iOPTRON - Astronomy Technology Today

NEWPRODUCTS
KENDRICK ASTRO INSTRUMENTS
Adds New Secondary-Mirror Heaters
Kendrick Astro Instruments has
announced two new additions to its secondary
mirrorheaterline:the2029-Mand2029-XM.
Both are of the split-ring design and are specifically
designed for retrofit application on the
popular Skywatcher and Orion (US) 12-inch
and 14-inch Dobsonian telescopes. The secondary
mirrors of these telescopes can be susceptible
to dew, and the new Kendrick heaters
solve the issue handily. The heaters have sufficient
power to clear a fogged-over secondary
when set to high power, Kendrick recommendsacontrollersettingof30-to50-percent,
depending on conditions.
The split-ring design makes installation
onto these exposed secondary mirrors very
easy. Kendrick even includes a neoprene insulator
so that the warmth generated by the
heater goes into the glass and not into the
atmosphere.
Kendrick Astro Instruments is currently
taking orders on the heaters, but they will not
be in stock until approximately mid-to-late of
April. The 2029-M is priced at $45CAN and
the 2029-XM at $55CAN. For more information,
please visit www.kendrickastro.com.
ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS
Deluxe Mini 50-mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Orion’s original Mini 50-mm Guide
Scope broke new ground in delivery of an
affordable, lightweight solution to autoguider
applications. Because it mounts using
the ubiquitous Orion-style universal finder-scope
dovetail mounting bracket, many
telescopes are already equipped to accept
the little guider, and a dovetail bracket saddle
is even included for retrofitting scopes
that aren’t.
Like many modern finder scopes,
focus of the original Mini -50-mm Guide
Scope is adjusted via a front-mounted,
threaded objective cell and locking collar,
and while this mechanism certainly works,
many users find the focus system to be less
intuitive than rear mounted systems. So,
for astrophotographers wanting the optimum
in ease of use and precision focus
action, Orion has
introduced the
new Deluxe Mini
50-mm Guide
Scope with Helical
Focuser.
This built-in, rearmounted
helical-focus assembly features
a non-rotating camera collar — rotation
of the helical focus ring will not cause
the attached guide camera to rotate during
focus adjustment, ensuring that the field of
potential guide stars does not move as the
guider is focused. Guide cameras can be
mounted by either T-thread or standard
1.25-inch nose-piece.
Despite the addition of the helicalfocus
assembly, the new guide scope
weighs just 1.2 pounds and measures only
6.8 inches in length. Orion’s Deluxe Mini
50-mm Guide Scope is priced at
$169.99US.
For more information, please visit
www.telescopes.com.
Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY 19