RobertI

5 hours ago, vineyard said:

Sounds blissful - I need to brush up on my use of setting circles and then I want to check some of those you mention out, thank you!

No problem!

3 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Good session, just nice to be out, enjoy your new observer's chair, cannot beat just sitting back and looking up. Similar arrangement with two scopes out 8" and 3.5", the seeing was average, attention mostly on Mars, with some fleetingly good contrast at 120x.

Yes its nice to have scopes sided by side and I've done it alot. I must admit though I think I was a bit too tired and I ended up doing a lot of 'fiddling' instead of observing! I should have just stuck the ED on my CG5 EQ mount, sat down and enjoyed Mars.

10 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

Sorry to feed your addiction but a Nagler Xoom has just come up for sale on here 🤣

My scope really needs one of these! My wallet doesn't. 😋

I think @John's comment that the real spending STARTS when you get a nice ED scope is spot on.

22 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Will be trying the CC 6” on my AZ-GTi mount with the TS counterbalance system which lets you achive oerfect balance and greatly reduces the load on the motors which also allows for a heavier OTA.

Well how very clever!

31 minutes ago, Lockie said:

The RC has a much flatter field of view natively from what I read, whereas fast Newts have quite a bit of coma, but again there are coma correctors for Newts that do a good job. 

I don't want to go off on a tangent, but I've read so many differing reports on this. I've always thought RCs have a flat field but I read several reports saying that RCs still display coma, although the centre of the stars stay in the 'correct' position (whereas they don't in a Newt)? Given that most people use reducers with RCs anyway, perhaps it doesn't matter and I should stop worrying?  😋

The skies cleared after raining all day, and I was presented with a beautifully transparent dark sky by 9pm. I set up the 102ED-R and C8 either side of the Skytee and 'did' some Mars. Seeing was ok but not fabulous, however in moments of stillness there was amazing detail popping out. I had intended to sketch but it was cold, I was tired so I just enjoyed looking. I didn't really have a chance to do a direct comprison of the scopes as I was using different magnifications in each, but I would have been happy to tease out detail with either, probably getting more detail out of the C8. The C8 eventually dewed up (I was too tired to set up dew control) so I carried on with the 102ED-R and scanned the area around Cassiopea and Perseus with the 38mm and 21mm eyepieces. What an enjoyable experience just sitting comfortably (on my new observing chair) and scanning those star rich regions. The delights included Kembles Cascade, fitting into the entire FOV of the 38mm, NCC1502, the double cluster,  the ET cluster, some large cluster like Stock 2 and numerous other unidentifed clusters, doubles and coloured stars. And still no dew on the lens by the end although everything else seemed to be dripping.

Nice sketch Dave, nothing wrong with that all. Nice sketchbook too, will have to track one of thos down!

3 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Awfully tempted by the 6” CC as a more portable scope than the 8”. My manual alt-az setup with the berlebach Report tripod would just handle it. So would still be grab’n’go. 🤔

Would have to sell a couple of bits though to psy for it.

Just out of interest John, would you choose a 6" CC over an 8" SCT? I'm asking as the weight of the CC/RC is their main (possibly only) downside and the 6" CC weighs the same as an 8" SCT. Just curious.....

19 minutes ago, Lockie said:

Thanks Rob, I knew you could buy a tilt plate for RC's so thought that was to rectify the lack of one from the factory, so that's good to hear you have it built in   Yes amazing prices at FLO and and I love the black stealthy livery. I only ordered mine like Thursday night and I have a DHL message saying it will be delivered today!  Very exciting

Looking forward to unboxing and first light reports!

8 hours ago, Lockie said:

They are quite openly GSO scopes as stated by FLO, and I doubt there will be any real difference to GSO or Orion badged scopes. From what I have heard so far ( I'm happy to be corrected if wrong) FLO were keeping an eye on this range by GSO as they saw their potential, but they were waiting for any early scope issues to be ironed out. E.g. having to add a third party tilt plate to correct any malalignment of the optical axis. I believe this is now incorporated where the focuser meets the back of the OTA?

I guess the livery and the name Stella Lyra is FLO being happy to put their name to a product, and I've heard many a time they only stock telescopes they believe in. 

I think the adjustment of the optical axis (main mirror) has always been there Chris - my 6" RC is nearly 7 years old and has it. I am guessing when FLO talk about waiting for the design to mature they are talking about the CC versions which are fairly recent (although identical to the 'mature' RCs in every way except the mirrors as far as I can see) and possibly the truss versions, not sure how long they've been around.

I can't really fault mine to be honest, amazing build quality for the price, and even cheaper now through FLO.

I was out observing with my C8 last night - the mirror inevitably dewed up after an hour without dew control and the focuser was pants for fine focussing on Mars - my 6" RC has NEVER dewed up amazingly (not to say it can't of course!) and has a lovely dual speed Crayford - an 8" CC is SO tempting.

Nice first light Victor! Glad you enjoyed using the scope. I also found that the field was far from flat with my 38mm 2” eyepiece, it annoys some and not others. I imagine more expensive eyepieces would help eliminate this issue - perhaps others can advise? It’s been so long since I’ve been out and used my scope, it’s raining now but supposed to be clear later - here’s hoping. 🤞 

21 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Is it a boy or a girl?  For some strange reason I want to call it a She because its so beautiful, but I am a bit strange at the best of times. 

I have a guilty secret - I have named all my scopes after sci-if characters (serious or comedy) - the 102ED-R is Lady Penelope (from Thunderbirds). 😂

Very good sketch, nice detail. 

13 minutes ago, Geoff Barnes said:

I intend to replace my 12 inch Dob with an 8 inch CC as my back is deteriorating with age and I mainly observe lunar and planets.

I’m sure you’ve checked this, but they seem pretty heavy, a lot heavier than a C8, but a lot lighter than a 12” Dob I guess! 

Nadira observing chair, delivered next day by Rother Valley Optics. 👍

Nice report and lovely sketch. 

4 hours ago, geoflewis said:

I found that the best method was to wear my specs, but have them perched on my nose well away from my eyes, which kept watering due to the cold....

The things we go through for a good view! 😃

Sounds like the views were superb. Was this the C14 or the 100mm? 

Nice report John. I’ve been clouded out for weeks now and I’m missing all the fun. 😕

7 hours ago, vlaiv said:

If explanation was that mirror is stopped to about 7.3" and all other specs are fine, one would not be able to conclude that 150ED is about the same brightness as CC and that CC is FAR dimmer than C8.

Nicely proven. If the observer really did see this difference, it must have been due to something else then I guess. If others have not seen this then perhaps best disregarded! 

1 hour ago, Lockie said:

Well for what it's worth I found it: 

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/user-reviews/telescopes/gso-8-inch-true-cassegrain-r3215

An interesting article, thanks for tracking it down Chris. I think the very generalised conclusion is that the scope excels at planetary where it is generally better than the C8 due to increased contrast and is on a par with the 150ED. Sounds like it gave a 150ED a run for its money on doubles which I would imagine would make it better than a C8. I guess this tallies with @johninderby's experience. Interesting about the effective aperture being 7.3", as they have reduced the size of the secondary to increase contrast, but 'miss' some of the light cone from the main mirror as a result. So presumably the resolving power of an 8" but the image brightness of a 7.3"?

Congratulations on your new scope and welcome to the club! 😁 The focus issue is odd, my 2” 38mm Panaview is fine with a 2” eyepiece. You will probably find that focusing on a star at infinity actually makes quite a difference to where focus is - I have a feeling it will be fine. 

2 minutes ago, Lockie said:

I read a C8 vs CC8 vs 6" Apo head to head write up the other day but can I find it now! lol It's on the web somewhere?

Ooh, you tease! 

2 hours ago, vlaiv said:

With x0.33 reducer - it would be very interesting EEVA platform. It should provide around 12-13mm of usable field in this configuration and F/4 system with 6" of aperture - what is not to like with ASI533 / ASI183 type cameras?

I use the 6”RC for EAA and I have found it perfect, and at F9 and with a fixed mirror it’s much more useable than my C8 for EAA. I can reduce it down to F4.5 and with a lodestar it’s fine with just a little coma...sometimes... but with smaller chipped camera it should be perfect!

I am very impressed with the build quality of these GSO scopes and very tempted to replace my C8 with the Stella Lyra Classical Cassegrain for visual. I would love to see someone do a head to head between a CC8 and a C8 or 8” Newt. 
 

Well done @Lockie on your purchase, a fabulous observatory scope. 🥳

Well done, very exciting, let us know when you get it. 👍

Thanks for sharing your experience Fozzie, an engrossing tale, which hopefully will have a happy ending, and which we can all learn from. 

If you get no responses, you could try Harrison Telescopes for the Altair scope (although i don’t think they carry stock, and just order from Altair Astro themselves, but at least they do respond to emails) or Astrograph.net for the Tecnosky (again I don’t think they carry stock but you can speak to them on the phone). 
 

Just now, gorann said:

So what is the Stella Lyra?

GSO would be my guess....