Special permission has been sought and granted by the mods for what is a duplicate thread to the Wanted ad I have. Many thanks to the mods for allowing this.
I am trying to locate some very specific Maksutov scopes in the hope of acquiring one of them. These are rare scopes, and as a result I have encountered difficulties trying to locate them.
Of special interest to me are the Intes Maks, in particular the 715 and 815 (the 7 refers to the aperture size in inches, the 15 the focal ratio). The 703 & 809 (both f/10) being second preference due to the larger secondary obstruction.
I would also consider a Skywatcher 7" Mak or a Meade 7" Mak, but I would want to do a star test on these. With the Meade Mak, it is the OTA I am after - as the fork mounts that these came on most likely are stone-cold-dead, their fork mounts are of no consequence. The star test of these would need to be superb.
In my original ad I've asked about 8" SCTs, these too would need to go through a star test by me first, and again superb to rival an Intes Mak.
It has also been suggested to me to consider a Takahashi Mewlon. However, as these have the mirrors exposed and because I live on the coast of Sydney, I'm trying to gather information about how suitable these scopes would be for me as whatever Cassegrain I end up with will be used pretty much exclusively from my home. All the same, any leads to a 180 or 210 Mewlon would also be appreciated as these are mighty fine instruments. To that end, if you have experience with these Tak scopes, I would appreciate it if you could share your experience about these scopes in following thread:
Buying new is last resort. I would like to first try to find a scope that isn't being used to give it a new lease on life. There is some fabulous glass out there that is just not being used.
Note that currently APM seems to have a few of these scopes in stock. And APM state that they are planning to set up European production of these scopes in 2019.
Second time I’ve seen one of these on AM ... if you have deep pockets may as well go pick it up in person ... though you might need to go to the gym regularly to lift it, these are heavy:
Alex, another consideration is Astronomics is coming out with 6" and 8" Cassegrains (with larger scopes in the near future!). I believe they'll be f12 units, but could be wrong. There's a thread on CN about it.
I'd LOVE to have a 9" Santel. Wavytone has one, and OMG!!!
Drooooollllllll...
I've been bitten by the inability of being able to star test SCTs from retailers. The quality of these is not only unpredictable but the really good units are rare. They do exist, but unfortunately the exception than the norm. Now knowing the difference between exceptional optical quality (Wavy's Santel) and everything else, and what I want from the scope I'm using for my sketching, I'm not going down the new route - the price tag pf those Maks sold by Stellar Optical is just too prohibitive
So far I've had a few people offer their scopes to me. I have found two VERY bloody good scopes to far. A modest C8 (the OTA came from an old 8i outfit) & a Skywatcher 180mm Mak. I was able to see the Encke Division through both scopes! I returned the Mak ONLY because the slightly larger aperture of the C8 allowed me to see fainter stars, but optical quality wise I couldn't separate them. If anyone is interested in a rip-snortter and modestly priced Mak, let me know and I'll pass on the details.
I have kept the C8 for the rest of my testing period as I have a couple more C8's to test and I've found an Intes 715 Mak. Hoping a couple more scopes will be offered. I'm hoping to improve upon this first C8 with hopes to match that Santel.
I've returned a couple of other scopes too.
Alex.
Last edited by mental4astro; 15-09-2018 at 04:21 PM.
I poorly phrased that sentence! I was actually meaning if ANYONE wanted a good Mak I'd be happy to pass on the details of the person who's scope it belongs to!
Thanks so much to all of you who generously lent me their precious scopes. Celestrons, Takahashis, Skywatchers and an Intes scope were all most graciously lent to me. I am truly honoured to have such trust put in me with such an array of instruments.
My star testing showed me a set of mighty fine instruments, and the faith that their owners have in them and why they were happy to have their scopes thrashed, so to speak... In the end it was an Intes 715 Deluxe that I have opted to keep.
If anyone is interested in getting their hands on one of the C8's and the Skywatcher Mak that I tested, let me know and I'll put you in contact with their owners. These were remarkably bloody good scopes! The Mewlon is being kept by its owner as its exposed mirrors I decided were not a good option for me as I live right next to the coast and with a constant sea breeze.
Below is a pic I took during one of the nights of testing. My good mate Wavy helped me out with this process. Cheers mate!
So, now I too have a Russian under my bed!
Alex.
Last edited by mental4astro; 02-10-2018 at 09:13 AM.
Reason: typo
Suffice to say the Intes 715D was clearly the pick of the bunch despite the state of the flocking - which will have to be removed.
The showdown was at 300X at which the other scopes were struggling, side by side on the same targets.
Mechanically the 715 also had perfect focussing with no slop whatsoever, and with the quality of its optics there is a very distinct snap when it reaches focus even at 300X and it suggests it could usefully go to insane magnifications - 360X or more on bright targets. Like my Santel and the Skywatcher maks, at first it may show a tube current, but that dies down soon enough and there is a known solution, anyway.
So at last Alex has a comrade to keep company with my Santel.
The showdown was at 300X at which the other scopes were struggling, side by side on the same targets.
What needs to be remembered is that seeing WAS poor this night. On nights of good seeing there was little separating these scopes. The poor seeing just showed that the photons in the Intes were a more tightly controlled in where they were directed (ultimately a better figure in the mirrors), so when seeing was challenging the image was less susceptible to seeing conditions.
Some scopes didn't cut the mustard at 250x. Those short listed scopes all did, and were not shy pushing 400X. The photo below is not of short listed scopes, just of one of our nights.
One key test was seeing the Encke Division in Saturn's rings.
Ray, which three scopes?
Last edited by mental4astro; 03-10-2018 at 07:44 AM.
I returned the Mak ONLY because the slightly larger aperture of the C8 allowed me to see fainter stars, but optical quality wise I couldn't separate them. If anyone is interested in a rip-snortter and modestly priced Mak, let me know and I'll pass on the details.
