Mag 1 portaballs

I've been thinking about picking up one of the Mag 1 8 or 12.5 inch portaballs. Just looking for some input from anyone with experience with these. I haven't seen anything used on the Mart which could be good or perhaps not so good. Thanks guys.

Mark,
I have the 10" f/5. I found it here on Astromart through a "Wanted" listing. I was very lucky. They don't come up too often and buying them new from Peter Smitka requires a substantial wait. I still feel like a newbie with the scope even though I've had it for 17 months. I don't get out to dark skies very often. I do my viewing from my roof in NYC and the planetary and lunar views are remarkable! They're a very elegantly designed scope. But Peter builds them for visual observing. So if you think you might get into astrophotography, you should consider another scope. If it's visual you're after, then you really need to look through one of these! Good luck. -Curtis

Mark, I used to own an 8" Portaball. I used it for over a year, and I sat down and thought about all of its good points and bad points. I concluded that I should sell my 8" Portaball... after I could find a 12.5" Portaball to use instead!

I sold my 8" Portaball through Astromart, but I'm guessing that many Portaball sales never happen on Astromart. (I was fortunate to purchase my 12.5" Portaball through S&S Optika, a fine telescope dealer in Denver, Colorado.)

If your interest is visual observing, any of the Portaballs, equipped with superb Zambuto mirrors, should bring you years of pleasure. I can honestly state that my 12.5" Mag1 Portaball is a perfect balance of aperture, optical quality and ease of use. For me, a Portaball on a tracking platform is the perfect personal observing system.

If you're not sure about these telescopes, there may be an owner near you who'd be happy to share an evening of observing with you. (I'm located in Colorado.)

Initially I thought they were expensive for a
Newtonian. But ten minutes into using one,
I decided I had to get one myself. I've got two
now, and am very happy with them. They are really
well-engineered, and well-made by any standard.
Superb for visual observing. Great optics
(wavefront specs like 1/99 wave RMS). Performance
is close to an APO refractor of the same
aperture; much better than you would usually
expect for a typical Newtonian (perhaps the
open tube design and ventalation system
helps?). I use mine on an equatorial platform for
tracking.

Peter is also great for customer service.
Now and then I'll send one in for some
upgrade, and he'll go over the whole scope
and fix everything on it, often free of
charge. Few scope makers are this good.

Only bad thing I discovered, was that its hard
to use a binoviewer on the 8" model due to
the extra weight it places at the top. I think
some may have worked around it by placing more weight
in the ball; not sure. I think these would also
be somewhat challenged for imaging, again due
to balance and no "locks" on the axes.

I think the lack of them on Amart reflects both
the small numbers out there and customer
satisfaction. They tend to be keepers.
Most people will sell only to get a larger one,
or if they decide to change emphasis to imaging.

Mark,
Inge Skauvik, a Norwegian who posts extensively in the Double & Variable Star Observing forum, recently upgraded to a 12.5" PB from an 8" PB. His posts are excellent and, by themselves, give a good quantitative feel for the capabilities of these instruments. If you could engage him in an email exchange, I think most of your questions would be answered. From what I've read, the PortaBall is one of the best Dobs out there.