Orion / Intes Mak-Newt

[step_hen]

I'm loving my new to me Intes Micro MN68- best views of Jupiter i have had. The Intes MN71 i have used at Astroadventures is also a great scope- very versatile and suitable for DSO and Planetary imaging and observing. Shane let us know if you get a chance to compare those scopes, as i have been jealous of your Orion F11 dob since you picked it up for as bargain price!

Stephen

[Bodkin]

Thanks Jonathan

I'm a big fan of alt-az mounts and only use an EQ if I really must. The alt-az I use for my mak-newt was made by Ambemille engineering but it's out of production now. It's very similar to the Giro mounts and can take a 10kg optical tube on either side if needed. As an "old hand" with alt-az mounts I'm quite comfortable with the nudge-drift method at high power - but I do use Ethe and Naglers so the drift is a bit longer with those !.

Is your mak-newt one of the Intes or Intes Micro ones ?. I'd be interested in comparing notes on them, especially collimation.

Mine is one of the Intes scopes that was branded as an Orion (USA). Lovely optics though I need to change the focusser and it is rather heavy for the size. I bought it to do planetary and lunar viewing but it has become my favourite scope for mooching around the Milky Way with a wide angle eyepiece. The dark background and lack of coma really add to the experience for me.

It is good to know that the alt-az option works well. I have been a fan of dobsonians for many years so the drift doesn't bother me either. I need to see if anyone will swap an old Losmandy G8 for a sturdy alt-az. Any offers out there? (note that the GM8 needs a new declination motor!).

The collimation seems to be a little more difficult than with my standard Newtonians. At least it is more difficult to get it spot-on, though that may be because deviations are more apparent. How do you get on with collimation?

[John]

Sounds like we have the same scope Jonathan

I've found that star testing is the only way to get the collimation of these scopes properly adjusted - having made some fine adjustments under the stars a couple of nights ago I'm now getting very refractor-like airey disks and diffraction rings

[SABA]

I have the smaller brother - MN56 - super scope and not too heavy. Bet the bigger objective makes a huge difference, MN56 is 5" and F/6. Only niggle is the focuser which is a bit crude. Happy Intesing