Hilux

[haitch]

I'm here to confess my guilt.

I've just driven up to Orion Optics to get my mirrors recoated for my dob (whilst my wife is away for a few days ).

I'd decided to go for the standard coatings butit took all of 2 seconds for me to break down and go for the Hilux coatings (Like the guy says "Is that Hilux or normal?" aaargh the hard sell! No human could resist)

Over £250 to get my 14" primary and secondary recoated.

Someone please alleviate my guilt and tell me it's worth it.

Now all I've got to do is wait for the better half to get hold of the credit card bill!

[brianb]

Someone please alleviate my guilt and tell me it's worth it.

It's actually great value for money, the Hilux coatings last a lot longer as well as being significantly more reflective. Think of it as a 10% aperture upgrade plus not having to recoat the mirrors two or three times.

[haitch]

Cheers,

Not sure the other 1/2 will be interested in the extra light gathering but I'm sure I can get across the sense of them being longer lasting.

Do you have hilux Brian? Can you tell the difference?

[albedo0.39]

Hi there Haitch - No guilt trip and understand why you might cave in !

Like you, I have done a whole heap of research on advanced coatings for mirror (just go to the obsession website and order their CD - it comes packed with good info as a starter).

I was also considering the same HiLux coatings from OO as an upgrade to my recently coated mirrors but but rang around and heard a range of opinions so have held off.

I'd be really interested to know how long the coatings last.

Good luck and keep ua all tuned in ?

[brianb]

Do you have hilux Brian? Can you tell the difference?

No, but I have seen a scope with 5 year old Hilux coatings .... was still better than new "ordinary" aluminimum + silicon monoxide overcoat.

[Rob]

My SPX200 is Hilux. Its said that its like having an extra 1" added in possible visual capabilities. So in effect my 8" will perform like a 9".. now I don't know about that in all honesty. All I can say is that I've owned a Helios 8" and now the SPX 8" with hilux.. and its so worth having those coatings. Jupiter is awsume in my scope, and deep sky is fantastic. Nice bright stars and inky black background.

[haitch]

The longevity was really the main thing that did it for me. Whilst I appreciate every bit of light my scope pulls in, at 14" I'm not so worried on that score. If you believe what they say I can expect a life of 25 years.

I'll post when it's back and I'm up and running (got some modifications to do whilst the mirrors are out and then there's the obligatory 2 weeks of cloud minimum). Then we'll see what 97% reflectivity (x2 for primary & secondary) can do for my views. Tbh the old coatings had seen better days when I got it so I've never really had chance to find out how good or bad the mirror is.

[Brass n glass]

My OMC140 is nearly 5 years old and the Hilux coating seems as good as new - Hugh

[A McEwan]

I believe in Hilux coatings. Thing is, you cannae break the laws of physics (as someone once said) - and 8" is always going to act like 8", etc, so there's no increase in light gathering, per se, but with the Hilux coating the aperture you have will act more efficiently. You could say your 8" will finally act like an 8" instead of an 8" with 88% reflective coatings, which makes it about 7-and-a-bit inches. See what I mean?

[haitch]

I believe in Hilux coatings. Thing is, you cannae break the laws of physics (as someone once said) - and 8" is always going to act like 8", etc, so there's no increase in light gathering, per se, but with the Hilux coating the aperture you have will act more efficiently. You could say your 8" will finally act like an 8" instead of an 8" with 88% reflective coatings, which makes it about 7-and-a-bit inches. See what I mean?

So if an 8" is a 7" and a Hilux 8" is an 8" which is the same as a 9".............. Damn if I hadn't lost the cork I wouldn't have had to drink it all - I'm sure it'll make sense tomorrow.

[brianb]

You could say your 8" will finally act like an 8" instead of an 8" with 88% reflective coatings, which makes it about 7-and-a-bit inches. See what I mean?

Yeah ... but don't forget the coatings have no effect on the resolution, a 8" scope with "dirty" optics will still out-resolve a 7" scope with the smae light throughput.

[haitch]

So if I think of it in terms of my wife's best friend (The TV) I am increasing brightness rather than contrast?

[A McEwan]

Something like that! I think...