Budget zoom eyepiece for Mak

[Beardy30]

On 17/10/2023 at 17:14, bosun21 said:

The Svbony 7-21mm zoom is the best in that range of magnification. They are well under the £100 budget you set. For planets the Svbony 3-8mm zoom is a well respected eyepiece but it is slightly over your budget.

100% agree it’s superb 

[Louis D]

I cut down a foam bicycle grip and built up the internal gap with racket grip tape over the original 127 Mak focuser knob.  Both together make for a wider circumference for finer focusing, and add vibration dampening during focusing.  The other thing I did was cut some vibration absorption pads from vintage 1990s 100% Sorbothane insoles for each tripod foot.  All together, I spent under $20 on ebay for everything 5 years ago.  Figure with our newfound inflation that the total cost will now be a bit higher.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Louis D

[bosun21]

Each Maksutov I've owned I fitted an electric focuser. Makes a massive difference in achieving accurate focus.

[Louis D]

There used to be 1.25" SCT focuser available from TS that might fit the 127 Mak, but it seems to have been discontinued: