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Old 16-04-2014, 07:24 AM
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Logieberra (Logan)
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Anyway, back on topic. Paul, any chance of providing us with a bit more info regarding the good work that you're doing with GSO? I was under the impression that the RC project is being driven by Astro-Tech in the US (an arm of Astronomics?) Have you been to the factory itself? That would be sweet! Importantly, it sounds like the company is responsive to the market, which is a good sign for the future.

My only suggestion, GSO should partner with Starlight Instruments on their Feather Touch Focusers and include them as standard. I'm pretty sure that TEC and Officina Stellare do something similar?

See the pic, it could be 'Feather Touch Focuser - Made for GSO'
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  #162  
Old 16-04-2014, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Logieberra View Post
Anyway, back on topic. Paul, any chance of providing us with a bit more info regarding the good work that you're doing with GSO? I was under the impression that the RC project is being driven by Astro-Tech in the US (an arm of Astronomics?) Have you been to the factory itself? That would be sweet! Importantly, it sounds like the company is responsive to the market, which is a good sign for the future.

My only suggestion, GSO should partner with Starlight Instruments on their Feather Touch Focusers and include them as standard. I'm pretty sure that TEC and Officina Stellare do something similar?

See the pic, it could be 'Feather Touch Focuser - Made for GSO'
Hi Logan,

The new back plate should be in my possession in the next week or two. GSO's initial test showed that another modification had to be made and that meant a delay in sending it to me. The bottom line is that the imaging train will be carried by an adapter on the mirror back and that will be independent of the mirror cell. That adapter will have centring screws to adjust for tilt and pan to ensure the sensor is centred to the optical centre.

Not been to GSO factory. I have been to the Synta one before. Jim is very responsive to my comments. Astronomics and a couple of firms in the Europe are their main customer but it seems that R&D is not being driven by them.

Bintel is pushing to have the focusors of Starlight and FLI incorporated as part of the package to Australia. Pricing will go up, but in the scheme of things a 16" scope will be barely over 10K in that event.

Another idea is that we are asking Jim to include a dew heater in the secondary and possibly a dew heater in the primary tube housing. Dewing on the secondary is a real problem without a dew heater.

Despite the bull that was spouted about the optics in this thread this week, I have found the optics to be very good. My mirror set were not hand picked and I got the first available scope three years ago. So I believe this would be indicative of this manufacturers quality. I will say this though; you cannot collimate the rear cell of this scope without a collimation scope. You can try other methods which will get you close but a collimation scope is essential to delivering good collimation. I will have to do some final collimation on the secondary via star test, and that shows how finicky this type of scope is with collimation. Despite the recent image I have produced with the RC12".
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  #163  
Old 16-04-2014, 09:07 AM
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Paul - I wondered how you adjust the centration of the optical /focusser axis on the axis of the the primary with these scopes ( or alternatively the centration of the primary if the focusser is fixed). Centration of the highly aspheric primary is critical with RC's.
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  #164  
Old 17-04-2014, 08:39 AM
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Paul - I wondered how you adjust the centration of the optical /focusser axis on the axis of the the primary with these scopes ( or alternatively the centration of the primary if the focusser is fixed). Centration of the highly aspheric primary is critical with RC's.
I think the new adapter is going to take care of this problem. It has adjustment to centre the optical axis with the imaging train.
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Old 18-04-2014, 08:32 AM
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Also, this should come standard on the bigger (12"+) RCs, don't you think?

Tip Tilt Focuser Collimation Ring:

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx
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Old 18-04-2014, 08:34 AM
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Paul, thanks for the very detailed update (above). Exciting times
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Old 18-04-2014, 08:44 AM
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Also, this should come standard on the bigger (12"+) RCs, don't you think?

Tip Tilt Focuser Collimation Ring:

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx
From the drawings I have seen to date this is incorporated into the new adapter system. It has become necessary for centring of the optical axis as pointed out by Mark above.
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  #168  
Old 04-05-2015, 07:01 PM
dpastern (Dave Pastern)
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Not that I'm in the market for One of these, but does GSO intend to make better focusers by default (at an extra cost to the buyer of course) and field flatteners? They've been promising the latter for at least 3 years from my memory, and there's nothing to be seen AFAIK.

Just curious. They do look great, and by all accounts, the optics are pretty good, not top of the line, but for the money, they are excellent value.

Dave
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  #169  
Old 04-05-2015, 07:18 PM
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Not that I'm in the market for One of these, but does GSO intend to make better focusers by default (at an extra cost to the buyer of course) and field flatteners? They've been promising the latter for at least 3 years from my memory, and there's nothing to be seen AFAIK.

Just curious. They do look great, and by all accounts, the optics are pretty good, not top of the line, but for the money, they are excellent value.

Dave
Don't worry about the focusor. If you buy an expensive scope such as OS scope from Italy, you need to buy a good focusor. The US suppliers don't even supply a focusor anymore. So you get one that is a bonus. Not a good one but a bonus.

Last time I had contact with Jim he had no plans to make a flattener and that was about 5 months ago. Both Michael from Bintel and I have been onto him for years. He never once promised there would be a flattener, he said he would consider it but just feels that he is not equipped to make flatteners. Believe me I wish he did have his own flatteners.

The optics are very good and I would even go as fair to suggest they produce results very similar to the top of the line scopes. Take a look through my gallery and one or two others out on the net that are using these scopes. Don't get me wrong you will need to tinker a bit to fine tune a system, but you need to do that with any system. With the more expensive systems you pay for the bells and whistles that these scopes don't have yet.
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  #170  
Old 04-05-2015, 07:32 PM
dpastern (Dave Pastern)
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Originally Posted by Paul Haese View Post
Don't worry about the focusor. If you buy an expensive scope such as OS scope from Italy, you need to buy a good focusor. The US suppliers don't even supply a focusor anymore. So you get one that is a bonus. Not a good one but a bonus.

Last time I had contact with Jim he had no plans to make a flattener and that was about 5 months ago. Both Michael from Bintel and I have been onto him for years. He never once promised there would be a flattener, he said he would consider it but just feels that he is not equipped to make flatteners. Believe me I wish he did have his own flatteners.

The optics are very good and I would even go as fair to suggest they produce results very similar to the top of the line scopes. Take a look through my gallery and one or two others out on the net that are using these scopes. Don't get me wrong you will need to tinker a bit to fine tune a system, but you need to do that with any system. With the more expensive systems you pay for the bells and whistles that these scopes don't have yet.
Thanks Paul - I'll check out your gallery. I haven't really used my current setup in a few years (long story), so my questions were more out of curiosity and desire, than actual requirement. it's good to hear that the optics are very good. I've long felt that the top of the range gear (telescopes, camera, hi fi) are way overpriced due to greed and market collusion.

I have a 17 month old niece now, will be getting the scope out more when she's 4-5 and can enjoy it. That said, her mum & dad wouldn't give 2 hoots about the sky lol, so it may be difficult to influence her lol!

Cheers,

Dave
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  #171  
Old 04-05-2015, 08:41 PM
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... Take a look through my gallery and one or two others out on the net that are using these scopes....
Paul are you using a 16" or the 12" ? I can't find images on your gallery referring to the RC16.

I haven't been able to find anyone else's pictures using this scope either, elsewhere on the web.

Thanks
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  #172  
Old 04-05-2015, 09:50 PM
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Paul are you using a 16" or the 12" ? I can't find images on your gallery referring to the RC16.

I haven't been able to find anyone else's pictures using this scope either, elsewhere on the web.

Thanks
Just the 12 Roger, but in principle both scooes are the same design. Some minor discussion was had 4 months ago about me getting one and testing it, but the economics of life has got in the way. I doubt there would be any problems and I would love one myself, just cannot justify the cost at present.
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