Quote:
Originally Posted by slime
Wow, great to see some pics Julian and Peter, thanks! And both 90mm too.
How robust would the various optics be regarding refractor, MCT and SCT?
I'm thinking bone jarring corrugations here even though the scope should be in a foam enclosed case or bag.
From what I understand the SCTs are collimatable, the synta MCTs aren't. A refractor should be more robust. I'm keen on an 5" Mak as an addition but not sure I could risk it going out of collimation as I read it's expensive to fix.
Wavytone, thanks for the options, what have you travelled with that you would revise?
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You should see how small a package my 90 mm Mak packs into!
The OTA fits into the Styrofoam box that it came in, which is 350 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm, and then the only other things you need to pack are the finder, a couple of eyepieces, and a tripod (which you can share with your camera, as the OTA has a standard camera screw-thread). It all fits comfortably into a backpack or a small suitcase, with room left over. The biggest risk is of losing the accessories in the recesses of your luggage!
Pretty well all Maks (especially in the 90 mm - 127 mm range) have the secondary silvered onto the front full-aperture corrector, so there are no moving parts associated with the secondary to go out of alignment. The primary mirror moves during focussing, but the focussing mechanisms also seem pretty robust against mis-alignment.
Barring some sort of really massive knock, Maks are exceptionally good at holding their collimation - in fact, Dmitri Maksutov invented the telescope design to be a rugged design for school and military use. As long as you treat it with a bit of respect (like you would treat your camera or binoculars), going out of collimation should not be an issue.
A short-tube refractor is similarly rugged; long-tube refractors are a bit more fragile, and take up more space than a short-tube (obviously!), but can also handle transportation pretty comfortably, especially if you've got a reasonable bit of padding around the OTA.
SCTs have an adjustable secondary which can go out of collimation, but most owners will tell you this is rarely a problem if you handle the telescope sensibly. The biggest issue with SCTs as a travel-scope is that they tend to be physically bigger than Maks and short-tube refractors (which is great when you want light-gathering, but can be an issue for a travel scope), and they also need a bigger mount as well, to handle the extra weight. If your car has space for an 8" SCT and its mount, or if star-gazing is a key part of your trips away, then why not? But it's not a scope that most people are likely to pack in their luggage for a plane trip anywhere, or for a quick spur-of-the-moment getaway.
