Officina Stellare RC 360 Pro ... on the way!

[marc4darkskies]

Bucking the apparent trend these days towards acquiring wide field instruments, I've just taken the plunge and ordered an Officina Stellare RC 360 Pro (through Cris at Astronomy Alive). Among other requirements, my need for a truss scope (to minimise tube currents, cool down and ease of access for light cleaning) and for it to be no larger than about 14” (to fit in my 2.3m Obs) ruled out quite a few other brands. It’s no surprise then that my decision came down to RCOS and Officina Stellare.

Surprisingly, for 3 weeks, my price inquiry to RCOS went unanswered in spite of Peter Ward’s best efforts :shrug:. This speaks to the reliability of ongoing support – a key decision point! RCOS would also have been the most expensive choice. OS’ service and responsiveness on the other hand was remarkable, thanks to Cris at Astronomy Alive and Gino at OS. Also, the optioned up OS spec matches the RCOS reasonably closely (without the ion milling) and their prices are very reasonable. You can get a base model or a bells and whistles model depending on your needs & budget.

Here are the specs:


Officina Stellare RC 360 Pro ST
Clear Aperture: 360 mm (14")
Carbon truss / CNC aluminium
Primary & Secondary heaters
Focal length: 2880 mm
Focal Ratio: f8
Spot size (@26 mm from axis, w/flattener): maximum 5 microns
Usual quality after full reflection at final focus is 1/5 wave P-V and 1/30 wave RMS
Strehl ratio of the mirror pair: Always better than 0.95
Secondary obstruction 42%
Back focus distance 230mm
Standard Interferometric report
Included Options (I went for the bells & whistles version :D):



Astro-Sitall premium optics
Secondary mirror motorized focusser / actuator
ATC-02 electronic controller (control of fans, heaters, secondary actuator etc)
FLI Atlas focuser (Ie you can set the mirror spacing / backfocus accurately at the secondary and then focus with the FLI)
Optec Pyxis rotator
Astrodon MMOAG off axis guider
Custom adapters (in my case for STL11000 CCD / AOL combination)
Fabric elasticised shroud
3 inch Field Flattener
I have about 5 to 6 months of waiting ahead but I’m hoping for end of July-ish. Weather forecast for Sydney during August, September and October ... night time rain punctuated by cloud. :sadeyes:

My TOA will remain my wider field system and deliver at FLs of 860 and 1100mm. The bonus is I can also use the Atlas, rotator and OAG on my Tak as required.

Cheers, Marcus

[RickS]

Sounds like a lovely set up, Marcus! I look forward to some great images once it is up and running.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Peter Ward]

Have to say I am very disappointed with RCOS who simply didn't respond to calls (voicemail) and numerous e-mails. :shrug:

Looking forward to seeing what the OS360 will produce :thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Should be magnificent!:thumbsup:

[David Fitz-Henr]

Well done Marcus! The specs look great; looking forward to seeing some high-res images from you! ... and I understand that you will be the first OS owner in Australia - on the leading edge again, I wish I had your courage!! ;) :P
In reference to your reasons for preferring a truss tube, tube currents and cool-down time are not necessarily an issue for closed tubes provided that they have a good (filtered) air flow system. My "Bunyip" OTA tube is 1625mm long and does not suffer at all from these two issues, having three fans and a large filter to draw the air through. It would, however, be quite nice to have ready access for light cleaning as with a truss tube.

[Octane]

Congratulations on the new (pending) addition to your family. :)

It sounds like an amazing scope.

Question, would it ride atop a G-11 or would one have to upgrade to a Paramount MX/ME II? :)

H

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks guys - very excited! I do confess to being a little nervous though - it's a big expense in any language! One thing about OS though - they appear to have passion for their products, and that instills confidence.



Thanks David, Yes, imagine the scenario of the hapless spider deciding to build it's web deep down inside a 1.6m tube.:mad2:



Thanks H. Yep an MX would do an RC 320 easily. The RC 360 might be tight with a heavy load. Just get an ME II - so you have some room to grow! ;)

[Logieberra]

Yay Marcus! And so glad to hear old faithful TOA still has its place in the starting lineup :)

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Logan - there's no way I'd part with or relegate such a fantastic scope as the TOA! My challenge will be to dual mount both so I can use either scope as the mood strikes!

[allan gould]

Phew! Nice, Markus and enjoy every bit of it. Ill be waiting for those images.
Allan

[h0ughy]

how cool is that - congratulations.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Dave & Allan.

Below are images of what I expect to see. Note that the standard focusser in the first image will be replaced by the Atlas, Pyxis and the MMOAG in the third image.

[strongmanmike]

Attached is a photo of me taken just after I read your post.....

Astro-Sitall..???? Woooo

Man!!....EXPENSIVEEEEEEEE :eyepop: but AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG :thumbsup:

Wow....now all you need is the right site for this beauty! ;)

Mike

[gregbradley]

Sounds like a fantastic imaging machine - congrats Marcus!

Bob Fera has been doing great images for a long time with his 14 inch OS RC.

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Thanks Mike and yes a new observatory site is a must ... at about 700-800m altitude perhaps?! :D



Thanks Greg. Yes, he's done some really nice work - I looked at his images closely. There are a couple of others with 400s as well with some nice results. When I get mine I'll be doing as complete a review as possible - including raw star images - to help those who might follow.

[Logieberra]

The challenge to dual mount? Dual mounts! ME2 for this! :)

[gregbradley]

I imagine the PME should cope with both. PMX is supposed to be able to cope with up to 14 inch Cassegrain. It probably would but I'd find out from someone who is using a similar scope on a PMX before I'd go that route.

Side by side dual mounts seem to introduce flex and balance issues. So piggyback or you just have to swap when you want to change gears? Or get a smaller portable mount and take the TOA to a dark site occassionally?

If I tried to put my AP140 next to my CDK17 or on top of it I think the PME could manage but it would be maxed out. I'd also need to get several more counterweights and do the balancing very very carefully so I did not burn out the motors.

I just put my TEC110 (fairly light) back on top of my CDK and it only needed another counterweight and the PME laughed it off, no worries.

Greg.

[RobF]

Wowser, there is some serious imaging firepower appearing on the shores of Aus lately. Will be exciting to see where this beast will take you Marcus. I feel for you though having to wait that long for the boxes to arrive :)

[marc4darkskies]

I edited my old Obs drawing - rough but reasonably to scale (done in Powerpoint :screwy:) - see below, it's a snug fit. Without shortening the pier my only options would be to either hang the TOA off a side losmandy plate on the OSRC or side by side on the ME's versaplate. I think that 16kg hanging off the side of the OSRC may stretch the friendship a bit though!! I will have space to piggyback if I shorten the pier but still wonder if the TOA is too heavy for that :question:



Thanks for the sympathy Rob - I'm already noticing that time .. i..s ......s..t..a...r...t....i....n.... g ........ t.....o ......... s.....l.....o.....w .................... d........o............w............ ......n :P

PS: I've decided to shorten the pier by 6"

[gregbradley]

Perhaps post this question on the CDK or other type of site where similar scopes are used.

Peter Ward used to have an AP 155 mounted with his 14.25 RCOS. Ask him as he had direct experience plus he is also using a dome.

Greg.

[TraKtorman]

Hi Marcus, I understand your excitement! I bought one of these about 12 months ago. They are indeed a magnificent piece of engineering, and look amazing on an ME. I have mine in a sirius home dome. A couple of things to note. If you are using an ME, SB provide a formula for calculating the optimum peir height. I used that formula and found that the pier was about 4 cm too high. Not a problem if you have an adjustable pier, but I had to get the extention on mine remachined. The other thing is, you will find there is little free space in the dome to mount anything larger than a dslr on the scope and keep a full range of movement on the mount.
One final comment, Gino at OS is an excitable salesman. My scope was not ready to "grab the sky" as he put it, out of the box. That, however is not a criticism of the scope.
I know Jan Rek had some issues with OS service too. His good advice to me was to check the mirror spacing before mounting the scope. The correct spacing is 702mm, as these scopes use astrosib optics.
Happy snaps attached.
I look forward to hearing how it all goes for you.
Regards
Peter

[Logieberra]

Bumped into this last night, a behind the scenes glimpse at OS. Enjoy Marcus.

http://www.astrofoundry.net/Astrotech_RC.htm

[marc4darkskies]

Well blow me down!! :eyepop: I didn't know there was one of these babies in Aus already! :lol: Have you got any astrophotos to share Peter?

I'd be astonished if some adjustment & collimation wasn't required out of the box!! I mean, it's a given isn't it? I'm getting the motorised secondary and ATC-02 control package so adjusting the mirror spacing should be easy (if it all works as advertised).

I've got an ATS pier. They build them with a separate mount adaptor plate that "plugs" into the pier tube. I'll simply remove the adaptor and cut the tube down to size and replace the adaptor. Simple DIY stuff. If I don't shorten the pier the end of the OTA will be perilously close to the dome ceiling. I've already changed the adaptor plate once when I moved from a Tak EM400 to a PME. Quite nice being able to do that and was one of the reasons I went with an ATS pier.



Thanks for that Logan - a few years ago but interesting ... and a couple of nice images to boot :thumbsup:.

[Logieberra]

' ... about 5 to 6 months of waiting ahead but I’m hoping for end of July-ish'.

Marcus, is she getting close? Keep us posted. :)

[marc4darkskies]

End of August at the earliest. Unfortunately, any later and it will bump into some other personal committments that will mean setting it up will be delayed until October! :sadeyes: Patience is a virtue I guess.

[marc4darkskies]

Well, finally! I've been advised that my Officina Stellare RC360 Pro will ship from Italy within the week. I had to wait an extra 2 months, so I'm counting on the wait being worth it! :prey: It's certainly clear though that if you want one of their large scopes you'll have to be patient.

Realistically, it's another 3 weeks away at least - transit time, customs clearance and then a trip down to Melbourne to pick it up from Cris at Astronomy Alive. There's no way I'm going to subject it to local couriers.

Anyhow, a few people have asked so there's the update. Stay tuned, I'll be reviewing the whole experience thoroughly, after it arrives, in a new thread.

Cheers, Marcus

[Logieberra]

Exciting news. Can't wait to see the pics n' results.

[Peter Ward]

You made a good call there Marcus.

Seems, RC Optical-Systems USA, have closed their doors.

I have been unable to contact them and their web-server is no longer connected.......

[Paul Haese]

Good news Marcus. It must be very exciting to have such a large telescope coming your way. With any luck your experience will not be like Martin's.

Peter, Don Goldman told me that RCOS has been gone for quite a few months now.

[mithrandir]

Nice toy Marcus.

Peter, there are a couple of RCOS pages still up - a list of customers and warranty info. Everything else is 404. I guess that's more customers for Officina Stellare and Planewave.

[marc4darkskies]

Very glad I didn't buy a scope from RCOS just before the lights went out. And yes, I think Officina Stellare has a big opportunity if they play their cards right. While 8+ months is a long lead time for an amateur scope, if the optical performance matches the hype and is up to par (ie RCOS-like) it will be worth the wait.

I expect commissioning will take a while after I take delivery so don't hold your breaths for first light. There'll be plenty of new-toy-pics though:)

[Peter Ward]

Indeed... but a pity as they made an albeit not cheap, but superbly designed & engineered product.

I had a hunch things were not going well... but am cheesed-off by their lack of communication.

[gregbradley]

I checked their website recently also and it came up as an error. I did eventually find their site and it seemed still active.

I don't about the larger scopes for institutions (I imagine that dried up substantially with the US recession) but companies like Planewave making large similar scopes for half the price was always going to be damaging.

Whether a 20 inch Planewave is equal to a 20 inch RCOS is not something I am sure of. Perhaps not. But the difference would not be great.

Greg.

[renormalised]

Yep, post those piccies, Marcus. So we can all salivate over our collective screens :) :P That's a great piece of kit that should last you a lifetime, or until your acquire enough money to buy a 40" scope, at least :) :P

I think we're going to see quite a few more US companies go belly up. Despite all the assurances and the media BS, the US economy is pretty much terminally ill. It's only a matter of time before this ridiculous "debt ceiling" of theirs becomes so unwieldy and their government so ridiculously inept that the backside falls out of it. Might be time to learn how to grind large mirror blanks!!!

[gregbradley]

Being able to get a 12 inch GSO RC for about $4K versus $40K also had a lot to do with it no doubt.

Greg.

[renormalised]

No doubt. Why pay through the nose for a scope when you can get a good quality piece of kit for far less.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Yes Carl, I agree, the US economy, like a lot of economies around the world are built like a house of cards and will collapse accordingly, in due course. The US is currently at 73% debt to GDP ratio. What happens when it gets nearer 100%? It has to collapse at some point, as you cannot keep borrowing money without paying it back.

As for governments being inept.......nothing new there then.

Cheers Pete

[DJT]

Wishing you joy of your new scope..;-)

Enjoy!

[strongmanmike]

Ooooooooh exciting :cool: Bona Fortuna and Viva Italia! :jump2:

Michele :P

[marc4darkskies]

The scope is in the country!! :party: Heading to Melbourne (Cris at Astronomy Alive) on Friday to pick it up.

Stay tuned - the journey is about to begin! Hopefully the story will end like this :2thumbs: .... and not this :sad:

Cheers, Marcus

[Mighty_oz]

or maybe like this .... :) :D :P

[gregbradley]

Its going to be all good Marcus. I look forward to seeing your images. I am sure they will be stunning.
If you need a hand PM me. I live just up the street.

Greg.

[Shano592]

Congratulations on your first Ferrari! May it run like one!

I hope that it is everything and more than you wanted.