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Lomo Astele Maksutov

F15Rules
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F15Rules

F15Rules

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I found this scope for sale on a small online website, quite by chance:):(..

I'm in the process of (sadly) selling on my big 6" F12 refractor due to recent surgery meaning it is too heavy for me to handle properly:mad:..this means I need to replace the big frac and I have decided to go for a 4" refractor for double stars, lunar, planets and so on, and a 6" Mak which should handle all of the above plus go a little deeper on fainter dso's etc.

I had heard that Lomo optics (Russian) are very good and the few reviews I have found on the Lomo Astele range have been extremely positive.

I just picked up the scope this week, and interestingly it came with a few eyepieces which were not meant for a 1.25" focuser scope (which is what the Lomo is..) there are 3 0.965" eps, all orthos, in 4mm, 5mm and 9mm. The 5mm has quite a large crack in it which is a shame, but the other two seem perfect. They have a circle with a V inside, (does this mean they were made by Vixen?) and are very well made with nice machined barrels.

Also included is a nice 40mm Kelner in 1.25", again with a Circle V, so perhaps a Vixen made as well? Lastly, a nice Meade MA 25mm is also included.

The scope carries a nice looking 40mm finderscope which I believe should have had a diagonal at the viewing end, although there is not one with the scope. A standard 1.25" diagonal fits ok, but I don't know if it will focus until I get to try it out...:(

The scope came with a Sky Sensor 2000 mount (EQ3 to me and you:p) with the ubiquitous and infamous aluminium tripod. However, I will probably sell this on and use my Bresser Mon 2 which is altogether more solid and suited to the OTA.

Lastly, the scope itself. The Tube weighs around 6kg and appears built like a tank!. The corrector plate is a beautiful purple colour with its coatings, just like new, and the mirror again looks like new. The tube is painted in an industrially quite fetching grey/black hammerite type of finish, and a very well made solid aluminium screw on dewshield protects the corrector plate.

All in all, I am very pleased so far, and have high hopes for the optical performance..I'll post more when I've had a chance to get her out under the stars:D

Photos of telescope.pdf

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John

John

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Fascinating looking scope - thanks for posting the pics :(

It looks rather similar in style and finish to my Intes mak-newtonian - functional but very well engineered. The coatings on my corrector are purple as well !.

The (V) symbol does mean Vixen I believe - nice quality eyepieces in their day.

Good idea about changing the mount - the aluminum tripod will shake somewhat I would think with a 6kg OTA on board.

Look forward to a report on the views through it :(

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F15Rules

F15Rules

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Thanks John:)

I also noticed the following which I didn't mention first time..

There is a very useful carrying handle in metal on the tube itself.

It comes with a good quality padded zipped holdall which fits the OTA perfectly, with two inner zip pockets for eps etc

The micrometer focuser seems very smooth.

There is a 45 degree diagonal and I am wondering if this is meant to be used with the finder, along with the 40mm Kelner, which I estimate would give 10-15x mag.

And the mount came with 2 different weights, 2.5kg and 5 kg, and a nice RA motor which appears never to have been used.

The orignal bill of sale is included...dated July 2004, at a cost of £875 in total,from a shop in Norfolk, although the seller lived in Kent. I doubt if the scope has been used more than a handful of times. The seller was a solicitor who described it as "much too sophisticated for me":p..

Will post a first light once the sky co-operates.:(

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F15Rules

F15Rules

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ha ha, nice one:p

Actually the central obstruction looks quite modest. I have high hopes for this scope...I did my aerial daytime test this morning and can you believe I could get clear, quite sharp images at over x500! (a 4mm UO Ortho at FL of 14.4 gives around x540)..

If I can actually get a half decent image at that mag I will be amazed, but the optics seem incredibly sharp...and absolutely no CA that I could see.

The finderscope is a 40mm with an interesting 45deg diagonal into which goes a Meade 25mm MA Eyepiece..I replaced this with a nice Tal 25mm plossl as I have a spare one, and as there are no cross hairs in the finder I screwed in a reticule (again Tal) into the Plossl and bingo, I have a superb finderscope giving around x8 mag I think, and very sharp.

Forecast for tonight is clear so am hoping to get first light:)...

PS I have mounted the scope on my CG-5 on wooden tripod, the one my F12 6" sat on for a while...this setup is superbly solid and so much lighter to move about!

Can't wait to get her out on Jupiter...

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Whippy

Whippy

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Actually the central obstruction looks quite modest. I have high hopes for this scope...I did my aerial daytime test this morning and can you believe I could get clear, quite sharp images at over x500! (a 4mm UO Ortho at FL of 14.4 gives around x540)..

I'd be surprised if you can't get a good image at those kinds of mags as it goes. I would imagine it's equally as good as my old Intes MK66 and I regularly got a 'useable' (not razor sharp) image of the Moon with a 3.5mm Hyperion (x514), with a 5mm it was awesome!

Tony..

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angusb1

angusb1

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These are really cool. I looked into getting one as a portable grab and go, apparently the optics are really excellent, they are very well built, and they have an interesting finder arrangement which uses a rotating secondary I think?. Looking forward to some 1st light reports!

An interesting page I found about them here

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  • 10 years later...
JeremyS

JeremyS

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On 08/10/2010 at 22:09, F15Rules said:

Thanks John:)

I also noticed the following which I didn't mention first time..

There is a very useful carrying handle in metal on the tube itself.

Perhaps slightly more than subliminal, Dave 🤔

What I want to know is whether help is available 

Edited by JeremyS
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F15Rules

F15Rules

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16 minutes ago, Rob said:

Nice Dave!. What a find. Looks super quality, and will serve you I'm sure.. Sorry to hear about your back - Get well soon. Rob

Thanks Rob..although I should point out that this thread was one I started 12 years ago..😱😁

Jeremy (who clearly has too much time on his hands!😂) somehow found it, then saw the reference to "the handle"..and jumped on it🤦😂..

The Lomo was a fine scope  (it actually turned out to be a "Ylena"), and for the umpteenth time in my life "I wish I hadn't sold it"...

I did learn my lesson when I got my Tak FS128 though..it ain't going anywhere!!👍😊

Dave

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Rob

Rob

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6 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Thanks Rob..although I should point out that this thread was one I started 12 years ago..😱😁

Jeremy (who clearly has too much time on his hands!😂) somehow found it, then saw the reference to "the handle"..and jumped on it🤦😂..

The Lomo was a fine scope  (it actually turned out to be a "Ylena"), and for the umpteenth time in my life "I wish I hadn't sold it"...

I did learn my lesson when I got my Tak FS128 though..it ain't going anywhere!!👍😊

Dave

So it is!... Sorry my bad. I know you love your FS128. I would too if I had one. Happy Friday (can you tell I've entered weekend mode already :) )

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F15Rules

F15Rules

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41 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

What a strange topic, a time warp and no pictures to support it 😀

Alan

Can't have that, Alan..

Here you go..😊👍..and a link to the original first light thread on this..

Dave

Ylena Mak5.jpg

Ylena Mak4.jpg

Ylena Mak3.jpg

Ylena Mak2.jpg

Ylena Mak 1.jpg

Ylena Astele Mak-page-001.jpg

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