Getting a 10" dob...question on adding things to cart.

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 19:50:04 GMT, Paul Lawler
wrote:


If you're set on getting a Televue the 27mm Panoptic is a very useful
eyepiece.

I'll second that. The 27mm Panoptic gives a 5.4mm exit pupil which is
usable both in my somewhat light poluted back yard, and great in
darker skies.

My other eyepieces are 14mm and 10.5mm pentax XL's. Together with a
celestron 2x Ultima barlow I have all the magnifications options I
need .





Don't forget at Telrad finder. It will be the best $39 you spend on your
scope. g

"Tom" wrote in message
...

I get the Crayford focuser, but not that I would know the difference
anyways.

You would if you had ever tried the rack and pinion, believe me. The
Crayford is a much better experience. I'd trade the laser collimator and the
navi-knob for the crayford in a heartbeat.

Good luck,
Stephen

You would if you had ever tried the rack and pinion, believe me. The
Crayford is a much better experience. I'd trade the laser collimator and the
navi-knob for the crayford in a heartbeat.

Good luck,

The Crayford has the potential to be a much better focuser than the Orion Rack
and Pinion. On the other hand, I have 2 scope with Asian 2 inch focusers, one
is GSO, the other I believe is an Orion. The GSO focuser has slabs of teflon
rather than what amounts to a thin film. After a bit of tune up, the GSO
focuser is really quite good, smooth with just the right amount of friction and
the draw tube is tight, no rock at all. The Orion focuser is adequate but I
have never been able to make work nearly as well as the GSO, always some slop
in the gears and a bit of rock in the drawtube..

One Data point.

------------------

The real question IMHO when choosing between the two is the mirror. The Orion
is F4.75 and Pyrex, the GSO is 5.0 and BK-7. I would choose the GSO simply
because I have a 10 inch GSO DOB and I am very happy with the way the mirror
performs...

jon

"Jon Isaacs" wrote in message
...
The Crayford has the potential to be a much better focuser than the Orion
Rack
and Pinion.

It's not just potential. The Crayford _is_ a much better focuser than the
R&P. I've worked all of the R&P focusers on all of my scopes (ST80, XT10,
Meade Starfinder, and ST102), and one turn of the knobs on the ED80 changed
my mind completely about Crayfords. Even the all metal 2" (Japan) Orion
focuser can't compete with the smooth action of these inexpensive Crayfords.
I hope they are available separately sometime soon.

-Me

It's not just potential. The Crayford _is_ a much better focuser than the
R&P.

I've worked all of the R&P focusers on all of my scopes (ST80, XT10,
Meade Starfinder, and ST102), and one turn of the knobs on the ED80 changed
my mind completely about Crayfords.

As the final lines were being fastened to the dock, someone asked the captain
of a whaling ship how the 3 year journey had gone. His reply

"Fine,

So far...."

Yes, Crayford focusers can be nice but no one I know of has seen one of the
Hardin/GSO Crayfords, I have seen no reviews, so until I hear more, I think it
would be premature to suggest that they are indeed fine focusers.

And as I said, my experience with R&P focusers is that GSO's are better than
Synta, Meade should get a Silver medal for having the gall to put those plastic
focusers on a potentially decent scope and a Gold Medal for having the gall to
sell the model 77 as an upgrade.

My limited experience is that GSO R&P focusers are better than the Synta, the
focuser on my otherwise useless BO-102F6 is really quite nice, and the focuser
on my Pronto is better than that by aways..

jon

Even the all metal 2" (Japan) Orion
focuser can't compete with the smooth action of these inexpensive Crayfords.
I hope they are available separately sometime soon.

-Me

I think if you go to the Hardin Optical Website you will find that indeed they
are available separately, $129 I believe..

jon

Hi Tom,
I have a Guan Sheng 8" f/6 dob and the mirror gives a perfect star
test.
Forget about the knobs. I didn't find any comfortable knob when I did
my search. Instead I sawed a piece of a broom-stick (~3 inches) and
put a bicycle foam handle onto it. Then I attached it to the tube with
a screw from the inside of the tube. Be careful to try out the right
position for the handle. I had to move mine two inches to get a better
position.

Roger Persson


"Tom" wrote in message
....
One thing on the XT has that I like is the little knob under
the front of the tube for easy guiding. I wonder if it is advisable to
drill a small hole
in the Hardin's, and screwing in a knob. Lots of knobs to choose from at
the Home
Depot. Just a thought. -Tom

"Jon Isaacs" wrote in message
...

Yes, Crayford focusers can be nice but no one I know of has seen one of
the
Hardin/GSO Crayfords, I have seen no reviews, so until I hear more, I
think it
would be premature to suggest that they are indeed fine focusers.

As I indicated, the ED80 Crayford focuser is a vast improvement over the
Synta/GSO R&P focusers. No reason to expect the Newt Crayford to be any
less of an improvement. Besides, I never said they are fine. I said that
they are better.

But, the real point to the OP, is that I wouldn't think twice about passing
up the collimator and the knob in exchange for the Crayford.

How many more times would you like me to say it? ;-)

-Stephen

No reason to expect the Newt Crayford to be any
less of an improvement.

Ones expectations are not always met. New designs sometimes have problems. It
is indeed possible that there is a design flaw in the GSO Crayford....

Besides, I never said they are fine. I said that they are better.

In general, Crayfords are nice. But then a good R&P is nice too. But the fact
that as a class Crayfords are nice, does not mean this Crayford is nice, it is
really impossible to say since apparently no one has seen it.

A few years ago I came across a Crayford that was a hidden design and did not
have enough preload (any preload) so it was unusable.

But, the real point to the OP, is that I wouldn't think twice about passing
up the collimator and the knob in exchange for the Crayford.

How many more times would you like me to say it? ;-)

I know you like Crayford focusers in general. I do too. This one is
probably a good one, but without having seen it, its difficult to say whether
its a good one or not.
--------

But as was previously mentioned, the real diffference between these scopes is
not the focuser, its the mirror. It may well be worthwhile to pay the extra
money to get the lower CFE of Orion's Pyrex mirror, one can always buy a decent
focuser if need be.

Think about that one for a moment....

jon

"Tom" wrote in message ...

There is a barlow lense offered for 50
bucks
as an accessory. I assume this scope can handle a 300x magnification, but
the
barlow is achromatic. Would an achromatic barlow cause chromatic aberation
in a newtonian scope?

You could buy a Celestron Ultima Barlow for as little as $70, so
that's what I would suggest, if you want a Barlow at all. When
inserting optical elements into an f/5 light cone, saving $20 is not
worth the risk of image degradation.


- Robert Cook