I don't understand the complaint about the weight of this tube... It is 12.5kg (OTA prior to adding accessories). 12.5 kg! I've moved my mate's around several times. Perhaps it is easier because I am in my thirties and athletic, but 12.5 kg does not seem at all heavy in my experience. So the weight is a total non issue for me. Nor the mount I will be putting it on.
If lifting a pot plant is a challenge, then yeah, stick to something very light. Or just work on some baseline strength perhaps.
Cool down - the rear of the cell can be removed and an extraction fan added if need be. I am of the view that the benefits of a closed tube far outweigh the downsides. Much longer life mirror coatings, no influx of currents once cooled down, reduced stray light, dust is a non issue, and goodbye to secondary mirror arms which introduce annoying misrepresenting diffraction spikes during imaging and can never match the pinpoint star views in a telescope without the spikes, plus lower contrast.
Dew - this is the same problem faced by any telescope with a front corrector lens - schmidt cassegrains mostly. Astrozap make a dew shield for this model. Dew is not really an issue here anyway. Location dependent i suppose. For me this is more about preventing stray outside light onto the corrector and avoiding any accidental touches.
At the end of the day it comes down to a degree of personal preference however the optical performance is A+ hence I have no hesitation recommending this optical design. I personally love Mak-Newts!
I'm not "refractor guy", perhaps put me down as "Mak-Newt guy" haha
Regards
Mark
Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM
I owned one of the SW Mak Newt 190s...all I can say is research WHY they are overlooked.
Give you a few clues: weight, cool down, dew, dew, dew, dew oh and weight
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