Infinity Scopes, LLC

Manufacturer of Portable Newtonian Telescopes

"Miles by day, Light-years by night"

Users Review Page (home)

Submitted May'05 by Uti owner #127

Hi Vince,

I just assembled the telescope, and sipped some champagne with colleagues in the Department.  The mechanical design and execution of the scope is superb!  It is literally functional sculpture!  

Bear in mind that I am a tough customer when it comes to products of this kind.  I caught the "disease" during my 10 years as a structural engineer, and my work on the HET at the McDonald Observatory.  The disease was compounded by the UMSL classes I taught where we  built excellent telescopes.  It is extraordinarily rare that I have purchased a commercial product that meets or exceeds that which I could design and build.  The mechanical execution of this telescope is better than anything I have ever built.  I am stunned...   ;-)

It is clear tonight, so I'm taking the scope to the country for a proper "first light" ceremony!

Thanks for a producing and delivering fabulous product ahead of schedule!   ;-)

ps:  The focuser motion is unbelievable!

Written by Tom Trusock: “The 2nd Annual Great Lakes Star Gaze” See Cloudy Nights Review Page

“In case you aren't familiar with the UTI, it's probably the ultimate travel scope. 8" of aperture, which packs into a carry on size bag - it's made of carbon fiber and aluminum, and exceptionally well put together. If you need the "ultimate" in portability, the UTI is an excellent choice.”

 Submitted Oct. 2004 by Uti owner #120

I have a 13" T-scope, an 8" UTI-8, and have just acquired a TV-85 for wide field viewing. But for my serious travel scope, I have the UTI-8. I've used it several times now and love it. I have 8 inches of great optics (Royce) in an easy-to-carry package. The scope comes with a nice airline portable case, that also has plenty of room for the collimator, and half a dozen TV eyepieces.

While I love the TV85 for it's performance and classy looks, when I add the weight and hassle of the mount (I use a Bogen 3036 and a Unistar Micro-mount), the UTI8 is simply a larger aperature in a smaller package.

 Submitted Oct 31, 2004 by Uti owner # 122

Enjoyed your visit, CD and instructions. I used the scope for about three hours later that night and three more hours last night.  This scope and I are going to get along just fine, which is a very hard thing for a scope to do.  It presents very fine images, as good star pinpoints as I have seen from some refractors and it is a delight to use and move around.  I wrote a favorable review on Excelsis, the first. I tried the Celestron dampening pucks under the Sorbathane feet, because I had them lying around, and I can report they improve stability even further, to the point where there is no dampening time really noticeable. Also, I am realigning my eyepiece collection to : 24 Pan, 16 Nag, 11 Nag, 7 Nag, and a  6 to 3 mm TV Zoom (as you suggested). I am selling off my grenades.  I am also keeping the Brandon eyepiece collection which works superbly with the scope. The scope is able to show how much better their center sharpness is over that of most of the Televue eyepieces.  Have not used the tracking system yet, but will soon.  At last, I have a scope I really like and can live and travel with, without one serious qualm or another.

Paste the following link in your browser to read more extensive review.

http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/section.php?sectionid=12&lastsort=&findtext=&cond=&range=&archive=-1&range=u

Submitted Oct 15, 2004 by Uti owner 115

The SorboPads are great. They dampen the vibration noticeably

Submitted Oct 14'2004 by Uti owner 123

For the first time in ages I played with a telescope in the early a.m.   With my new 8mm 2" I stared into The Trapezium of the Sword of Orion and was amazed.  No vibration, I only had to move the scope a little to keep up with earth's rotation.  The Rigel finder was already tuned to the scope and worked superbly.  This Dob moves so well, and even with Orion's honkin' 2"  8mm Lanthanide lens on it...it was beautifully balanced.  My, you do get what you pay for.  This is one fine instrument and so easy to transport put up and take down.  Can't wait till Saturday at Vasquez.  I love the scope. 

Submitted Jan' 2004, Comments from Owner#115

We are very impressed with the design and workmanship. So much so that we took it out tonight (even though it's 15 degrees).  The scope cooled down very quickly and provided an excellent "first light" image.  The focuser is very nice, and the Rigel finder is a good match for the Uti. Set-up and transport were a snap. Collimation was straightforward.

Vince, had a great trip to San Diego and the Royce mirror looks fabulous! 

Submitted Dec12, 2003,  Joe Uti Owner#105

Vince,

Thanks again for your service and your product.  I love the uti because every trip is a chance for astronomy and almost always it is warmer!!  -5 F last night here but clear. 

Submitted Nov 17, 2003,   Steve Uti Owner#112

Vince,

I had my scope out for few hours tonight. It was just average skies tonight but moonless until 11pm. I was extremely impressed with the optics. Stars were sharp across the field and the overall feel of just star hopping with a scope so portable was loads of fun. 

This scope fits a niche for me that I have been searching for between my refractor for photography and my large dobsonian for viewing close to my house. The ability to take a portable scope of such quality to a dark sight or on a trip at a moments notice just frees me to enjoy my hobby like never before! 

Submitted Aug 28, 2003 by Mary, owner of Uti # 107

After all the questions I posted on travel scopes a few months ago, I wanted to report on the scope I finally did take as carry-on on a total of 6 planes going to and coming from Fiji...

I'd originally bought a Sky 90, but was disappointed in what its aperture revealed, despite the pinpont stars (my other scope's an 11"), so a few weeks before the trip, I contacted Vince at Infinity Scopes and he agreed to build me an 8" Uti newt with a palm-controlled digital setting circle program. Check out his website- he's an Astromart sponsor.

It arrived in plenty of time for the trip, with gorgeous optics, pinpoint stars, and a much better ability to resolve globulars than the Sky 90 (surprise, surprise!).

Vince's customer service is unrivalled- after a few phone calls and countless e-mails, we determined that my palm wasn't interfacing correctly with the program. He spent a weekend rewriting software, sent me a loaner palm to take to Fiji, and ultimately went way beyond the call of duty to make sure I had an operable scope for my trip (remember, by this time I was leaving in a couple days!) and also to improve the Uti's software system.

One thing I like about the DSC is that, unlike my Nexstar's go-to, the Uti is still moved manually. I can try to find an object by starhopping, and if I don't succeed I can punch in the object with the palm, and it will direct me to the right place. Seems like a nice compromise between knowing the sky and coping with frustration!

I had a backpack case cover made for the scope, and managed to lug the 22 pound scope on all those planes and to fulfill my quest- having the biggest carry-on aperture possible for my first jaunt to Southern skies- and it was so well worth it!

I hear the Uti got a "best new product award" by Astronomy mag- I'd heartily recommend them too! (and no, I'm not affiliated with them. I just wished when I was deciding on a scope that I could find more reviews or customer comments about the Uti...)

Mary '03