telescopes, I think Portaballs are the ultimate dobsonians. I've had my 10" for years and its sharp Zambuto optics never fail to produce crisp, rewarding views in good seeing conditions. My particular interest is planetary observing and the Portaball's optics show a tremendous amount of detail, consistently including subtle banding on Saturn's disk (I use an equatorial table for tracking). To top it off, Mag1's David Juckem (who just replaced my 'scope's mirror cell and electronics) is a pleasure to work with, as was Pete Smitka (RIP) before him.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=609230


Mag One Portaball 10"
I have been using the 10 inch P'ball for a couple of years now. It has exceptional optics from Zambuto, and is quick and easy to setup. I have other scopes, but this is the one I use most and take to star parties. No dob hole overhead, moves in any direction you want, and is easy to transport. I just buckle it in the seatbelt of the car and off we go. I wish I could lift a larger model P'ball, but the 10 inch does quite nicely. Best construction, and Pete is great to work with. Get the largest one you can afford and you will love it.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 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=397663


Mag One Portaball 10"
superb, perhaps the ultimate 10"

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40966


Mag One Portaball 10"
Finally had a couple of good nights to start wringing out the 10" Portaball. Great scope: simply the most user friendly scope design imaginable. No matter where I wanted to go in the sky, the scope was there ahead of me. Wonderfully smooth and incredibly stable. I have used but never owned a Dobson-style mount -what a joy to use. And everything I had heard about Zambuto optics is true-exquisite star images-virtual pinpoints across the field. M13 resolved all the way across, M57 a two-tone irregularly shaped ring. I have yet to use it on Saturn or Jupiter but the Moon shows an incredible amount of detail within craters and across seas with an inky-black-sky background.

This will be my most used scope. It has already been "friend-tested" and passed with flying colors. Moving it around is so instinctive that even non-observers who gave it a whirl were exclaiming how much they enjoyed sweeping the Milky Way star clouds.

Peter Smitka is a pleasure to deal with and a wealth of information. At the risk of repeating a too-often-repeated old saw, my only complaint is that I wasn't smart enough to buy the 12" or 14"!!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40965

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