Unboxing : Kasai Trading Zingaro - 8" Newtonian OTA

[depardeuz]

First of all, I must state that I am not the first person to get this scope. But my intention to get this scope is its light weight and easily disassembled for transportation i.e. via public transport in Singapore.

I have ordered the scope via http://www.kasai-trading.jp/stocked-telescopes.htm. Yes, every single description on the webpage is in Japanese. You can make out what items to go with this scope and how much it will cost in Japanese yen. But the vendor is able to email in English. So fret not! I went to email them directly via order@kasai-trading.jp but actually there is one link for enquiries: inquiry@kasai-trading.jp.

So I eventually confirmed the specs and total cost of the scope with the vendor, Mr Kasai-san on 17 March 2014 via email. The scope arrived to SG on 19th March 2014 and delivered to me on 20th March 2014 evening! The total cost of the scope includes the shipping and paypal 3% charge. No extra cost upon delivery at SG.

The box arrived: L:540mm x W:350mm x H:240mm





This is an 8 inch F5 scope with FL of 1000. The one thing about this scope is that you pay for the parts of the scope such as finderscope base, vixen adapter, light shroud ring, light shroud. You will notice a row of 6 holes on the main support arm. Those holes facilitate the user to re-position the secondary mirror to achieve the required back focus and thereby a faster F-ratio.



Helical focuser with endpoint stopper so that you won't find your eyepiece dropping off the scope! It gives a reasonably tight feel while in operation unlike other helical focusers which are comparatively flimsier to use



The secondary mirror assembly and primary mirror cell are made in such a way that they could be secured by 2 x securing thumbscrews:



The inner 3 x thumbscrews are for collimation. The 2 x extra thumbscrews near the edge of the metal box are the securing screws for the secondary assembly to attach itself to the primary mirror cell for storage.



There are another 4 x thumbscrews for holding the primary mirror cell and the secondary mirror assembly.



Assembling this scope isn't too difficult but you will need enough space and a level surface to do it. The whole scope weighs in at 5.3 kg.



The main support is held by a non-magnetic metal material. The support arm for the secondary mirror assembly is swivelled out via a hinged held by 2 x socket screws.





The secondary mirror assembly and primary mirror cell:





I am impressed by the speed of delivery and also the cleanliness of the mirrors. And the Primary mirror is centre-marked. Impeccable service!!

Pros:

-Light weight and ease of assembly
-Easily portable i.e. The largest part of the scope is the combined mirror cell and secondary mirror assembly which is only 320mm x 270mm x 120mm and weigh 4.3 kg. You can stow it away in your backpack.
-With the 8 inch scope weighing in at just 5.3 kg, this allows the use of my Skywatcher GOTO tripod.
-The secondary mirror assembly can be re-positioned, giving the user the needed back focus and a faster F ratio. Astrophotographers may benefit from this.

Cons:

- Care to be taken when assembling the scope. Must be on level surface.
- Extremely exposed Primary mirror. You know what I mean.
- The focuser position is actually perpendicular to the OTA - straight up. The Zingaro 6 inch was designed to be slung via a strap for handheld stargazing. Apparently, the same design consideration was factored in the 8 inch too. So it is a bit awkward compared to our usual Newtonians that has the focuser affixed at an angle.

Since the rain has finally arrived, I have yet to first light the scope. I will update as I go along. Thanks for reading!

[roma_my]

Nice toy. Do let us know how it's perform.

[depardeuz]

Nice toy. Do let us know how it's perform.

Hi Roma, will do when I get chance to do so! Thanks!

[Gary]

Nice review with photos! $64,000 question all readers must be asking now is "what is the total cost?".

[depardeuz]

Nice review with photos! $64,000 question all readers must be asking now is "what is the total cost?".

Why "$64,000" ? Anyway, couple of people already know how much it will cost. Just visit the kasai website.

And yes, the scope first lighted at Bishan - Ang Mo Kio Park (BSP) on 22 March 2014 at our usual spot outside the Mac. Had the honour of getting useful pointers from Dave, Ava and Cloud_cover on the setup. Will definitely see how best to resolve those issues.





Observations:

-The secondary assembly is quite shallow - does not block out any stray lights
-The horizontal position of the focuser is actually a very comfortable position to view when scope is going up zenith but it also mean that stray/street lights goes straight into the eyepiece!
-A lot of vibrations when the gusts of wind blow against the setup. Could be due to:
a) The Skywatcher GOTO base has only ONE locking screw the hold the whole scope
b) The weight of 5.3+kg is pushing its holding limit (actually it was pretty fine and held tracking for at least 5 mins on Jupiter's GRS when there was no wind blowing, that is)
c) The scope is light and the shroud catches wind like a yacht in the sea compared to my heavier 8" Skywatcher Flextube OTA which already weigh in at 11 kg on its own.

Some of the suggestions given:
- Fashion a dew shield-like cover at the sceondary assembly to block the stray light (Doable and pretty darn good suggestion!)
- Use a Porta2 with no tracking, with its 2 x securing screws at the holder, should be more stable and able to reduce the possible flexing of the scope when the wind blows.

I didn't manage to get a decent picture of the objects viewed during the sidewalk. But I can say the 8" mirror did not disappoint though a nearby C6 SCT seems to trump it with a nice view of Saturn! But then again, this is a F5 scope. And I have an 8" scope with GOTO and really can travel without breaking my back

Btw, I just like to add that at this juncture, I am still not comfortable to assemble my scope at the ob site. Namely due to:

- I just bought this scope (You know what I mean)

- Quite a lot of assembling to do and you have to make sure the scope doesn't turn over with the Primary mirror or something hitting the Primary mirror. Sometimes, freak accidents might just happen. The reason being the centre of gravity is actually at the main supporting arm. When you assemble one end of the scope, the whole thing might just overturn before you fix the other end.

- So I assembled it with its shroud and all and put it with my other accessories in my Auntie Marketing Pullcart (A.M.P) (TM) . It was one of the lightest bag I ever brought out for a stargazing session with an 8" scope!

[antares2063]

Hi honglian
For me i use good tape to tape the vertical gaps of the upper half. For the main mirror i made a 3 inch high cardboard and rolled it around the diameter of the mirror. This method works for me so far (minus shroud)

Yes stray ligts in sg too much...need to go dark site with this scope to realise its full potential on DSOs
Hope this helps

Regards,
Junwei

[Airconvent]

whoa depardeuz, nice new toy! No wonder so many clouds these past few days
But I would caution on the use of the mount. 5.3kg is a little heavy and need to factor in sometimes you accidently hit the OTA and that might just tip it over the limit. I once connected my Skywatcher ED80 OTA on a similar Celestron mount and it seemed to want to break apart anytime...!

The OTA looks more like a Truss Dob than a pure Newtonian. The kit does not include a base?

Regards

[bornfree]

i tried Mystiq's setup and found that the vibrations i get is mainly due to the shroud acting like a sail. on my inox, if i loosen the tension, this scope with ita shroud is practically a wind vane. i could tell the direction of the wind. when tighten the tension, i could hear the wind rustle the shroudwhen a greally strong n long gust happened to blow by.

[depardeuz]

@Airconvent: This OTA does not have its own base. It is really a newt without 80% of its body!

@antares2063: I think your idea is good. Will try it out with thin foam sheet from Popular and elastic bands. However, u will still need a light shield opposite the focuser and extend it outwards like those light shields on those big dobs. Taping the little gap between the black metal plates may have little effect unless it is opposite the focuser.

@bornfree: I agree with you. The shroud really catches wind. Thus, go back to antares2063 suggestion!:)

Thanks!!!!!

[antares2063]

It catches the wind to enable us to sail through the sea of stars...

Airconvent : its a newtonian designed with portability in mind, the word Zingaro is "gypsy" in Italian.