Upgrading focuser

[La_Displuke]

Hi all

I am looking to upgrade the focuser on my 8 inch Skywatcher full tube dob.
I found one on Bintel for pretty cheap but when I called them they told me that it would not fit my scope.

Does anyone have any ideas on which focusers would work without spending bucket loads of money?

Thanks in advance

[BeanerSA]

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Focusers/Bintel-2--Crayford-Focuser-10-1--230mm-/498/productview.aspx

So, this one doesn't fit? I wonder why?

[Slawomir]

Hi Luke,

I know this one is more pricey, but Moonlites are really good.

https://focuser.com/products.php

[codemonkey]

Moonlites are amazing, I've bought two of them in the past and you can't go wrong with them if you have the spare change.

I've also been happy with the performance of the GSO linear bearing focuser as well... not even close to the feel of a Moonlite, but it holds my rig without problems and almost no image shift when locking. It's also about 3/5 of the price of a Moonlite.

Never used a newt so I can't vouch for either of their newt variants.

[MattT]

Andrews Communications have the GSO linear bearing focuser, which is an improvement on the Crayford, for $149.

All you have to do is drill 4 holes as the base plate has a different size pattern to the stock SW focuser.

Matt

[AG Hybrid]

I'll post some pictures of how I got a GSO focuser on my 12" skywatcher do. It's not an elegant solution. But it was cost effective and has proven to be very solid surprisingly. It's handled upto 2kg of equipment and it holds strong.