Time to thin the herd unfortunately!
I'm selling my Skywatcher Black Diamond 8" Newtonian, which has been upgraded with a Swayze f/4.8 mirror.
The addition of a really good custom mirror has taken this otherwise fairly normal Newtonian into another quality level, and would make it a good platform for further upgrades (e.g. upgraded secondary, 2-speed focuser, cooling system etc.)
I did some side-by-side comparisons with my other scopes (Celestron C8 & GSO 10" Dob, and the overall image quality of the Skywatcher/Swayze combination is way better than the other two reflectors, and considerably brighter than the C8 - about the same difference you would see between a 6" and 8" reflector.
It is not far off my two Apo refractors (Takahashi FC100 and TS Optics Photoline 130 triplet) but cost a fraction of the price.
Specs:
Aperture: 200mm
Focal length: 960mm
Focal ratio: f/4.8 custom Swayze mirror
Includes
- 2" focuser (single-speed) - (note the original rubber on the focuser knobs has perished, so I'll find a fix)
- 9x50 finderscope (straight-through)
- mounting holes for 2nd finder scope (e.g. red-dot sight)
- Tube rings
- PTFE "slip ring" to allow scope to be rotated in the rings without affecting OTA balance
- Vixen dovetail (30cm)
- 50mm Eyepiece extension tube (2" with adaptor for 1.25")
- End cap
For those who haven't heard of Swayze mirrors, he was a US-based mirror maker with a good reputation for quality up there with some of the best, but not so good in his delivery times and promises! He died last year, so there won't be any more of these mirrors :-(
here are some links:
https://www.swayzeoptical.com
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/2...imary-mirrors/
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/8...ber-28th-2021/
Reduced to $375
Prefer pick-up from Putney 2112 or meet in Sydney area, but will consider postage/courier at buyers cost.
e-mail:
john.wheeler.au@gmail.com as well as replying here please, because I don't login regularly.
Pick-up from Putney 2112 preferred.
