I'm planning on a travelscope to use when traveling in a motorhome. I'd agreed to purchase a premimum 8" OTA with a 1/20 wave mirror, but the seller backed out at the last moment. (I don't blame him, I'd kept it too if the specs were that good.)
But, that made me start thinking about how high of quality mirror system I might need for a travel system. Say I'm planning on a 8" primary and I rarely expect to use more than 160 power (usually much lower). That's 20x diameter at the max. The top rated mirrors are rated at 50x. So, maybe I really don't need (I'm not saying I might not want) a 1/20th wave mirror for my use.
However, for my use, a smooth mirror finish might be more important than absolute mirror accuracy. I understand a smooth mirror finish produces a higher contrast image.
Could I get your comments on this?
Brad
But, that made me start thinking about how high of quality mirror system I might need for a travel system. Say I'm planning on a 8" primary and I rarely expect to use more than 160 power (usually much lower). That's 20x diameter at the max. The top rated mirrors are rated at 50x. So, maybe I really don't need (I'm not saying I might not want) a 1/20th wave mirror for my use.
However, for my use, a smooth mirror finish might be more important than absolute mirror accuracy. I understand a smooth mirror finish produces a higher contrast image.
Could I get your comments on this?
Brad
