Another member arrived in my astronomy-family, another Fraunhofer, also this time it's a Sky-Watcher. Optically it is a 120mm f/5 having focuser which can handle 2” eyepieces. OK, possessing the 6” version, what would I need the (about) 5” version for? Don't, (I) don't know... I was at a rally, and there was it, 200€ including a 6x30 finder scope an brackets. What more do you want...
Sky-Watcher (Synta, if you have a closer look) is known for producing solid refractors. At least for the larger ones I would sign this...
The SK1206 gave visually nice results on stars and fainter objects. The lens-cell appears not to open any collimation possibilities, nevertheless, a test on a star revealed good collimation. On brighter objects, such as Jupiter, you want to make sure to use a filter that removes the blue (violet). I used a contrast-booster with good results. With higher power eyepieces Jupiter showed nice detail.
For a first test the SK1206 was mounted on a H-EQ5, which carried the SK15075 before. My impression is that the mount suites the SK1206 muuuuuch better than the big brother. First of all the lighter scope requires one (5kg) counter weight only, that means also that the setup of the scope is more convenient for the occasional back-yard observation.
Optically the instrument pretty much follows the expectations. Fraunhofer, f/5, wide field, best used with 2” accessories. I made some observations including pictures using the modified toucam... with reasonable results. Nothing worth to be published though. The SK15075 images will give you some impression about was is to be expected with the smaller brother... Regarding the slightly different focal length...
Last modified May 29th 2005