<p>We have a 6&quot; Dobsonian (Orion SkyQuest XT6) that came with Plossl lenses (10mm and 25mm) as well as a 2x Barlow magnifier.</p>
<p>I bought it used many, many years ago and have not used it for a while. We donated it to a youth camp and I was showing them what I knew (which is not much).</p>
<p><strong>Problem #1: The Finder Scope</strong></p>
<p>The finder scope was loose, so we tightened up the dovetail mount, which helped. But the &quot;barrel&quot; type adjustment knobs seemed to not hold the finder scope in place very well. Without seeing it in person, would it be better to try and fix it or just replace it? If replace, any recommendations?</p>
<p><strong>Problem #2: The 2x Barlow</strong></p>
<p>When using either the 10mm or 25mm Plossl lenses, planets could come into focus. But as soon as we added the 2x Barlow on top of the lens, we could never get it back into focus. Any ideas as to what is going on there? I mean, it's a simple magnifier. I tried cleaning off both sides of the Barlow to make sure it wasn't dusty or cloudy. No difference.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-25T22:19:10.170Z
Did the Barlow come with the scope from the manufacturer?  Newtonians have less focuser travel than other types, and some barlows will not focus on a newtonian.
Greg Miller
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-25T22:50:54.377Z
It may not be possible, but if it is, adding some photos of the finder scope in its mount and the Barlow in the focusing mechanism would be incredibly helpful! At that time you can also look for some distant (many hundreds of meters, ideally 1 km away or more, but please don't look near the Sun!) you may find it easier to test focusing since the field is bright and you can sort-of tell how far in or out of focus things are.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T06:50:42.113Z
Our at night test coarse focus with the moon first
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T13:43:51.880Z
We bought it used, so I don't know, but I assume that it came with the scope originally.
Also, it *used* to work (although it has been several years).
Doug Meister
<barlow>
Problems finding planets and incorporating a 2x Barlow
Doug Meister
# Problems finding planets and incorporating a 2x Barlow

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-25)

We have a 6" Dobsonian (Orion SkyQuest XT6) that came with Plossl lenses (10mm and 25mm) as well as a 2x Barlow magnifier.

I bought it used many, many years ago and have not used it for a while. We donated it to a youth camp and I was showing them what I knew (which is not much).

**Problem #1: The Finder Scope**

The finder scope was loose, so we tightened up the dovetail mount, which helped. But the "barrel" type adjustment knobs seemed to not hold the finder scope in place very well. Without seeing it in person, would it be better to try and fix it or just replace it? If replace, any recommendations?

**Problem #2: The 2x Barlow**

When using either the 10mm or 25mm Plossl lenses, planets could come into focus. But as soon as we added the 2x Barlow on top of the lens, we could never get it back into focus. Any ideas as to what is going on there? I mean, it's a simple magnifier. I tried cleaning off both sides of the Barlow to make sure it wasn't dusty or cloudy. No difference.

**Tags:** barlow
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Did the Barlow come with the scope from the manufacturer?  Newtonians have less focuser travel than other types, and some barlows will not focus on a newtonian.  
> **username_2**: It may not be possible, but if it is, adding some photos of the finder scope in its mount and the Barlow in the focusing mechanism would be incredibly helpful! At that time you can also look for some distant (many hundreds of meters, ideally 1 km away or more, but please don't look near the Sun!) you may find it easier to test focusing since the field is bright and you can sort-of tell how far in or out of focus things are.  
> **username_3**: Our at night test coarse focus with the moon first  
> **username_0**: We bought it used, so I don't know, but I assume that it came with the scope originally. Also, it *used* to work (although it has been several years).  

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