There are setting circles, and slo motion controls on both axis (more on this later) and the RA/AZ axis is motorized with a 110Vac synchronous motor. The base is a round, flanged affair, again of highly polished aluminum. The OTA is mounted on a traditional dual fork mount made of polished aluminum castings. This is housed in an OTA that is about 11” long. The Q3.5 operates at a nominal F14.4 giving it a focal length of 1300mm. The optics are made by an optical company called Cumberland who apparently also makes optics for the US military. The Questar 3.5” is a classical Maksutov design with the deeply curved corrector with the aluminized ‘spot’ on the inner face that serves as the secondary mirror. As is usually the case, horrible weather accompanied the new telescope, so I had to satisfy myself with views in and from within the house. Of course, my wife by now was used to this and correctly interpreted it as ‘I want to play with my new toy alone’. Once I got home, I served notice to all those around me that I had some serious evaluative work to do, and that I did not want to be disturbed. So after a careful look at and thru the optics (clean and bright), a quick twiddle of all the controls (smooth and precise) and a quick inventory of the parts and accessories (all there as advertised), my wallet was a lot lighter, and my driving on the way home way more careful than if I had mere human passengers in the car with me… It should be, as the ETX90 was basically patterned after the Q3.5”. Overall, it’s about the same size as an ETX90 for comparison. I know it is only 3.5”, but somehow, I expected it to be larger. The second impression was how small it was. It had the signature deep purple sliding dew shield with the star map silk-screened on it and it was a beautiful contrast to the bright polished and lacquered aluminum of the fork mount and base. My first impression was that it was indeed jewel like. I’m ashamed to say my first thought was ‘why was the scope in the trunk while the guy’s wife was comfortably ensconced in the passenger seat?’ I mean, shouldn’t it be the other way around….!Īll heresy aside though, he opened the case and gingerly lifted the Q from its nestled resting place and handed it to me like a newborn. On meeting the seller (finally, in a cold, windswept parking lot because neither of us thought to give the other our phone number and only happened to recognize each other because of the mutual franticness with which we were scrutinizing every car for potential matches – him for his money, me for my new toy…lol), he opened the trunk of his car and there it was – the Questar leather carrying case with a complete (if the ads are to be believed) observatory inside. It is also available in Cervit and Quartz. The mirror substrate was the standard Pyrex. This is Questar’s version of Starbright or UHTC coatings. My particular version was a ‘Standard’ made in 1978 and had the broadband coatings option, as evidenced by the ‘BB’ in the serial number etched in the base. For those not familiar with the Questar offering, the 3.5” comes in 3 flavors, the ‘Standard’ astro model, the ‘Duplex’ model which allows the OTA to be dismounted from the fork mount for use as a spotter, and a dedicated Field spotter OTA for mounting on tripods via standard ¼-20 threads ala camera mounting. So I took the plunge, literally sold off almost every bit of my astro gear, and found myself the proud owner of a Questar 3.5 Standard. I succumbed a while ago when I saw a Questar 3.5” Standard for sale on a Canadian astro buy sell site, and I could drive to meet him and eliminate the nail biting on the shipping end of things. But do they live up to the hype? I no longer have my Q, but thought I would post my thoughts and experiences on this scope so people would have a counterpoint to the effusive ads from the NA Questar retailer. Who amongst us has not lusted after a Questar? Ever since most of us have been in the hobby, we have been tempted by reports of these perfect little jewels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |