Finally . . . it cleared up enough for me to give the telescope a second test. But just barely. The afternoon was clear as a bell, but the early evening brought wispy clouds.

I first pointed the scope at a hole in the clouds and made sure I could get clear, pinpoint stars with the 25mm eyepiece. I'm pleased with the position of the focuser now (had to adjust it slightly to get focus nearer the midpoint of the focuser travel), but there is a little more spikiness than I recall having before. I may need to revisit the spider design.

I noticed Mars was nearly right overhead, so I got it in the field of view and focused very clearly. I observed with the 15mm eyepiece and then the 9mm eyepiece, and it looked better and better. There was another planet low in the East, so I slewed over and found Saturn. It resolved very nicely with the 9mm. I could see a bit of contrast in the planet but not the gap in the ring. Last, I turned the scope on the Orion Nebula. By then the entire sky was covered and only the brightest stars and planets could be seen. Even so, I was able to view the nebula, which was faint but exceptionally clear given the poor conditions.

Overall, I'm satisfied. It will be good to get this scope out to the field for some real observing.