Not overly impressed

[bird (Anthony Wesley)]

JMI make nice crayfords, I've got the DX1-M and it's fantastic.

www.jimsmobile.com

Bird

[iceman (Mike)]

I've got the moonlite and I love it.

[davidpretorius]

Originally Posted by RAJAH235

I fully compress the springs then back off 1 1/2 ~ 2 turns & do coll. from there. More tension = less chance of going out of collimation. L.

thanks, i have often wondered about this

[anthony2302749]

And they come in a range of colours.

http://www.focuser.com/storefront.php

Originally Posted by iceman

I've got the moonlite and I love it.

[matt]

Am already liaising with Ron from Moonlite.

Looks like it's going to be the CR2 for me, but bird I'll also be checking out the JMI.

One thing for sure, I'll be avoiding single screw brass compression rings and making sure min and max (racked in/ racked out) focuser heights are spot on with the use of spacers etc etc

Tricky business this, but I believe well worth the effort (and cost)

[Starkler (Geoff)]

matt , what is the total focuser travel fully racked in to fully out?

Is it this one ?
http://www.telescope-service.com/ATM....html#tsoaz2cn

[matt]

Geoff

That's it! That's the one.

Total travel is 1.5 inches.

Note the single compression ring screw on both the 2 inch and 1.25 adaptor.

I reckon that's a flaw. Just a personal opinion, but opposing screws work much better IMHO?

[matt]

Again ... it's only my humble opinion,

but does anyone think it's a bit misleading/ "naughty" to send out an item in a box labelled "GS Crayford" ... when the contents are actually a TS Crayford????

Or are they the same thing, manufactured by the same company?

Does a GS have two screws on the 1.25 adaptor brass compression ring?

mmmmmmmmm!

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Matt,

I put a Moonlite on my 8 inch GSO Newt...the Moonlite is a cracker no doubt about it.

I did have to get a tube extension...I originally ordered the standard tube but ti was not quite long enough to give me enough out focus. The extension worked a treat.

Focuser is buttery smooth...I liked it so much that I replaced the JMI on my 12.5 inch Discovery with a Moonlite too.

I enjoyed working with Ron from Moonlite...I found he was very responsive and helpful via e-mail for me.

Good Luck!

[ving (David)]

1.5" doesnt sound like much travel, tho my understanding is that its the norm for these and many others...

I'll stick with my gs r&p sloppy and smooth

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by matt

Geoff

That's it! That's the one.

Total travel is 1.5 inches.

Note the single compression ring screw on both the 2 inch and 1.25 adaptor.

I reckon that's a flaw. Just a personal opinion, but opposing screws work much better IMHO?

Ok the crayford has a specified focus travel of 41mm.
Interestingly , the standard r&p focuser as would have been on yours is directly under it on the web page . That one has a specified focus travel of 37mm.

Have you actually measured the travel on the new one? I still have a feeling something is wrong. Either the new unit has a fault, or the lock screw issue is having an impact. Please humour me and totally remove the lower lock screw, then rack the focuser up and down and see that you dont get as much as you did with the old r&p.

[matt]

OK

Geoff ... give or take a mm, the travel is the same distance. Have measured it... ad nauseum. Approx 1.5 inches. Same as the R&P.

The problem is the unit's overall height at min and max rack. It's a lower profile unit. Which is why I needed to insert an additonal 30mm extender.

For the sake of the exercise, and to make sure you could put your mind at rest, I fully removed the focus lock screw. No diff. Is no good. Is done, dusted and over

As ving pointed out ... it appears 1.5" travel is fairly common.

wavelandscott, it's likely I'll order the CR2 with standard 2" draw tube, an SW8 install kit and additional 1" spacer.

That's Ron at Moonlite's recommendation, and it's the same arrangement I calculated.

Bottom line ... if you can afford it ... pay it!!!!!

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I got the CR2 on both of my scopes...do take notice that the fine focus on the CR2 is the one that is set up to be butter smooth...I find the rough focus is a bit "clunky" on the CR2 but still lots better than my old R&P that was on the 8 inch and comparable to what I found with the JMI...

In hindsite, I am not sure if I needed the CR2...I only do visual stuff so the CR2 is probably a bit overkill...but, what they heck, it is only money!

Do make sure that you get the "spacer" measured right...not to make you nervous or anything but I did not do my measuring quite accurate enough and in the end needed the tube extension...it was "close" and with my GSO plossl eyepieces it worked fine but I found I needed just a bit more out travel on that scope for my TV gear...and then got the tube extension...repacing the JMI was no problem (low profile to low profile)...

Anyway, just make sure that you get your measurements right the first time...measure twice cut once...Good Luck!

The Moonlite "Red" looks really cool!

[togo54 (Tom)]

matt

I'm was having the same problems that you're having regarding inconsistant collimation with the crayford "style" focuser that came on my dob. I have found that moving the brass compression ring so that the screw actually makes contact with the eyepiece barrel has made collimation far more consistant. Of course this may eventually lead to scratches on the eyepiece barrels. I moved the compression ring on the 2" along with ring on the reducer. Worth a try. Hope this helps.
Tom

[matt]

Hi Tom

Nice to hear from you. Thanks for the suggestion.

When you say "moving" the brass compression rings, do you mean removing them altogether?????

That's not a bad suggestion. I'm not concerned at all about EP barrel scratches.

Is it easy to remove the compression rings?

Thanks

[RAJAH235]

matt, If you use a small screwdriver, you'll find that you can simply rotate/slide the comp. ring slightly so the screw comes thru the gap. Just push on the end of the ring. I would not take it out. Might leave too much play in focuser barrel. L.
ps. How much play/movement is there between the E/Pc & the focuser tube?
pps. Just a thought,, try diff E/Pcs as well. NOT all same 1.25"/2" diam..............

[matt]

Thanks Rajah

Will have a look at your suggestion.

You know, this whole Crayford episode got me thinking last night (and I meant to post earlier) that while it's unfortunate we have the occasional disappointment or bad experience, there's also plenty of good experiences as well.

I know various dealers and individuals are often praised for their service and attention to detail.

So in that vein I'd like to hand out a few bouquets myself, to make sure I make the effort to focus also on the positive and do my bit to keep some "Karmic" balance in the Universe

Here's one for Dan at Frontier Optics. Your service and prompt replies to all my questions regarding the William Optics 2" Dielectric Diagonal was nothing short of first class. Your willingness to take the time to chat was very pleasing. It made me feel comfortable in spending the money, which I did, and the item in question looks fantastic and is eveything you said it would be.

To Steve Massey at myAstroShop. Same as above. I've had at least half a dozen conversations with Steve about a wide range of topics, all averaging about half an hour each. All of it very valuable. All of it has led to a number of purchases already and more to come, including a brand spanking new Celestron 9.25 - with a view to a new EQ6 and SynScan. Again, well done Steve.

And lastly, back to the Crayford, congrats Ron Newman at Moonlite. The same again. Plenty of questions all expertly and courteously handled. In two cases Ron replied within 5 minutes to my e-mails. Nuff said. There's $$$ heading your way too, Ron

Good old fashioned customer service and knowing your product. It's priceless, and I reckon worth whatever premium you're asked to pay on top of saving a few bucks from someone who's not got the time or interest in you and your needs as a client.

As a footnote, I reckon it'd be great if we gave out IIS awards (of some kind) for great service etc

Even if it were just some kind of voting system which led to an announcement or some sort acknowledging their effort and expertise. Yes, I know it's a commercial endorsement etc etc and you have to be careful etc etc

But isn't that akin to plain old word of mouth, like in "the good ol' days" when people in a community would all talk to each other and give each other "the good oil"??? That's how good businesses got what they deserve ie more trade, and not-so-good businesses missed out coz they weren't being spoken of at all.

Just a thought.

[togo54 (Tom)]

matt

Like Rajah said. Don't remove the brass ring. simply "push" it til the screw is within the gap.

I have often thought of swapping out the cheap R&P focuser on my scope
for one of thos GS Crayford focusers. The only thing stopping was the R&P
I have has two seperate adaptors one for 2" one for 1.25" extending the
focuser out by about 1.5" I dont see this extention on the GS Crayford
focuser. So if I wanted to swap I would need some sort of extention or
a re-tude and relocate the focuser. I would love a nice focuser it's not
easy focusing while imaging with a ton of weight on the focuser drawtude.
Also the R&P doesn't handle the weight of my XW's very well either.
But we live with what we have.

regards,CS

[matt]

That's right Rob

Or we do something about it. Horses for courses, I guess.

Comes down to attitude.

Much of the reason this thread has run so long was also about the service and info I received from the business which sold me the Crayford.

And that disappointment's not gonna change. I'm not angry, not bitter... not looking for an argument.

It was simply ... a disappointment from which I've learnt something and moved on.