Konus 130HD Mak

[Wakenaam]

Has anyone any experience with this model? - its F15.3@130mm. I'm specifically interested in the OTA for combination with an SPC900 W-cam.

W

[JustAFriend]

Would be interested in this myself... I've been looking at this size, specifically the Apex 127mm from Orion (which seems to be getting good reviews) as a combo astro/nature/telephoto.

[Siguy]

As it is manufactured by Hioptic, I wouldn't trust it at all. Konus has sold some really crappy Maks that are identical to the junk scopes on eBay. The same manufacturer makes those eBay scopes along with the infamous department store scopes. The optics are probably very low end, and the mount would almost certainly be wobbily with parts falling off left and right. Never buy anything manufactured by Hioptic.

[RickJ]

The only one I saw had reasonable optics. Not great but in step with the price. After that things went downhill fast.

My head didn't fit. I couldn't get around the finder. Neither could the guy who owned it. I had to find the object then remove it to look through the eyepiece position fixed atop the back of the scope. That internal diagonal mirror seemed poor as well. The diagonal on the back (45 degree) looked through some piece of glass that wasn't coated and created ghosts all over the place. Threads this 45 degree unit mate to are non standard so there was no way to put a good right angle on it to get out of the way of the finder. Someone in the field said there were parts made by others that fit but no one had anything that did. Then too you have to look through that glass that ruined things as much as the poor diagonal did the internal position. A couple times I saw ghosts there too so that glass piece may be in front of both. If so it hurts the back position far more than the internal one. The owner, months later, figured out how to remove it using instructions he found on Cloudy Nights web site. I didn't look to see if they are still there. He said that helped greatly but he broke something and now uses PC plumbing parts to replace them. They work better than the 45 diagonal and allow him to view without running into the finder so he says the plastic piece that broke did him a favor. I haven't seen through the modified one however.

Sounds like if you want to rebuild it you can get a bargain. Or were his reasonable optics an exception? A sample of one doesn't tell me enough to know.

This was over a year ago. Maybe they've improved things. Then again they may be worse. I don't have the foggiest idea. It's not a scope anyone around here has. BTW, he only had the OTA and used his own mount.

Rick

[Siguy]

I would note that, for the same price range, a combination of this (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=drives_controllers/~product_id=07828) and this (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=cassegrains/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09826) would be a similar telescope with certainly higher quality.

[JustAFriend]

Hmmmm... interesting to know about the Konus.

That Starmax is the same as the Apex I was looking at, the Starmax just has an equatorial mount.
And as I said all the reviews I've read so far have been very positive (even over the Celestron 5" Mak).