Virtus

The 17.5 Morpheus is a great choice! Word of warning though - you will quickly want more Morphei ha! They also Barlow really well so if you picked up the 12.5 and a 2x Barlow down the road it would essentially give you the 9 and 6.5. That is what I did until I found a really good deal on the 9 and 6.5 used. Definitely don't be afraid of buying used; I've found it a great way to test equipment out and most stuff is easy to move again if you don't like it or just want to try something different. In regards to zooms - my first EP purchase was a Baader Mk IV 8-24. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to fuss with fixed focal lengths when "good" zooms were available; I quickly learned that I much prefer the wider FOVs of the Morpheus and APM UFF. The Baader zoom isn't a bad EP, and it was a huge step up over the MA EPs that came with my first scope, but I find I hardly use it now. It's great for a quick grab and go session or showing stuff to friends and family though so I will be keeping it. I find that the range from 20-24 is useless, it provides almost the same TFOV just at lower magnifications. The range from ~13-20 is better but still not great and then from 8-12 it finally starts to open up and becomes really enjoyable. With all that being said I'm a bit torn - I was going to recommend getting a budget zoom like the Celestron or Svbony just to try it out as some people absolutely love the zooms but with those the FOV is even narrower across the range... Switching out fixed focal length EPs as you observe isn't the burden I thought it was going to be.

I have and would recommend the APM 24 UFF. It's available under several other brands - the Orion version can be used as both 1.25" and 2".

It's physically possible but reducer + 2" accessories equals significant vignetting.

I can't answer your specific question but unless you're worried about customs delays I wouldn't hesitate to order from Australia. I'm in the US and recently ordered a Nexus II and encoder kit from Astro Devices and shipping was very quick.

Received some awesome Glatter collimating tools yesterday - 1.25" laser, TuBlug, and Parallizer. APM UFF 30 should be here later this week.

Can't answer your specific questions but I use a Celestron reducer on my C6 with no issues. There is no vignetting with an APM UFF 24 or 32mm Plossl.

Thanks. Agena is always one of my go tos but they don't have any in stock except for the ES model you mentioned which is insane at almost $300. I'm a bit confused by the Apertura being labeled as 10x50. It looks identical to the Stellarvue 9x50.

Can anyone recommend a RACI for the FirstLight? I'm eyeing this Apertura. I've already got a Telrad but haven't mounted it yet.

I feel like a kid on Christmas morning! This thing is clean. There's not a scratch or scuff anywhere; wasn't even any dust on it.

Here's my word of warning to anyone who is "just going to try one"! 😆

I picked the scope up today and it appears to be in mint condition! He bought it a couple of years ago and only used it a few times; it’s been stored in climate controlled self-storage locker since. I’ll post some pictures later.

I’ll be using Morphei 6.5, 9, 12.5, 17.5, and an APM 24 UFF.

I did, I picked up Turn Left at Orion and NightWatch.

You could move somewhere with worse seeing that would limit your magnification! I say that in jealousy as I consider myself lucky if I can go higher than ~150x most nights. Your Barlow plan seems reasonable. Did you get rid of the C9.25? I'm in the process of buying a 10" dob myself; I plan to use an APM 24 UFF and Morphei 17.5, 12.5, 9, and 6.5. I've got a 2x Barlow if the jet stream decides to take the night off.

Thanks for the additional information Steve! The dual speed focuser upgrade will probably be the first thing I do. I'm meeting up with him on Saturday morning to get the scope; I'm going to test it first but at this point I'm committed to buying it unless there are any major issues. I've already ordered some collimation tools and I'm also picking up my new Morphei EPs (6.5 and 9) on Saturday so should be good to go for testing. Well, other than the approaching full moon....