20" Skywatcher Stargate review

[Graeme Bluestar]

About eight months ago I took the plunge and purchased one of these new Dobson mounted reflectors with the optional GoTo mount. There does not appear to have been a great deal of discussion about them here on IIS, so I thought I would give a brief review of my experiences so far.
Firstly a summary of the items I consider to be less than satisfactory upon initial use/assembly of the scope:

Installed the finder scope & bracket into the mounting foot, and finger tightened the retaining screw. A few minutes it fell out of its own accord straight onto the eyepiece end, bending the housing. Installed again the same way, but found I needed to overtighten the screw with a multiwrench in order to hold the scope & bracket assembly securely. A right angle finder would be much better – I have since installed a Celestron RACI unit – a lot easier on the neck to use!

The Primary Mirror Assembly three adjuster locking knobs were of very poor quality – I replaced these straightway. Also the threads for these in the base were not properly formed – I tapped these out with a thread tap. The three adjuster screws/knobs could also probably be improved.

The wrap around light shroud had areas of faulty stitching – I had these re-stitched.

Poor quality eyepieces supplied with scope.

There are not enough counterweights supplied – even when operational with only all the supplied equipment an extra 3kg was needed to even come close to a balance.

Poor design of the counterweight attachment system – the single long bolt threaded straight into a thin cast area of the PMA base is probably not up to the job, especially if additional equipment/weight is fitted to the top end. I will be re-designing this setup in the future.

Many of the fasteners are already showing signs of corrosion – I will be replacing these with stainless steel ones where possible.

Poorly translated instruction manual, with poor quality assembly diagrams – some actual photos would be much better, especially the ones showing fitting of the drive cable assembly. The instructions for fitting the light shield need to be included in the manual in their proper sequence. With the present separate instruction sheet I went to fit it as the last job, only to find I had to go back and disassemble some parts in order to fit it.

The shield itself is of poor quality plastic – one day the telescope spent in the July winter sun and it deformed beyond repair.

It was good to see a cover for the secondary mirror included, but there is no way to secure it when the telescope is in a vertical position – fitting of a Velcro retaining strap has cured this.
The primary mirror cover will not fit around the telescope struts when assembled – trimming of the cover edge at the struts area was required. However, kudos to Skywatcher for this cover – it is a much better quality cover than the flimsy plastic one supplied with my 16” Lightbridge.

Inside the cover is a foam pad adhered to the cover. Upon unpacking the unit the foam was found to have detached and lying on the mirror surface – a better quality adhesive required.


And now the good stuff! –

Very well packaged – upon initial opening of the four boxes everything was found to be in pristine condition. For those who want to keep the scope as a transportable setup, enclosing the existing packaging in built to purpose plywood boxes or similar would provide excellent storage for long term use.

Using my Parkes GS 30mm eyepiece the star images are nice crisp points, with minimal coma around the edge, especially considering the F-ratio of the scope. A coma corrector may help here.
We tried a number of different good quality eyepieces with the scope, and kept coming back to the Parkes.

The GoTo system seems to work OK, and tracks quite OK for visual work at least – I could centre an object, leave it for 10 minutes and return to find it still well in the FOV. The Synscan hand controller & software is reasonably easy to operate – regular use and I expect to learn its procedures quite easily.

Spectacular views of deep sky objects including the Tarantula Nebula & associated LMC objects, M42 and The Trapezium, the Jewelbox open cluster, Eta Carinae & The Homonculus, as well as other Milky Way objects in this area. Sirius B was clearly resolved.

After a hot day here on Saturday the mirror design seemed to cool down quite effectively, by 8.00pm and true night we did not notice any problems that could be attributed to this. There appears to be provision on the PMA to fit some cooling fans (not included with the scope) if required in the future.

Please note I have only spent about 3 hours actually using the scope visually, so I am unable to give a fully detailed report of its capabilities at this time. However overall I am happy with it, as I believe this scope gives good value for money. A little time & $$ correcting its weak points as outlined above would be well spent. I fully agree with Skywatcher’s advice – it definitely requires two people to setup / pull down, one person would never do it. Sometime in the future I hope to install it in a permanent setup, its sheer size & bulk stretches the boundaries of portability I think!

[AstroJunk]

Hey Graeme!

I trust you survived the hail the other day. Great review, I guess we were all expecting some quality issues from the mount - my EQ8 demonstrates that Skywatcher has still a way to go to make telescopes rugged enough for Qld!!!

Of course it's the optics that count and it sounds like yours are sweet. I look forward to hearing more about them as you get the sky time [for those who don't know Graeme, he's a VERY experienced visual observer].

I'll have to bring my 20" up for a side by side one weekend.

[LewisM]

Regarding the finder, this is true even on the refractors like the Esprits. I immediately noticed what sadly you found out through it falling out. I cured this issue by epoxying on a strip of brass to the side of the finder stalk dovetail so that the too-short screw would make adequate contact and still leave room for tightening. This is a really shoddy part by SW. The gap between the dovetail foot and the shoe was easily close to 3mm on my sample, and the brass shim I used was 2mm thick. Conversely, an original Vixen has a 0.5mm gap, meaning only minor finger pressure holds it in.

It's what started the "put off" in my mind towards the Esprit refractors. Optically great, mechanicals and build quality NOT so (the paint on mine was terrible, as was the general fit and finish). But, thankfully, as I mentioned, great optics.

[gaseous]

Thanks Graeme, as you say, there is a dearth of decent reviews about this particular scope, so it's good to hear some local first hand experience.

Gee those quality issues are a shame. I know for a 20" dob it's still possibly considered a "low end" scope (compared to Obsession, SDM, etc), but really some of those things are cheap to fix and should have been well and truly knocked on the head during the development stage.

I'm glad your limited time at the eyepiece has at least seemed rewarding - if an experienced observer says the views are good, then perhaps this mitigates some of the quality issues. Perhaps. Interesting to see it's a two-man job: there's a YouTube video of it being put together by one chap (Adriano), but to be fair it didn't look like much fun doing it solo.

[raymo]

I have never understood why the travel limiting lip on the SW finder scope
dovetail is at the front end of the dovetail instead of at the back, which
would prevent the scope falling out when the main scope is pointed above the horizontal. Unfortunately the finderscope only fits into the dovetail in one direction, so you can't fix it by simply rotating the dovetail 180 degs.
raymo

[Graeme Bluestar]

Thanks Jonathon, yes no problems with the hail just around my neighbourhood.

I somehow think a side by side comparison with your beauty will blow the doors off the Skywatcher!! A couple of other AAQ members are also considering these scopes and are keen to check it out, so I will try to organise a test drive one Saturday night soon here at my place - you are more than welcome to join us. I will keep you updated if you are interested. I look forward to some assessments from other sets of eyes!

[Graeme Bluestar]

Lewis,
Your experience sounds similar to my issues. Having owned a number of Chinese made scopes over the years, I went into this purchase fully expecting a few QC SNAFU's that would require attention. As with my previous purchases I was prepared to outlay a reasonable amount of time and expense to bring the unit up to an acceptable standard for me. So long as the optics are adequate for my useI am happy with the truism you get what you pay for.

My area of interest is double stars so at the end of the day as long as the central area of the FOV is clear and crisp, a 20" scope for under $10K is still a lot of bang for your buck.

[Graeme Bluestar]

Patrick,
Fully agree with you, I went into this purchase considering it as a "low end" scope. As I mentioned to Lewis, so far it seems adequate for what I want to use it for. Like most things in life I suppose it is a compromise of cost versus fit for purpose considerations.

[The Mekon]

Graeme,

I use my 18" F4.5 quite a lot for double stars - especially for faint ones. I make use of a 7" off axis mask which really is useful, I would be interested to know if you intend to use a mask.

[AstroJunk]

From an optical perspective, you may be pleasantly surprised. I've peered through some very fine Skywatcher 16" scopes and I would be shocked if they released anything less than a good-one in their flagship range :thumbsup:

[JimsShed]

Thank you for this review as I was recently looking for some first hand objective reviews on the Stargates. The non-critical hardware issues are unfortunate, but it appears that SW are consistently getting the optics right across their product range.
What part of the setup needs two people? Can you see a self modification to remedy this?

[Troy]

:thumbsup:

[rrussell1962]

Very nice considered review. If the optics are good, well supported and hold collimation then the rest is really just cosmetic and can be fixed. I do like the conical mirror which, presumably, will cool a lot faster than my 2 inch think Galaxy slab of glass. Can you see any way to attach a wheelbarrow handle type construction without compromising the structure of the mirror box and rocker assembly?

[AstroStudentUSQ]

Most of the development emphasis with the 20" has obviously gone to the optics - which Sky-Watcher generally are doing really well with. Obviously at that price point for a half meter aperture telescope there are going to be shortcomings with the secondary considerations. Sky-Watcher are providing within the access of the dedicated amateurs wallet, an aperture of telescope which has traditionally only been within the professional domain. For 8-10k, to obtain an enormous half-meter aperture, I'd be willing to upgrade a few parts here and there! Other than a self made telescope, the only other mainstream brand that comes to mind which are making this sized telescope for the amateur are Obsession telescopes, but I think from memory they are more expensive.

Good luck with that fantastic aperture telescope and clear skies!

Cheers,
Mark

[gaseous]

Yeah, from what I can see on the website, a 20" Obsession with goto functionality would set you back somewhere north of at least $14k USD, and a 20" SDM (which admittedly are works of art with all the bells and whistles) might be upwards of $20k AUD once you've added the cost of the mirrors in. Ahhh, it's nice to dream though!

[Adox]

I confirm that the instruction manual is not so great so I did I video that shows how to assemble it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQ0BnWUTtU&t=2s

I install the telescope without any help but the cradle is 32kg so watch your back!
Tracking is not bad: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ixyuBDyEfEg
The PAE function helps a lot.

[Graeme Bluestar]

Russell,
thanks very much. At present I am considering building some sort of trolley to move the assembled scope around with. Biggest problem with that is I don't have much in the way of hard stand/concrete pads in my back yard to set it up on for overnight use. I must say I am starting to lean towards setting up a permanent observatory of some design to house it permanently.

[Graeme Bluestar]

John,
As yet I have not used a mask. I have been imaging/measuring doubles since around 2008, firstly with a 6" refractor and for the last few years with a 16" Lightbridge. I have considered at times using one on the 16" but am yet to try it. My understanding is to use one to increase the scopes FL will help split tighter pairs, but then I would assume you must lose fainter components of the pairs. At present i can easily image those components down as faint mag 15.5 which gives me plenty of targets to chose from!

[AstroJunk]

So, we did it. The team went around last night to give this rare beast a thorough shake down along side my 20" f5 with exquisite craftsman figured optics.

Despite the appalling weather of late, the sky was beautifully clear and the seeing very good. Not perfect but certainly the nicest I've seen in a long time. From early evening, my SDM was resolving all six of the four stars of the trapezium even on low power views!

So to the Stargate. I was amazed by the mirror. It's not 'normal' by any means, but in fact a composite conical-ish affair with glued vanes between two disks of glass. The largest disk is of course the f4 optical surface and the smaller rear disk allowed the mirror to be attached to the mount and provided the surface against which the collimation screws would rest. I have to admit to thinking 'that's never going to work'.

In the pre-dark sky we star tested against some brighter stars and noticed something a little strange; the airy disk pattern had a noticeably pinched look to it and tool a slightly triangular form. Hmm. Checked the collimation screws, all seemed ok. When focussed the stars were tight but the effects of scintillation showed some asymmetric spikes. The optical error was actually very slight, and unlikely to be noticed at all to the less critical eye, but it was certainly there.

But then something interesting happened...

We continued to observe into the evening, enjoying wonderful views of the Great Orion Nebula showing plenty of colour and bags of lovely contrast befitting a light-bucket, and we started checking out the globulars and galaxies there to entertain us. And it became evident that the mirror was performing better and better as the night progressed. Each time we bothered to de-focus the scope and check the airy disk, it was rounder and rounder. By mid evening, the mirror had reached thermal equilibrium and the image was quite perfect, with text book airy pattern and absolutely pinpoint star images. The mirror was certainly so good in performance that it was difficult to distinguish the view from my SDM that has a mirror that would cost new about the same as the whole of the Stargate!!!!

So, we can certainly conclude that the optics are indeed excellent but just remember that they are only performing at 'very good' until the primary has properly equalised. There are pre-cast positions for three cooling fans in the base. I suggest filling them if you get one of these.

Mechanically, the scope more than met my expectations. The whole thing was solid, held collimation all night, and slewed and tracked perfectly well. One thing that surprised me was how well it works in manual mode. Slip the clutches and it's very smooth and perfect for just cruizin'

So all the features of a traditional dob at half the cost. Yes there are compromises and shortcuts, but you get a heck of a lot for your money.

Nice one Skywatcher, it's a keeper :thumbsup:

BTW: It's f4, so there is a ton of coma. My Paracor fixed that perfectly and the stars were tight right across the fov. Factor it into the cost, you really need it!

[gaseous]

Thanks Jonathon, nice review. Still a two-person job to set up you reckon?

I'm interested (and jealous) of your seeing conditions - we were at Watt's Bridge Airfield past Esk last night, and anything higher than 50x was like looking through a kiddies wading pool.

[AstroJunk]

I was Jealous of our seeing too. My normal location in Samford is usually very poor. Last night we were at 500x on Jupiter without too much deterioration.

None of the individual components were particularly heavy, so one person could put it together from scratch. Of course its much quicker to leave the base and rocker assembled and only remove the poles and UTA - then it becomes more of a 2 person lift.

[brian nordstrom]

Cool as a cucumber !~ I have had the liberty to view with 22 and 20 inch scopes in Darwin , and yes here they are being set up ,,:eyepop: there aint nothing better from a dark site , here is my mate putting his secondary spider on his awesome 22 inch f 4 ? Newtonion and John setting up the structure of the 20 inch f4.3 .

Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:D Here is another for the people that think 20 inches is BIG ,, hell yes they are but with todays design's .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: You get lost in the Virgo cluster with these bad boys ! .
Lewis ?>

Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Yes a 20 inch is a monster that will show you more than you could imagine ,,, a sweet 5 inch refractor is up an running ,,, sorry guys .

Brian.

[LewisM]

Errrr? Yes?

[raymo]

I notice that since the session with the two scopes was posted here by
Jonathon, that the comparison of the scopes seems to have been studiously ignored; is that because most posters were unhappy that the Chinese can produce a scope that is seemingly optically competitive with an SDM
scope?
raymo

[gaseous]

Hi Graeme, any further thoughts / comments on the 20" Skywatcher now that you've hopefully had some extended viewing with it?

[Joves]

What are your most recent thoughts of your 20”, Patrick? It sure is a lot of scope for the money. Are you still happy with it?

[gaseous]

Hi Aaron,


by and large, yes I'm very happy with it. Only had it to a dark site once since I bought it, but the effort it puts in on DSO's is pretty impressive. Had a few collimation issues which I believe I've sorted, and very bright stars still give spectacular diffraction spikes, but I didn't buy it for looking at very bright stars so I'm not too concerned about that. It's currently poor on planets too (very very bright as you'd expect), but I'm in the process of making an aperture mask - again, not that planets are the main target, and I've still got an 8" for that.



I'm just on 6' and can put it together myself without too many issues. A stepladder is needed for putting the secondary cage on top, and some upper arm/shoulder strength is required, but nothing too onerous. The two base components are probably 30kg each, at a guess, and are a little awkward to get off the ground, but reasonably movable once you've done that providing you're not moving them too far.



Once broken down, it takes up less volume than my old 16", and the circular base is only about 600mm across (as opposed to nearly 900mm on the 16"), so a trolley is a lot smaller too. Not including the time spent on lugging the various pieces all over the place, it can be put together and ready to go in under 30 minutes, with a bit of practice. It's a lot easier to use than the 16" as well, as the narrow base lets you stand next to the eyepiece, rather than having to lean in quite a bit which is a pain in the back. Graeme mentioned some of the quality issues with the fixings which are valid, but overall, it seems to be a very solid and well-built setup.

[Graeme Bluestar]

Hi Patrick & Aaron,
Been flat out on my double star work with the 16", and I have not used mine in a while now, hope to have it out and working early August weekend (4th & 5th). Should be well after full moon, so will hopefully get some good hours using it. Last outing we had some spectacular planetary views - Jupiter's GRS was just amazing...

To avoid assembly hassles I modified a Kinchrome moving trolley from Bunnings to move it around on as an assembled unit. So at present it is stored under cover with a large plastic bag covering it. Once I have it out I am going to work out some suitable cooling fans to suit the the primary mirror cell which already has provision for three of them.

Will let you know what I come up with.

[gaseous]

I'll be very keen to see your fan solution Graeme, and also to find out where you got a bag big enough to cover it!

[Joves]

Hi Patrick and Graeme,

Thanks so much for your replies.

I have a number of what I feel are nice telescopes, but have never owned a Dob. To add context, my current largest scope is a “measly” 10” LX90. To be honest, I’ve not really ever had a hankering for a dob until now but, for some reason, the mood has recently struck me. There are plenty of options available between this and what I currently own, I know, but I figure if I’m going to go the dob route for mere aperture purposes (which is pretty well the appeal) I might as well go relatively large compared with what I already have. The 20” Skywatcher Synscan seems a pretty decent option at “trying out” a significantly larger aperture than I’ve ever experienced. I know there are higher quality and more premium options out there, but this actually seems like a pretty decent consideration. To be honest, irrespective of the differences a higher wave mirror from a highly regarded maker might provide, I’m pretty certain I’d be impressed with almost anything an even “reasonable” mirror at this aperture might show in the right conditions and under reasonable skies. The fact that the optics of this particular scope (aside from those reviewed under extremely critical analysis, which I’m far from qualified to comment) seem to have received mostly positive, and sometimes glowing, reviews is pretty well enough for me. I’m not expecting the creme de la creme. Just a much larger aperture option, should the mood strike on any given night. This seems a pretty decent option, and with go-to/tracking, for a great price (still expensive, but cheap in most respects).

I guess all I really hoped to hear from you both is that these things aren’t complete duds, which I never expected that they were going to be.

Patrick, really glad to hear you’re happy with the scope. Whilst I know that this type/aperture scope is probably ideally suited to DSO’s, it’s interesting to hear that you’re not overly impressed with it on planets. I’d be keen to use it on both planets as well as DSO’s, but predominantly the latter. I have other scopes ideally suited to planetary observing.

Graeme, thanks for kicking off this thread to begin with. Your initial impressions (both positive and potentially negative) are appreciated and the subsequent replies, particularly with regard to your thermalised mirror holding its own against an SDM, are encouraging. It leads me to think I will purchase one of these and immediately get started on upgrading the items you kindly detailed as requiring attention. Great to also hear that you have, in fact, enjoyed some decent planetary views through yours.

Don’t you just love astronomy and telescopes... horses for courses and vice versa.

Again, thanks fellas. The fact that you’re both still reasonably satisfied with this particular scope with the limited amount of time you’ve each had to spend with it leads me to think it’s worth a shot. Where/how else is one going to get a go at observing with this kind of aperture, and complete with a fully functioning go-to system, other than this at this price point?! If the optics are good and the functionality of the scope works, that is fine for me. I have the rest of my life to “upgrade” to an Obsession, SDM, Starstructure, etc. etc. should I all of a sudden decide to become a dobsonian “connoisseur”!

Thanks again fellas.

Aaron

[gaseous]

Good luck Aaron. In fairness to the scope, the only time I tried it on planets was a night my collimation was a bit off, so with that corrected and maybe an aperture mask, hopefully the views will be good like Graeme had.

[AstroJunk]

Here's my aperture mask!

My local seeing is truly rubbish most of the time and it kills definition across a large mirror surface. The aperture mask certainly helps sharpen up the image when those stars are twinkling and reduces glare of that scattered light. On the very odd occasion though, the seeing firms up and a 20" view of the planets is truly stunning :thumbsup:

[gaseous]

I like this! I've got a couple of large pieces of black foamcore that I'm hoping will do something similar.

[Joves]

Thanks Patrick. I’m thinking I might as well bite the bullet and purchase one. I’m sure it will get very limited use, with my ordinary skies and lack of real time/motivation for setup, but on those such occasions where I feel like spending the better part of the night at the scope and the seeing is decent it seems that it could be a lot of fun! 4 times the light gathering of the largest aperture scope I’ve ever actually looked through should provide somewhat of a wow factor under the right conditions!

[Joves]

Looks great, Jonathan... I also particularly like that you’ve labeled the mask the way you have.

Can I ask, was there a specific reason or calculation that had you make the mask to 6”? That’s a lot of stopping down, which makes sense if the seeing is poor or the object too bright, but is there a reason you didn’t choose, say, 8” or even 10”? 8 inches seems to be a pretty well performing aperture for a lot of scopes under most conditions.

[AstroJunk]

Very little thought went into it.

I have a mate who swears by his 6" refractor - I thought I'd look at Saturn without all those pesky moons getting in the way, just like him :rofl:

[Joves]

Haha... as good a reason as any, I guess!

[sn1987a]

28" setup 12 minutes :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIPiotbD-ZA

[gaseous]

Nice setup Barry - really like the UTA connection. Bit agricultural, but so simple and effective! Like the George Smoot autograph inside the mirror cover too!

[Graeme Bluestar]

Aaron,
I don't think you will go too far wrong in purchasing one of these scopes - they are well priced. Purchased mine from Sirius Optics, happy to recommend them - good people & great service.

As has been pointed out in these forums, the best scope is the one you use the most. If you have nowhere to store in it assembled condition, you need to decide whether the effort involved in regular assembly will not become too much of a bother when you just want to spend an hour or two using it. For that reason I am starting to give serious consideration to building a permanent observatory for mine.

Patrick,
Will let you know what I figure out for the cooling fans, and will get some details on the cover bags I use for you.

Regards,
Graeme J.

[Joves]

Thanks Graeme.

I don’t foresee that it will see a whole heap of assembly/disassembly in the short term, as it will most likely see little use until the house we currently have being built is compete and I have a level garage/workshop to wheel it (assembled) in and out of.

Appreciate your advice and confirmed confidence in this particular scope! Thanks again.

Aaron

[FredinBroome]

Thank you Graham for a wonderful review. It would be interesting to see if the 2018 - 2019 also had these failings. One would think that someone would have taken notice of the cosmetic details

[Graeme Bluestar]

Hi all,
A quick update on a couple of recent upgrades to my Stargate. I have now installed 3 x cooling fans behind the primary mirror - obtained from the local Jaycar agent:

3 x YX2523 80mm ball bearing fans @$24.95 each. (the more expensive Mag- Lev ones would probably be better) but I have not noticed any vibration issues so far with visual observing. The mirror cradle has provision for this size fan, with holes for the 4 attaching screws per fan already drilled and threaded. You will also need to obtain 12 s/steel cap screws for attachment.

3 x YX2511 safety grilles to suit @3.95 each.

You will also needed an applicable on/off switch - I am running 12V from a Powerpack through an LED toggle switch. Initially I was going to mount the switch and inlet cord socket near the main on/off switch located on the side box/cover panel. However after removing the cover to reveal all the moving gears, cabling etc. I decided to play it safe and fit them in a separate box externally. If you install this way be aware that you will need enough slack in the cabling from the control box to the fans to allow for altitude travel of the OTA. Also be careful the cabling does not entangle in the curved altitude rocker frame - I ran my cabling through it instead of over or under.

I found the control paddle cable to be barely long enough for normal use without using outstretched arms frequently. Searching my local area as to an off the shelf item proved fruitless, so $90.00 later I ended up with a custom made cable. Just be careful as to it's location when slewing the mount in the dark.

As has been mentioned earlier in this thread, the visual image does suffer from some coma. After weeks of keeping watch (unsuccessfully) on ISS for a used Parracorr I bit the bullet and ordered (and paid for) a new Skywatcher equivalent.

And woudn't you know it, a couple of days later a used Parracorr pops up for sale!

So now I have two that so far have only had a very quick test, with both showing a great improvement in image quality around the outer FOV.

Once I have a chance to give them more of a test drive I will put the results up here.

[gaseous]

Thanks Graeme, I've been eagerly awaiting a post from you regarding the cooling fans - would you please mind posting the specs of the relevant switch, cable connection, etc? I'm keen to do something identical to my scope. If you could put it in terms that the average 8 year old would understand, that would be greatly appreciated!


I'm only using a GSO coma corrector, but it makes a very significant improvement around the edge of field - I can only imagine that a new Paracorr is tidying your views up magnificently. Thanks again for your post.


Cheers,
Pat.

[Graeme Bluestar]

Pat,
Here are the Jaycar part numbers for the additional parts you will need -

ST0580 red LED illuminated toggle switch - $3.95
WQ7289 power input lead - with 12V cigarette lighter style plug - $7.95
PSO522 panel socket - for the other end of the above cable to plug into - $2.95
HB6015 Enclosure box - to mount the toggle switch & input cable panel socket - $4.95

Additional requirements are female crimp terminals to suit the above switch etc., a little bit of heatshrink tube, a couple of metres of twin core cable, some small black nylon zip ties and some solder splices - Narva #56380 ( I imagine Jaycar will have an equivalent for these)

I mounted the enclosure box with toggle switch and inlet plug on the scope side cover that carries the on/off mount drive switch/altitude lock wheel etc (at the opposite end to that switch). Be sure to leave enough power supply cable to the fans to allow mount travel from near horizontal to direct overhead. Use a little Velcro to attach it to the side cover just in case the cable does get entangled and tries to tear out of this box.

To mount the fans to the mirror cell see your local nut & bolt shop for the following-

12 x socket head cap screws M4 x 40mm long. Get them in 304 stainless steel if possible. Also 12 x M4 s/s flat washers to suit. This should cost you around $5.00 total.

Good Luck!!

[gaseous]

Brilliant, thanks Graeme!

[gaseous]

"Poor design of the counterweight attachment system – the single long bolt threaded straight into a thin cast area of the PMA base is probably not up to the job, especially if additional equipment/weight is fitted to the top end. I will be re-designing this setup in the future."


Graeme, you were spot on regarding this. My threaded slot for the hole has lost its thread, I assume due to the extra wear and tear from additional counterweights, and no amount of thread tape will allow the bolt to screw in. I have completely screwed through this hole with a 10mm bit, and have utilised a long threaded bolt to create a new fixing for the counterweights. I also had to increase the central holes in the supplied SW weights to suit the slightly wider bolt, but it feels a lot more secure now.

[david booth]

ive heard bad things also there not up to the quality of sdm which you should be able to get second hand sdm 20 for the same money

[Joves]

Have you been happy with the optics, Patrick?

[gaseous]

Yes Aaron, very much so. The mirror takes a little while to reach ambient temperature, but the views are great and generally limited by the seeing conditions, not the quality of the mirror itself. I've made a list of personal gripes/complaints about the overall build quality and possible improvements of the scope, but once it's set up and humming along, the views are spectacular.

[Joves]

That’s great to hear, thanks Patrick.

I have one arriving imminently. Will be interesting to see if any improvements have been made. I’m imagining not, so this thread will be very helpful for some DIY fixes.