Most bang for your Buck!

[Darkplague]

Hi,

Just boughta SV 1020 Nighthawk 80mm Refractor, and was wondering how much to spend on a diagonal that would suit the quality of this refractor.

Diagonals vary hugely in price, so how much would I need to spend to get the most out of this scope for the least cash?

Can someone suggest a particular brand ?

On the other hand if someone is looking to offload a diagonal, I could be a potential customer for them

Cheeers,


Mark

[asimov]

I'm quite satisfied with my 2" diagonal from AOE that I use on my refractor. I got it for free & I don't even know what brand it is.......Not very helpful am I !? Williams optics have a good reputation for diagonals from what I read on the net.....

[mick pinner]

l just bought a W.O 2' dielectric from Advanced Telescope Supplies with a Zenithstar and it is fantastic, l think they quote it as being 97% reflective, they sell on their own for about $465.00.

[janoskiss]

I think with diagonals, reflectivity is the most important factor optically. The wave-rating (1/8 wave, 1/10 wave etc) is not so important because the mirror is close to the eyepiece, so unlike light reflected off the primary or entering through the objective lens, the light from the mirror in the diagonal does not have far to travel before reaching the eye.

Apart from the optics, there is the build quality. I have the cheapest of the AOE 2" diagonals ($60 without a 2-to-1.25" adapter), and I use it with my ED80. Optically, I cannot fault it. AOE tell me it's the same as the standard Meade unit. What I don't like is the cheap chrome finish, which will scratch up more and more (a machined surface like on better quality eyepieces would be nice) as I have to rotate it in my focuser with the refractor on an EQ mount.

[Starkler]

I have a WO 2 inch diagonal that Im happy with and they get good reviews. Mine is the standard mirror diagonal rated at 1/10th wave and it cost me about $230.

[Darkplague]

Woa!
A bit out of my league.
The Williams optics ones seem to be selling for about $95 US on astromart, so maybe that is the way to go. I still have an old plastic diagonal lying
around for me to use in the meantime.

How is the Zenithstar? Are you happy with her? I also looked at the Zenithstar but it was out of my league :( Adelaide optical is selling them as a bare bones OTA for $669. I picked up a Nighthawk 80mm, with red dot finder and travel case for $395 AUS. Whether this is a good price or not I don't really know.

[mick pinner]

excellent scope with absolutely the best build quality l have seen.

[janoskiss]

To my mind, if it's over $100, it's got to be a prism. Why? Because mirrors last around 4-8 years, but prisms last many decades.

Under $100, the AOE "High quality 2" mirror star diagonal" for $89 would be my choice. (I learnt that it's not worth being too stingy.) The finish on the focuser end looks like GSO Superview finish. Good!

[asimov]

Not sure which 'model' I have, but it's the one with the crap chrome job as Steve describes. Optically I'd say it's pretty good. Put it this way, the refractor came with the plastic 1.25" diagonal. Which I used once for 10 seconds.

[Darkplague]

Thats the one that I have currently, the plastic one. I havnt used it yet because I'm too scared the view will dissapoint :(

[ving]

gee i had no idea there was much diference in diagonals! :confuse3: