paulastro

Thanks Alan, I've responded to your PM. Many thanks.

I'm selling this only because I need a diagonal which takes T2 fitting bits. Though by no means new, it is in excellent working order and performs as it should. There are a few cosmetic marks, mainly on the back plate. Please take a look at all the pics and ask any questions before committing to buy. Other than perhaps a couple of bits of dust as you'd expect, the optical surfaces are excellent. I will find a box for it and the plug and endcap are provided, but they are not the originals of course. The price of £78 includes first class insured postage to the mainland UK. If paying by PayPal I'm afraid you'll have to pay the cost of the fee. Thanks for reading. **NOW SOLD**

Not my specialist area at all (SCs) but I found all this information fascinating. I'm sure it will be a useful resource for anyone interested who searches SGL for some insights.

Well Neil, they are still a wonderful example to people of what you can do with some fairly modest equipment - and some skill and know-how of course.

Really nice shots Neil. They should be an inspiration to people who aspire to take good astro images but believe they need more sophisticated and expensive equipment.

The term 'apo' came about as a shortened version of apochromatic refractor - just a shorter and quicker way of saying it. It doesn't mean of course that other scope can't be apochromatic, as indeed Newtonians are.

That'll be fine Jules, just give me a nudge when the time comes. Thank goodness the nights are drawing in .

Well Mike, I'll bow out of this one, it's getting a bit tedious. I will say though, that I can't truly remember anyone else who's used a MN to any extent who doesn't think it's capable of apo -like images, never mind refractor-like. I've certainly never met anyone else who considers they don't give better images than a Newtonian of the same aperture and focal ratio. Over and out!

Hi Jules. I have a 150 PL tube. if you'd ever like to look through it, get in touch when you're going up to TAC (and the forecast is for it to be clear! ) and I'll try and pop along with it. Re using it with an altaz mount, I sometimes use it on my AZ4, though it will show a bit of movement at high power when focusing or if it's windy - like where you live . Best regards, Paul

Hello Chris. Thanks for your comments. Our friends MN which we have shared views with on occasion is in fact the 7 inch f8 I had my best view of Jupiter with, not an 8 inch. it was this view (I don't think you were present on this particular occasion) that later led me to acquiring a previously owned one for myself some time afterwards. By the way, I don't think your house looks cluttered at all! ( but I won't admit to having said this when I next visit, I'm not that brave! )

OK Peter, I admit it, I was talking about your 190MN . I'll continue to look forward to observing with it .

Mike, these comments of course only address some views you 'remember' from way back in 2001/2002 - some 15 years ago at best. I still stand by my last post which you haven't commented on (apart from looking at the double cluster in a 5 inch). In your first post you said that ...."Ive observed through this make and aperture of scope on numerous occasions over the years". Not terribly recently then? I can't remember you ever looking through my 7 inch f8 either so at least we agree on one thing . Perhaps you'd like to update your experiences with some MNs with more aperture than 5 inches (and look at more targets than the double cluster perhaps?) and perhaps then respond to my last post on this thread. I'll look forward to reading your comments then, particularly when using larger apertures on planets and the Moon. For anyone who has not looked through a MN, try and get a view though one if you can - there's lots to like.

I've got to say Mike, I think you just like pretty scopes like those rather fancy good-looking Japanese scopes . I disagree when you say they don't produce a refractor-like performance. They certainly do in my view, not as good as a quality apo of the same aperture, but certainly apo-like never mind refractor-like. I'm a great fan also of 6 inch f8 Newtonians (and still have one), but contrary to what you say Mike, I'm afraid I disagree again, views of any 6 inch f8 Mak-Newt I've looked through have all been superior to any 6 inch f8 Newtonian I've used. I've also had excellent deep sky views through them, and you can easily get over a two degree field with both of these telescopes of course. There aren't that many deep sky objects over two degrees across, it depends what your requirements are. I'd suggest people have a look through one and take a look for themselves and make their own minds up if they are interested.

These are tremendous telescopes John, a friend of mine in the Midlands still has one (or he did when we last in touch) and I owned one myself for a while. In fact it's through a 7 inch f8 Intes Micro Mak-Newt that I had my best ever view of Jupiter, quite a while ago now. The detail really was outstanding in every way. Never seen as good since. It certainly was apo-like in good conditions. So, if it's so good, why hasn't every planetary and lunar nut got one - and why haven't I still got one!? The following are some of the reasons for most people I expect - they didn't ALL apply to me by the way, some will be more important to others depending on the individuals preferences and ability. 1 They are a bit of a monster in both size and weight, so the older and more frail you are the more likely you are to be put off. 2 They are rather agricultural in construction. They do work well though - the focusers are poor by modern standards but they can be replaced of course. The best mechanical feature for me was how the tube rotated within the 'built-in' cradles - easy to rotate. If they had traditional cradles it would have been nearly impossible. 3 They aren't pretty and shinny and so have never really become as popular as they should have. To those who remember, Optical Vision used to import they and they were in their colour catalogue, presumably they couldn't sell enough to make it worthwhile. 4 There is a cool down period if kept indoors (very unlikely with 7 inch sizes and above!), though not as much as the same size Mak-Cass. 5 The images in all sizes are a little better than the same size Mak-Cass in my view. However, a Mak-Cass is a much shorter tube and this can be the deciding factor for some. 6 In terms of handling, observers may prefer the handling qualities of a more refined and 'smooth-operating' refractor telescope. Though, to get the same performance you will certainly need an apo refractor of the same aperture, or perhaps an inch smaller in the larger sizes. 7 They are not the easiest to collimate, but once done they stayed put, or at least that was my experience. (in part due to the small secondaries in the longer focal lengths which of course are a big part of why they are such good planetary scopes. 8 They do seem to be a fraction dimmer than an equivalent refractor, but it's not enough to take anything away from the views in my view. I must admit I really have a really soft spot for the Mak-Newt, and if none of the above worry you, they take a lot of beating. I've also owned 5 and 6 inch Mak-Newts and they were all excellent and apo-like in performance. Another friend of mine still has an 8 inch f6 in an observatory and that is an excellent planetary scope too. If you can't afford a good apo, the view of one of these is the best you can get and a bargain to boot. I would add that the 6 inch f8 versions are also extremely fine, and on a par with a good apo and though still heavy, no where near as heavy as a 7 inch f8. Also I must ad that the Intes-Micro versions are baffled to death, including the metal screw on heavy metal dew caps. Hence as well as having suberb contrast for planetary, they make excellent deep sky instruments in all apertures. Before anyone asks, I've never looked through the current Skywatcher 190mm Mak-Newt. It is f5.6, which I wouldn't expect to give a good a image as the longer focal ration Intes-Micro versions. Having said that I'd love to try one out. I know someone who has one and is not currently using it. I've asked if I can take it home to try it out several times but have been turned down each time. I suspect this is because he knows how much I like Mak-Newts and is afraid I may never return it to him, lol.

Ah, sorry Jules it's gone, I'll mark it as sold.