makustov versus reflector

Hi,
I just wanted to see if anyone can advise me. I have a Meade ds2130AT however the tube is quite long and as I live in the city it is a pain in the neck carrying it around with me so I was thinking of getting a Celestron C130 makustov cassegrain OTA to put onto the the DS2130 mount. Does anyone think this is a good/bad idea?
Thanks,
Keith

I was thinking of getting a Celestron C130 makustov cassegrain OTA to put onto the the DS2130 mount. Does anyone think this is a good/bad idea?

Sounds like a good idea; lots of people have put different scopes on a DS mount. You should check the exact tube diameter, though; as long as the Mak has a smaller or equal diameter it should be fine. I wouldn't like to try to make the DS tube holder fit a larger tube...

Seán

Thanks Seán,
Do you know if the optics are better/worse with a makustov compared to a newtonian reflector?

Also, is there anyone out there that has a c130?
The outside diameter of the DS2130 is 5.7" but I'm not sure what the c130 is?

I also read that the c130 had a max practical magnification of 300 whereas meade say the ds2130 is 350, can anyone shed any light on this? Is it because the tube is longer on the DS2130?
Thanks,
Keith

Thanks Seán,
Do you know if the optics are better/worse with a makustov compared to a newtonian reflector?

Also, is there anyone out there that has a c130?
The outside diameter of the DS2130 is 5.7" but I'm not sure what the c130 is?

I also read that the c130 had a max practical magnification of 300 whereas meade say the ds2130 is 350, can anyone shed any light on this? Is it because the tube is longer on the DS2130?
Thanks,
Keith

Hi Keith,

The Mak is a better design from both a photographic and visual point of view, untill the last few years they were much more expensive than a newt to build.

Practicle max mag is a interesting subject, the mak is normally a longer F ratio anyway (c130 is f15), but all things being equal it really depends on the object that you are looking at and the visal conditions of the night. There is a formula for working out max practicle mag, but it is really only usefull in the best possible view conditions.

One thing to bear in mind the C130 because of its long focal length and high F ratio will not give as wide a field of view as a 5" newt would.

Later,

Jed.

Do you know if the optics are better/worse with a makustov compared to a newtonian reflector?

There are differences, but I'm not sure how significant they will be. In principle, you should lose a bit of image brightness moving from a Newtonian to a Mak of the same aperture, because the Mak has a corrector plate in the light path that the Newtonian doesn't. As well as the FOV difference mentioned by Jed Glover, a Mak may also take longer to cool down to ambient temperature when you take it outside. But the overall optical quality will depend on how good the components are, the relative sizes of the secondary obstructions, etc. I haven't heard much about the quality of the c130 specifically.

It may be that these differences are marginal in comparison to the portability benefits of the Mak.

Seán

Great, thanks for the advice.