10" RC recommendations?

[Octane (Humayun)]

k, go.

H

[Somnium (Aidan)]

are there many options at 10" (apart from GSO and the million rebrands) ?

[Octane (Humayun)]

That's what I'm trying to find out.

H

[gregbradley]

Tak BRC 250 is gorgeous, heavy and expensive although not too bad occasionally 2nd hand.

Carbon Fibre GSO is the obvious one.

Not many start at 10 inches. A 2nd hand 10 inch RCOS.

Orion Optics do a 10 inch ODK I think.

http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/ODK/odkoptimiseddall.html

I suppose RC versus CDK type scopes is worth a look. RC are harder to collimate. ODK are easier. Spot sizes are supposed to be smaller with ODK optics. Orion Optics also offer 1/10th wave mirrors for a relatively small extra cost. ODK optics are faster than RC F6.8 versus F8 or F9.

Mike S Orion Optics UK AG scope seems to have a very good mirror and is a great performer.

F6.8 is fast but not that fussy. As you go shorter F ratios the optics become more fussy very often unless you stick to APOs.

Greg.

[Octane (Humayun)]

I would like to aim for 2m focal length, as I'd like to start shooting galaxies.

Deep Sky Instruments look good, too.

I also understand that the cheaper options would require a $1K investment in a focuser, too.

H

[glend (Glen)]

Re the GSO, I have the RC08 and it does need to be tuned as out of the box they have issues. You probably will need to buy the collimation ring which the tubes don't come with but apparently the truss version does. Yes the focuser is sus. Whatver RC you buy you'll need a TAK Collimation Scope and adaptor , allow $300-400 for that as well. If GSO be prepared to fiddle with it but they are good when sorted out

[Octane (Humayun)]

Glen, my problem is that I don't know the first thing about collimation. I know that whatever route I go, I'm going to have to learn it.

Cheers for the collimation rings/scopes heads up.

H

[lazjen (Chris)]

I better learn how to collimate one day too as I've never done it.

Anyway, if you get a GSO RC10, you will need to get another focuser, so that does add to the cost. Still, I'm quite satisfied with the CF version I've got.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

http://www.deepskyinstruments.com/truerc/rc10c.html

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Unless you're going premium H, get yourself a 5 or 6" refractor

[lazjen (Chris)]

Originally Posted by marc4darkskies

http://www.deepskyinstruments.com/truerc/rc10c.html

That looks great and has a number of features "built-in" that you need to sort out with the GSO, e.g. the focuser.

I wonder what the price difference is between this and a kitted up GSO version? And if there's much difference in the results achievable?

[glend (Glen)]

Seriously these top of the line RCs are great instruments but the investment required for someone dipping their toe into RCs is significant. Sort of like learning to drive in a Ferrari. I'd suggest starting with the basic tube version of the GSO and go from there. You will learn alot about RCs through tuning the GSO for your purposes, and not need to be too precious with it. Sure you may need to replace the focuser, and buy a collimation ring, and a few other things but the combined cost is going to be less than a third of what the entry level high end RCs would cost.
I'd like to hear what Paul Haese has to say about this topic.

[DJT (David)]

Interested on the 10 inch options as well for the same reasons as you, H.DSI looked good with their RC till I noted its preorder builds only but I liked the idea of the focuser being on the secondary.

With the GSO, absolutely agree with Glen. Go into it with a plan and the budget to upgrade the focuser, get the collimation ring, the tak scope and the OAG (did we not mention the OAG before? helps a lot for longer focal lengths) and thread everything which will also add to the price.


Must admit though I'm not sure about the 10 compared to the 8 in terms of how the focuser is attached and whether or not that's still an issue. Wheres Paul?

Now what I really want to know is where on earth all of the GSO stock focusers end up? Mines pristine, never used!

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Barlow a newt, put a good focused on and still save some cash?

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by Octane

I would like to aim for 2m focal length, as I'd like to start shooting galaxies.

Deep Sky Instruments look good, too.

I also understand that the cheaper options would require a $1K investment in a focuser, too.

H

2 metres at 250mm aperture is F8 which will be slowish. You'll need to do really long exposures and extra total integration time.

ODK 10 at F6.8 is 1700mm which is pretty close and probably great for most seeing with the current smaller pixelled cameras.

Tak BRC250 worked well with Microline 8300 for galaxies at F5. You can get Tak extenders to lengthen the focal length as well.

Better to use a shorter focal length and smaller pixels.
Shiraz is doing pretty well with galaxies using an F4 250mm Newt.

Deep Sky 2nd hand if you can find one. They bought out RCOS and have discontinued their amateur product line to chase Military jobs.

Bottom line Humi I think bang for buck the GSO RCs whilst perhaps a project are hard to beat. No wonder Deep Sky Instruments changed direction as the GSO product must have killed their sales.

Greg.

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by DJT

Now what I really want to know is where on earth all of the GSO stock focusers end up? Mines pristine, never used!

Maybe we could send them back for a credit? If GSO is serious about these scopes it should either sell them as 'fit for purpose' with a Feathertouch and. Collimation Ring, or offer a stripped version with no focuser but with the Ring. They need to have a think about how these scopes sit in the market and why people want changes.

[Octane (Humayun)]

I've been ogling the ODK10.

By the time you add all the accessories (plates, tube rings, adapters, dew shield), and a focuser, it tops out really, really quickly.

I have a choice between a Paramount or a new telescope. I've longed to do long focal length imaging since I got my first LX90 LNT 8". My G-11 gives me perfect round stars even at 30-minute exposures with MaxIm DL showing quite a flat guide graph, so, there's no problem there.

I'm really torn at the moment. I'm really put off by the whole DIY aspect of the GSO scopes -- all the more because I am a complete gumby when it comes to hands-on stuff. I've always owned quality equipment which has just worked without tinkering. The most I've ever had to do was install a RoboFocus on my FSQ-106N.

I want to be able to bang on my STL-11000M and just start imaging.

The Orion Optics telescopes need 3-4 months lead time as they're built to order, I believe.

Maybe it is time to get my hands dirty and buy a GSO?

H

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Originally Posted by Octane

I've been ogling the ODK10.

...I'm really put off by the whole DIY aspect of the GSO scopes -- all the more because I am a complete gumby when it comes to hands-on stuff. I've always owned quality equipment which has just worked without tinkering. ...

.... Maybe it is time to get my hands dirty and buy a GSO?

H

You answered your question before you asked it! The only tinkering you should have to do is collimation. Unless of course you actually ENJOY tinkering.

ODK10 looks okay - shame about the exchange rate though. If you want to capture galaxies, be careful going below 2000mm. I did some at 1760 with my TOA (that's F11.7) with good results but I was never really happy with the image scale (using an STL).

[SimmoW (SIMON)]

H, try contacting Nick Jones on our FB group, he's having a few issues with his GSO RC I think. And yes, I wouldn't worry about upgrading the mount, your results look bloody good with the G11

[AlexN]

Deepsky instruments bought out RCOS and as a result no longer make the rc10c.. Deepsky instruments only make the ruggedised military special rc's. The gso rc's seem great to me and given that you are willing to spend a little extra on upgrading a few things that should be standard. A new focuser, secondary heater, focuser collimation ring dew shield, tak collimation scope etc. Look at some of the images from gso rc's on this forum. Paul's 12" is pulling exceptional images from the sky purely because he invested the money to fix what needed fixing and the time to tweak the setup to be the best it could be.