PlaneWave - CDK12.5

The CDK telescope is a brand new optical design invented by Dave Rowe. The goal of the design is to make an affordable astrographic telescope with a large enough imaging plane to take advantage of the large format CCD cameras of today. Most telescope images degrade as you move off-axis from either coma, off-axis astigmatism, or field curvature. The CDK design suffers from none of these problems. The CDK is coma free, has no off-axis astigmatism, and has a flat field. The design is a simple and elegant solution to the problems posed above. The CDK consists of three components: an ellipsoidal primary mirror, a spherical secondary mirror and a lens group. All these components are optimized to work in concert in order to create superb pinpoint stars across the entire 42mm image plane.

The new CDK optical design is the innovative solution for unsurpassed astroimaging quality at an affordable price.   The purpose
of the design is to provide a telescope that will excel at imaging with large format CCD cameras while remaining superb for visual
use.  The CDK design far exceeds the off-axis performance of most commercial telescope designs including the Ritchey-Chretien
design. The RMS spot sizes at the edge of a 52mm diameter image circle yield are 12 microns, about the size of a pixel of most CCD
cameras.    

This no-compromise design is unique in making the optical alignment very forgiving and collimation very easy.  This guarantees
the user will be sure to get the best performance out of the telescope possible.   The end result at the image plane of the CDK
design is no off-axis coma, no off-axis astigmatism, perfectly flat field (no off-axis defocus), all the way out to a 52mm image
circle.  All this means, the stars will be pinpoints from the center of the field of view out to the corner of the field of view.

Features and Specifications

System

Aperture	 12.5"
Focal Length	 2541 mm
Focal ratio	 f/8
Central Obstruction	 39%
Back Focus	 10.445" from focuser mounting surface, 7.2" from racked in focuser
Weight	 46 lbs
OTA Length 	 31" 
Optical Tube	 Carbon Fiber
Optical Performance	Vignetting Plot   -   Spot and Diffraction Diagrams
Overall Dimensions	 Dimensions PDF

Primary Mirror

Diameter	13"
Aperture	12.5"
Focal ratio	f/8
Mounting	Laser Collimated and Permanentely Fixed 
Material	Precision Annealed Pyrex
Shape	Prolate Ellipsoid
Coating	Enhanced Aluminum - 96%

Secondary Mirror

Diameter	4.65"
Material	Precision Annealed Pyrex
Shape	Spherical
Coating	Enhanced Aluminum - 96%

Lens Group

Diameter	70mm
Number of lenses	2
Coating	Broadband AR Coatings (less than .5% from 400 to 700nm)
Standard Features

Carbon Fiber Tube Design	Minimizes thermal expansion which causes focus shift with changes in temperature
Dovetail expansion joint	Allows for the difference in thermal expansion between carbon fiber and aluminum.  The expansion joint
allows the aluminum dovetail expand and contract without stressing the carbon fiber lower truss
2.75" Hedrick Focuser	Heavy duty no-slip focuser.  The focus tube runs on 5 bearings and is driven by a leadscrew so there is no
chance of slipping.  It accepts an optional dial indicator and PlaneWave's EFA Kit to control many electronic accessories.  The
draw tube travel is 1.3".   (View picture) (View picture 2)
Cooling Fans	Three fans blow filtered air onto the back of the primary mirror to help it quickly equibrate to the ambient
temperature.  The fans are controlled by a switch on the optical tube or can be controlled by a computer if the optional EFA Kit
is purchased.