The operation was more intimidating than difficult, and the instructions provided tips to get it right the first time. The completed unit weighs 8.6 kilograms and stands 135 centimetres tall when aimed straight up, ideal for use by all but the youngest children. The base contains a carrying handle for moving the telescope around. Setting up involves nothing more than placing the base on a fiat patch of ground and swinging the telescope into position. The mount turns smoothly in both directions, and once in position, the telescope stays put, even in a good breeze.
Owners can finish the mount and tube to suit their individual tastes.
As in other Newtonjan reflectors, the image is inverted, but that doesn't take long to to get used to. The 10 mm Kellner eyepiece included with the kit yields 105 power, making some sort of finding aid essential. Stars focus to sharp points of light. The telescope revealed dark bands on the surface of Jupiter as well as its four largest moons, strong out on either side of the planet like a strand of diamonds. M13, the globular cluster in Hercules, showed as a diffuse grey circle speckled with stellar pinpoints, giving it a three-dimensional quality.