Planewave 12.5 CDK

[PKay (Peter)]

Seriously considering importing this scope.

It seems to tick all the boxes:

Can take a bit of punishment (I drive to a remote mountain).
Good focal length & aperture for galaxies.
Nice flat field.

Will sit on the EQ8-R.

Any better choices?


I have tried one out (in Spain) via itelescope (see M33 image below).

L: 20X300s 1x1
RGB 10X300s 2x2 each.
Total 4.2 hours.
Processed in PI

[Joshua Bunn (Joshua)]

Hi Peter.
I have one of these, I'd recomend one of the truss designs from planewave.the 12.5 tube design I have found to have some tube flexure, and it has needed additional support to stiffen it up.
Josh

[jahnpahwa (JP)]

I wish I had a similar decision to make!

In terms of alternatives, have you had a read of this?

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/...d.php?t=165877

Looks like amazing workmanship. Just had a quick look, Bintel has the planewave at a tick over twenty grand, and OPTCORP perhaps fifteen or sixteen plus imported?

I might be remembering incorrectly, but his are around ten, which means a nice imaging camera can be bolted on for free in comparison to the planewave

If it was me, I'd be throwing money at Stefan for sure! Not just for the price and nice looking rig he produces, or the buying-local nature of it, but for after sales service, being able to talk to and perhaps meet the maker and have him tune things if things are going wrong... thats priceless for me.

[glend (Glen)]

Bintel sell them, they are on their website. At least if you buy through them you get local support. Either way your up for significant GST. Worth checking with Bintel before you buy.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/pl...v=322b26af01d5

I would point out that you can buy alot of imaging time on one of the rental scopes, for what it will cost to buy one.

It is a carbon tube, and I have not heard other negative comments about tube flex, other than the one below. Maybe ask the same questions over on Cloudy Nights, probably more owners there.

[PKay (Peter)]

Hi Joshua
Thanks for your input.
I contacted the supplier about your experience, and he spoke directly to Planewave.
Planewaves response "...have never heard of a customer having this issue with a CDK12.5..."
But of course, they would say that anyway. Your experience may have been a 'one of'.

Thanks JP
You certainly do your homework!
I suppose you have to these days with so much choice.

Thanks Glen
Yes you are right. Bintel have always looked after me in the past.

Spending the money on itelescope (or the like) is an option.
I enjoy the outdoor aspect as well.
Not to mention being able to touch such a wonderful piece of engineering!

[TrevorW]

Honestly I'd buy direct even with GST and freight still be around $5k cheaper than Bintel

[jamespierce (James)]

Planewaves have all dropped significantly in price recently. I bought my 14 a while back via Peter - Advanced Telescope Supplies. The locals (Bintel or Peter) will generally need to give you a current price based on exchange rate etc... But you will be surprised how much shipping and import duty adds to the bill if you do it yourself - The shipping crate is ~80kg and 1.2m long! We have recovered a fair bit against the USD, and election chaos may yet work in your favor on that front.

Regardless... If I had my time again I'd think very carefully about the 12.5 - Significantly cheaper, no need for a shrowd and with the difference in central obstruction the light gathering capacity between it and the 14 is less than first appears. I went with the 14 for the slightly larger field and because I was going to put on a rotating focuser anyway for my remote setup.

However - I don't use the rotator all the time, some nights (photometry etc - not a all) and it adds heaps of complexity for sure, through planning and flats and all that. A CDK 12.5 with the included focuser would be a very very capable machine. You need better than average conditions consistently to see much practical benefit of the larger CDKs - the focal length and pixel size rapidly work against you.

To me ... a 12.5 with the reducer, EFA and Dew Controller plus and a solid modern CMOS camera would be a great setup. Their L mounts look amazing too.