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Skywatcher 250mm Quattro f4 CF have arrived

FLO

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Tim

Tim

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Just got home and properly unpacked mine.

I haven't given it a thorough going over yet, but a quick glance down the focuser told me the collimation was reasonable, just put a chesire in and the collimation is very close to spot on. (as it was set in the factory, i'm now going to check the factory set up everything else accurately)

This gives me great satisfaction, if the thing can hold its collimation over the high China seas and the lorries vans and couriers, then it should stand a pretty good chance of holding it on my pier :)

I will of course post a full review in due course, but wanted to share this aspect immediately!

Cheers

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Tim

Tim

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Ok, first part of the stripdown completed :)

Mirror centre spot was dead central, unusual, but pleasing.

Weights (without rings)

Complete OTA = 12.4kg

Tube without mirror & mirror cell fitted = 6.6KG

Mirror cell & mirror = 5.8kg

Rings & Bar= 2kg

Total assembly weight then is 14.4kg

The dovetail bar is of a better quality than the usual Skywatcher offering I have used in the past.

I have taken pictures of the stripped down cell and the glass which I will post in due course.

So shiny it will almost be a shame to take in outside in the elements!! :(

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R Fisher

R Fisher

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And.......the focusser is fully collimatable too! :):hello2:

I have just dismantled it and taken pics of the various aspects of the focuser.

In some ways it is similar to a Steeltrak.

Just unpacked mine also :(, Fits in the obsy in the upright position (just). Also quite impressed with the scope in general although havent had a chance to check colimation. Focusser certainly looks beefy and seems to handle the Atik 4000 with OAG no problem.

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Tim

Tim

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Well I am disappointed! :(

I love to tinker, but having just gone through every minor detail on this scope, the set of the spider, the set of the focuser, the rotation of the secondary, the primary mirror clips, every single screw, the position of the donut, everything........there is nothing for me to do!!! in fact, if I didn't have the ticket to show it came straight from OVL I would swear that FLO had sent me a specially set up scope, it really is THAT good, right out of the box! Nice one Skywatcher!

For EG, the focusser has three collimating screws around its perimeter. These were at varying positions, so I did wonder about resetting them and setting up the tilt of the focuser myself. but when I checked, they were accurately set to keep the focuser axis square to the optical axis. Somebody has taken the time to correctly do that.

If as much attention has been paid to the optics as to the rest of the setting up of the scope then I shall be a very happy bunny indeed. When we get a clear night I'll put the mirrors through their paces. (Steve, please do send that Ronchi EP, and the bahtinov mask too, and i'll order a 10" astrozap dewshield as well. They dont do baffles for the rear do they?)

Actually, there was one little thing I tinkered with, the focuser, whilst strong, was a little clicky. Not a problem clicky like when a focuser with planetary bearings wears a flat on the spindle, but just not completely smooth. The cause is the 1mm groove that is machined out of the runner, there are slight machining marks every 2-3mm which snagged ever so slightly on the wire bearing retainer which runs in it. Easily sorted with a fine grade wet n dry and a few molecules of HMP grease in the runner though, but if you do the job, make sure not to disturb the bearings in the race. It's the kind of thing that will get smoother with use anyhow.

One other comment about the focuser. It would be possible for light to enter the tube from around the drawtube. When you look into the empty focuser you can see a clear ring with three support points around it, maybe 1.2mm wide. I usually image with a light and screen on in my warm room, so will be thinking up a solution to that issue, maybe a black felt ring or something.

I have to say though, that having experienced the build and quality of another F4 newt (GSO clone) I was a bit dubious about what to expect with this one. Well so far, so good, everything looks a lot more sturdy on the Quattro. In fact, the F4 newt came in very useful, I have stripped the fan off it and put it on the Quattro :)

Cheers

Tim

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FLO

FLO

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... if I didn't have the ticket to show it came straight from OVL I would swear that FLO had sent me a specially set up scope, it really is THAT good, right out of the box! Nice one Skywatcher!

We don't play that game here at FLO :)

All the Quattro telescopes dispatched Friday for delivery today were drop-shipped direct to customers from Skywatcher's UK importer. Indeed we recieved ours today too. It was done to save time but we do now have 10-inch carbon-fibre Skywatcher Quattro Imaging Newtonians on the shelf for overnight delivery.

Most 'imaging Newtonians' from other manufacturers are simply modified versions of previous models but these new Quattros are brand new and have been in R&D for at least three years. We can and should have high expectations.

Steve

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Tim

Tim

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sounds like a fab scope. this is probably a stupid question from one of those non imaging chaps, but why would you want a large newtonian for imaging? is this not the forte of small fracs?

It's a very good question!

A newtonian offers value, aperture, faster f ratio, and good colour rendition, with reasonably long focal lengths.

Whilst small fracs are the simplest scopes to use, you would need to spend a LOT of money to get a large aperture, fast, triplet/quadruplet tube.

After all, Hubble is a reflector you know :)

I just set up my artificial star. Results again look good, nice concentric rings, no sign of dinks, squeezes, anomalies or a turned down edge.

Itching to get a camera on it now. I always wanted an Audi Quattro in the 80's. This is the next best thing :(

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lukebl

lukebl

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ahh, I see so it's very difficult to make an apo of say f4 - I note that most of them are f6 etc.

good luck with it - I do like the look of them but I'm visual only and will stick with my dobs :)

More significantly, making an f4 apo with a 1000mm focal length would be challenging to say the least! Imagine the 250mm wide lump of glass at the end. Relatively easy with, say, a 400mm focal length I guess, when you would only need a 100mm wide objective.

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Deneb

Deneb

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What a nice review you have done TJ of your scope, sounds like a proper Sky at Night Magazine review, even with the finishing touch of the scope being collimated out of the box from China to the OVL Warehouse & Finally to TJ, even the MN190 does not come collimated like that, even though it's a better scope & more expensive.

I do wonder if I sent the Quattro back in haste.... :p

Please TJ do me one favour, can you please check the Serial No. of the Primary Mirror. :):rolleyes::D

If I do buy another one can I have the next serial no. up from TJ's please. ;)

Nadeem

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Macavity

Macavity

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I have stripped the fan off it and put it on the Quattro :)
Aaaargh - The cruelest cut of all? ;)

I reassure myself my GSO might satisfy my (lesser) needs. <G> I buy things - Something better appears? :D

Whatever the reality, at least SGL doesn't overly suffer from "shoot outs"! Corresponding dead bodies etc. :p

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Tim

Tim

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Quite so Nadeem, in fact the MN190 I have been using was a real pig to get collimated.

There has been some real thought gone into the quattros I reckon. You can see that they are still a mass produced item, but made in such a way that every basic element is sound and up to the job. I'd like to see an 8" one up close, and should be able to at Kelling I think.

Mine is now mounted, balanced camera fitted and ready for a clear night! The point of balance suits my obsy better than the MN190 too, the OTA can be mounted further forwards, giving me more room around the back to move around. Three counterweights are sufficient to balance the whole rig, including finder and camera/oag/guider/filterwheel.

I will do a proper review of the tube in due course, but I would like to properly test it on the sky first so that some pics can accompany the review.

oooooooooh, just checked, there's a chance of a clear spell tonight!!!!

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MikeWilson

MikeWilson

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Ok Tim,

You've piqued my interest now! For those blessed with observatories, the 10" CF seems from TJ's preview to be perhaps the ultimate fixed imaging telescope for <£1000.

If possible, Tim - could you try to select a target that you've attempted before in order to give as good as possible comparison between this and the MN190?

All the best,

Mike

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FLO

FLO

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come, come now tim, are you saying these are better then the MN190....?

Nadeem, try not see this as a head-to-head contest between the 10-inch f4 Quattro and your 7-inch f5.3 190MN. Your 190MN is a Mak-Newt whereas the Quattro's are Newtonians. The Quattro has a parabolic mirror, a collimatable secondary supported with spider vanes and an open tube. The 190MN has all spherical surfaces, the correction is done at the front, no spider vanes and a sealed tube. I appreciate both models will be of interest to imagers but they are quite different in design so not easy to compare.

HTH :)

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