The Cat Crept In .....

[John]

I seem to have acquired a nice little CATadioptric in the form of this Celestron branded 90mm mak-cassegrain.

It's coming to deepest Wales with us in late September hopefully to show me Mars close to opposition but also seems to do pretty well on a range of other targets from initial trials

Sits well enough my my Slik Master Classic tripod and the whole lot is easy to pick up and carry with one hand. Just need to make a dew shield.

Takes up very little packing space so won't annoy my other half !

My first small CAT and so far I'm quite impressed

 

 

[mikeDnight]

Very nice John!  I'm more of a dog person myself, but I'd still give a home to a 90mm moggey.  

[Alien 13]

I am biased but think the 90mm MAK is the best in the range due to its f/13 ish focal ratio, some reports say the Celestron versions have better coatings than the SW offings but who knows...

Alan

Edited July 22, 2020 by Alien 13

[Craney]

Excellent scope.  I regret selling mine on.  

Frames the Moon well with a DSLR and the optics on my Celestron variant were pretty sharp.

[F15Rules]

Nice travel scope John, and should do well on doubles too, at F13. I would imagine it would cool down quickly too?

And best of all, you look through it from the right end, just like a frac!

Will be interesting to see how it handles Mars, too..😊

Enjoy! 👍

Dave

[JeremyS]

That came as quite a surprise, John! Should be good on Mars. 
Just make sure you give your refractors an extra stroke when you get back 🙂

 

[JeremyS]

11 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Nice travel scope John, and should do well on doubles too, at F13. I would imagine it would cool down quickly too?

And best of all, you look through it from the right end, just like a frac!

Will be interesting to see how it handles Mars, too..😊

Enjoy! 👍

Dave

Congrats on getting a mention of handles in today, Dave. That was a sneaky move 🙂

But I detected it. Or perhaps I should say picked it up 😂😂😂

[DaveL59]

Been tempted by a small Cat myself John for the same reason, easy travel esp where mine are all long scopes in the main, just need to build some funds first tho...

[John]

1 hour ago, DaveL59 said:

.... just need to build some funds first tho...

This one did not cost much to be honest with you. It did need a little collimation when it arrived but that was easy enough using an artificial star. The stock diagonal was rubbish though so I've replaced that. The RDF is basic but is actually quite accurate despite the relatively small field of view of the scope.

I thought it would do a decent job on double stars and the planets, which it certainly does for it's aperture, but I've been more surprised at the views of DSO's so far. Really quite bright and contrasty. Max true field I can get is around 1.3 degrees but that's enough for many DSO's.

What is really nice is the ease with which you can wander around the garden with the whole thing to get the best views.

 

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Congrats on getting a mention of handles in today, Dave. That was a sneaky move 🙂

But I detected it. Or perhaps I should say picked it up 😂😂😂

Brilliant, Jeremy...gave me a real lift just before I turn in for the night

Dave

[Geoff Barnes]

I noticed you had been referring to a Mak-Cass in some of your posts recently @John, and wondered if you had taken the plunge.

Not as big as I thought you were going to go for, but at least you probably won't need to put up a shelf to store it on, does it fit in the scope alcove with all the others?  

[AdeKing]

Nice setup John, I used to have Skywatcher Heritage 90 mak and it gave me my best view of Mars to date.

I don't recall there being any ability to collimate it though, so sounds like yours is a better model.

Ade

[Macavity]

My 90mm MAK was the "sharpest ever" telescope I ever had. It was
the first scope I had (at that time) which split the "double double"?
My MAK 150 *must* be better, but I always sense the collimation is
a tad off - Even though it has a lot more "grunt" re. resolution etc. 😛

I have sometimes contemplated the MAK102... Mostly because the
end plate space allows use of my Baader "midi sized" T2 Maxbright
diagonal for a little bit extra field of view via a Hyperion Aspheric. 😎
(Large f-number allows me to use the last of "posh" Hyperions. lol)

[lukebl]

Very nice, but I'm more impressed by your Slik tripod!

It's a classic. I've had a Slik Master since the 1990s, and have never replaced it because of the sheer quality and ease and smoothness of action. I've tried other, modern tripods and they seem too fiddly and just don't match it.

[jock1958]

Very nice acquisition John and like the Slik tripod, as matter of interest how does it handle high power views with your little Mak? I’ve been looking for a lightweight travel tripod for my Tak FS60 for a while now and the Slik looks a cheaper option than the Manfrotto’s & Gitzo’s! 

[John]

5 hours ago, Geoff Barnes said:

I noticed you had been referring to a Mak-Cass in some of your posts recently @John, and wondered if you had taken the plunge.

Not as big as I thought you were going to go for, but at least you probably won't need to put up a shelf to store it on, does it fit in the scope alcove with all the others?  

It was a bit of an impulse purchase because the price was low and I wanted something ultra-portable. It nearly fits in the glove compartment of the car !

 

[John]

2 hours ago, AdeKing said:

Nice setup John, I used to have Skywatcher Heritage 90 mak and it gave me my best view of Mars to date.

I don't recall there being any ability to collimate it though, so sounds like yours is a better model.

Ade

Thanks Ade.

This one (branded Celestron Sky Prodigy, minus the GOTO mount) has a tiny set of push-pull collimation screws for the primary. They actually work !

 

[AdeKing]

1 hour ago, John said:

Thanks Ade.

This one (branded Celestron Sky Prodigy, minus the GOTO mount) has a tiny set of push-pull collimation screws for the primary. They actually work !

 

Mine definitely lacked that feature, the plastic cover at the visual back end only had holes for the visual back and focuser knob and was very firmly affixed.

The nuts attaching the dovetail to the OTA worked loose and there was no way I could find to remove the visual back end of the OTA without an excessive amount of force and so I sent it back for a warranty replacement, fortunately it was still within the warranty period (just).

I have recently been pondering picking up another used Mak, but was looking at a 127 rather than the 90 or. 102.  Mainly because I have 3x 102mm Fracs already and figured the 127 would give a reasonable aperture boost, though not as portable as the 90mm.

Ade

[chiltonstar]

Lovely little scope - I borrowed one last year for a holiday in Darkest Cornwall, and it was very impressive. I certainly could hardly bear to hand it back!

Chris

[John]

3 hours ago, AdeKing said:

I have recently been pondering picking up another used Mak, but was looking at a 127 rather than the 90 or. 102.  Mainly because I have 3x 102mm Fracs already and figured the 127 would give a reasonable aperture boost, though not as portable as the 90mm.

 

I've owned 127mm and 180mm  maks for a short time but I've never used one of the little ones. I have refractors from 100, 102mm, 120mm and 130mm but I was attracted by the sheer cuteness of the 90 mak

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Nice scope John. I bought a 90mm Mak/Cass and took it to Turkey in 2006 for the Total Solar Eclipse - really good.

I gave to a friend who had a lovely apartment over looking the Sea in Southern Spain - looking back I wish I had kept it.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, John said:

I've owned 127mm and 180mm  maks for a short time but I've never used one of the little ones. I have refractors from 100, 102mm, 120mm and 130mm but I was attracted by the sheer cuteness of the 90 mak

Hopefully the 'fracs don't gang up on the poor little Mak in storage. 😲