GeneDiG
sage
Reged: 05/31/05
Posts: 264
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I look forward to when the new back is available Randy. Good work!
As for me, I too had the Mak out last night with Saturn in my sights. Seeing was not so good with a bit of a breeze and gathering clouds with increasing humidity. Typical sticky Baltimore spring/summer night. Best I could muster was about 200x.
I'm currently running mine on a CG5 clone. Removed the plate glass windows near at the back and flip mirror. I've added a Mercury Systems adapter with a proper diagonal. I don't use the flip mirror anymore.
This was my first "real" telescope. I bought it in 2005 to use as a spotter scope to watch the space shuttle lift off from Titusville Florida. I originally had it mounted on an AZ3 which is just not the right mount for such a heavy animal. Wound up taking my Tasco Vixen 999VR for spotting, worked much better! In the meantime, the Mak just sat in closet waiting for a good mount and the time to tinker with adapters and glass removal.
Since I made those mods, I am quite pleased with the Mak. Star testing shows nice concentric rings with the typical Cassegrain donut center.It has replaced the 114mm Newtonian as my workhorse. Two weeks ago, I was viewing the moon at about 333x ( greater than 2x the objective diameter!)and only then did the image breakdown ever so slightly.
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Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.
Celestron C-130 5" Mak
Celestron Firstscope 80eq
Tasco/Vixen 999VR
Tasco 11t Vintage Newtonian
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jpniewski
super member
Reged: 11/27/05
Posts: 150
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Ferraro, I'm also a mechanical engineer and also in Florida. Great job on the aluminum replacement back! If the cost of a solid chunk of aluminum is too high, you could make it a 2 piece design, i.e. a piece of tube with a separate back piece as shown in the attached image. Without knowing the diameter of the optical tube, I don't know if there's a standard aluminum tube or pipe size that would work. Also you'd be trading off the cost of hogging out a lot of aluminum with adding some tapped holes. Good luck with the project.
Joe
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Ferraro
member
Reged: 02/14/07
Posts: 45
Loc: Florida
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To Justin, Gene, and Joe,
Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. It is nice to here some positive feedback.
Joe, we are alot alike I am sure. I was thinking along the lines of a two part back initially but decided against it for two main reasons. The two parts broke the machining process and added an assembly process in the middle as well as adding more thread cutting and counterboring. Someone I spoke to had mentioned "two parts, twice the work." The other reason that swayed my decision was that the lower priced aluminum supplier only carried 6" diameter tubing in the thickness required. Since I needed 6.5" and it was available in a solid rod it was clear which direction I was headed. There is no question that a two part or a casting would be the more economical choice if I were going to produce serious numbers of these, but as it stands I am looking at 10-20 units; this is barely worth the tooling up. The patent is coming out of my pocket, and I have been given enough breaks by friends in the business to even get this idea as far as it has. It would exceed my expectations if I were to break even at the moment. Never the less, I can't let a good idea go to waste so here we are. 
Best Wishes,
-Randy Ferraro
Almost forgot the finished photo...
Edited by Ferraro (05/11/07 12:05 AM)
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Gendo
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/12/05
Posts: 3231
Loc: Rexburg, ID
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No problem. You've made the scope look a lot better, and it sounds like its performing more like it should now. The Konus 130 I had never did very well beyond 170X. It seems like Celestron generally got the better optical elements for these Maks, and Konus got the rest.
Needless to say, I don't regret ditching it for my C8 as the C8 smokes the Konus 130 in all aspects.
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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Well, next Tuesday will be the 6 month anniversary of this thread being on hiatus! Thought I would call it back to see if there are any new thoughts by old or new owners of this C130MAK. I just purchased a used C130 OTA a couple of weeks ago for $190. I already have an ASGT mount with a C6R OTA which is getting to be too much for me to handle. I first checked out the optics and they seem to be excellent! I did star tests up to 200x that were pinpoint and sharp. The focuser is smooth with no image shift or slop at all. I then decided to make some minor mods. I removed the back, after hacking the focus knob to pieces, and took out the two clear glass dust seals. I had no problem removing the retaining rings and the seals. I adjusted the flip mirror to better align it with the image path. I sprayed the interior of the housing with flat black to cut down on any reflection. I replaced all the ill fitting metal thumb screws, re tapped and put in nylon thumb screws that fit better and will no longer mar the paint of the finder or scratch the eyepieces. All in all I am quite happy with my new toy. I also have one of the closeout C4R refractors and I am going to do a comparison of the two like the review by Jim Gleeson of the Starmax 127 and the C102HD.
That is enough for me tonight, any more new info out there?
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George
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LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
Edited by GeorgeDuke (11/09/07 09:11 PM)
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Charley
member
Reged: 08/18/06
Posts: 35
Loc: South of Detroit, MI, USA
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Well, I bought one used that was supposed to be a "floor demo model". The metal ring on the visual back came loose when I attached the Meade LAR and the 1.25" visual back. A little bit of epoxy (thanks again, Randy) fixed it right up. I also bought a CG4 mount for it and use it as an alt-az mount. I like it. Its about the limit for size for me living in an apartment. easy enough to set up and take down. Going hunting this coming week, and may take it up with me. I only wish I was able to get my hands on a C4R too. 
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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Hi Charley, They still have some of the C4R systems at www.highpointscientific.com for the $239 price. You could sell the mount and recover most of that cost. The Orion CG-4 mount is $219 so you should be able to get $150-$175 for the mount and have the C4R OTA for around $75.
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George
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LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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This forum has been dormant for a few months so I thought I would try to wake it up! Anyone have any new thoughts on the Celestron 130mm Mak?
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George
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LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1662
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Quote:
This forum has been dormant for a few months so I thought I would try to wake it up! Anyone have any new thoughts on the Celestron 130mm Mak?
Don't know how much more you'll hear about this pore little Bosma MCT. Celestron has discontinued it, though it's still available from Konus and others...
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT--coming in December!
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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Thanks for the response Uncle Rod. Did not realize it had been discontinued. Enjoyed the latest issue of SkyWatch and the up to date portrait of the Publisher!
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George
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LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1662
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Quote:
Thanks for the response Uncle Rod. Did not realize it had been discontinued. Enjoyed the latest issue of SkyWatch and the up to date portrait of the Publisher!
Well...I dunno...all that gray hair. Dangit.
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT--coming in December!
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tim kent
member
Reged: 03/05/06
Posts: 32
Loc: Northumberland UK
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Hi to all,
It truley does seem a lifetime since I dived in and "tampered" with the internal organs of my then only scope the Konus 130.
Since rebuilding it I think it's only been out twice as I now have a Meade and Helios and the little Konus is wrapped up snug in its packageing and the wife keeps telling me to sell it.....then I move it somewhere else and get peace until she finds it again 
Truth is I don't want rid of it but have no real use for it.....does that sound familiar?
One problem here in England this year has been the poor weather and its taken me all my time to be bothered with the bigger scopes led alone my little Mak 
Regads....Tim
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If only I had bought a bigger one!
Skywatcher 200
MCT 130 Motormax
Got it now
Meade LX90 10"
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Charley
member
Reged: 08/18/06
Posts: 35
Loc: South of Detroit, MI, USA
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Well, just took mine out last night for a look at Jupiter and the moon. Still using the CG4 as an alt-az mount with a telrad and this seems to be the ideal setup for me. The telrad puts things in the FOV even with higher powered eyepieces. Got some real nice views, no red spot, but 4 moons and a few bands visible. Anybody know if Randy Ferraro ever got his metal visual back into production? If not, its a real shame. That would have been a perfect addition to make the scope a sleeper of a performer.
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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Randy probably did not get enough response to make the project worth while. Since I only paid $180 for mine in like new condition, I probably would not want to put a lot of money into the modification. It works great as is and has fantastic sharp views. I put the LAR ring on it so I can use my WO dialectric 2" diagonal on it. I know what Tim is feeling, I don't use it much but still do not want to part with it!
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George
--------------
LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
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GeorgeDuke
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 1175
Loc: PARADISE! (So.Florida)
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It has been a little over one year since we last heard from Randy. His last post seemed pessimistic about the project ever getting off the ground. Main problem was financing I guess. Understandable that he cannot afford to lose money or even just break even after all the work involved. If you are out there Randy and reading this, how about an update or any new thoughts? How about getting someone else involved that currently makes parts such as CNC or Ken's?
Still have my C-130 but it has not stopped raining for months!
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George
--------------
LX200GPS 203mm f10
StellarVue SV102ED2 Feathertouch Ser#0018
Celestron 130mm f15.4 Mak
LXD75 GOTO with Orion 16" pier extension
Desert Sky DSV1 dual head ALT-AZ mount
Baader Hyperion 8mm ,13mm, 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom + FTRs
2" GSO ED barlow, Orion 2" Prism Diag. 2" WO Dielectric
Chinese Scopes, Chinese Eyepieces, Chinese Wife, Love them all!
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sweitzen
member
Reged: 09/26/08
Posts: 25
Loc: Houston, TX, USA
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I just bought a Celestron C130 to play with, and I am unable to get the focusing knob off in order to remove the back, and remove the glass.
The mods I have in mind for this scope are:
* Remove the glass windows
* Replace the focusing knob with a cable (Maybe)
* Add a TelRad to the tube
* Get a SCT accessory adapter to attack to the rear cell
* Get a decent 90 deg star diagonal
* Get a better mount than the "Celestron heavy alt-az mount" it came with -- the mount is perfect for a camera or binocs, but not so much for the scope. I was considering a Great Polaris 2 mount.
I would really appreciate suggestions from others on how best to remove the focusing knob without damaging the rest of the scope.
Tried whacking it gently with a rubber mallet to break up any glue that might be holding it on -- maybe I didn't whack long enough, or hard enough. I've tried prying it off with a butterknife slipped between the knob and the body (maybe use a pair of pliers to get more torque? Would that risk damaging anything but the knob itself?)
I don't own a Dremel tool (easily remedied -- but the point is I've never used one before), so I am not sure how to go about using it to remove the knob.
Suggestions?
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Z-Scope 10" f/4.9 Dob-Newt
Celestron C130 f/15.4 MCT
Celestron Ultima 8x56 binoculars
Celestron 32mm Plossl
TeleVue 13mm Plossl
TeleVue 5mm Radian
TeleVue 2x Barlow
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
Celestron Heavy Alt-Az Mount
Edited by sweitzen (09/26/08 10:14 PM)
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