The Sky-Watcher Equinox 100 ED serves as my main telescope, both for visual and for astrophotography use. I purchased this scope from a local telescope dealer in an OTA-only package (no mount and tripod).
My imaging setup
The following are the key features of the OTA:
The telescope comes with a hard case.
This case measures 36 in by 12 in by 9 in (LWH).
It was nice for the manufacturer to include 2 locks.
The Sky-Watcher Equinox 100 ED
The telescope is supplied with one 25 mm low-power and one 5 mm high-power eyepieces.
At F=900 mm, the 25 mm (left) and the 5 mm (right) provides magnification of 36x and 180x, respectively.
Supplied eyepieces are also multi-coated
Supplied also is a 90-degree 2-inch diagonal mirror, which is a standard accessory in any refractor.
A diagonal allows comfortable viewing especially when the refractor puts the observer in an awkward position (e.g., when pointed to the zenith). This accessory may also be needed to achieve focus.
Also included is an 8×50 finder scope.
An 8×50 finderscope
For comparison, an 8×50 finderscope is just slightly larger than a typical 7×50 binoculars
The OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) highlights a research-grade 4-in f/9 extra-low dispersion (ED) apochromatic (APO) lens design, which makes it highly suitable not only for visual observation but also for astrophotography.
*The Optical Tube Assembly (OTA)
This OTA is a 4-inch (100 mm) f/9 system
The high-transmission coatings of the objective lens is visible as a green tint in this image.
It features a dual-speed 2-inch/1-inch Crayford focuser, great for making minute adjustments in focus.
The outer knob is the coarse adjustment knob, while the one at the center is the fine adjustment knob. A thumbscrew underneath locks the drawtube once focus is achieved.
An Allen-type screw at the bottom (left of thumbscrew) allows adjustment on how much tension is applied to the drawtube. You may need to tighten it a little to accommodate heavy loads like DSLRs.
Notice that the draw tube has graduations on it for ease of focusing. Also, for ease of framing, a ring (silver, right) attached to the main body tube allows the whole focuser assembly to rotate 360 degrees.
The tube also has a retractable dew shield with an aluminum dew cap. Shown below is the OTA with the draw tube and the dew shield fully-extended.
The mounting rings/saddle and the supplied dovetail allow easy mounting of the OTA to any telescope mount.
This is my second telescope. I call it Knoxx :)
Knoxx, from Equinox, its product line, and Knox, from my favorite TV series Stargate :)
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For tutorials on how to get started with astrophotography, click here.
For DIY astronomy projects useful for astrophotography, click here.
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© Anthony Urbano (Manila, Philippines)
