"Stephen Paul" wrote in message
...

"Alan French" wrote in message
. ..

You haven't seen the Orion 100mm f/9 ED. You haven't looked though
an
OA4.
Somehow, though, you know which is better. You must be doing Psychic
Telescope Reviews, and I'll give them the credibility they deserve.

I have seen a couple of the OAs, but have not had an opportunity to
really
check one out. The one that showed up at our public Star Parties was
never
collimated. I once had a big interest in various off-axis reflectors -
Schiefs and Tri-Schiefs - but after seeing a bunch decided they had
nothing
to offer over a good, well made Newt, and Newts are easier to collimate.

Do I detect the pot calling the kettle black?

In what fashion? I said I have never had an opportunity to really check out
an OA, and my only comment was that the one at our star party was not
collimated. That was obvious to several folks who looked through it. I
don't see that I offered any opinion on how they performed - and I won't
unless I get a chance to use one extensively and compare it to another
quality 4".

As to my comments on other off-axis reflectors, I have actually seen and
tried a bunch of these over the years, and compared them to Newtonians of
similar aperture set up near by. The designs got a lot of good press, and I
was quite tempted to make one, but I have always been a fan of seeing a
scope in person before taking the plunge to make or buy. A bit different, I
would say, than making a guess about two telescopes I had never seen
(including one, I believe, that no one has seen).

Clear skies, Alan