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Old 08-10-2020, 09:29 AM
N1 (Mirko)
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Dunners Nu Zulland
Posts: 1,662
Well done Zed on the 8". That's a solid package. I got the same 2nd hand five years ago and it's provided endless hours of eyepiece fun and is still heavily used. They are incredible value.

Yes you need a tool to collimate it (not hard, with a bit of practice), but other than that, you can get crackin' with what you have there.

Maintenance wise, I pull the mirrors out of mine just before the start of each season and give them a clean. Good instructions here on IIS on how to do that. Depending on your climate, this may not be needed that often where you are.

A few things to watch for on the GSO altitude bearings, whose design I really like: Make sure you balance the tube well, and set the altitude bearings to the correct tension during operation (i.e. just tight enough so it doesn't move on its own but no tighter). Also make sure the bearings sit nice and tight in their cradles. If not, add some felt or whatever until they do. The lazy Susan Azimuth bearing is nothing special but does the job if kept clean and properly tensioned. Doing the above allows mine to be hand-tracked at >400x with no issue (and that mirror absolutely can deliver that kind of power if the seeing permits), or for some basic planetary imaging.


You might end up using it more than your wife will, unless that was the plan all along?
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