Hi All,
I got a used 70mm f500 of this telescope with its mount and I love the quality of the objective lens of this scope from Synta!
On close inspection, there is a welded baffle mid-way in the main scope tube, closer to the objective lens end and another baffle ring inside the middle of the focuser draw tube.
Together, they stopped down the effective aperture to 60mm, from the lens diameter 70mm. I removed the plastic baffle ring inside the focuser draw tube, by breaking it into bits (made of white plastic painted black) using a hammer and a screwdriver. That takes the effective aperture to a max of 62mm. The scope aluminium tube diameter is about 80mm, less than its 70mm f900 cousin.
The question I need help on is how to reach and cut and enlarge the welded aluminium or metal baffle ring inside the main scope tube?
The baffle can’t be hammered out or moved along the scope tube, as it is welded into place.
The plastic objective cell is glued/moulded into place. One can unscrew the plastic objective lens retainer ring and take the doublet lens and plastic spacer out (which I did to clean the lens on my unit as it was quite dirty when I got my used unit), but the plastic lens cell, connected to the aluminium main scope tube can’t be removed, as it’s glued/moulded into place.
I also don’t want to remove the baffle totally, but like to enlarge the diameter of this baffle instead, so that the scope uses its full 70mm aperture, and to use this baffle as it should be designed for, ie, cutting out stray light and not as an objective lens diameter restrictor.
The objective lens on my unit, which I star tested on Sirius is great (the doublet lens were marked on their lens edge, so you can put it back in collimated and aligned), I just wish it wasn’t stopped down to 60mm.
Thanks.
Bill