Telescope Reviews: Saturday Pix

I have had the DS SM40 with the Coronado OTA for a couple of years, and a few months after I got it OPT finally shipped the adapter so I could put the stuff on my ED80.

My experience has been that when used with the Coronado OTA is is a great grab and go rig, I can be viewing in a couple of minutes after I plug the extension cord in. Some times it takes a little spin on the wheel to tune it a little, but I get to see the sun's surface in a hurry. I also think when you have played around with any setup for a while it gets easier to use. There is also the learning curve of solar observing with specific setups that you need some time to master. All in all I am very happy with the DS SM40, both with the Coronado OTA and on my ED80.

The SS is a whole different story, and not just because I have only been using it for a couple of months. Once I get the OTA on the mount the first thing I do is plug in the fan and start the temperature equalizing. Then I bring out chairs, and maybe bring out my iOptron mount with the CaK OTA on it. Maybe then I plug the mount power in and turn it on. Next I start getting the sun in the FOV. I usually wind up waiting at least 10 minutes before I even try to look in the EP.

But sooner or later the temp gets close to where it is suppose to be. There are two temp displays on the box and once they are equal or at least fairly close I start peeking in the EP.

I view this the same way I view waiting for my Mak to cool down, I am not really happy, but I know the wait is worth it. Once things get right all I can say is WOW. The image in the SS is much brighter than the SM40 image, contrast is much better, and the image is also bigger (probably due to the 1.5 SO verses the BF10; and the dialetic quarts diagonal in the Moonlight focuser verses the standard Coronado diagonal).

Maybe the best comparison I can make is along the lines of a c8 verses a c14. The c8 is a great scope and does a fine job at lots of stuff, but the c14 is in a different class. And while the c14 is not in a class by itself, it sure does not take long to call the roll.

I know there have been tons of threads about how long between the first announcement of the Lunt and when they started delivering them, but I view Lunt production as speed demons compared to how long I had to wait for my SS. Still the wait was worth it and I would do it again.

There is something about looking into a 2in EP and seeing a big bright image of the sun with almost three dimensional detail that a SM40, SM60, or probably a SM90 can not compete with.

Just as an aside I got on the four month waiting list for the Mallincam last week. I am a glutton for punishment.