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KONUS Konusmotor 500 Rich Field Newtonian |
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REVIEW ARCHIVES Refractors Barlow
Lenses LINKS FAVORITE LINKS NASA
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Background As a Cosmologist and Author, I have
used some fairly large scopes (apertures larger than 36”) and even owned
a small Refractor many years ago. Having this background I decided it
would be fun to have my own small scope to do some astrophotography and
viewing. I had no idea how complicated it would be to find the right
scope. DOBS, Newtonians, SCT’s Mak’s, Refractors, etc. I didn’t know
where to begin. My colleagues were of little help—most were used to very
large scopes, or radio astronomy. I ordered every telescope manufactures
catalogue I could find, and I am no doubt on the mailing list of everyone
for life. I finally, after 6 months of talking to other small scope
owners, looking at spec. sheets, and catalogues, narrowed the list of some
37 telescopes to a list of five. All were Newtonian, all mounted on EQ,
and all were between 4”-and 6” in aperture. Suddenly the decision
became harder. Another 5 months would be needed of visiting telescope
stores, camera shops and star parties. Eventually a decision was made:
KONUS. But which one—the two I had decided on were 4.5” : one had a
very fast Focal length, (short tube) and as I wanted to explore both wide
sky views and photography, this was my choice. Setup The place of purchase for my little
KONUSMOTOR 500 was Owl Services in Pennsylvania. The problem is, I live in
Rural Maine, and was concerned about damage in transport. Tom, the owner
knew of my trepidation and assured me if there were any problems he would
take care of them. I
needn’t have been concerned. The telescope arrived in three boxes via
UPS in excellent condition. As I am not master handyman, I was a bit
concerned about the many parts—but with my wife Cathy’s assistance
(and the excellent instructions) we had the entire scope, mount and tripod
set up in about 45min. Appearance
& Construction The bright yellow tube is made from a
fairly heavy aluminum, and the mount seems more than capable of handling
the weight. The scope came with a tracking motor which takes a bit if
getting used to. Once set, it seems to track decently enough for long time
photography. I was forced, in order to balance the scope, to add another 5
lbs. of counterweight after the addition of a 35mm SLR, an Orion Red dot
quick site and a fairly heavy 50mm Meade APO I use for tracking (the 50mm
gives good views—but it is best used as a finder for the KONUS). The
KONUS supplied finder is still handy for locating brighter objects, and
has about 15X of less. The focuser is made of a very heavy Polly,
Aluminum, or fiberglass—I can’t tell, but is very firmly mounted. The
mounting rings also have a threaded adapter for piggy back photography. Performance
(under good seeing) The scope came with KONUS own brand of
eye pieces—although I opted for the “Deluxe” package of a wider
assortment, including a 25mm which, with the short focus, gives crystal
clear rich field views of the sky. Taken to it’s maximum, this little
scope, at 245X begins to break down visually (245X and 275X look exactly
the same). However, at
magnifications of 125 to 200, surreal views of the Cassini division and
the cloud tops on Jupiter are clear. Nebula, especially with hydrogen
colored filters, become alive, and the nebulosity is easily seen. Star
clusters and other bright objects, even at low magnification were crystal
clear, and M31 will fill the eyepiece at medium magnifications.
Stars, down to a magnitude of about 10 were a single perfect point,
and double stars showed obvious separation in most observations Pros *A class act telescope, light and easy
to set up for the cost of an average department store toy. *With added eyepieces and color
filters a true performer, especially for this looking for a rich field
scope. *The tracking motor allows longer
length photography. *The service (at least at Owl) is
second to none- scope comes with 24 month warranty-better than many
others. *Good heavy mount. *Unbeatable service and support-and
price $$$. Cons *The tripod is a bit unstable for
photography unless used at its lowest setting. *The focuserr would be better if a bit
more rigid—say of steel. This one shows no sign of problems however. Conclusions Given the capabilities of this small
scope, the weight, and fast focal length, this is the perfect travel
scope. As a back up scope it is great for a quick look at planets, nebula,
and double stars. Submitted
by Dr. W. Sumner Davis, Director
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