Skip to content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to first column
Skip to second column

Mag 1 Instruments

Portaball 8 inch f/5.5

Standard Equipment The following items now come standard on the 8" f/5.5 PortaBall: Sphere Electrical Package MAG 1 Instruments Helical-Crayford focuser Single vane curved spider. A MAG1 exclusive! Quik Finder with MAG1's exclusive easy view reticle Nylon shroud and forward light baffle Fitted PVC tube for trusses Collimation tool for secondary mirror Cheshire collimation eyepiece All stainless steel and/or anodized aluminum parts

Helical-Crayford Focuser We are proud to introduce a unique and refined style of focuser to our customers - the Mag1 Helical-Crayford. We designed this new focuser to be ultra lightweight, very low profile, and to have no image shift. It retains the backlash free fine focus control of a helical, but has the added ability to make very large focus point changes rapidly. A very smooth fine focus motion is achieved by turning the finger friendly, scalloped drawtube that rides against four inclined stainless steel bearings, or after a twist of the tensioning screw, sliding the drawtube up or down for large changes. The focuser parts are made from machined and black anodized aluminum. This PortaBall is equipped with a 2" focuser and will handle boh 1.25" eyepieces with it's included adapter, or moderate weight (up to ~ 20 oz.) 2" eyepieces. Weight constraints make these the only appropriate focusers for this model.

Rigel Systems Quik Finder We've just adopted as our standard finder on all PortaBall models the improved Rigel Systems Quik Finder projected image finder. These compact finders do everything the heavier, bulkier Telrad did plus:
	Tall enough to use either eye to sight with Built in variable rate, pulsing LED Its a snap to install, no tiny knobs or screws One fourth the weight of a Telrad A wider field of view than other finders Small enough to fit in your eyepiece box It can have an anti-dewing element built in
The Quik Finder is standard equipment on all Portaball telescopes. It's also available for separate purchase, call MAG1 for details and prices.

Light Shroud and Shield These two items are designed to increase your images' contrast by reducing stray light and stray objects. The shroud is made from a lightweight, black ripstop nylon, and easily slips onto the telescope after it is assembled. The nearly weightless baffle is made of closed cell foam and quickly attaches to the top of the telescope, helping to block unwanted light from reaching the eyepiece. A shroud and baffle serve to create a tube, but without a tube's weight. These items are recommended if you observe where there is some background light, or you if you like hunting for low contrast objects. Both will easily store inside of your disassembled PortaBall.

Last Updated on Saturday, 27 June 2009 09:13

Portaball 8 inch f/5.5

Overview

Designed to deliver superb visual performance
Compact, lightweight, and highly transportable
Quick setup and knock down
32 pounds total instrument weight
Primary mirror by Zambuto Optical
Unique sphere mount allows easy tracking

Design Objectives

Easy assembly
Intuitive to use
No compromises in materials or workmanship
Premium optical quality

Our goals required a critical look at all of the designs available - even those that were not easy or inexpensive to produce. Our concept of a spherically housed telescope combined with new materials and better construction techniques has resulted in an instrument that is easy to set up, easy to move, and a pure joy to use.

PortaBall 8

Specifications

Sphere size & composition	15.5" Diameter Seamless Fiberglass
Upper tube assembly construction	9.5 inch O.D. Laminate composite
Trusses	5/8 O.D. anodized aluminum
Base New and Improved	CNC machined and anodized aluminum billet
Optics manufacturer	Zambuto Optical Co.
Aperture	8 inches
Focal Ratio	F/5.5
Primary mirror thickness	0.95 inches (1:9)
Secondary size (minor axis)	1.52 inches
Secondary obstruction (diameter)	20%
Maximum Recommended eyepiece weight	Up to 20 oz. including adapter weight
Size and type of focuser	2.00" Mag 1 CNC machined Aluminum Helical-Crayford
Finder	Quik Finder by Rigel Systems, Standard
Eyepiece height at zenith	48 inches

Weight of components
Sphere	24 pounds
Upper Tube Assembly	1.5 pounds
Base	2 pounds
Trusses	2 pounds
Total telescope weight	32 pounds

Last Updated on Friday, 12 June 2009 16:35