Mak-Newts are hard to find ...

[Joel Shepherd]

I've been doing some thinking about a second scope, having lived a happy life with a starter 6" Newtonian for a year. What I've learned is that I decidedly enjoy DSOs over planetary, enjoy star clusters over fuzzies (they do better in our light polluted skies), enjoy learning astro-photography but enjoy observing just as well.

On the balance, a 8" or 10" Maksutov-Newtonian seems ideal: the clarity of a refractor with the aperture of a reflector, and an AP-friendly flat, sharp field.

Problem is, they're hard to find. Orion (US) had a highly-rated 190mm, but it's discontinued. Skywatcher has what looks like the same model, but I'm a little fearful of what overseas shipping will do to it. Russian models are affordable but heaaavy. I did find some nice German-made Mak-Newts ... they cost 5-figures and again there's overseas shipping.

Any suggestions where to look? Mak-Newts seem like a great concept ... why are there so few made?

Thanks! -- Joel.

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's one find in the UK:

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes-sky-watcher_pro-series-maksutov-newtonian_telescopes.html

And a bunch of good leads here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Maksutov-Newtonian+telescope&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Google is your friend <koff!>...

Clear & Esoteric Skies,

Dave

[Joves]

Not sure, but I especially like you're profile pic for some reason. Reminds me of cartoon drawings of the crescent moon where it has a face almost that of a joker in a deck of cards!

[John]

I've owned one Mak-Newt, an Intes MN61 6" F/5.9. It was a superb scope and very versitile as well

The Russian ones get heavy and expensive as the aperture rises to 7" - 8" inches and above though.

The Skywatcher is the same scope as the Orion and they would both have to have made the same import journey of course. I'm sure there are Skywatcher dealers in the USA. There certainly are in Canada.

There is a nice pre-owned 8" Intes Micro MN here but it is in the UK:

http://telescopeoutlet.co.uk/index.php/telescopes/intes-micro-mn86.html

[Peter Drew]

Maksutov-Newtonians are expensive for their aperture, heavy and need a long cool down time, other than that they are a great telescope.   

[russ.will]

There is one available in N. America that ticks most of your boxes, if not the 8-10" part. It even comes with a dew/light shield.

Mind you, you'd need quite some mount to carry an 8 or 10" Mak-Newt as Peter points out.

Russell

[Joel Shepherd]

Did a little more looking around and found a possible dealer for the 190mm Skywatcher in North America:

   http://www.all-startelescope.com/sales/product_info.php?products_id=655

Quick question. The OTA weighs in at 12.5kg: 27.5 lbs. Will the NEQ6 PRO mount be beefy enough for it or should I look for something heavier? If so, any recommendations what?

Thanks -- Joel.

[Dave In Vermont]

There is one dealer of Skywatcher in California who I'll stand with: OPT. And they are quite experienced in shipping internationally. Here's their telescope section:

http://www.optcorp.com/telescopes.html

If they don't list what you are looking for, talk/email and ask about getting such through them. They are excellent folks and know astronomy inside and out.

Clear Skies - Someday,

Dave

[alan potts]

I have the Sky-Watcher version and I would say it is well made and is packed in enough boxes that you could drop it out a window without worry. I am sure the travel to the USA would be no worries but expensive. As to why Orion stopped doing it I don't know it is an excellent scope. I have seen larger ones for sale but the cost over this 190mm area is massive, a 250mm costing over three times the cost and that was secondhand if I recall correctly, though not the same manufacturer and it was some time ago.

A Heq 6 carries the scope easily, I used mine on a Heq 5 pro for a few years before going heavier, I now have a AZ EQ 6 which it is superb on.

I feel you would be better surved by a quality Newtonian and Paracorr for your likes.

Alan

[Joel Shepherd]

Having cogitated on this for a couple of a days ... I'm going to go grease my GEM and continue cogitating. A good part of my sense of urgency is the fear -- since there are relatively few affordable models out there -- that when I am actually ready to upgrade there won't be any telescopes of this type available, and it does seem to hit a lot of the right chords. But, before I plunk down four figures for what is objectively a fairly modest upgrade, I feel like I should try to squeeze more out of the setup I have. And at the moment, the balky mount is the biggest annoyance.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions (never considered a paracorr before!) ... not a decision to rush into.

Thanks -- Joel.

[LMC]

Did a little more looking around and found a possible dealer for the 190mm Skywatcher in North America:

   http://www.all-startelescope.com/sales/product_info.php?products_id=655

Quick question. The OTA weighs in at 12.5kg: 27.5 lbs. Will the NEQ6 PRO mount be beefy enough for it or should I look for something heavier? If so, any recommendations what?

Thanks -- Joel.

The NEQ 6 will handle it easily, but balancing  the OTA is critical if you want the rig to stay upright.

A Mak Newt is very back heavy so you might need to add another counterweight.

Try these guys:http://www.apm-telescopes.de/en/telescopes/reflecting-telescopes-ota/maksutov-newtonian.html

Intes Micro, IMHO, make best compound scopes in the world (Mind you I have one of their 8" Mak-Casses so I may be biased)  

Cheaper than importing from the US and you avoid any warranty hassles.

Good luck!

PJH

[LMC]

Or here: http://telescopeoutlet.co.uk/index.php/telescopes/intes-micro-mn86.html 
Heck, you don't need BOTH kidneys do you?  
 

[Joel Shepherd]

If I'm going to trade a kidney, I'm trading it for this: http://www.apm-telescopes.de/en/telescopes/reflecting-telescopes-ota/maksutov-newtonian/apm-mn-12-f-4.html