I tend to keep my small reflector OTAs cool during the day so cool-down after setup is rarely an issue. I've been known to refrigerate scopes for hours before attaching them to my mount. Even driving to a remote site, if you set the OTA in the passenger footwell and run the car A/C on it during the dirve up, it speeds up cool-down remarkably. Only works for "short" scopes, however, lol. I would agree that Vixen produces a better quality product overall, however I tend to prefer a closed tube for compact portable scopes like this, to keep the optics cleaner. I had a home-made 4.25" classical Cass many years ago and it was just like a Newtonian as far as dust accumulation. The lack of diffraction spikes on the Maks and SCTs is nice most of the time too, except when splitting close, unequal doubles. The spikes can then actually be a benefit in locating a dim, close companion. On 12/2/10, Me Siegfried <ziggy943@xmission.com> wrote:
I found the MAK to be less than ideal in our location. The 8" TEC I had seldom reached thermal equilibrium. Active cooling is almost a must. I went the refractor route. If it needs to be a Case then I agree with Don. The 7" Nears has an internal weight that needs cooling. Not my favorite design.
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-----Original message----- From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thu, Dec 2, 2010 15:27:39 GMT+00:00 Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mak or SCT?
Trying to choose between a 7" f/15 Mak and 8" f/10 SCT for the CGEM.
Bear two things in mind...I've always wanted a Mak and think it a better choice for my usual suburban viewing of "round stuff", double stars and clusters, while still being fairly good for deep-sky from dark sites.
Secondly, I will probably spring for a C-11 OTA sometime in the next six months, so an 8" SCT OTA would get sold when that happens, while I would keep the Mak.
Opinions sought. Help Chuck spend his money before the soon-to-be-ex wife gets it.
Thanks!
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