Questar Field Model


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Brand and Model:Questar Field Model
Price ($USD):$3100
Type:Maksutov-Cassegrain
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:89mm (3.5")
f Ratio:f/0
Focal Length:1300mm
Finder:na
Electric Power:na
Mount:na
Tripod:Bogen
Weight (lbs):2 lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:Primary use is for terrestrial but also enjoy for Astro use along side my
TV-85,, I find the Tele Vue EPs offer better detail than the Brandon, the TV-85 is also just a tad better on resolution,, just wish it had the ep focus abitlity that the Q has for very accurate focus,,

The Q is certainly more friendlier for mobility and handling in the field and the built in barlow is always nice, would like to see it at either 2x or 2.5x,,

Love em both and their quality will allow them to be enjoyed by the grandkids some day,,

Vote Highlights Vote
Questar Field Model
The only reason I have the Field Model 3.5" Questar rather than the Standard Model is that I already had a Fecker 4" EQ fork-mounted Newtonian when I got the Q from the factory in New Hope in 1967. I got the Q as a 1300mm telephoto lens for my Nikon F. In comparison it blew the Fecker out of the celestial seas.
So I removed the Fecker OTA and installed a cradle between the fork's arms to hold the Q with its tripod adapter. Then I removed the wooden legs from the mount and adapted it to fit on the Davis & Sanford tripod I got along with my Q.

Essentially I have the advantage of the Duplex Model at the much lower cost of the Field Model. When using the 'scope for terrestrial viewing I remove the fork. For celestial work I have the clock drive, the slow motion, and the circles.

Over the years I have given a lot of sidewalk astronomy observing parties with that little telescope. In Brazil we were in Porto Alegre where I was showing the planets to Mary and her Brazilian husband. Mary had been a Fulbright Scholar that we met at the U.S. Consulate in São Paulo.

A minister happened along and joined us. He talked me into returning that December to give the Christmas story lecture to his congregation along with an observing party.

Howsomever, on the trip back South to the tip of Brazil I broke a rear axle in the Land Rover Dormobile (camper conversion at the factory in England of the 12-passenger Land Rover station-wagon), put the vehicle into four-wheel drive, giving an effective front-wheel drive and drove it that way about 1500 miles! Mary's husband owns a garage in Porto Alegre and he got me a new axle. Whew!

(When we got to Brazil at the end of 1967 the life-span of the Brazilians was 45 years. Now it is 67+ and climbing. My wife solved Brazil's single worst medical problem and 29 worst famine problems. Starting as a Field Project Expert of the FAO, working closely with the WHO, those being the two arms of the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), she ended as Officer-in-Charge of the UNDP. That was before she went to medical school, on the basis of her Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Now she's a Geriatric Internist.

(The trip home from Brazil via Patagonia by Land Rover was interesting. . . .The trip was 19,000 miles in four months, crossing the Andes Mountains seven times, the Sierra Madres four times, and the Rockies once. I lecture on that trip, mostly to gem and mineral societies, along with lectures such as "My Experiences Hunting Diamonds in Brazil and the USA," "The Extinction of the Dinosaurs," etc. The latter is from the viewpoint of an astronomer.)

Writing my dissertation on planetarium curriculum development at the Universidade de São Paulo I was allowed to use the 8" Clark refractor at the Universidade's observatory every clear night I wanted it for three years. Side-by-side with the Clark, the Questar was far sharper; however the Clark had greater resolving power due to its diameter.

Vote: 10

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=168049

>The only reason I have the Field Model 3.5" Questar rather than the Standard Model is that I already had a Fecker 4" EQ  fork-mounted Newtonian when I got the Q from the factory in New Hope in 1967. I got the Q as a 1300mm telephoto lens for my Nikon F. In comparison it blew the Fecker out of the celestial seas. 
>   So I removed the Fecker OTA and installed a cradle between the fork's arms to hold the Q with its tripod adapter. Then I removed the wooden legs from the mount and adapted it to fit on the Davis & Sanford tripod I got along with my Q. 
>
>   Essentially I have the advantage of the Duplex Model at the much lower cost of the Field Model. When using the 'scope for terrestrial viewing I remove the fork. For celestial work I have the clock drive, the slow motion, and the circles. 
>
>   Over the years I have given a lot of sidewalk astronomy observing parties with that little telescope. In Brazil we were in Porto Alegre where I was showing the planets to Mary and her Brazilian husband. Mary had been a Fulbright Scholar that we met at the U.S. Consulate in São Paulo. 
>
>   A minister happened along and joined us. He talked me into returning that December to give the Christmas story lecture to his congregation along with an observing party. 
>
>   Howsomever, on the trip back South to the tip of Brazil I broke a rear axle in the Land Rover Dormobile (camper conversion at the factory in England of the 12-passenger Land Rover station-wagon), put the vehicle into four-wheel drive, giving an effective front-wheel drive and drove it that way about 1500 miles! Mary's husband owns a garage in Porto Alegre and he got me a new axle. Whew!
>
>   (When we got to Brazil at the end of 1967 the life-span of the Brazilians was 45 years. Now it is 67+ and climbing. My wife solved Brazil's single worst medical problem and 29 worst famine problems. Starting as a Field Project Expert of the FAO, working closely with the WHO, those being the two arms of the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), she ended as Officer-in-Charge of the UNDP. That was before she went to medical school, on the basis of her Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Now she's a Geriatric Internist.
>
>   (The trip home from Brazil via Patagonia by Land Rover was interesting. . . .The trip was 19,000 miles in four months, crossing the Andes Mountains seven times, the Sierra Madres four times, and the Rockies once. I lecture on that trip, mostly to gem and mineral societies, along with lectures such as "My Experiences Hunting Diamonds in Brazil and the USA," "The Extinction of the Dinosaurs," etc. The latter is from the viewpoint of an astronomer.)
>
>   Writing my dissertation on planetarium curriculum development at the Universidade de São Paulo I was allowed to use the 8" Clark refractor at the Universidade's observatory every clear night I wanted it for three years. Side-by-side with the Clark, the Questar was far sharper; however the Clark had greater resolving power due to its diameter. 
>
>Vote: 10

Stay off the back roads.  Stick to the highways....

Questar Field Model
I have one. Questar used 6 of my eclipes shots on the inside of Sky & Telescope.
This went on for many years.
Mike Clark
E-Mail tabasco-man@home.com

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=41253


Questar Field Model
9.5,, is the best scope for all around field work, portability and viewing,, also used on some astro items mounted on one of Bogen's best tripods with a fluid head, a fantastic pair,,

the Tele Vue eps offer a small amount of improved sharpness and color over the supplied Brandon,, can be less cost also if selecting their Plossls,,

as for star test the Q provides the usual sharpness and pattern on both sides of focus,, definitely has the resolution ability to split doubles within its design limits very easy, if the sky allows,, counting bicycle spokes at one mile is for real,,

the ability to focus close -10' without any adapters is fantastic for select macro photography,,

do wish the internal barlow was either a 2x or even a 2.5x in lieu of the 1.6x,, often run a 2.5x powermate in front of a TV plossl with super results,,

quality is exceptional allowing ownership to be passed on to your next generation,,

a dynamite scope in the most portable package,, used most every week,,

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=41252

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