Which Focuser?

[el_draco (Rom)]

I've been exploring various motorised focuser options for about a month.... C11 on a GEM being upgraded for CCD work.

Candidates:

- Moonlite
- Feather touch
- JMI Event horizon

Leaning towards Moonlite... Hear lots of good stuff about them

Any opinions/ recommendations/ horror stories

[gbeal]

F/T, with the digital motor system. Best about.
Gary

[asimov (John)]

The JMI is good, & less expensive.

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

nothing wrong with the moonlight either in my experience and it is less expensive than the other two.

[norm]

I'll vouch for F/T

Good Luck - Norm

[AlexN]

You could try other focusers, but at the end of the day, you're better to save yourself the money and buy a feathertouch from the beginning..

I've had 2 moonlite focusers, one motorised, one with the dual speed knobs, they are very nice.. and in comparison to a standard synta focuser or a WO focuser, they are brilliant.. but a FT is a step above..

PS - I had the motorised moonlite on my C11 for imaging.. as far as focusing is concerned, it easily handled my SBIG that I had with the CFW and AO-7, quite a load.. The only issue was that I had the DC motor, which is kind of limited from a computer control standpoint.

Best option I see on the market is the FT with their digital focus system, slightly cheaper option without sacrificing much would be the FT with robofocus..

[marki]

Moonlite with stepper motor and moonlite controller. Solid as a house brick and the best value 2" focuser for an SCT this side of a van slyke. It is accurate with perfect repeatability, has masses of grunt to lift heavy loads and locks the camera in place via 3 thumb screws on a brass compression ring. The two speed controller comes with temp compensation and also allows the use of the stepper controlled focuser for visual stuff (ie it moves a lot faster at the high speed setting).

Feather touch make a nice little add on that replaces the main focuser knob for the primary converting it into a 10.1 setup. This is also worth considering if you want to do a lot of visual observing as well.

Mark

[el_draco (Rom)]

Originally Posted by marki

Moonlite with stepper motor and moonlite controller. Solid as a house brick and the best value 2" focuser for an SCT this side of a van slyke. It is accurate with perfect repeatability, has masses of grunt to lift heavy loads and locks the camera in place via 3 thumb screws on a brass compression ring. The two speed controller comes with temp compensation and also allows the use of the stepper controlled focuser for visual stuff (ie it moves a lot faster at the high speed setting).

Feather touch make a nice little add on that replaces the main focuser knob for the primary converting it into a 10.1 setup. This is also worth considering if you want to do a lot of visual observing as well.

Mark

Thanks heaps for your input, I've been significantly challenged by this decision and have looked at a number of options. Even looked at Van Slyke, dribbled a bit, then closed the browser....

I've considered feathertouch focusers several times but I am still inclined to go for the Moonlite.

There are a couple of things that count.
1/ They are about to start shipping a 2.5" focusers with a 12lb lift capacity when motorised... and they'll ship me this size now as a special order. That gives flexibility if I change OTA
2/ I'd go for the precision stepper motor system with DRO. The combination looks real stable. Stepper is better than DC for a range of reasons.
3/ Price is right, (ie, no more horrific than any other option).
4/ Replies from the company are like clockwork and very informative
5/ TAX refund just cleared
6/ Wife doesn't know.....
7/ I'm not telling her

[gbeal]

Whether I agree with items 1 - 7 or not, the end of the day it is your decision and you are the one that will be happy or not with it.
I do completely agree with your finding in item 4 though, Ron is spectacular to deal with.
Gary

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

I'm still tempted by an EV-1cm. It comes with a 2" SCT threaded output adapter for all those SCT threaded bits & pieces I have.

Do the others have that option?

[el_draco (Rom)]

Yep, I agree with that and it was one of the things that put it number 1 on my list as well for a while..., then I found out I can have the same feature on the Moonlite and it became a moot point. I also looked at the JMI NGF focusers but they were not going to give me much more, apart from mass.

I ordered the moonlite today. I'll let you know how it goes if anyone is interested.

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

I'm sure you won't be disapointed.

[el_draco (Rom)]

Well,
my 2.5" moonlite focuser arrived today. Took about 5 minutes to set up and away she went. Very, very nice indeed. Incredibly smooth in operation, all but silent. Can't wait to try it under the stars. Powering it could be an issue though. My Gemini has DIN plugs and the connection is likely to require a custom cable, but thats not a major problem.
Rom

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by el_draco

Well,
my 2.5" moonlite focuser arrived today.

I went with Moonlite too.

My 2" CS arrived yesterday - the one with the 2 piece base for the F/R drawtube. Now if I can just find a couple of hours away from work to put it on the scope.

It's heavy enough I'll have to work out the balance again.

[allan gould]

I went with a dual speed Moonlight focused for my refractor. I just love and enjoy using it. hope you you are as happy as I am with mine.
Regards, Allan

[marki]

Well worth the money gentlemen. They are very good products.

Mark