Focuser upgrade

[xelasnave]

For the 8 inch f5 gso refector.
What to consider.
Electric ok but not critical..dont need temp control.
Something better but not overboard.
I have looked but confused.
Rack and pintion would seem better.
But I just dont know.
Whats the flavour of the moment as a basic upgrade if there is something not too expensive.
Alex

[Stonius]

Moonlite. You can order any co fig you want and upgrade later and they're rock solid. If you decide you *do want temperature compensation, motorisation or rotation, all can be fitted later on.

Markus

[garymck]

Baader Diamond Steeltrack - far better than a Moonlight (have owned both)

Buy it here (get all my stuff from here, quicker than buying from Sydney and shipping to Geelong):

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-diamond-steeltrack-focusers/baader-steeltrack-diamond-nt-for-newtonians.html

Prices are reduced by 20% as UK VAT is taken off when they ship to Australia.

Gary

[Stonius]

I've never come across these ones. What is it about them that you like so much? Just curious ��

[garymck]

They have a higher load rating than Moonlight's, different, stronger bearing system, a tube that doesn't flex or have anodising wear off, are guaranteed to have the optical axis aligned with the mechanical axis (Moonlight's in my experience are often significantly off). Moonlights also flex under load. Will never buy another, they are the prettiest around , but unless you can afford a Nightcrawler, by no means are fabulous focusers.

My experience only....
Gary

[Imme]

To put a different spin on this conversation......

Should you spend thousands on a Holden Commodore to try and make it drive like a BMW or do you save yourself the effort and just buy the BMW?

I recently got rid of my 'commodore' (GSO) and bought a 'bmw' (William Optics)....very happy i did.

[Atmos]

You can motorise pretty much any focuser that you get. Lewis has a RoboFocus on sale at the moment that will fit, you'll just need an adapter.

[xelasnave]

Thanks for the input so far.
Anyone know of a rack and pinion for reflectors?
I would be happy to have the focuser that is on my 80 mm espirt.

Alex

[Lognic04]

A moonlite would be great for me because i am looking for an upgrade, mostly because they have the whole mt-160 flange/thread setup as an option! I have only heard good things about moonlite?

[Slawomir]

Feathertouch focusers are mostly RnP and some models are designed for Newtonians: http://www.starlightinstruments.com/Newtonian-Focusers20/index.cfm

[Stonius]

Fair enough. I haven't had any issues with mine yet, though I admit my experience is limited. I take some reassurance from the fact that they seem to have a lot of little screws that can be fiddled with to tweak the action of the focuser in case I ever do need to make any adjustments, but from the sounds of it, none of these were able to help in your case?

Cheers

Markus