Intes Micro Alter 603 first impression
Tom Davis
Cassegrains
for the intended purpose of having a portable scope for trips. I got it
today from UPS.
This unit has the new 95% dielectric coatings on the primary and secondary
mirrors.
It arrived in perfect condition, save a couple of specks of dust inside the
corrector
plate (no big deal to me). The advertised Kellner eyepiece has been
replaced with
an 18mm Erfle with short eye relief. It has good image quality. It still
comes with
the SCT thread mirror diagonal and 2.4X Barlow. Both are of good quality.
I could
see no difference in image quality between the Intes Micro diagonal and my
excellent TeleVue Everbrite.
The optical coatings had no defects, and look excellent. The moving mirror
focuser
has absolutely zero image shift. Refreshing compared to my C11. Daytime
terrestrial images were very crisp, contrasty and sharp. The OTA fit on my
CG5
with the supplied GP rail. It is extremely stable on this mount.
Vibrations damped
instantly. The tube handle makes attaching the scope to the mount very
easy.
The finder appears to be an 8X50 unit. Interestingly, in Intes Micro
fashion, even the
finderscope dewshield is baffled. The main scope has 5 baffles inside the
tube.
Only negatives with the finder are too fine of a reticle to be seen without
illumination
and minimal eye relief. The focus adjustment works fine on mine, although I
have
seen other Intes and Intes Micros that have too loose an adjustment that
constantly
goes out of focus.
Under the stars, the scope arrived in almost perfect collimation. Vega was
very
sharp, with one diffraction ring surrounding a round bright Airy disk.
Epsilon Lyra
split cleanly with a faint ring around each star. Star fields were
refractor-like, with
tack sharp images across the field against a jet black background. The ring
nebula was clearly seen as such with a dark center and the 13th magnitude
star
outside of it visible. M13 resolved fairly well. M92 showed chains of
outer stars
around a bright core. Conditions were less than favorable for deep sky
tonight.
Direct comparison to my "Chinese Junk" 6" F/8 refractor were enlightening.
Star
images were noticeably brighter in the refractor. The double double split
cleaner
in that there were no diffraction rings around the components. The Alter
603 does
very well, but the 35% central obstruction gives something away to the
refractor,
even though it is an achromat. The star test showed no evidence of
spherical
aberration on the refractor, minor undercorrection on the Mak-Cassegrain,
but
it appeared to be at least the 1/6th wave advertised. Overall, it has met
my
expectations for optical quality. Weather will likely require me to wait
several
days before I can see how it does on the planets.
My next test will be to attempt some CCD imaging with both the Optec F/3.3
and Celestron F/6.3 focal reducers I have. Tests last year with an Intes
MK66
worked with both units. I expect both would work on the Alter 603 as well.
So far, I'm quite pleased with this unit. It looks like an ideal scope for
those
seeking maximum performance in a portable package.
Thanks, Tom Davis
Reef1969
undercorrected. It seems that as the unit equalizes the mirrors settle down,
so I would not worry about that. I was now I feel much better.
Reef
Tom Davis
Exactly. My C11 is a bit overcorrected, rather than undercorrected. This
has the
effect of increasing the time it takes to get to a good optical figure for
observing. I
would take a bit of undercorrection over a bit of overcorrection every time.
Actually, the optics are quite nice on the Alter. The only issue note was
one I knew
going in, that the larger central obstruction would cost something versus
either the
Mak-Newt or my refractor. On the plus side, the quality of construction,
portability
and ability to use all my SCT imaging accessories, well outweighs any
drawbacks.
The difference between the Alter 603 and my previous MN61 6" F/6 Mak-Newt
does
not seem all that great. I would put optical quality about on par with both
units, and
I was quite satisfied with the optics on that scope. The larger central
obstruction
makes the first diffraction ring more evident on brighter stars. I'm sure it
will make
planetary low contrast features a bit more washed out, but for the intended
use as
a portable scope I would have a hard time finding something better for close
to
comparable cost. I'm quite pleased with it.
Thanks, Tom Davis
Reef1969 wrote in message <20000902134439...@ng-cq1.aol.com>...
Herm
100% illuminated field and how flat is it?..8" scts are pretty bad in that
department. If it works photographically it would make a better smaller
photographic scope..at least a small GEM (CG5 or GP) would have less trouble
with it.
On Sat, 2 Sep 2000 01:44:16 -0400, "Tom Davis" <tda...@salisbury.net> wrote:
>I recently purchased one of the new Intes Micro 603 6" F/10 Maksutov
>Cassegrains
>for the intended purpose of having a portable scope for trips.
>My next test will be to attempt some CCD imaging with both the Optec F/3.3
>and Celestron F/6.3 focal reducers I have. Tests last year with an Intes
>MK66
>worked with both units. I expect both would work on the Alter 603 as well.
>
>So far, I'm quite pleased with this unit. It looks like an ideal scope for
>those
>seeking maximum performance in a portable package.
>
>Thanks, Tom Davis
>
Herm
Astropics http://home.att.net/~hermperez
Tom Davis
I'll have to give that a try one of these days. All I can say is that the
Celestron F/6.3
focal reducer does not give any appearance of vignetting visually, and is
sharp
across the field. It also has plenty of back focus for it. My first effort
will be with
my MX5-16 CCD. Here I expect no problem.
My only concern is that the primary mirror baffle seem a bit too long. It
just is
large enough for visual use (which is fine for CCD as well, due to the
smaller size
of the CCD chip versus a 35mm frame). I would expect some vignetting to be
apparent on film. APM gives the following specs for the Alter M603 on their
website:
100% illumination field size - 1mm.
Photographic field size 36mm.
Illumination at edge of photographic field 67%.
Like I said, I'll have to try it and post the results.
As to stability, it is absolutely rock solid on the CG5 mount. Immediate
damping
from a rap on the side of the tube. A hole opened up in the sky briefly
last night
long enough to get a view of the crescent moon. Breathtakingly sharp. Same
for
terrestrial viewing. I really like this scope.
Thanks, Tom Davis
Herm wrote in message <39b3149c...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>...
zwge...@gmail.com
The purpose of a ZHAOWEI gear reducer is to increase the available torque output from a motor while decreasing its output speed.
Using a ZHAOWEI gear reducer has many advantages. A ZHAOWEI gear reducer can be coupled to a wide variety of motors, therefore a customer's application is no longer limited by the availability of a particular brand of motor. Another advantage is that expensive motors can be replaced with smaller, less expensive motors and a ZHAOWEI gear reducer, resulting in a considerable cost savings and (in most cases) an increase in usable power. Also, replacement parts for ZHAOWEI gear reducers are readily available and in most cases can be shipped the same day they are ordered.
ZHAOWEI gear reducers can be used in a multitude of applications wherever there is a requirement for high torque/low speed output, including smart home & household application, medical devices, industry equipments and automobile, etc.
Company: Shenzhen ZHAOWEI Machinery & Electronics Co., Ltd
URL: http://www.zwgearbox.com/
Contact: Annie Liu
Tel：+86-755-27322652
Fax：+86-755-27323949
E-mail:sa...@zwgearbox.com
Add: Blk. 18, Longwangmiao Industry Park, Fuyong Tn., Bao’an Dist., Shenzhen 518103, Guangdong, China