Re: Inexpensive Telescope Design Revealed

jsavard@xxxxxxxxx wrote: 
bratislav3162@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

SCT plates are made in thousands by simple vacuum method. And they
are making them rather well these days - can't see how can anyone
improve on that price wise.



I thought it was still true that only a small handful of companies make
them - basically, Celestron and Meade. Bausch and Lomb still makes
other types of telescope, but was driven out of the SCT segment.

And, thus, while we are seeing inexpensive Maksutov-Cassegrain
telescopes from China, we are _not_ seeing SCTs from there. Presumably
even they are afraid of being sued for invading the trade secrets of
Celestron and Meade - or, at least, without access to trade secrets,
making such plates is still difficult.

John Savard


There is generally no legal remedy if someone appropriates another company's industrial trade secrets unless they can prove fraud or physical theft was involved. The Chinese regularly "borrow" intellectual property and nothing happens. Most of the 20,000 or so Chinese spies stationed in the U.S. simply work normal jobs, observe the goings on, and report back regularly. And don't forget that Synta recently purchased Celestron -- given that I doubt there are many unknowns remaining in the art of SCT corrector making.


IMO the reason the Chinese make MCTs versus SCTs is the corrector for a Mak can be all spherical -- 100% machine polished. BK7 glass is incredibly cheap in China, so making MCT correctors costs less even though it uses a "premium" material compared with the plate glass commonly used in the SCT correctors made over here.
.