hmm.. is this an april fool's joke?

swat_pup6433 · Post by **swat_pup6433** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:21 am

http://www.telescope.com/control/produc ... t_id=08958

hmm 8 Inch RC for 1.2k? wonder how it would perform.. I want one!

MooEy · Post by **MooEy** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:27 am

http://www.astronomics.com/main/product ... t_id/AT8RC

and here u have the carbon fiber version

http://www.astronomics.com/main/product ... t_id/AT6RC

and the 6" version

Fuzzy · Post by **Fuzzy** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:41 am

I saw their ads in Astronomy Magazine a few months back, I couldn't believe it then, still seems surreal now..

Anyone want to buy one and test first? hehehe.

Meng Lee · Post by **Meng Lee** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:09 pm

Well, I think the 8" Vixen VC 200L is still the best "RC" bargain, due to its well establishment and available reducer.

The Astrotech RC 12" should be at NEAF, so remember to check out the webcam tonight.

Post by **VinSnr** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:06 pm

Meng Lee wrote:Well, I think the 8" Vixen VC 200L is still the best "RC" bargain, due to its well establishment and available reducer.

The Astrotech RC 12" should be at NEAF, so remember to check out the webcam tonight.

The Meade "RC" is not bad too. I tested one of them and indeed the stars are pretty refractor-like compare to most other SCTs. The star test is also one of the best I have seen. I have star tested dozens of SCTs by now and the Meade "RC" that I tested has the cleanest and most identical rings on both side of focus. To be honest, I was quite shock.

MooEy · Post by **MooEy** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:08 pm

heh, star test speaks very little for imaging. how big is the well corrected fov? wat is the vignetting and light fall off like? how gd are the mechanics, are there any flexure? does it hold collimation and focus well? is there any image shift? what about internal reflection? are there any shiny surfaces that bounce off lots of light?

there are reasons y the tak epsilons,brc/frc, asa, rcos cost arms and legs. and there are also reasons y cheap scopes dun make it to s&t/astronomy's galleries often.

don't underestimate the 8" version, it's prolly going to be far bigger than ur usual c9.25. happy mounting, esp when ur below 1"/pixel

~MooEy~

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:21 pm

I notice the central obstruction seems to be huge. Is that characteristic of RCs? Is the CO bigger than a typical SCT?

Post by **rcj** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 10:39 pm

Having a larger CO is part of the generic RC design, which helps to eliminate coma that is important in imaging. Visual performance can be affected by the larger CO, but when one buys an RC, it is for the purpose of imaging primarily! Note that these fellas mentioned above have faster f-ratios than the usual f/10ish SCTs. Anyway, the CO is still within 20% (not beyond 30%), so you can still use one for visual observing but it will not function well for low contrast separations in tones and details. If anyone is keen to try, it may be worthwhile to spend the additional dollars to get the AstroTech RCs over Orion and GSO. It comes with the Losmandy dovetail base type, extra warranty, and you can mount a guidescope on top via the Vixen-type rail. CF tubing helps, and will be a boon in HA work. As pointed earlier, these are considered high imaging focal length instruments, so make sure your mount tracks properly and show predictable sine perturbations (and small!).

swat_pup6433 · Post by **swat_pup6433** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:11 am

hmmm *unchecks mount tracks properly* *unchecks Small sine perturbations* lol guess this toy is not for me.. back to saving for A FSQ.. *pouts*

Post by **VinSnr** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:33 pm

rcj wrote:Having a larger CO is part of the generic RC design, which helps to eliminate coma that is important in imaging. Visual performance can be affected by the larger CO, but when one buys an RC, it is for the purpose of imaging primarily! Note that these fellas mentioned above have faster f-ratios than the usual f/10ish SCTs. Anyway, the CO is still within 20% (not beyond 30%), so you can still use one for visual observing but it will not function well for low contrast separations in tones and details. If anyone is keen to try, it may be worthwhile to spend the additional dollars to get the AstroTech RCs over Orion and GSO. It comes with the Losmandy dovetail base type, extra warranty, and you can mount a guidescope on top via the Vixen-type rail. CF tubing helps, and will be a boon in HA work. As pointed earlier, these are considered high imaging focal length instruments, so make sure your mount tracks properly and show predictable sine perturbations (and small!).

The Orion 6" RC has a 50% CO. The 8" one has 44%.

Think ok for imaging but for visual. think can't make it.