Lyra 4" F11 and Intes Alter M603

[A McEwan]

Oh, another thing I really like about the M603, in addition to the two finder mounting positions, is the carry handly. Makes it so much easier to handle the scope when mounting it etc.

Ant

[AndyH]

Oh, another thing I really like about the M603, in addition to the two finder mounting positions, is the carry handly. Makes it so much easier to handle the scope when mounting it etc.

Ant

It was the excellent handle on my M500, that made think, 'I'm having one of them for my Klev'. Easily the best mod I've done to it.

[Neil English]

Hello Dave,

What a great comparison of two rather nice 'scopes!

I can definitely see why you opted for these instruments in the end.

I do like Maksutovs too. I still have an old ETX RA and love it. Maybe when my ship comes in, I'll get a larger one again.

Anyways, I'd like to wish you and all SGLers a very happy Christmas and the very best for 2013.

Cheers the noo,

Neil.

[DaveGibbons]

Hi Dave, Great comparison really enjoyed reading your views on the two scopes! One of the few brands I've never had is an Intes scope, always admired from afar. You mentioned in one of your posts about getting the primary Hi lux coated from Orion Optics , don't even think of doing it you would never see any difference and a good chance you would be unhappy with the result both cosmetically and optically as well as much poorer. Glad to see the old wooden tripod lives on!

Cheers

Dave

[Moonshane]

I once used a 7" intes on an EQ6. it had wonderfully accurate rotating rings which worked like a dream. now that's good design!

[F15Rules]

Hi guys n gals

So interesting to read everyone's responses. Sorry for the late reply but I've had manflu and also had to drive up to Scotland for a family funeral this week ..

Firstly, I've had a few people advising against having the primary recoated..without saying too much that might be inappropriate, I have thought carefully about this and decided it's not worth the risk. The views are excellent, well up there with my excellent Lyra in terms of light grasp on stars, better on nebulae and clusters, and planets and lunar are superb - this is where the truly apo views edge the Lyra.

I've also carefully noted the remarks on collimation and I have bought a nice Baader Laser Colli MkII to check this out. I do remember reading a very detailed review of the M603 on Cloudy nights and the reviewer said that he had misalignment issues with his scope and to begin with he felt he was getting sub 4" aperture performance: but once he had sorted the collimation (and mechanical alignment of the primary) out, the performance leapt to that of an 8" SCT (his words, not mine). Now, I don't think I have anything like the collimation issues that his scope had, but I do think that it's worth my while checking the collimation out as I can see that the absolute best performance of the Mak will only be obtained if collimation is spot on: this is definitely an area where refractors are hard to beat, with their virtually bombproof alignment.

I have recently acquired an older Mak, an Intes MK67: I know I don't actually need it, but the price was too good to miss and the scope is in lovely condition. It's the same aperture (150mm) as the M603, but with F12 rather than F10, and has the fixed primary with a Crayford focuser. The tube is much less bulky than the M603 and thus even more portable. It will be really interesting to see how this scope compares with the M603..watch this space

Can I wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and a great New Year.

best wishes

Dave