Skywatcher Refractor Users

[Cloudwatcher]

Hi All,

I have just installed the Williams Optics 2 speed Crayford focuser on the

Startravel 150. What an improvement,it's like haveing a new scope!

All you Skywatcher refractor users out there who haven't upgraded should

get one now. Believe what you read folks, this really is a cool piece of kit.

Silky smooth 'snap into focus' action,focus lock and an engraved scale on

the draw tube which ideal for the camera/imager users among us.

In fact I find this focuser to be be better than that on the Megres 80 II and

it works just as well on the 102mm Startravel as well. So if you have more

than one Skywatcher refractor you can switch it over from one to tother as

you please.

Fitting up is easy. You just undo the 3 retaining screws on the tube,remove the

old rack & pinnion and replace with the new unit.

As the wife said "Even YOU can do that"!

[GazOC]

I've got a Crayford focuser from an ED80 on my Startravel 150, not as nice as the WO model but a step up from the basic R&P.

[Cloudwatcher]

Sorry, forgot to mention the focuser also rotates through 360

degrees.

Only down side is that the Skywatcher finderscope bracket, which

is better than the OW one, will not fit in the shoe.Still,I think OVL

sell the shoe seperatly. Will have to check.

[Macavity]

Although a long way off for me, it's something certainly to contemplate for my ST102.

Question: Do any of the above mentioned focussers have adjustment that might allow for a sort of "reverse" collimation. I.E. in lieu of the (non-present!) adjustable objective cell? FWIW, I did some tests with a Cheshire Collimator and the various "disks" looked a bit like the Olympic Flag! But, with a bit of (dymo tape) shimming and hole-elongation, it was possible to get a *much* better looking i.e. "concentric" setup. I suspect much of the problem was (still is!) due to "drooping" of the ORIGINAL focusser tube. I'm not sure if all this made much of a difference to visual images though... Sadly, I forgot to (mentally) record the "before situation" - Diffraction pattern etc. Doh!

These are a scope that seems to "deserve better" though - in many of these areas.

[Cloudwatcher]

Sorry to hear you have a droopy tube,Macavity!

My 102mm has the same problem but it's cured when

the Crayford is fitted. It's especially stiffened you know!

O.K. it cost £159 but as it can be used on either refractor

to good effect I still feel it was money well spent.

Cheers

[Macavity]

LOL: Well, I had this theory that it was a droop, rather than a left/right slant. I suspected that a better focusser might indeed cure that. There's a lot to be said for the lightweight ST102 -- I just noted (with horror) my "grab and go" MAK setup is now pushing 60lb, albeit in it's cart thingie!