Dave, I purchased my TV-102 because of the good reviews in both Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazine. I wanted something portable so I could take out on a moments notice and something I could take out and enjoy when the moon was up. In fact, I discovered the moon is an interesting object to view and not just light pollution! Anyway, I'm really glad I bought it because I like the f/8.6 focal ratio. It gives sharp constrasty views especially on planets and double stars. I also like the wide field views of the star-fields in the Milky Way. I've seen the Bernard's backward E in the scope. I also like M24, the Sagittarius star cloud. In Feb 2002, I took my 102 down to St. George and I tried a few double stars like Rigel and Castor. I've been hooked on double-stars ever since. One thing I should tell you is that TeleVue has excellent customer support. Also, get the StarBeam. It really works great. The QuickPoint is a piece of junk. I went to the TeleVue website and found the comment you were referring to. I don't remember posting a statement on the TeleVue website but it could of been taken from the TeleVue yahoo group. I don't know of anybody else that has a TV-102 scope in Utah. I met a guy that had a TV-101 at the Mark Dakins star party a few years ago but I don't remember his name. I've seen some of newer NP-101s for sale because they want the TV-102 for visual work. The NP-101 is more for photography. If you want more information, you might want to join the TeleVue yahoo group. Some of the folks there are very knowledgable and friendly. Feel free to ask me any more questions. It is an excellent instrument. Debbie