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Skywatcher Skymax 150

inedible_hulk

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inedible_hulk

inedible_hulk

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I've wanted one of these for an age. Today the dream became a reality. Thanks FLO [emoji4]

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Seems to have come with a lot of cloud though, sorry! The 2" accessories look enormous compared to my 1.25" ones. Is there really any advantages to 2" accessories on the the Mak?

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Avocette

Avocette

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Very nice scope, i love mine, just wish it had the new sct thread on the back

I'm slowly getting to like mine a lot (learning how to cope with long cool down time and quick dew-up time) but mine came (Nth hand) with a Mak to SCT thread adapter and a Revelation Astro SCT in-line 10:1 Crayford focuser. I've been running it without these for visual but I can see the benefit for imaging (no image shift during focusing). 

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Alkaid

Alkaid

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Remember a time when the 150 was the un-written about mak, the 127 and 180 always took the limelight. However the 150 just 'made sense' to me, (although I haven't got one) - more aperture than the 127 but unlike the 180 you can use it on the EQ5 comfortably. Great looking set up, congrats! Must admit I really would like one.

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alan potts

alan potts

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In my opinion a very good scope spoilt by poor quality fittings. I have the 180mm and always wished that Skywatcher did a Lux Pack with better: visual back, diagonal and eyepieces. I kept the fnder which is better than others I have costing much more and gave the other bits away. The scopes are optically very good if mine is anything to go by, great on Planets the Moon and doubles but don't just stop there, M42 in mine is brilliant.

Watch your cool down times, I keep mine outside but if you don't expect at least 90mins in winter, they also are a dew magnet so a heated band system may be a good addition later on.

I enjoy my scope and I hope you do yours!

Alan

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inedible_hulk

inedible_hulk

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Dew band fitted, dew shield made and 42mm bought. Chance of clear skies 0. A new diagonal is definitely on the cards. I was thinking of purchasing the Revelation Quartz one. I'm also intending to add a focuser. I was initially thinking the Baader Steel Track, but the Moonlight looks so good! Question is, will it fit? I'd be worried the Mak's focuser would get in the way.

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recceranger

recceranger

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I would go for a Revelation SCT or the SW SCT (both are the same). You can get them new for around £115 from several UK dealers.

The Moonlight comes in at £248 (RVO) and is the best deal. When you look at Feather Touch etc it's up around £350!

I'm going for the Revelation SCT but will probably wait until the IAS to see if I can pick up a deal

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John

John

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I had the 180 mak-cassegrain for a short while and it did perform well. Cool down and dewing were just a bit too much for me so I moved it on.

One question in my mind about these is the amount of effective aperture that you actually get. The 127mm is actually a bit less than that, around 118mm in terms of effective aperture and I wonder if it's the same with the 150 and the 180 ?

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John

John

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John,

Are you relating to Central Obstruction or the physical diameter of main lens?

As I understand it, the maksutov-cassegrain design needs a primary mirror larger than the corrector to allow the full aperture of the corrector to be used. Skywatcher make their primaries and correctors the same size with their mak-cassegrains I think. So if they are both 127mm the effective aperture is reduced a bit to 118-120mm. I've read that the 180mm is an effective 170mm as well.

They are still excellent scopes though, from the views through them that I've experienced and it's amazing that Skywatcher can make them available at the price they do.

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alan potts

alan potts

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I don't know if they have changed the rear of the scope, mine is only a year old but the fitting on the back is not a SC thread and you are talkng focusers. I have a convertion adapter and they are very expensive for what they are, about 43 quid I think, IF you can get one, I have not seen any for a while, so check it out first.

I have not seen a focuser with a Maksutov thread.

Alan

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recceranger

recceranger

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Alan,

They have upgraded the OTA and it now comes factory fitted with an SCT thread.  Additionally the 2" diagonal is a big improvement from the old 1'25mm plastic one that came with previous MAK's.  You also get one 2" 28mm LET EP as opposed to the two old 1'25mm EP's

Reference aperture, my experience is that in the UK seeing conditions you get around x30 - x40 per inch of aperture.  That gives the 150 a realistic mag of around x240 max before the image becomes soft and washed out.  I think the working mag to get good observation on Saturn and Mars is around x250 (ish!) and the 150 covers this.

I was in the market for a grab and go visual scope and the 150 (for the price) beats the pants of any other OTA's i.e. frac's/SCT's etc.  The C6 sat at around £550

My intention is to look at a C8 or C9'25 when I vist the IAS during Oct this year.  May be able to get a good deal! 

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alan potts

alan potts

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I am pleased that things have been changed to the SC thread, I just didn't want anyone ordering a focuser and being caught out, I bet it has happened.

On the diagonal and eyepiece, maybe I expect too much from them but when you put these against the diagonals and eyepieces I use then they don't make the cut, I accept they are maybe perfectly good enough for some, I just wished they did a scope of the same high standard with nothing in the box bar finder and visual back or one where they provide the 99% diagonal and a better eyepiece. The visual back that was on mine is awful, a 35mm Panoptic spun around under it's own weight and almost fell on the floor, it is now in the bin.

I feel the same about the Mak Newt 190mm which I also have, great optics though. I really think most people buying these slightly larger ones will already have eyepieces and diagonal in any case, I am not saying this of the 127mm and 150mm though.

Reports are that all of these are stunningly good for the money.

More to the point I really hope the new scope gets some nice clear sky to stretch it's legs in, so far my latest scope has had 2 clear night in a month, the boxes were big though and could hold a lot of cloud.

Alan

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inedible_hulk

inedible_hulk

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More to the point I really hope the new scope gets some nice clear sky to stretch it's legs in, so far my latest scope has had 2 clear night in a month, the boxes were big though and could hold a lot of cloud.

Alan

Too much cloud, there should be some kind of regulation about it [emoji6]

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