2" Diagonal upgrade

[GazofCorra]

I have just received my SW Skymax 127 Supatrak and was thinking of changing the standard diagonal for one of better quality, so i can enhance my viewing sessions.

I have a couple of televue eyepieces (panoptic and nagler) and the way i am thinking is in a 3 step approach:

1. The mirrors and lenses of the scope are finely tuned for optical performance.

2. My TV eyepieces are optically one of the best you can get.

3. The standard diagonal in the middle of the scope and EP is optically going to let them down

so is it a wise investment to upgrade the diagonal?

I was looking at the William Optics 2" Carbon Fiber Dielectric Diagonal, but i am unsure if i can use this on my scope as the standard one is a 1.25" or do i need other parts to allow fitment of the WO 2".

[glowjet]

From a quick look of your scopes spec it looks as though it will only take 1 1/4" diagonals, in which case you can only upgrade to a 1 1/4" dielectric or quartz which should , of course, be an improvement on the one supplied with the scope and be more matched to your eps.

[johninderby]

FLO sells an SCT adaptor ring that screws onto the back of your scope which allows you to use any standard SCT gear such as a 2" SCT Diagonal.

Skywatcher Maksutov to SCT adapter

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=synta_SCT_adapter

You could also get a 2" SCT visual back as well that would allow you to use a regular push-fit 2" diagonal. Besides being better optically a better quality diagonal will also have better mechanical build quality and have compression rings instead of screws. Of course with the limited size of the baffle in the 127 Mak you won't get the full advantage of all 2" eyepieces but at least you'll be able to use any 2" eyepieces that you already have.

John

[GazofCorra]

Thanks for your replies, i have now seen the Mak to SCT adaptor on FLO which i think would allow me to fit this Revelation diagonal.

But all this has got me thinking and because the skymax 127 is only going to be used for Lunar, Planetary and possibly splitting a few stars, maybe i should just go for a better 1.25" diagonal as i will only be using 24mm and less EP's which are all 1.25", so i will not be using 2" EP's with this scope.

Maybe i should have left the post title to just Diagonal upgrade and chose either a Williams optics or a Revelation dielectric 1.25" especially as they have the compression system of securing the eyepieces.

Gaz

[glowjet]

Sorry Gaz not being a mirror man I had not realised that you could obtain adapters for your scope, under the circumstances, I personally would still go for the quality diagonal.

[johninderby]

From your last post it seems like the 1.25" diag would be your best bet.

The Revelation 1.25" seems quite good.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Telescope_House_Diagonals.htm

John

[GazofCorra]

John i agree as from what others are saying £ 4 £ they do not improve the view enough to justify paying high prices, some even go to say that they are just good to look at and cannot notice a marked improvement.

I was also wondering if these revelation diagonals are the same as each other ONE & TWO. As there is a bit of a price difference?

Gaz

[johninderby]

John i agree as from what others are saying £ 4 £ they do not improve the view enough to justify paying high prices, some even go to say that they are just good to look at and cannot notice a marked improvement.

I was also wondering if these revelation diagonals are the same as each other ONE & TWO. As there is a bit of a price difference?

Gaz

The Revelation diagonals are made by GSO and so they are the same. Revelation is Telescope House's own brand name, although they also supply many UK dealers (TH is also Meade's UK distributor).

If buying from Scopes'n'Skies (Pulsar Optical) do check first that do actually have it in stock as the "in stock" indication on their website isn't always up to date.TH's "in stock" indication is accurate however.

John

[pbyrne]

As an owner of a Revelation 2" SCT I can attest to the quality of the piece, it is of heavy construction, metal for the most part and for the price it is hard to beat.

As regards to Scopesnskies I ordered from them, they sent me a regular diagonal and I contacted them, they told me they would send the SCT version when they received the other diagonal, and at the end of the month they reimbursed me the cost of the postage. Can't complain too much about that.

[ollypenrice]

Like Gaz I have never found much in it other than that the posh ones look nicer in my very expensive TEC! I would put the cash into a second hand TeleVue Radian or similar. That you will notice.

Olly

[Nibor]

The Revelation diagonals are made by GSO and so they are the same. Revelation is Telescope House's own brand name, although they also supply many UK dealers (TH is also Meade's UK distributor).

If buying from Scopes'n'Skies (Pulsar Optical) do check first that do actually have it in stock as the "in stock" indication on their website isn't always up to date.TH's "in stock" indication is accurate however.

John

Yes - do check that they have it in stock!!

Two weeks ago I was caught out by their "in stock" levels!! - I had ordered an accessory and only discovered it was not in fact in stock when it hadn't arrived after some 4/5 working days! As it would have meant upto 10 days wait for the product to arrive I switched to a similar offering (after they checked their stock).

[johninderby]

Like Gaz I have never found much in it other than that the posh ones look nicer in my very expensive TEC! I would put the cash into a second hand TeleVue Radian or similar. That you will notice.

Olly

While it's true that once you get past the mid-priced diagonals the actual optical improvements are minor they do look nice don't they

John

[GazofCorra]

That looks the business, i am going to buy the GSO 1.25" diagonal from "Scope N Skies" only after i ring them and check it is in stock first.

I have 2 good eye pieces so wanted a better diagonal than the standard one, and it does look the part and i am sure it is optically better than the bundled one sent with my scope. Will look nice with my 24mm Panoptic and 13mm Nagler housed in it.

Thanks for the information guys, great help as usual, especially about the revelation and GSO diagonals being the same.

Gaz

[SiriusB]

Worth bearing in mind the best diagonal is no diagonal at all!

You should easily see a difference when planetary viewing if conditions are reasonable v's a standard diagonal.

[GazofCorra]

Worth bearing in mind the best diagonal is no diagonal at all!

You should easily see a difference when planetary viewing if conditions are reasonable v's a standard diagonal.

I take it you mean that having to use a diagonal reduces optical quality? There is no alternative, is there?

[SiriusB]

In essence,

Yes. The reason for buying a premium diagonal is to limit that reduction...

The alternative is to not use one & visit a Chiropractor regularly

Hence i usually use one!

Worth doing the experiment, if you can't see a difference it's not worth paying the cash for a premium diagonal.

[ollypenrice]

That looks the business, i am going to buy the GSO 1.25" diagonal from "Scope N Skies" only after i ring them and check it is in stock first.

I have 2 good eye pieces so wanted a better diagonal than the standard one, and it does look the part and i am sure it is optically better than the bundled one sent with my scope. Will look nice with my 24mm Panoptic and 13mm Nagler housed in it.

Thanks for the information guys, great help as usual, especially about the revelation and GSO diagonals being the same.

Gaz

Good choice of EPs there, too!

Olly

[GazofCorra]

In essence,

Yes. The reason for buying a premium diagonal is to limit that reduction...

The alternative is to not use one & visit a Chiropractor regularly

Hence i usually use one!

Worth doing the experiment, if you can't see a difference it's not worth paying the cash for a premium diagonal.

lol, oh yes the crouching would be impossible unless you were a ballet dancer, never thought of the diagonal that way.

Good choice of EPs there, too!

Olly

Cheers mate, from the outset i knew i wanted a few top notch eyepieces and took advantage of the Televue 20% discount whilst it was running.

Gaz

[spaceboy]

I think the main reason I went for a quality diagonal is I didn't want my expensive EP's getting marred by the tat thumb screws you get in cheap diagonals. Higher priced diagonals may not offer a great deal of optical improvement over a new cheap diagonal but it will look after your precious EP's when fitted with compression rings. Another some what small advantage is dielectric coatings offer more durability and allow for more frequent cleaning if required. Second hand diagonals can be picked up and offer the best choice as visually I doubt the shelf prices warrant the out lay.

SPACEBOY

[GazofCorra]

Good point SB about protecting the barrels of the eyepieces and also about the dielectric coating being more durable and allowing for more frequent cleaning if required.

So i think we can safely say that a mid-top end diagonal offers these good points over a standard bundled diagonal.

1. Slight better light transmission.

2. Better durability of surface material.

3. Allows for more frequent cleaning if required.

4. Most offer compression rings to secure EP's and thus preventing the EP barrel from getting all scratched up.

5. Finally they look the mutts nuts, dogs danglies or what ever phrase you use.

Many thanks for your help and advice chaps.