Powermate or Barlow ?

[Hugh]

Money aside.....

Are the TV powermates so much better than say a Celestron Ultima? I'm looking at achieving 250 - 300x on My 6SE. Also, will a powermate barrel clear my diagonal?

Has anyone used any of the above combinations?

I've doubled my ep collection now (ie bought another one) so it's 25mm or my new - used 11mm TV Plossl. (very pleased with it).

Grateful for any advice.

[Brass n glass]

I recently bought a 4X Powermate because they were being sold at about a third off the usual price. I don't do imaging, but for visual it does a much better job than my Meade 126 2X Barlow. With an 18mm Circle T ortho and a 20mm TV Plossl there is no image degradation with the Powermate. It works just as well with a 37mm Poyser plossl with a 2 inch barrel. The only drawback I can see with the Powermate is that it's so heavy it might unbalance some rigs.

[GordonCopestake]

I believe the advantage of the powermate is that it doesn't move the focus position of the eyepiece very far. With an SCT this isn't so much of an issue as it is with a low profile focuser on a newt or refractor. The SCT design has a massive focus range compared to only 50mm or less on some newts

[Hugh]

Thanks Guys,

It sounds like the Powermate is the way to go, I just need to choose which magnification... and find some money.