Finely,
\Fine"ly\,
adv. - in an elegant, excellent and
skilled manner.
Those of just some of the words that customers have
used to describe the products they have purchased through
Teeter's Telescopes. We not only strive to make each
and every product function like it should, but we also
push for that extra edge on the product's fit and finish.
This attitude has gained us customer comments like those
below:
NEW!
"In 2008 I met up with
Rob Teeter at that year's Grand Canyon Star Party. He
didn't try to sell me a replacement, but he did let
me know that if I was ever going to transfer my mirror
from my current Tectron to a new structure I should
contact him. A year later, I decided to make the jump.
The quality of the structure shows everywhere, from
the strength of the construction through the smoothness
of the motions to the attention to detail for the littlest
of features. The smoothness of the motions is immediately
apparent. What a joy. What a gorgeous instrument. Pictures
just don't do it justice. The deep cherry and brass
are striking. Every aspect of the construction oozes
quality and care. After I observed Jupiter with the
scope, I was also immediately impressed with the baffling,
velvet, and high quality secondary mirror. Rob has been
extremely supportive and communicative throught the
planning, construction, and delivery, always keeping
me informed regarding progress and road blocks, and
sending interim pictures as the project came together.
This is a real work of art." - Jim
O. about his new 18" f/5 Ultra-Limited-Edition,
a rebuild of an original Tectron Truss-Dobsonian, utilizing
an Enterprise Optics primary mirror.
"My
Teeter 10" f6 is a special scope. I have owned
"other" high end, premium dobsonians and cannot
fathom why Rob's scopes (especially with the benefits
of the dual boundary layer fans, overall design and
construction, attention to detail, not to mention the
beautiful brass accents, neat electrical system) have
not destroyed the competition. If that isn't enough,
Rob happens to also be a great guy. Don't
get me wrong, the competition make some wonderful scopes,
but in my opinion Teeter's dobsonians are clearly superior.
Many people in amateur astronomy say it's nice to own
a large dob and a small refractor as both scopes complement
one another. I agree in part. I think my 'small' scope
should be the 10" f6 Teeter that I currently own,
and my second scope should be a 20" Teeter f3.5.
(hopefully, some day, the 10" will be my second
scope !!) I sure hope that Rob Teeter is around for
a very long time making his wonderful telescopes. I
am one happy camper with my killer views. Thanks again
Rob!" - Tom R. about
his new-to-him 10" f/6 TT/Custom with its awesome
Ed Stevens Primary mirror, dual boundary layer cooling
fans, ProtoStar 3-vane spider and Feathertouch focuser.
"I
had 7 clear nights at Shell Mound State Park, near Cedar
Key, FL to put the scope through it's paces. The mirror
star tests perfectly as far as I can tell, with nearly
identical star images inside and outside focus. One
night we viewed Saturn at 500 x with an 8 mm TMB/Burgess
Planetary Series eyepiece and a 2.5x TV Powermate and
the image remained crisp (seeing was quite good that
night). At any rate, the mirror certainly rates as a
premium optic and well worth the money. The smooth motions
of the scope made keeping Saturn in the FoV easy, even
second nature. Tracking was easy even near zenith. The
Feathertouch focuser you substituted for the CR-2 worked
great, and was VERY useful when focusing on Saturn at
500x. I noted no reflections or scattered light in the
field. I'm more than satisfied!" -
John O. about his new 12.5" f/5 Ultra-Limited-Edition
Teeter's Telescope employing a Waite Research Pyrex
primary mirror (~ 1/30 P-V quality), 18-point flotation
mirror cell, dual boundary layer cooling fans, Feathertouch
focuser and other high quality accessories.
"By
the way, I saw one of your 12 or 12.5 inch scopes at
the Cedar Key Star Party this February. The owner said
he'd just gotten it not long before he came down. Awesome
job! And a great mirror! The dark wood finish of the
structure really improves contrast and keeps your eye
from being distracted by a brighter background around
the focuser. I clearly and sharply saw all 6 stars of
the Trapezium in his scope. After looking at that I
went over to my 16" and was sorely disappointed
in comparison. Four fuzzy stars in the Trapezium, no
hint of the 5th or 6th. Checked collimation again and
it was spot on. My 16" is a converted Meade Starfinder."
- Steve E. commenting on John O.'s 12.5" f/5 Ultra-Limited-Edition
Teeter's Telescope with Waite Research primary mirror
above.
"Well
first light was last night and all I can say is "WOW".
You built me an outstanding scope. Was able to view
for 2 1/2 hours last night. I ran the fan for about
30 minutes and the views just got better and better
as the night went on. Jupiter looked like a pic. Actually
seeing color and cloudbands is something else; even
got to see the GRS in some moments of excellent seeing.
The views are so addicting! Even my wife and daughter's
jaw dropped when they saw the moon; they were saying
"IT'S SO BRIGHT". My wife said it was money
well spent." -
Jaime A. about his new 18" f/4.2 Ultra-Limited-Edition
Teeter's Telescope with 1-5/8" Pyrex Waite Research
Primary, Feathertouch Focuser, ArgoNavis DSC's, ServoCAT
Go-to/Track System, Boundary Layer Fans, etc.
"Wow,
Rob! You made me an excellent scope - those buttery
motions are great, the woodwork is outstanding and the
views of M42, M45, Jupiter, Andromeda are just glorious!
I'll say it here - you are making the best telescopes
in America today." -
Tom C. from Ontario about his new 17.5" f/4.5 Ultra-Limited
Edition Teeter's Telescope with Waite Research refigured
Coulter Primary, 1/30th P-V Antares Secondary, Feathertouch
Focuser and Dual Boundary Layer Fans.
"Thanks
for a truly awesome scope. The motions are exactly perfect,
you can tell the scope has some mass to it and will
stay where you put it. The boundary layer fans are a
definite necessity, especially when doing planetary
observing. I switch them on before observing and then
leave them on when I look at Jupiter or Saturn. Great
job!" - Bob B. about his 17" f/5.8
Planet-Killer with refigured primary by Waite Research,
and Moonlite CR-1 focuser.
"Rob,
let me tell you about the views! I can bring this scope
out from the house and set it right outside in the yard
in two trips. With the fans, the scope is ready to go
in about 30 minutes and the primary mirror is fantastic!!
I can push it to 400-power and higher consistently.
I never knew Dobsonians could take power like that,
but this scope really changed my ideas on Dobs! Thank
you for this great little scope." -
Dave A., on his 8" f/7.2 TT/Custom with a one-off
Ed Jones (Ohio) primary, Moonlite CR-1 focuser and hand-crafted
9-point wooden mirror cell.
"Just
wanted you to know the scope you designed for me is
outstanding,the views are truely the best I have had
of Jupiter, Saturn and other deep sky objects, M-13
is breathtaking,the detail is unbelievable,and M-17
and the Trifid Nebula were beyond words and add a 03
filter, and the nebucity is beyond comparison. The craftmenship
of the scope is just beatiful along with the attention
to detail, I would recommend anytime ,that Teeters Telescopes
is the way to go for a high end scope and superior optics
thanks so very much Rob." - Kevin K.
with thoughts on his 16" TT/4.5 with Pegasus Optics
primary mirror, 18-point flotation mirror cell, dual
boundary layer fans, Cherry stain and Moonlite Dual-Speed
Crayford focuser.
"I finally
had a chance to use the telescope this weekend. I am
more than pleased with the workmanship and performance
of the telescope. It gave outstanding views of everything
I looked at. Its perfomance on planets was nothing short
of remakable once I had everything dialed in."
- Everett C., on the
performance of his long-focus 15" f/6 Planet-Killer
Truss with R.F. Royce primary mirror, SkyCommander DSC's,
Cherry Stain and Dual Boundary Layer Fans.
"OMG,
it really is a peace of art. I'm at a loss for words.
Thanks!" - Mike S., refering to his
new 18" f/5.44 Planet-Killer with Tri-Stained altitude
bearings, Cherry finish, brass and gloss black accents
and ultra-smooth John Lightholder primary.
"Last
night was another amazing night with the 12.5”
f5 Teeterscope with Waite Mirror at NJAA. Wayne Petcko
showed up before sunset and the scope was set up and
collimated. I ran the boundary layer fans for at least
1 hr if not more off my car battery. The detail on Jupiter
and Saturn was excellent. Saturn displayed the encke
Minima, spokes in the ansea, and I could see the narrow
EB band below the major belt (I think it is the SEB
we are seeing now), not to mention the polar region,
some other belts toward the Southern pole and a few
of the moons. I was able to glimpse this detail at 360X.
Jupiter displayed two ovals, festoons everywhere, and
just a wealth of detail. Plus I could later on in the
night observe the disk of one of the moons across the
planets surface. I used 180X and 225X on Jupiter. Wayne
also commented how easily the disk of the moons could
be observed. The boundary layer fans were deffinently
doing there job, as the mirror was performing consistently
better as the minutes went buy. I experimented and Wayne
and I even noticed that the image of Saturn was BETTER
when the fans were running, but dulled a little when
I shut them off. Wayne commented that the star pattern
shows a near perfect mirror and I would have to say
that when used in combo with the boundary layer fans
last night the scope was taking higher powers like a
refractor. It is important to note too that the temperature
was dropping quickly from a hot day to were it was starting
to feel pretty cold around 10 pm. But the fans were
doing there job, and I would have to add that Rob’s
assistant Max, had decided to put holes between the
two side vents on the mirror box giving it extra ventilation
and I really think they help get the hotter air out
of the box. What
amazes me is the ease at which this scope takes 500-600X!!!
It really opens up a lot of possibilities. We observed
M13 and M3 both at 660X and found the image still very
sharp with pinpoint stars. I would have gone higher
put had no more eyepieces to use. We looked at the cat’s
eye nebulae (NGC 6543) at 660X and 520X and found that
it actually did show a little more detail at 660X. (Using
the TV 3X Barlow and 7mm Nagler). So as you can see
this scope is a real performer!! We looked at a few
galaxies too, but it was a little hazy out. But M81
and M82 were excellent along with The Sombrero galaxy,
Black eye Galaxy, and I scanned around the Virgo cluster
for a while." - Bill A. about his new
12.5" f/5 Planet-Killer Truss with Waite Research
LLC primary mirror and dual boundary layer fans.
"I managed
to get to the hills as planned this weekend and was
even blessed with decent skies for most of the night.
Putting the scope together was a breeze- third time
now- and my friend's 9 year old son helped put the truss
tubes into place. He'd never seen a true Dobsonian before
and was fascinated at how it went together. He also
helped with collimation by turning the main mirror knobs
as needed. The adults present kept commenting on how
beautiful the scope was. One fellow is a contractor
and was impressed with the quality of the plywood and
overall construction. I did not know it before going
but my friends had invited several other folks to see
the stars including two Japanese exchange students.
Once it was dark enough we did a tour of globular clusters,
open clusters and nebulae. M13 was great with pinpoint
stars right through and brighter than my previous 10"
scope. M22, M5, and one of my favorites, M15 brought
lots of "oohs" and "awhs" and bursts
of laughter. After viewing M13 for the first time in
her life, one of the girls said it was the most beautiful
thing she had ever seen. I was sorry Saturn was not
around to show her! M57 was very well rendered and had
a smoky depth not present in smaller scopes. After the
crowd left I spent a while with a 40mm Pentax XW in
place scanning the Milky Way- absolutely beautiful,
especially the Sagittarius region. About 4:30 AM found
me out again for the waning Moon. Unfortunately the
air had become very turbulent and every bright star
in the sky was twinkling violently. Even under these
deteriorated conditions Mare Imbrium and its attendant
mountains, craters and rills were a stunning sight at
272x (Pentax 7mm XW). The mountains near the Hadley
Rille were so detailed I felt like I was seeing the
Moon for the first time!" - Larry T.
about his new 12.5" f/6 Truss Conversion using
vintage Meade Research Grade optics, dual cooling fans
and 9-point DAR flotation mirror cell.
"I'll
get straight to the point: I had one hell of a time
with that scope! It was a joy to use, and a thing of
beauty as it stood in the setting sun. There's a lady
living next door who collects antique furniture, and
she said the scope wouldn't look out of place in her
living room. I also love the Sky Commander. After just
two weeks of use I never want to be without one anymore.
In the past two weeks I saw more objects than in the
eight preceding months! All in all, a success story.
I'm very pleased with your work. So was one of the other
guests by the way. In his spare time he builds wooden
furniture and he admires the quality of your work. Thanks
again!" - Jarno C. from
the Netherlands on his custom 10" f/6.3 Truss Conversion
using Orion UK Optics, nesting UTA option and SkyCommander
digital setting circles.
"The
show stopper was the moon. I have never seen a view
of the moon that made much of an impression. That changed
tonight. With the binoviewer, and a pair of 26mm SPs
it looked like you could reach out and touch it! There
was so much detail it was mind blowing."
- Richard B. using his limited edition 12" f/5.4
CherryScope with Mark Harry optics and Denkmeier Binoviewer.
"I was
out last night and tonight in my suburban backyard with
the 17.5" dob. Seeing was good last night, so-so
tonight. The most interesting feature has been the planet's
shadow across the "back" side of the rings.
I also noticed tonight a large dark patch across the
polar region -- has anyone else been seeing this dark
patch? Finally, at the end of the evening tonight I
pumped up the magnication to about 600x, and while the
planet became fuzzy because of the seeing, in a few
instances the Cassini division was so big and black
that I felt like I could reach out and peel it off the
ring. Apeture rules!" -
David O. using his 17.5" f/5 Planet-Killer with
ultra-sharp Discovery optics.
"Rob
Teeter's craftsmanship is evident throughout, from small
touches like the engraved nameplate, electronics switchbox,
and woodwork finish, to the "big" things such
as balance and motions. The alt-az motions have the
"buttery" touch you dream about in a big dob
– just fingertip pressure keeps the scope tracking
on target, but it doesn't drift off on its own with
either Panoptic or shorter focal length Nagler eyepieces.
Rob did a tremendous job getting this scope ready for
my Adirondack vacation, and he was thoroughly responsive
to me throughout the building process."
- David O. about his new 17.5" f/5 Planet-Killer
with Discovery Optics.
"unbelievable!
put the scope on to the virgo cluster and found nearly
uncountable galaxies - 8 in a little less than one degree
field with 35 panoptic near m84. this scope is very
sharp with excellent contrast. was looking at m13 and
saw a little galaxy in the same field i never saw before
- ngc 6207. beautiful dust lane in m104. the owl looked
great. it just went on and on. nice detail on jupiter
with so so seeing, but i spent most time on deep sky.
the scope moves like a dream!" -
Glenn L., from Vermont, about his custom 16" f/6
Teeter's Truss Conversion with vintage 1950's primary
mirror.
"I am
just blown away with the beauty and construction of
my scope. It says something about you when you have
the best telescope around, and I like what this Teeter's
Telescope says about me! And Jupiter! It's the object
I have the most eyepiece time with and let
me tell you, this Teeter's Telescope out-performs my
11" Starmaster and 15" Obsession in planetary
clarity!" - Jeff Z., from Michigan,
about his new 8" f/8 Planet Killer Truss with R.F.
Royce Optics.
"I'll
say it here publicly: Rob did a fantastic job. I highly
recommend that you take a look at his site, and if you're
not happy with your current mount, give him a shout."
- Fred K., from New Jersey,
about the 8" f/6 Dobsonian Conversion of his mass-market
scope, including custom installation of Digital Setting
Circles, Moonlite 2" Crayford Focuser
and
SkyAtlas 2000.0 "Mapboard" holder.
"The
views, the views! I'm extremely pleased! Jupiter and
Saturn are gorgeous, and remember too I haven't yet
had truly superb nights as regards seeing and transparency.
Have gone cluser hunting in Auriga, and they're wonderful,
also the double cluster. Andromeda is great, a big smudgy
fingerprint, and the Orion Nebula is awesome, with lots
of detail (without any filtering whatsoever), the Trapezium
seems huge at higher power. Still gots of objects on
the to be viewed list, but I've seen enough to convince
me I made a good choice of telescope maker!" -
Doug R., from Upstate NY, about his custom-built 12.5"
f/5.5 Planet Killer Truss with Swayze Optics.
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Does
Teeter's Telescopes offer stain colors other than Cherry?