2307 replies to this topic

[Anony]

Ok, it has cleared up a bit. The dipper is out and I tried the 60mm on the included tripod….

Couldn’t see anything for about 30 seconds then realized had left the cap on. There, that’s better. 

Sorry but it was frustrating. In altitude one must allow at least a third of the field with the included 20mm eyepiece (25x) for sag when you lock the altitude and let go. I believe a new person would get tired trying to follow motion with the 10mm (40x) eyepiece. 
At 25x focused in on Mizar and Alcor locked both axis and tapped the scope, it damped in 2 seconds. With the 10mm at 40x damping was 3 seconds. The legs of the tripod are light but seem to be sturdy and reasonably stiff. 
The head however is lacking in my opinion and too imprecise. 
It is a shame really, good scope, not good tripod head. 


 

That's what I figured. And yeah, a shame they don't sell just the slow motion tripod by itself. 

 

The Mak could make a good beginner recommendation, but with kind of huge asterisk next to it -- so long as one has reasonable expectations. It's a decent moon scope, and okay on major targets. But light gathering-wise it's a bit lacking. Still, for $85, it's a good deal.

 

If I had to guess, the best beginner scope they offer may be that 90mm refractor, at $124. We have a review of just one here, however... and I expect the mount may not be ideal for that size scope. I think he said it was at least okay... usable. I know with my 102AZ, it wasn't so good... same length scope, but maybe the 90mm is slightly lighter. But there is a Costco scope that is similar, and I think Explore Scientific offers one in the same ballpark pricewise too. So, it's probably a battle of the least bad mounts. 

 

As for the eyepieces, that 4mm aspheric can be a decent 8mm eyepiece if you remove that bottom piece. I tried on mine, but it seems really, really stuck in there, even with needle nose pliers I couldn't get it out.

Edited by Anony, 16 March 2023 - 12:04 AM.

[John R.]

Don’t think the mak would be any worse on DSO’s than any of those 60mm refractors. At least it’s easy to transport to a darker location. 
The 10 inch long mak works great on the AZ mount. My 60mm 22 inch long refractor takes longer to damp 2-4 seconds depending on magnification. The mak is well less than a second at 75x. 
So, don’t know how well the 90mm 660mm FL refractor would do. Physical length seems to affect stability more than weight.
I’ve got that Omni 102 Costco sells. The included AZ mount is undersized for that scope. Works fine for my ST80. 

Just too cheap to drop $500 on a Vixen Porta 2 mount but I hear they are wonderful. 
Mounts are quite a conundrum for us bottom feeders. 

[Anony]

I assume the Mak would beat the 60mm refractors as far as magnification, and be around equal as far as light gathering. Only potential reason to recommend one of those refractors over the Mak, is if it had a decent mount (which evidently it doesn't) -- then we could say "$40 or less budget, here, get this, it's actually usable." 

 

Over in the old Mak thread, I did compare it against my ETX 70. And the Mak did lose against the DSOs I attempted (only tried orion nebula + clusters). So in theory your 70mm refractor may be better than the Mak, albeit with a bad mount. And my 70mm is even shorter, 350mm.

 

It's kind of odd that they didn't focus their lineup more on shorter scopes. Such as the 70mm/400 refractor w/ slow motion mount. Or an 80 F/5 clone. Instead they do the typical thing: 80mm F/11 scopes which seem like it'd be impossible to work with that mount.

 

I guess marketing-wise the longer scopes sell better.

 

And I'm okay with the Omni mount, but I have a high tolerance for so-so mounts. And I have a somewhat better (although nobody would say it's a great mount, with my DX) that I can always swap it to. My biggest issue with that Omni scope is that mine has a wobbly focuser ... maybe one day I should try to re-grease it or something.

Edited by Anony, 16 March 2023 - 12:42 AM.

[John R.]

I assume the Mak would beat the 60mm refractors as far as magnification, and be around equal as far as light gathering. Only potential reason to recommend one of those refractors over the Mak, is if it had a decent mount (which evidently it doesn't) -- then we could say "$40 or less budget, here, get this, it's actually usable." 

 

Over in the old Mak thread, I did compare it against my ETX 70. And the Mak did lose against the DSOs I attempted (only tried orion nebula + clusters). So in theory your 70mm refractor may be better than the Mak, albeit with a bad mount. And my 70mm is even shorter, 350mm.

 

It's kind of odd that they didn't focus their lineup more on shorter scopes. Such as the 70mm/400 refractor w/ slow motion mount. Or an 80 F/5 clone. Instead they do the typical thing: 80mm F/11 scopes which seem like it'd be impossible to work with that mount.

 

I guess marketing-wise the longer scopes sell better.

 

And I'm okay with the Omni mount, but I have a high tolerance for so-so mounts. And I have a somewhat better (although nobody would say it's a great mount, with my DX) that I can always swap it to. My biggest issue with that Omni scope is that mine has a wobbly focuser ... maybe one day I should try to re-grease it or something.

My Omni did have some play in the focuser but I had the focuser off the tube and shimmed the top plastic strip to tighten things up. Turns out I probably only needed to adjust the two screws in those holes in the top of the focuser. Regardless the shim, a strip of plastic cut from a milk jug did the job anyway. Really noticed the play when putting my EM10 mirrorless body on the focusing back. Bought 100mm diameter tube rings for the Omni and now have it mounted on a homemade dobson mount. 
Guess what I really like about the 60/500 refractor and 70/750 mak along with that little AZ mount is that, at 7 lbs. total they are just effortless to move outside at a moment’s notice. 
One advantage of the refractor is no acclamation time, whereas the mak has needed 20-30 minutes outside to settle down, temperature wise. 
 

“Unrealistic expectations” is also a reason new people quit the hobby before barely starting. They see a picture of M31 or M42 and think they will actually see that in their rickety $80 department store 60mm scope. 
And they have no knowledge about dark adaptation of their eyes or using averted vision or the difference of what you can see from a really dark location after about 30 minutes of letting your eyes dark adapt. Many don’t have any idea of how incredibly cold stargazing is, sometimes even in the middle of high summer. 
The problems of introducing new people to this hobby go far beyond what beginner scope to buy. 

[Rainguy]

I’m following and loving this thread. Getting satisfying results with inexpensive scopes too often knee-jerked dismissed as “toys” or “garbage” is always a special and different kind of fun. I purchased one of the little 70mm Mak packages last month and enjoyed it so much that I subsequently bought the Spectrum 60 mm refractors, to be delivered today. Cheap thrills!

 

The weather here in the PNW  (right, John R?) has been abysmal since last October. Clear nights have been maybe 1 a month. About 3 weeks ago we had just under an hour of clear dark skies with so-so seeing. So I took out the Mak 70….it’s like carrying a 6” Subway.

 

My first light with this telescope exceeded expectations…..beneath an ideal constellation 4-pack to the south: Orion, Auriga, Taurus, Monoceros.

I traipsed through them all. First up, Orion’s sword, and the Explorapro with the included 20mmm Kellner (or maybe MA)  which served up sharp, contrasty views with pinpoint stars everywhere I pointed it: M42 with a crisp trapezium, the (to me) Pagoda-shaped Messier 1981, both major double stars and all manner of mini-clusters and groupings. A visual treat top to bottom.

Moving northward and into Auriga, I viewed the “Flying Minnow”, then M38, the super bright star Capella and kids). Then came several bright open clusters and Alderbaran, and finally NGC 2244, (again, to me) the bright “bent hour-glass” cluster in Monoceros.

I’m certain that the Explorapro 70 Mak will be a terrific lunar telescope (which I will confirm next time the Moon is around here), ditto Saturn and Jupiter…BUT, at least so far, it also comes close to holding its own on some brighter DSO.

I’m eager to test drive the Spectrum 60.

Btw, I had an old Amazon Basics padded camera bag lying around and it is a near custom for the Mak 70 kit. As shown in the photo, the OTA with RDF attached fills the (relatively) large main compartment, 6 eyepieces line up horizontally in the padded skinny middle compartment and the snap on tripod tray slides perfectly in the top slot. 

 

Doug

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[Magnum45hp]

Thank You John, Just what I was looking for. Boy that Maksutov sure is short at 10 inches.  Frank

[BoldAxis1967]

PolarLink 102 Refractor Telescope with EQ-1, FL=660, F: 11.25 at $200

 

PolarLink 80 Refractor Telescope with EQ-1, FL=900, F: 11.25 at $150

 

Free Shipping.

 

Both of these seem to be decent introductory scopes.  I imagine the PolarLink 102 might be a tad more stable do to shorter focal length but will of course have more CA. The EQ mount is probably better than the Alt-Az sold with the other scopes. 

 

For someone looking to spend in this price range for an introductory scope I think this is a worthy candidate.  Could provide many hours of entertainment.

 

There is a thoughtful and knowledgeable review of the 102 scope and that person scored it 4/5 stars. 

 

I was unaware of this company (Spectrum Optical Instruments) until today so this an interesting and relevant topic.

 

L.

Edited by BoldAxis1967, 16 March 2023 - 12:28 PM.

[Anony]

PolarLink 102 Refractor Telescope with EQ-1, FL=660, F: 11.25 at $200

 

PolarLink 80 Refractor Telescope with EQ-1, FL=900, F: 11.25 at $150

 

Free Shipping.

 

 

Don't forget the 15% off code. It pretty much brings it down to Omni 102 prices (during the holidays). EQ isn't for everyone though.

[John R.]

Your welcome Frank. 
Rainguy; Yep, it is nice to get good performance from inexpensive equipment. But, like Ed Ting noted in a video, the low priced scopes aimed at those new to the hobby are actually much better for experienced users who can work around their shortcomings. 
Chewing gum, duct tape and bailing wire, kept my old VW Bug running and now the same concept applies to cheap telescopes. 
The popularity of this thread shows the amount of interest in the topic. 
In addition to this thread everyone should check out a thread started by Mark Mittlesteadt “The Joy of a Small Refractor”, very interesting to read all the responses to Mark’s original post. 
 

Oh Rainguy,  almost forgot, my BiL lives in West Linn. We are getting together soon to head out to McMinnville to check out the air museum and see the Spruce Goose. We are both longtime airplane nuts but he is a pilot and I’m not. 

Edited by John R., 16 March 2023 - 01:37 PM.

[Rainguy]

I received my my Spectrum 60 two days ago and did some daylight terrestrial testing. Good results. And, my, how FEATHERWEIGHT this little refractor is! Now waiting for a clear night.

One thing I noticed is that “Coated Optics” is printed (or engraved, whatever) on the top of the focuser whereas the specifications on the Web site listing reads “Fully Coated” .

So which is it? And does it matter that much, or at all? I emailed Specetrum for clarification but have yet to receive a reply.

 

Overall impressions of the 60 package are good and, based on my experience with my 70 Mak, I anticipate a positive under the night sky experience.

 

Doug

[John R.]

“Coated optics” or “Fully coated optics” are more advertising speak than specifications. In a air spaced doublet as found on the 60mm refractor it would not save even a nickel to coat one lens and not the other. Same with the mass produced eyepieces they ship with these scopes. The costings are applied in vacuum chambers and they are probably large enough to coat scores of lenses at a time. 
One thing I do notice is that the lens edges do not appear to be blackened. That job is usually done by hand so not surprising an inexpensive lens set would not have it. I seriously doubt blackened edges would have much, if any effect visually. That is probably more important for eyepieces. 
 

Edit; Was just looking at all my refractors with a flashlight. The Spectrum 60 and 70, Celestron 102 and 60 all appear to have the same faint bluish coating. The Orion ST80 also has a green reflection. 

WARNING! Do not look at or through your lenses with a flashlight. You will see Every-Tiny-Bit-Of-Dust and think ‘Oh my goodness, they are filthy!’ And then obsess endlessly about cleaning them. 

Have a beer.

Use your telescopes. 
Be happy. 
 

Edited by John R., 18 March 2023 - 10:45 AM.

[Rainguy]

Great info.Thanks, John.

 

Finally, a clear night sky (w/usual LP) Thursday, 3/16. It had been a while, well over a month, so to maximize the opportunity, I took out my SV80 Access, but also my new small refractor for its first light, which was mainly just before and and at the end of my “main” observing with the Access. So a total of about 30-40 minutes. 

 

The Spectrum 60 ‘frac is impossibly lightweight, just from the feel the entire set up can hardly be more than 2 pounds. Could almost define it as a one FINGER carry! Optics very sharp, several doubles (2 in Orion and HD 3945 in CMA) looked terrific/perfect dots and good color in 3945; 4-star crisp trap and snappy image of NGC 1981 (really popped in the 10mm), decent on M41 with both 20mm and 10mm Kellner (25x/50x), meaning sharp contrasty looks albeit with low overall “star count” due to small aperture. 

 

Then I did some general cluster/starfield sweeping above Sirius and east of CMA. In contrast to several other assessments in this thread, I found the aluminum tripod is surprisingly solid/anchored (WAY more so than the tripods that came with the assorted “travel” scopes I own/have owned) but the mount head tends to loosen quickly as you move the scope around, more so in AZ where I had to quick tighten the clutch every 15 seconds, ALT a little better but I had to keep the tension maybe an eighth turn down from fully tight to hold position prior to full tightening down for observing; but….. freshly tightened, the ota held position pretty well; but then after a few movements it tends to flop around some laterally requiring another AZ clutch tightening. The key seems to be to auto pilot tighten both down.

 

I also have the Mak 70 and its far superior tripod.mount would be preferable for the 60, and I will ultimately try this. But for the most part for whatever strange reason I kinda like keeping everything “stock” with my smaller refractor kits and try to make the whole integrated unit work as well as possible.

 

The 60 is a fun ‘scope, a good one to keep set up in the laundry room adjacent to the front door for those last second 15 minute sessions.

[John R.]

Great info.Thanks, John.

 

Finally, a clear night sky (w/usual LP) Thursday, 3/16. It had been a while, well over a month, so to maximize the opportunity, I took out my SV80 Access, but also my new small refractor for its first light, which was mainly just before and and at the end of my “main” observing with the Access. So a total of about 30-40 minutes. 

 

The Spectrum 60 ‘frac is impossibly lightweight, just from the feel the entire set up can hardly be more than 2 pounds. Could almost define it as a one FINGER carry! Optics very sharp, several doubles (2 in Orion and HD 3945 in CMA) looked terrific/perfect dots and good color in 3945; 4-star crisp trap and snappy image of NGC 1981 (really popped in the 10mm), decent on M41 with both 20mm and 10mm Kellner (25x/50x), meaning sharp contrasty looks albeit with low overall “star count” due to small aperture. 

 

Then I did some general cluster/starfield sweeping above Sirius and east of CMA. In contrast to several other assessments in this thread, I found the aluminum tripod is surprisingly solid/anchored (WAY more so than the tripods that came with the assorted “travel” scopes I own/have owned) but the mount head tends to loosen quickly as you move the scope around, more so in AZ where I had to quick tighten the clutch every 15 seconds, ALT a little better but I had to keep the tension maybe an eighth turn down from fully tight to hold position prior to full tightening down for observing; but….. freshly tightened, the ota held position pretty well; but then after a few movements it tends to flop around some laterally requiring another AZ clutch tightening. The key seems to be to auto pilot tighten both down.

 

I also have the Mak 70 and its far superior tripod.mount would be preferable for the 60, and I will ultimately try this. But for the most part for whatever strange reason I kinda like keeping everything “stock” with my smaller refractor kits and try to make the whole integrated unit work as well as possible.

 

The 60 is a fun ‘scope, a good one to keep set up in the laundry room adjacent to the front door for those last second 15 minute sessions.

Great observations Rainguy. I like the tripod ok, but that head! Just too imprecise for my taste. You are definitely right about one finger carry. I push the spikes into the ground to stabilize it a bit more. 
I am just the opposite about keeping things stock. Look at telescope optical tubes as starting points. First thing I did with both the 60 and 70 was remove the finder studs and put a strip of black masking tape over the holes. Both scopes have short enough focal lengths that with a 32mm plossl they become their own finder, and then I can slip in a shorter eyepiece for a closer view if desired. Also removed the too short vixen style mount. Built cradles for both scopes, hose clamps padded by felt hold them on. On the 60 by adjusting the tightness of the hose clamp just so, I can slide and rotate the optical tube as desired and it will stay put where I leave it. Great for quick balancing in the field. 
My adaptations look a bit ‘agricultural’ but they work in the field. 

[Rainguy]

As per my previous post, yeah, the head is…lacking. It seems that the AZ is either On or Off, either it’s locked in place or almost spinning freely. So we are in agreement here. I just weighed the entire set up on a postal scale: scope/tripod/diagonal/RDF; the included optical finder is all but worthless, so I screwed on an unused REF I had lying around and it worked fine): 3 lbs 8oz. Feels like even less. I squeezed some small rubberized plastic leg end knobs/cups onto the tripod leg spikes as I use my scopes mainly on a concrete patio and everything seemed just a little more stable and I guess there could be some kind of vibration absorption benefit as well. I, too, used a 32mm Plossl and you’re correct, the ota then becomes a de facto finder. 

 

The only thing I (try to) keep stock are the small inexpensive refractor kits I have. The rest of my stuff is all mix and match as needed. Oops.

I DID use 10mm ad 20mm Kellners last night, and again this morning when I did some practice smartphone photo orientation. I don’t have the most discriminating astro eyes but there was definitely a difference in favor of the Kellners which were noticeably (but not really significantly) brighter. Same with the 32m Plossl.  So I could well end  up breaking my Stock protocol. And use both the included MA as dedicated photo EPs. I took sone shots of distant (100 to 125 yds) fir trees this morning with the 20mm MA and they came out well.

 

Oh. Have you tried that 3x barlow that came with this package? I did this morning and it is awful. Make that AWFUL. As in unusable. I noticed that Spectrum sells them separately for 8 bucks, and they aren’t even worth that; they should have included a 2x, also a RDF as finder. Those are the only 2 knocks I have of an otherwise competent and fun and grab ‘ go Ultimato refractor kit.

 

It seems both appropriate and fitting that your “agricultural” adaptations work “in the field”.

[John R.]

Yeah, as soon as I looked at that 3x knew it was trash. The exact same one came with a Celestron TravelScope 60 I bought for $38. I have a Svbony 2X that is designed to screw directly into the eyepiece barrel and it seems to work well with the MA10 for 100x and with a 6mm Orion Expanse for 166x. 
Unscrewed the retaining ring on that 3x and surprise surprise (to absolutely no one) it is a single element plastic lens. 
The really funny part is that the Svbony 2X screw in barlow is $10.99 on the Svbony site.  
All of that kind of stuff goes into my box-o-bits for parts to build telescope related contraptions. 

[Anony]

This is probably of somewhat limited use to anyone, but I did a bit of mount testing tonight with the slow motion 70mm mount/tripod.

 

Surprisingly it was pretty decent with a C5 on it. Now it's not perfect, there was like 1-2 seconds of dampening time and I was just cruising along with a 25mm eyepiece, so I wasn't cranking up magnification. But it was smooth, tripod didn't slip and slide, and it behaved pretty much like a halfway decent budget mount should.

 

As a comparison, it was better than the C5 on the Omni mount.... shakier and not nearly as smooth with movements. Which may be faint praise, as the Omni mount isn't very good, but still... it's something.

 

Which I didn't really expect, as that same mount didn't handle a 102az so well. I guess it comes down to short scopes working decently on the mount, long scopes not so well.

 

I believe we have someone who has tested both a ST-80 and 90mm Mak on it with relatively decent results. I expect a 102mm Mak may be okay as well. I wouldn't go above a 102/C5 on the thing though (so max 5lbs and short).

 

C5 on it is super grab and go-y however. I usually keep it on my starsense mount but was doing some switcheroos with my scopes/mounts, so needed some place to park my C5. Figured I might as well test it out while it was sitting there.

Edited by Anony, 20 March 2023 - 09:32 PM.

[John R.]

Spectrum shootout. Which one will travel with me to Canada two days hence?
The 70mm x 750mm maksutov.

The 60mm x 500mm refractor. (Goldilocks)
The 70mm x 400mm refractor.

The mount will be the AZ mount supplied with the mak.

And the winner is; Goldilocks! 60x500

Why not take all three? Too confusing. If I have more than one choice at hand I will spend too much time deciding, not enough time at the eyepiece. 
The eyepieces accompanying will be a 32mm Plossl, 15mm and 6mm Orion Expanse and Orion shorty 2X barlow. 

This will be the darkest sky I’ve been in for more than a year. Really looking forward to this trip. 

 

[Anony]

Spectrum shootout. Which one will travel with me to Canada two days hence?
The 70mm x 750mm maksutov.

The 60mm x 500mm refractor. (Goldilocks)
The 70mm x 400mm refractor.

The mount will be the AZ mount supplied with the mak.

And the winner is; Goldilocks! 60x500

Why not take all three? Too confusing. If I have more than one choice at hand I will spend too much time deciding, not enough time at the eyepiece. 
The eyepieces accompanying will be a 32mm Plossl, 15mm and 6mm Orion Expanse and Orion shorty 2X barlow. 

This will be the darkest sky I’ve been in for more than a year. Really looking forward to this trip. 

I'm surprised the magical 60mm beat out the 70mm/400 scope.

 

But don't you also own an ST-80, or am I getting you confused with someone else? That would seem like the logical winner.

[John R.]

I'm surprised the magical 60mm beat out the 70mm/400 scope.

 

But don't you also own an ST-80, or am I getting you confused with someone else? That would seem like the logical winner.

Don’t know exactly why, but that little 60mm just seems magical. Of course you are right, I do have an ST80 and despite my protestations that multiple scopes confuse me I just might decide to slip it in with the 60mm at the last moment. Will report back on how it all went in a couple of weeks when I return. 
 

The newly acquired 70mm? Haven’t really had a lot of time with it yet. Can already tell it has a bit more CA than the slower 60mm, no real surprise there. 
In 6 months over the summer my findings will no doubt change somewhat as I accumulate time with each scope. 

[Anony]

Don’t know exactly why, but that little 60mm just seems magical. Of course you are right, I do have an ST80 and despite my protestations that multiple scopes confuse me I just might decide to slip it in with the 60mm at the last moment. Will report back on how it all went in a couple of weeks when I return. 
 

The newly acquired 70mm? Haven’t really had a lot of time with it yet. Can already tell it has a bit more CA than the slower 60mm, no real surprise there. 
In 6 months over the summer my findings will no doubt change somewhat as I accumulate time with each scope. 

The 70mm should definitely have more CA, but it's not really like any of those scopes are ideal for lunar/planetary. I figured the 70mm would be a bit closer to the ST-80 in performance, thereby edging out the 60mm for widefield stuff.

 

But a lot of 70mm/400s aren't the greatest for whatever reason, so maybe the 60mm does beat it overall.

 

And if going to a dark site, yeah, I'd say bring the ST-80 along too. It's not like it's heavy to carry.

[John R.]

The 70mm should definitely have more CA, but it's not really like any of those scopes are ideal for lunar/planetary. I figured the 70mm would be a bit closer to the ST-80 in performance, thereby edging out the 60mm for widefield stuff.

 

But a lot of 70mm/400s aren't the greatest for whatever reason, so maybe the 60mm does beat it overall.

 

And if going to a dark site, yeah, I'd say bring the ST-80 along too. It's not like it's heavy to carry.

As the year wears on I am seriously thinking of making a double mount that takes a scope on each side of the azimuth axis. One scope could balance the other. With a 70/400 paired with either the 70/750 mak or 60/500 you could have a wide field as a finder paired with a planetary scope. I could pair it with my 90/1250 mak also. With a dovetail mount on each side many different combos could be fitted. 
The 70/400 with a 32mm plossl makes a dandy finder at 12.5x with an over 4 degrees field. 
Yes sir, gotta work on that one. 

[klr]

Spectrum shootout. Which one will travel with me to Canada two days hence?
The 70mm x 750mm maksutov.

The 60mm x 500mm refractor. (Goldilocks)
The 70mm x 400mm refractor.

The mount will be the AZ mount supplied with the mak.

And the winner is; Goldilocks! 60x500

Why not take all three? Too confusing. If I have more than one choice at hand I will spend too much time deciding, not enough time at the eyepiece. 
The eyepieces accompanying will be a 32mm Plossl, 15mm and 6mm Orion Expanse and Orion shorty 2X barlow. 

This will be the darkest sky I’ve been in for more than a year. Really looking forward to this trip. 

So why did the Mak not win?  I have one on the way, but now wondering if I should get that cheap 60mm also. 

[John R.]

So why did the Mak not win?  I have one on the way, but now wondering if I should get that cheap 60mm also. 

I wanted to have a bit shorter focal length overall for this trip. It wasn’t that the mak lacked quality, just that I couldn’t get as wide as I wanted with it. 
70/750 mak w/32mm plossl, 23.4x at 2.25 degrees. 
60/500 w/32mm plossl, 15.6x at 3.4 degrees

70/400 w/32mm plossl, 12.5x at 4.2 degrees 

The 60/500 is right down the middle. That is why I have named it ‘Goldilocks’

[Rainguy]

Klr: Yes, get one! It will make you very happy.

 

John. Yes, there is something “magical” about this little refactor. Maybe it’s that 500m f/l and the thin, elegantly long-ish (but not truly long as per the usual 700 60mm frac) OTA. But I am as baffled as you are as to how/why a 40 buck scope can exert such allure.

 

I had mine out last night for second light.

 

Highlights: ALL of Orion’s sword in a single FOV, and everything really TINY pin **** sharp, excellent contrast. What a grand image! Sigma Orionis and Iota Orionis also sharp. And tiny, but very much THERE and the images so clean…..crisp. Then it was onto M41 and M47, both sharp and snappy; fewer stars, yes, due to the limited light-gathering of 60mm but those I DID see were pin point perfection.
        I started out with a 32m GSO Super  Plossl, which makes this little gem its own finder, but quickly discovered that two SvBony EPS, a 23mm Aspheric and wide angle 15mm/68 apov hit the sweet spot. Smaller object size, of course, but I decided, as I observed, that this is actually a positive in that what fills the fov is a more vast context with stars sprinkled everywhere in every direction providing a stellar frame for the clusters vs the larger and more detailed image I get in my larger refractors but with much less “company”.So what I get with the Spectrum 60 isn’t really better or worse than..whatever; rather it is a different kind of observing. And I like it. 

        I think that were I going on your trip. 60 in hand, I’d take a good barlow, a 32 and the 15/68 mentiond above which would give me 32, 16, 15, and  7.5mm, a solid and versatile range. And probably my aspheric 23 because I so enjoyed the look it gave me. So pretty close to what you’ll be carting.

       Bon voyage!

[John R.]

Klr, if you are in the US be sure to order direct from Spectrum’s website and use the 15% discount code, they ship from California and didn't charge me sales tax or shipping, that would make the 60/500 total price $34.85, bubble gum money!