We have been busy, to say the least. That is why I have not been making any entries on the BLOG for a while. However, I feel it is high time for me to start crowing about my latest love affair. That is the new 152 mm MAK-CASS from iOptron. So, here are the basics and some initial impressions.
We examined the original 152 mm MAK back in September of 2008. That OTA was a work of art and a very impressive OTA. The images were bright and the focus was very crisp. The down side was that the meniscus lens would get covered with dew and focusing was very difficult because of the single speed focuser. Yes, the focus point was that precise! We suggested that iOptron add a dew shield and two speed focuser. That is exactly what they did! WOW! I TOLD all of you that they really do listen to feedback and suggestions.
Here is what we originally received for testing purposes.
Original OTA
Here is the back end showing the single speed focuser.
Back end of the original
Also shown in the picture are the 1-1/4″ diagonal, a 25 mm Plossl, a 10 mm Plossl, bolt cases for both, the 8 X 50 finder and mounting bracket, a 2″ visual back and a Moon filter. (OK. Stop laughing at the filter. It was a nice idea even if it did look like something from a 50’s Tasco!) Also, notice the very small iOptron logo on the side of the tube. It almost looks kind of shy and insignificant, doesn’t it?
Series 5000 EPs
The two Plossl EPs that were INCLUDED with the proto-type were labeled “Series 5000″. They seemed to be an exact copy of those supplied by other major brands. They were actually very nice and provided some pretty good images. They weren’t the normal crap that many manufactures send out that is for certain!
The winter or 2008 came and went and the MAK was nowhere to be seen. We pretty much gave up on it until NEAF 2009 when it was shown with the dew shield and two speed focuser! WOW! What a nice surprise! No more vaporware! The OTA was here or so we thought. The summer of 2009 also came and went and finally, this month, they arrived right on the docks of Boston! There was no need to wait on the slow pokes in California to get them through Customs and no waiting for shipping from there, either! YEAH! That’s what I’M talkin’ about!!
I have one client, Bob Gaskin, who already has an upgrade Mini Tower and he was quite interested in this OTA because together, we had already sold 8 of them, with Mini Towers, to a pilot program in one of the school systems in Florida where he lives. Since school was already in session and the OTAs were nowhere to be seen they were getting a bit worried. I can’t say that I would blame them. After all, these were SUPPOSED to have been here months ago. All I can say is that quality cannot be rushed and that it was more than worth the wait, or was it?
Remember that little shy logo on the proto-type? That was gone and now there is a bold and proud iOptron logo! THIS is how you tell people just who has made such a great telescope! Check out this picture!
Beautiful!
With all good news there must also be some bad news. What we found when we opened up the box was that the EPs, Barlow and diagonal were no longer part of the package! WHAT?! Also, contrary to what was made public in the New Products Showcase in the November 2009 issue of Sky & Telescope Magazine, there was no longer a hard bodied carrying case! PHOOEY! What’s up with that? If all of those goodies had been included then at the advertised price of $849.00 this would have been a killer purchase! Oh well. I’ve already got too many eyepieces, anyway and a functional case can be found at Wal-Mart for short money. It is the OTA that is most important, anyway.
Oh! Let’s get back to Bob and his set up. Here are his observations and comments:
Tonight I mated the scope up with the MT that Steve upgraded for me with Timken Bearings to did a complete ops check. Here’s how it came out.
LEVEL: The new leveling knobs are such an improvement it cannot be overstated. Now leveling is quick and far easier.
OPTICS: Very impressive. Collimation could not have been more perfect. I focused as sharply on Alpharatz, Mirach, Formalhaut and Schedar. In each case I was able to focus down to a single dot with no trace of diffraction spikes so common in Maks and RCs. In my view, for the money, you could do no better than this scope. I have owned a top line Vixen Scope, the VC200L for twice the money and this scope ran rings around the Vixen without breaking a sweat.
EYEPIECES: Both EPs are a good value and work just fine. The eye relief on the 10mm was a bit tight for me, so I fitted my 1.25″ Televue 2X Barlow to the 25mm EP and the sharpness and focus were stunning.
FOCUS: Took my breath away it was so smooth and sharp. Could not have done better by putting the Crayford Style dual track focuser. A single knob focuser is common with your competitors which works fine for low Mag but for high Mag, the single knob just does not cut it.
ACCURACY: The MT with the Mak on board far exceeded my expectations. I slewed to and viewed the following targets and each time the target was near the center of the scope.
M31
NGC 869 and 884
M2
M17
M16
M2
M75
M13
Jupiter
Uranus
BALANCE: I tried the CW in various locations along the shaft and found that for this scope’s effective Wt. the best performance was with the CW centered on the shaft.
TRACKING: Superb, even if the motors were a little noisy.
STORAGE: A case would be nice for storage and transport. I am currently using a plastic case from Wal-Mart for transport. Looks rather Hokey. Yes I could use the Styrofoam and box but I don’t want to completely disassemble the scope between viewing sessions.
Thank you for getting this scope to me so expeditiously. I think I am the first customer for this scope. Hopefully, I can generate more business for you and some more new astronomers for me.
Clear Skies,
Bob Gaskin
Miramar Beach, FL
www.gaskin-astro.org
Bob further wrote:
Even the Mak Finder scope is razor sharp. I am looking at M45 and the view through the finder is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob
I mounted the Mak on my AP600 about an hour ago and despite clouds that have been running all over the sky the optics are simply outstanding. The double cluster through a 2″ Televue EP takes your break away. This thing is competitive to an expensive 6″ refractor. I’ve NEVER seen a tube with mirrors look like this. It’s unreal. Makes my Meade LX200 12″ look sick. Too many clouds for good imaging for a while. We got a weather system coming in and won’t clear till this weekend. But tonight I just wanted to get some practice running the scope around on my AP600. I am using an ADM Losmandy to Vixen plate and it works super. This Mak is a real thing of beauty.
Bob
Here is a picture of the MAK on the AP600.
WOW! Nice rig!
Bob is not the only one that is going to get to have fun with this OTA. We want to enjoy it too. So, we took another one from stock and called up a few members of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society (WWW.NHASTRO.COM) and we went out observing. The evening was a bit chilly and the seeing wasn’t fantastic, but, it was clear enough to get some good testing done. The MAK certainly did deliver! Even though the tube was not completely cooled it performed extremely well. Stars were very crisp and there was no glare to mess things up even when we pointed the scope at NGC-404. This very small and faint galaxy sits right next to Beta Andromeda and is a tough object to view with direct vision. The galaxy was an easy directly viewed object in the MAK and the 103 mm Vixen that was also present as a control instrument. We also observed Delta Cygni (Mag 2.9, 6.3, sep: 2.5″) and it was split easily. The Double Double (Epsilon Lyrae) was also well separated with plenty of black space between the components. Jupiter was just stunning with about 8 bands being viewed when the seeing would allow it. The GRS jumped out of the EP! M31, M33, the Double Cluster and other items were equally impressive considering that we were in the middle of a small city and the haze was building up.
With all of the above considered, I am convinced that iOptron has hit a home run. Yes, a few things did get dropped along the way. I always blame the accountants for eliminating small things, such as eyepieces, etc. (May they all drown in boiling hot red ink!) What counts is that for the new and lower price of $749.00 the iOptron 152 mm MAK beats similar OTAs by a country mile. Not only is the optical quality superb, but, it has the two speed focuser and dew shield which no other manufacturer seems to offer as STANDARD equipment. They may be available as options, but, they quickly bring the expenditure to well over the price of the iOptron MAK. Yes, iOptron has really done their homework on this one. I strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in the OTA grab them now. There is a limited supply of these. Once they run out it will be a while before more become available. This is because they are all hand select OTAs and are produced in smaller quantities to keep maintain the high standards to which they are made.
Of course, we now have clouds and rain, again. I have several 152 MAKs that need to be tested as well as Mini Towers and I’m stuck with rain, or cloud, or both! This is getting to be just royal pain, but, that’s the New Equipment Curse in the wonderful world of Astronomy!
Thanks for reading this and clear skies to all.
Steve