127mm Refractor on the way

Hey all

Well, it arrived this morning, I had two pieces of luck, one I took the car to work and two I was home for lunch today.

Dashing into the house with the box under my arm I tore off the duck tape that held the box together, inside it was filled with packing peanuts and an excellent job of packaging was done by the seller. There is nothing to indicate where it was made, I suspect it to be a Synta model, there were only superficial marks on the tube from normal wear and tear.

The first thing that hits you when you take it out of the box is that it's heavy, 7kgs in weight, there are no lightweight plastic parts here, and all metal construction. I attached the finder rings, via the dovetail plate, and inserted the 8X50 finderscope and put it on my Vixen Custom D alt-az mount.

The lens is a nice green colour and looking down the tube I count only three baffles, more would have been nice. There do not appear to be any unwanted internal reflections and the interior is a nice matt black. The dew shield is enormous, it measures 8" in length, constructed of the same metal as the scope body, it slides over the lens cell and is a snug fit. The lens does not appear to be collimatable, again it would have been nice if it had been.

The focuser accepts 2" accessories, it uses the set screw method for holding and not the preferred compression ring. The focuser itself was very stiff, as one British astronomer said, it's coated with "The People's Grease", I purchased some lithium grease this evening and I will give it a clean over the weekend. The focuser wheels are aluminium, nice but I thing they could be one of the first things to be uprgraded as they are looking a little jaded.

The finder is an 8X50 model, not the more usual 6X30 size, the crosshairs are a good width and I should have no trouble under dark skies. I have been toying with the idea of a right angle finder, who needs constant neck and back strain? Seeing as this is a short tube scope, that might not be necessary as I will not be so close to the ground.

Seeing as this is a 127mm lens with a focal length of 6.45 I am expecting some CA, looking out the back door at distant trees I believe that is the case, only under the stars can it be verified.

Overall, with only the lens needing a slight clean and the focuser regreased, I am extrememly happy with the purchase and can foresee many happy nights ahead. When I get it under the stars I will add to the review.

I took some photos, if someone can tell me how to get them from my camera to the site I will be happy to display them.

Finally, I'm deeply sorry for the weather and I hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive men.

Hi Mark,
With the moon up these night, now is a good time to test the optics, I wouldn't get too hung up about CA, its gonna be there no matter what on a scope like that, I've a 4" F5 and there is a blue edge on the moons disk as expected.

Hi Paul,

I have owned one of these scopes in the past and was suitably impressed with it (Sold due to upgrade ya know how it is). CA wise mine wasn't too bad and only really noticeable when observing the Moon at low powers, push the power up with say a 18mm or 10mm and the CA all but goes away!

Bargain!

James
ps:Enjoy ya scope

Thanks James.

Dave, why do you keep calling me Mark?

Hi Mark, errr Paul !!
I just glanced at the bottom of your posts before and saw the Mark name and not thinking though that was your name :lol: :lol: a case of reading too fast, doh!