help please

[Ashley Morgan]

ummm again another newbie question, ive been researching the skymax 127 mak and was wondering do you ever have to collimate one? or are you likely to have to collimate one? ive read one or two posts about the collimation slipping or the mirror cell sliping if its kept in a warm place and have to be sent off? ive only used a 80mm refrac before so ill be honest the prospect of having to collimate this scope is daunting lol

so is it mandatory like reflectors where they need to be collimated once in a while or is it a scope that in theory should never be collimated if its well looked after? and is it hard to collimate if worst came to worst.

again sorry for the newb questions but im getting there

[nicnac]

maks tend to hold collimation very well

mirror slip is to do with focusing, its not really a bother, you end up refocusing every now and again (you think you got it, then you dont)

i have had my little mak for a while and i have never once had to collimate it but i am forever having to play with the focusing

[Ashley Morgan]

ah ok thanks for that I can imagine focus slip yes haha maybe the post i read was inaccurate with their term for the collimation going wrong haha thanks for that

[Ad Astra]

Most Maks aren't designed to be collimated by the user at all. The idea of a Maksutov, is that the back of the corrector lens is silvered to make the secondary (the curvature is the same). This means that once the corrector plate is in place, the 'secondary' mirror spot cannot shift independently from the corrector. This is very unlike a standard schmidt-cassegrain such as those made by Celestron or Meade. These have a hole in the corrector plate, and the secondary mirror is mounted there in a holder than must be adjusted to bring the secondary in line with the rest of the system. Maks cannot have this problem unless the entire front corrector lens shifts - this would be either impossible or catastrophic in most commercial Maks.

I hope that helps,

Dan

[Ashley Morgan]

that does help very much as I was afraid of getting one then something going wrong and never being able to sort it out haha also I would like to do webcam photography of the planets tracking would be a plus but another thing im apprehensive after reading some posts on the SynScan AZ GOTO models is the stand breaking again and becoming useless, is this a common thing? or would it be more beneficial to get a eq 3-2 mount and then get the motor upgrades? again thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions haha

[nicnac]

how much have you put onto the budget?

this one has a review and you can use the web cams with it

Maksutov - Skywatcher Skymax 127 SupaTrak

[Ashley Morgan]

for the scope my budget is roughly £400 max then other bits n bobs can come with time like webcam etc are all the mak 127 scope packages the same optical build quality just different colours and viewfinders?

[nicnac]

the maks themselves are the same, finders can be different, as are the mounts.

what are you after with your telescope?

[Ashley Morgan]

lunar observing is my main interest, to get as much detail of the moons surface as possbile within my budget and also to try webcam photography later on of the moon and planets as ill be still using my old 80mm for widefield viewing and hunting dso's at dark sites

[nicnac]

are you overly bothered about the size of the kit you want?

[Ashley Morgan]

not really but would like it to be able to fit in a car if i go to dark sites im not really hung up on any type of scope or size as ive only ever used my 80mm helios frac so as i mentioned in other posts im very open to whatever scopes will do the job the best to be honest within my budget

[nicnac]

can you stretch another £70?

Omni XLT Series - Celestron Omni XLT 127

the CG4 is a sturdier mount than the EQ3-2 and it can be motorized later on

[Ashley Morgan]

ummmm possibly would have to check with the significant other, are the tubes the same build and optical wise? or is it more on the fact the mount is more sturider than the Eq3-2?

[nicnac]

very similar telescopes

the extra is the mount

sky at night did a review on this set up a bit back, here is a link

Celestron Omni XLT 127 | Sky at Night Magazine

if i where in your shoes, this one is the one i would go for, especially if you are going to motorize

[Ashley Morgan]

ok thanks for all youre help and any more advice from others is welcome

[nicnac]

your welcome

[thommo10]

I know it's not in your budget but have you considered a Meade ETX 125 they are good optically are already motrised and goto a with a long focal lenght are great on planets and the moon. just a bit more saving and you get the complete package.