Nakedgun

Looks like the tube can be rotated to place the focuser on the other side, as well. If so, that is a nice feature.

Haven't seen them over here. The minor differences from the Classic model in the above photos are interesting.

What do you mean "almost"?

Nothing wrong with first-world problems, in my view!

Looks to be a robust mount you have, there. First I've seen one.

Paul M, That is garryblueboy's rig.

After selling my C-14 I downsized to the C-Nine-Two-Five in April 2004 (a little dusty just now). I use it primarily for planetary observing, so it doesn't get out as much as some other scopes I have. Denkmeier binoviewer along with their SCT locking diagonal attachment completes it. Close-up of the interface: I really like this size instrument, it seems the sweet-spot for SCTs.

My first cat was this beast, as well, circa 2000. I don't have any scanned photos of it, currently. Ran it on a G-11, and kept it through the 2003 Mars opposition, but I'm not an imager and without an observatory it became just too much to deal with. Sold it to a guy up in Anchorage, Alaska.

Vic Maris started Stellarvue sometime in the 90s, and I first met him at RTMC, a nearby astro-expo/starparty in (I think) '99 when he was there showing his first 80mm f/6 refractor, which may have had the item #1006 attached to it, but I'm not sure of this. I bought one, and a lapsing memory also prevents me from bringing up the price I paid, but since this was a relatively new hobby for me I just used it for what it was worth. It was an OK performer, but nothing special. When I saw him there again in '07 he mentioned that he was gathering up this first scope from owners, said he was donating them to schools, and if I would send it to him he would swap it out for an 80ED f/7. So I did, and in January '08 I received the scope pictured here, with rings, at no charge. Who else in this hobby would have done such a thing? I keep it in my Toyota Tundra pickup truck, ready to go, day or night.

Cable management is for sissies!

Orion USA imported this (or was it the MK66?) and called it the Argonaut 150. It came with a fixed primary, crayford focuser, carry-handle attached to the top with a fixed mounting plate underneath, and was painted black. They sold for $999, if I remember correctly and were optically very nice. I bought one in '99 and used it until I bought my TEC MC150 in May 2005. I never used them side-by-side but don't believe I gained twice the scope for twice the price.

Thank you, I will inquire.

Catadioptric, that is. I could not find a thread devoted to this topic, so I'll post mine. I owned a C-5 for a few years. It was the smallest cat I've had, and although the views were OK, my refractors cooled faster, and provided more contrasty pictures, so I sold it. I was new to this hobby when I met TEC founder Yuri Petrunin at RTMC, a now-defunct astronomy expo/star party in the early years of this century, where he displayed Maksutov-cassegrain scopes built by them. Eventually, I decided to get their MC150 model, which at the time was priced near $2K. They made an eight-inch model, also, which was twice as much, and more than I wanted to spend. Alas, I regret not getting one, to this day. Before long, TEC decided to abandon Mak production and cash in on the refractor boom, to Mak lovers' loss. I do love using the 150 on the Moon! I opted for rings, rather than a fixed dovetail plate. TEC finder mount on top of tube. Grab handle, micrometer focuser, 2" visual back. The business end. Number 38.

So, we have two dob threads going? Perhaps they could be combined, somehow?

Looks like they only make Maks in f/5.6, now, unless I missed anything slower. I missed my opportunity to acquire anything larger than 150mm back when good ones were still being produced, and this topic reminds me, once again.

Nice shop, too.

That is certainly what I would regard as a "full-thickness mirror"!

I think with me it's more a desire to have the set (2.5 - 13mm) than any real need for that particular f/l, although I do use 11mm from time-to-time.

Better late... Welcome!

TV discontinued their 11 T6 some time ago, apparently because of this ep release. Because I did not buy one when they were current I substituted an ES 82° 11mm instead. Had I known...

My first dob was a 10" Coulter Odyssey red tube that I bought used for $200 in the late 90s. I don't know if I have a photo anywhere, perhaps I'll stumble upon it sometime. Coulters had crude hardware, but that was the scope I used to gain my first view of Pluto at a star party near here known as RTMC (now defunct). Having aperture fever at that time, I spent way too much money (just ask my wife!) on my then-new hobby by ordering this Starmaster 18, w/Zambuto f/4.3 primary, ProtoStar secondary, FeatherTouch focuser, and Sky Commander/Sky Tracker goto, as well. I saved some money by not ordering the transport handle option from Rick Singmaster and fashioned a pair myself (this did not assuage her). The heart of the beast: (transport box included with scope) Mirror cell: Operator's station: A relaxing pastime: The largest scope I will ever own, this instrument showed me a great many deep-sky wonders (blue supergiants in M31, no less), but after 16 years I finally grew tired of transporting it to dark skies, the setup and teardown (the mirror/cell in its box weighed 75lbs) and sold it off to a good home. Do I miss it? No question, but I have no regrets.

Tell us you're not forced to observe with that obnoxious light from your neighbor!

Looks brand-new!

Mfd. by Towa, should be a good performer, by reputation, but be sure to star test it to confirm before beginning any restoration labor. Hybrid .965 / 5/4" diagonals are available to allow modern ep use. Fun to use old gear if the optics are OK. Good luck.

Back in 2003 I was at the local landfill (an employee, no less) when one of my colleagues brought to my attention that someone had discarded a telescope, so I hurried over to have a look and found a Meade (Mizar) model 320, an 80 f/11 achromat on a GEM. When new, these retailed for around $650 as I recall from the ads I've seen, rather expensive. Its condition made it obvious that it had sat outside somewhat exposed to the weather. It had a straight-through erecting prism in place of the 5/4" visual back and with the landfill's proximity to the ocean I surmised it had sat on a balcony and was used as a spotting scope to look over the beach and ships passing by. The wood tripod legs were scuffed up, the aluminum mount had surface corrosion and other metal parts had some rust from exposure to salt air and the OTA has many light scratches on its exterior. No finder was present so I added one from a previous find. To my delight, I discovered all these blemishes wee superficial, and that it was mechanically sound. These packages were well made, the OTA even having a collimatable lens cell. This scope produces the best images I've seen through an 80mm achromat, and the mount is so smooth that during high-power viewing the object can be kept centered in the eyepiece almost effortlessly. This is the smoothest GEM I've operated by hand. When these were current, I would not have spent the kind of money they demanded, so if not for this find I should never have experienced just what Japanese builders were turning out for this genre of astronomical gear. Sometimes, one gets lucky.