127 APO North Group - Problems?

[Astrod00d]

I received a similar email from Gilman yesterday. USD180 sounds reasonable for a good focuser. Wouldn't be as slick as the MoonLite focuser, but...

He also mentioned their new ED APO 152mm. Has anyone seen user tests or reviews of this new scope?

Cheers,

Rob

[AlexN]

mmmm budget 6" APO!! me = drooling at the thought.

[TrevorW]

Alex down boy !!!!

[AlexN]

Ahhh you know me so well..

[Wavytone]

It's only an achromatic doublet - not ED - and at f/6.5 it won't be all that great

http://store.explorescientific.com/d...elescopes.aspx

There is a reason why ED lenses cost more.

[AlexN]

Yea you're looking at the wrong thing... As Astrod00d mentioned ED APO 152mm.. ED APO being the part you seem to have missed... Its not listed on the explorescientific website.. I agree, a 6" F/6.5 achro would not be a nice telescope. but if the 127ED APO is anything to go by, the 152ED would be pretty awesome.

[Chippy (Nick)]

Originally Posted by AlexN

Yea you're looking at the wrong thing... As Astrod00d mentioned ED APO 152mm.. ED APO being the part you seem to have missed... Its not listed on the explorescientific website.. I agree, a 6" F/6.5 achro would not be a nice telescope. but if the 127ED APO is anything to go by, the 152ED would be pretty awesome.

Certainly could be. Alex, I propose that you be the first in Oz to buy and test one of these beasts

I've been considering their 127ED myself, but too many scopes

[AlexN]

Hah! would love too.. Bank account says no! Besides, I've had the RC for 3 months nearly and only had it out imaging once due to weather.. im not endangering my chances to get out under the sky by purchasing another telescope for QUITE some time!

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

here's the gen about the new apo

new products, we present you as follows >
our ED152 OTA,
(built-in 2pcs of ED glass during triplet elements objective lenses)
with advanced quality electro-motor dual speed focuser for astro-photography,
with ring and dovetail rail,
with aluminium case package,
with 2 inch dielectric diagonal 99% reflex,
with wide angle eyepiece,
with 8x50 erecting image of finder scope.

USD3950
anyway
not in my budget range

[AlexN]

mmm for that kind of money I'd be more interested in a TMB 130, 2nd hand TOA130 or perhaps if you could find one a 2nd hand TEC140FL..

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

Originally Posted by seeker372011

From an email from Gilman a couple of days ago

2" Dual Speed Crayford Focuser for ED APO152, 127, 102, 80.



Right is our new dual speed crayford focuser, add silver color - hard stainless,

More smooth adjustment, more heavy payload reach 4kg,

With lock screws for astrophotography.

With 2" to 1.25" adapter for wide range eyepiece option.

Fine polishing finish for 2 crayford focuser surface.

$180 US all in (inc freight)

so Gilman seems back in business .

As anyone bought one of the new focusers yet? $239AU is not a bad price compared to Moonlight focuser at $500AU but maybe not the same quality.

Adrian

[Tandum (Robin)]

There's now also a motorised option :-

our ED127 with advanced dual speed focuser for camera, OTA,
with ring and dovetail rail,
with aluminium case package,
without diagonal,eyepiece,finder scope.
USD935

if add electro-motor part only for advanced dual speed focuser,
add USD100,

[edit]
I have another email that says the motor can be ascom driven but won't be available till the end of June.

[TrevorW]

The maths don't add up

$935USD for 127ED
$3950USD for the 152ED

[marki]

Originally Posted by TrevorW

The maths don't add up

$935USD for 127ED
$3950USD for the 152ED

Yes it does Trev, you pay 935/ 127 = $7.36 US for every mm upto 127mm then its ((152 - 127)/(3950 - 935)) = $120.60 US for every mm after that .

Mark

[AlexN]

it doesnt add up doing the math based entirely on aperture...

6" FPL53 blanks are a lot harder to come by than 5" ones Thus raising the initial cost of materials, figuring a larger objective as I understand it is considerably harder than a smaller one, and so raises the cost of labour. Demand for a 6" triplet APO is high, up goes that price again by a little...

Look at the Skywatcher Black Diamond scopes, or the Equinox series etc.. The 80mm is much less than half the 120mm in cost, however 80mm is more than half of 120...

You cant expect end product price to be solely based on aperture alone.. The tube would be more expensive to manufacture, would need to be stronger, the focuser would have to be re-designed etc etc etc....

I wonder how much you could buy a 2nd hand Meade 178ED for on Astromart... ??

[marki]

I think they charge it because they can Alex. I mean who else is offering a 152mm apo triplet for under 4K? They could probably go a lot further if they wanted to but these are really seen as a budget scope so that would probably defeat their purpose.

Mark

[AlexN]

True, True, however it would be considerably more expensive from a manufacturers stand point than the 127ED also... Remember, who else sells a 127ED for <$1000?

[marki]

Originally Posted by AlexN

True, True, however it would be considerably more expensive from a manufacturers stand point than the 127ED also... Remember, who else sells a 127ED for <$1000?

No doubt Alex but 400% more expensive for 25mm more aperture seems a bit of a stretch to me. Surely you would be better off buying 4 x 127mm and rigging up a system to allow you to concentrate all the light in one spot .

Mark

[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by AlexN

The 80mm is much less than half the 120mm in cost, however 80mm is more than half of 120...

?????? The 120mm lens has 225% larger surface area than an 80mm so more than twice the price is entirely understandable. They would also probably manufacture and sell 10X more 80mm scopes than 120mm ones, so in fact they probably make a lot more profit on the 80mm scopes.

Mark

[marki]

Mark do you have any idea how much more expensive 152mm blanks would be over 127mm?

Mark