Skymax 90

[Peter1]

Dare I say where I just bought one from (P____r Op__cs.

I was looking for a scope that was more portable than my 4.5 inch reflector which I have had for a while now and the cost being a problem

I found this one for sale in the clearance section for £85 posted with an eq1 mount. Checking online for reviews gives a positive report. So I

Placed the order online and paid by debit card. To cut a long story short it only arrived today. I thought up to this afternoon I was going to have to ask for a refund. I should mention it had been described as ex display and supplied with a 12 month warranty. But any way having unpacked it and assembled it dicovered 3 things that make it different from any that I can find online. That is there is no adaptor plate that goes between the scope and mount just a long bar with threaded holes

attached to the scope and screws were supplied to mount it with ok it works. Next is the red dot finder supplied is clearly brand new but wont fit into the existing dovetail plate but would fit if the existing plate were removed and the screws used to fit the finder. Lastly

the star diagonal supplied is a Meade unit. I wonder if some of the parts had gone missing which they eventually replaced with alternatives. I tried it out on Venus and mars I wonder if the collimation is out, the images I thought weren't great. Given more time I will check it out. Anyone got any tips on collimating a skymax 90 ?

Peter

[zhgutas]

My bold guess would be that it was actually a bad seeing that spoiled your viewing rather than collimation issues.. not great day today imho. what magnifications were you using? and was the image rippling a lot?

[BazMark]

Venus, though bright wasn't very good in my skymax 127 last week. With a polarizing filter to cut down the amount of light flooding in I could only just make out it's phase. Problem is as zhgutas says the seeing has to be exceptional to get a good view that low in the sky. Try it on Saturn or some double stars like Mizar. If you can't get sharp focus on them at reasonable mags then maybe you're right and it needs collimating.

[jgs001]

I'd be inclined to agree. Also, did you allow the scope to acclimate outside ? My Skymax 102 needs at least 30 minutes, and that's keeping it in the garage, not in the house or the temperature gradients make the view terrible.

[brantuk]

If it was a display model it may have been used for demo's and had a few bits changed (diagonal, finder etc). If you got a 1yr warranty then I'd be happy - chances are the extra bit's are better than the originals

[part timer]

It sounds like an ex display model. Should be nothing really wrong with it though. The optics on the skymax 90 are usually superb so you should have no problems.

As it is 'slightly used' you may possibly be slightly out of collimation but please do not try to adjust it until you are absolutely sure. Use a star test on a good clear night to see if the secondary ls off to one side and the airy disc is a bit oblong.

If it is then it is quite easy to loosen off the screws at the rear and adjust. I'll find the proper manual and post it on here in few minutes.

Found it!

Just follow this procedure if you ever need it. This is for the same telescope which has a different brand name in the US.

http://content.telescope.com/rsc/img/catalog/product/instructions/29183.pdf

hope this helps

[Peter1]

Hi

Had scope out for over 1 Hour. Must admit Venus was low down in sky anything low down in sky is usually slightly fuzzy. But mars was high up. The eyepieces supplied were Super 25 wide anglelong eye relief and super 10 mm eyepiece. I checked it out with my Antares plosils and it seemed difficult to focus. I couldnt get sight of Sarurn from where I was

at that time but Saturns a good one to check a telescope out on because it is bright and usually impressive. Even with rings edge on.

I looked at P O'S website last night and they have another Skymax 90

eq1 listed as ex display £89 standard free delivery. i like the idea of a goto mount maybe i could pick up a used one for low cost. Thinking of using webcam to try imaging so goto mount would be good for tracking. I must admit I have a tight budget

Peter

[Peter1]

Thanks for that Part timer. I will check it out again next night we have clear skies before trying to adjust.

Peter

[Peter1]

got to say that having had a closer look at this scope it doesnt have a mark on it, And

a tiny mark on one leg. I think £85 was a good price. Provided that the collimation is ok.

Must admit It is the first mak i have looked through so have no comparison. My 4.5 inch

scope when collimated gives a clear crisp view at low magnification. Saturn is superb.

Peter

[part timer]

If the collimation is way out then £85 is still a fantastic price. All telescopes and binoculars require collimation of some sort.

The Mak is limited by it's aperture only. The images will be sharper and clearer than your Newtonian but will show a bit less detail due to a bit less aperture.

Being high up does not mean an object will escape the lousy seeing. It will sometimes but recently most of the UK has had dreadful seeing.

Mars is also pulling away from us fast and even my 6" has trouble with it now.

One other tip is to leave the mak out with the objective covered but the diagonal off and the back open. Then point it at the floor this lets the hot air escape quickly rather than circulating inside the tube and cooling slowly.

[Peter1]

Hi

Had a better seeing tonight over an hour with very clear sky.

I left the scope in my workshop which is not heated

Hoping this would help as it would be as near to outside temperature

as possible. So Venus was better than Tuesday but I think too low down toward the horizon to expect a clear view. However the moon was excellent where I did notice some detail I had not taken in before. Then I turned to Saturn the 10mm eyepiece gave a crisp image, superb.

[Peter1]

PS

Is it likely the seeing on Tuesday was affected by the dust from the eruption

on Iceland?

[Peter1]

Took this picture tonight with Fuji 10MP camera mounted on camera mount with Skymax 90.