Moo lite focuser - motor & controller

[ChrisV]

This question might sound stupid but I am relatively new to this. I recently bought a C8-advancedGT on this website. It's brilliant !! And it came with a whole bunch of interesting stuff.

The only thing is the focuser which is a bit of a pain - wobbles and hard to set. Fortunately the scope came with not one, but 2 motorised focusers.
- a celestron motor focuser which I have used and is OK.
- a moon lite focuser. I can't try this out yet as it didn't come with the controller.

My question is about the moonlite focuser. I emailed moonlite about it and they got back to me within a few hours !!! They said it was a fairly old one that they used to package with Rigel DC hand controller. They said I could

1. contact Rigel and get their dc controller.

2. Or "if I sent it to them they could update it. Switch the shaft and parts around it to install the new DC motor with hand controller - that way it will have the nice slip clutch system". $US190 plus delivery.

Can anyone tell me whether the moon lite focuser is much better than the celestron focuser at least for what I am using it for (just doing visual now). And is the update option better than getting the Rigel controller. And what is this "nice slip clutch" ?

Thanks, Chris.

[peter_4059]

Chris,

The Moonlite focusers are excellent. I don't know much about the Celestron focuser you have so hard to comment on what is better. If I was in your position I'd get the Moonlite upgrade. The Rigel controller is going to cost you US$64 + shipping.

http://rigel.datacorner.com/rigelsys/crayfordmotornfocus.html

You can see the Moonlite slip clutch system in the "motor option" photo here:
https://focuser.com/products.php
This allows you to manually focus by dis-engaging the motor. Most motorised systems don't have this feature.

[ChrisV]

Peter

Thanks for that, those websites were helpful. I think I'll go with the upgrade option (sounds like a cyberman?).

Woule be nice to have the ability for both motorised and manual.

Chris

[peter_4059]

Chris,

You should consider whether a stepper motor would be a better investment than a simple DC motor if you are going the upgrade route. The stepper will allow you to use autofocus if you ever get into astrophotography and if you ever decide to sell the Moonlite, the stepper variety will appeal to a wider market than the DC motor option.

The main downside of the stepper (apart from the cost) is you need 12V power to run it whereas the DC option probably runs off batteries in the control unit.

I think you can also buy a stepper kit in the future and replace the DC motor yourself without having to send it back to Moonlite however this would end up costing more having bought two motors.

Just food for thought!

Peter

[ChrisV]

Peter

The stepper would be good although I have no immediate plans for photography so might be overkill ? But take your point in terms of resale.

Ron from moonlite said $440 for the stepper w/controller versus $190 for the dc motor w/controller. Plus delivery. I send it back and he'll do the upgrade and put in a slip clutch. The stepper is more than I'd like to spend so have to think about that.

Power is not an issue as I have to power the goto anyway.

So many decisions. Chris