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DabsonAstronomy.Com |
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102mm Helios Refractor
Aperture: 102mm
Focal Length: 1000mm/F9.8
Finder Scope: 8 X 40 Optical and Red Dot Finder
Mount/Tripod: Helios EQ 3-2 (CG4) Equatorial Mount
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I purchased this telescope off Ebay while I was stationed in England. This is the primary refractor my oldest son uses. The mount was purchased along with a Helios 6” reflector I am still working on. The Front lens objective cell is not collimateable however, star tests indicate it is very well collimated. The long focal length of 9.8 compensates for it’s achromatic design. Very little aberration is evident even at the bright moon.
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I utilize both a red dot and optical finder on this scope. When purchased the scope had neither. I salvaged the optical finder of the Helios 6” reflector I am still working on. It is not marked however it appears to be an 8 X 40 mm. The Red Dot finder is a generic I purchased in England along with the mounting hardware. The finders compliment each other well and work out great.
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I The mount is an EQ 3-2 variant commonly referred to as a CG4 equatorial. I have nothing but positive comments on the mount. It did take quite a while to track down an appropriate RA motor for it. I don’t believe these mounts are still in production. It has an integrated polar alignment scope which helps out quite a deal. Drift aligning for visual use is not required.
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The scope did not come with a diagonal. I purchased this Antares diagonal in England. It compliments the extremely smooth all metal Rack and Pinion focuser well. There is very little image shift when focusing. The heavier diagonal also helps compensate for the tube being very objective end heavy. All in all an excellent purchase. You don’t come across deals like this often.
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