The Orion 12.5″ DSE is an outstanding telescope. I hated to sell it but when my back started giving me trouble from lugging this light bucket around I decided it was time to scale back a bit. The telescope fully assembled with base and optical tube weighed almost 100 lbs. The weight of the scope was one reason for selling it, the other was portability. The DSE’s large size made it difficult to transport and after selling my pickup truck I really had no way to haul this big scope around.
I purchased the telescope new from Orion Telescopes & Binoculars in 1996. It was one of the last “early model” DSE’s to be made. I know this because I remember the scope being delivered to my house and then a few days later receiving the new Orion catalog with the “all new and improved” 12.5″ Premium DSE on the cover. I kept telling myself that if I just would have waited a month to place my order I could have had the new premium DSE. That sulking lasted only until I got the scope under a dark sky. The views this scope provided under dark sky conditions were truely amazing. I have to admit there are times when I wish I hadn’t sold it but that’s usually about that same time that my back starts aching.
While this telescope was sold by/under the Orion brand name, the scope was actually manufactured and the mirrior figured by Discovery Telescopes. The Discovery PDHQ Dobsonian Telescope line would be the latest incarnation of the former Orion 12.5″ Deep Space Explorer Dob. It’s at this point that I used to proved a link to the Discovery Telescopes web site but it appears that Discovery Telescopes closed its doors sometime around or during the pandemic. The URL for their site is no longer active. So if you are in the market for one of these scopes the Orion DSE or the Discovery PDHQ your best bet is going to be searching for one on a resale site such as Cloudy Nights Classifieds or AstroMart.
I enhanced the DSE performance by adding a large sheet of Ebony Star Laminate (better known as Ebony Star Formica) to the base plate on the mount and additional Teflon bearings. This really helped the smoothness of the mount. I also fashioned a lead shot counter weight (bean bag) and used a Velcro strap attached along the back of the OTA for balance. This worked out perfectly for adjusting the balance of the scope as larger heavier eyepieces were added.
Believe it or not the vehicle I used to transport this massive scope around in was a little 1989 Geo Metro, 2 door subcompact car. This small hatchback actually worked well to transport the scope and myself. Of course that was about all it was going to hold but never the less it worked. I’d fold down the rear seats and front passenger seat and then fit the OTA in the car. It ran the length of the car from dash to tailgate. I’d then add the Dob mount beside the OTA in the back and fill in all the voids with assorted eyepiece cases, a step ladder and other observing necessities.
After trading in the Metro I purchased a small Nissan pickup thinking that hauling the big DSE would be a walk in the park compared to the Geo but that really didn’t turn out to be the case. The OTA was so big and heavy that I needed something to keep it from rolling around in the bed. This seems like an easy thing to fix and I explored several options but I ended up having a custom, heavy duty cardboard box and lid made special for hauling this scope around. The box worked great.
12.5″ Orion Deep Space Explorer Dobsonian Specifications and Features
- Optical Design: Newtonian
- Aperture: 317.5mm (12.5″)
- Focal Length: 1524mm (60″)
- Focal Ratio: f/4.8
- Maximum Practical Visual Power: 600x
- Optical Tube: Sonotube
- Telescope Mounting: Dobsonian
- Primary Mirror: Soda-lime glass
- Secondary Mirror Mount: 4-vane spider
- Focuser: Low profile helical focuser accepts 1.25″ and 2″ eyepieces
- Finder Scope: 9 x 50 achromatic finder scope
- Illuminated Reflex Sight: Telrad ®
- Total Net Telescope Weight: 98 lbs.
12.5″ Orion Deep Space Explorer Telescope Instruction Manual – PDF