Skymax 150 PRO

[applecounty]

Does anyone know if the Skymax 150 PRO can be successfully altered/adapted to take two inch eyepieces? Plus has anyone had experience of the Skymax 150 PRO on the EQ5, the package appears quite reasonable. Many thanks in anticipation.

[radioactive]

Re the mount yes its plenty good enough for the scope

I dont know much about the scope but I do not think it getting it to accept 2" would be problematic either

sounds like a nice set up

[applecounty]

I haqve since had a look around the web and found this...

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/documents/69.pdf

...amongst other sites, which goes some way to answering my question.

I would still like to hear from anyone who has had personal experience with the Skymax Pro 150 or 180.

[Macavity]

Re. 2" back ends - The nay-sayers will probably say... not(!). But certainly many MAK users document experiments with 2" back ends. I can only relate my own experiences with a MAK127, where I certainly have had great success with a T2 (Screw on) 35mm Baader Maxbright diagonal. This allows VISUAL illumination of 2" eyepieces w/field stops equivalent to 32mm/70 Deg (e.g. ~Pan 35). Other users have gone to a full 2" diagonals with appropriate adaptor/diagonal and see no (visual) vignetting to even bigger TFoV. Above all, the additional rigidity of a (pseudo!) 2" setup allows me to safely use Hyperions, in 2" mode, esp. without fear of the beggars falling out!

A typical (rough) diagram shows that it is perhaps not easy to predict where vignetting will occur in a MAK - Clearly not the exit hole itself, but upstream, at the tip of the baffle/mirror transit tube? Without ray tracing that is a (my) guess, and sadly I cannot comment directly on the 150 / 180 - The limiting field is going to be smaller by say 1500/1800 (ratio of focal length wrt MAK127) for the former... BUT it would seem very worthwhile to experiment. I could get some notion of the potential size of field stop that my MAK will illuminate by removing the diagonal, poking the scope thru curtains and standing behind in the darked room, with a white card! Whatever, and as I say, mechanically, a 2" system certainly turns a rather "rubbish" back end into something much more "convincing"...

[FLO]

Perhaps THIS will help

[applecounty]

PM Sent

[chuenmanc]

There's at least one other thread on this very topic. I used to own this scope (now sold to a fellow forum member), and made use of a 2" (as opposed to SCT) visual back/adaptor without problems. As macavity says, it offers the dual benefits of increased FOV and better mechanical strength. I bought the adaptor with the scope from Bern at www.modernastronomy.com.

[Brass n glass]

I use a 2inch back and mirror diagonal on my Orion Optics 140mm Mak instead of the 1.25inch back and prism diagonal supplied, and it gives better results allround with no problems at all - Hugh.

[applecounty]

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts.