Posts Made By: James McSheehy

You ask an important question, one I'm sure the owners of this web site are asking themselves. Perhaps the place for astronomy discussions is moving away from forums like AMart to different media? Our local astronomy club was introduced to a group of college-age kids that were all engaged in astronomy, visual and imaging. They essentially had a "club", but it was virtual, nearly all communication was done on smartphones and social media sites. I also got the impression that they had little interest in hanging out with our group of mostly older folks and coming to our monthly meetings.

Jack Bruneau said:

I wondered if anyone know where you can buy an Intes Micro Mak or MN these days. Thanks!

Jack,

Contact Markus Ludes at APM telescopes. Their web site has an English option, and he is usually quick to answer email inquiries.

Roland Christen said:

[...]taken with 3 x 5 minute unguided exposures at 1600mm focal length.

Rolando

14" & f/4.5 ?

Ron,

Nice photos, but are you sure about the Mak-Newt description? The LZOS lenses that I've seen are Maksutov-Cassegrain (MCT).

As long as the secondary and primary are still intact, you can probably find a replacement corrector on the used market for not much money:

http://www.astronomy-mall.com/astro.parts.outlet/list.htm

Worst case, they may be interested in buying your OTA parts.

The fees aren't a big deal for small items, but 3% of $6K is $180. PayPal has a flat-fee method for payments (eCheck?) that can be used to reduce their vig on big ticket items. Separating the PP fee from the asking price allows a seller to offer the buyer this option.

Yeah, this may be one of the first examples of their "Limited" edition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-2zE7hOr-Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Operator error? Or was it: "the paint's dry, ship it!"? 8)

Stan,

The MNT has an extra optical element, the front corrector, and this adds another degree of freedom and complication because the secondary is mechanically attached to this element. Here are a few tips based on learning to collimate a MN74 I purchased in 2005. Years have passed and it's likely some of the details of the assemblies have changed in the scopes Intes-Micro shipped in later years. YMMV

In my experience, the first step in collimating a MNT is to check that the corrector is square with the optical tube and centered over the primary mirror. Intes-Micro doesn't use a full, enclosed cell for their single element correctors. The lens just sits in a round cavity with a front opening slightly larger than the glass and is held in place with three clips. If you remove the front metal ring (painted black with the ventillation holes) it will reveal these clips. One side of the cavity is machined slightly smaller than the corrector lens and it prevents the corrector from falling into the tube while allowing the inner part to rotate for tilt adjustment (like a ball in a socket). Small spacers around the edge of the glass are used to center the corrector in this opening. This sounds crude, but it works well enough as long as nothing is disturbed or loosened between the original factory alignment and the time the owner gets the scope. I-M does not use any thread locker on the screws and in thousands of miles of shipping the screws on the hold-down clips sometimes loosen, paper spacers fall out, and the corrector can be out of alignment when a customer receives it. This is all hidden by that front bezzle ring, so you have to remove it to inspect the clips and see what's going on.

If it is misaligned, getting it back in alignment and centered is not trivial, and the reference I used was the flat metal surface on the front of the tube where the three mounting clips attach. Use a caliper and measure the height of the ground flat on the front of the corrector compared to this surface. It should measure the same within +/- 0.002" all the way around. If it isn't, slightly loosen the two clips on the low side and slightly tighten the clip on the high side to nudge the corrector. Repeat until you get a consistent reading all around. The rest of the collimation procedures are essentially the same as a standard Newt. Remove the primary and adjust the focuser so it is centered over the secondary. Then adjust the secondary so the focuser is aligned with the optical axis of he tube. Finally, install the primary and adjust it so its axis aligns with the tube and focuser.

Some articles online suggest using a laser collimation tool. In my experience these are OK for initial/rough alignment, but they can have (mis) alignment issues of their own. Fine alignment of a fast MNT requires better tools, and for the last tweaks a star test is the best arbiter. I used the autocollimation tool set from Catseye to set up my MN74 and they did the job very well. This all sounds very complex, but once you've done it a couple of times, it gets easier.

One "feature" lacking on these Mak-Newt scopes is an access door near the front of the tube. With a sealed tube and the corrector in the front, there is no easy way to tweak the rotation of the secondary short of pulling the primary and reaching up into the tube. That is OK for the short focal length instruments like your MN56 or the MN74, but I often wonder how owners of a MN86 get to the secondary. Those guys must have long arms! 8)

Well, DSOs might fare well, but unfiltered views of anything bright will be
http://www.colorfulimages.com . 8)

I think you would be better served by a 10" SCT. Your CGEM will also thank you.

What, they didn't ship both of those tiny lenses in the same box? 8)

Looks beautiful.