Wow, that's quite an enlightment! Thanks Doug for sharing the info
with us.

Now everyone seems to think the scope is made in China by Synta.
Did the box or a "sticker" on the scope gave you some evidence of
this (or at least "Made in China")?

Thanks,
Ron B[ee]
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"Doug Peterson" wrote in message
om...
Orion pulled it off.

I was utterly suprised that the Orion has FAR LESS color than a
Megrez. In fact it rivals the Takahashi FS-78. I know this because I
had all three scopes on the same daytime artificial star. I would
place it in the same league as the Tele Vue 76, which is somewhat more
colorful that the FS-78 due to its faster F#. Hats off.

More importantly, the wavefront is very good. The "correction" of
spherical abberation is very good, 1/8 wave or even better, just a
hint of overcorrection. The fresnel rings are pleasingly round, and
the focus "snaps".

From the manual, the tube is aluminum; the focuser has about the same
feel as the Megrez. The 1/4-20 block is set a little too forward, best
balance will be with a 2" diagonal. Or 4" rings can be used.

What else do Synta and Orion have up their sleeves?