Latest grab (ish) and go

[m.tweedy]

Had the chance to get a 1979 Celestron C8. It was fork mounted and the forks were still working BUT as I already have the C11 and NEQ6 pro that is not what I was after.

I have the skytee2 and was not getting the "wow" that I was expecting from the Megrez 90 visually hence the need? for more aperture. The C11 was just to big to go on the skytee 2.

I deforked the OTA (carefully) and have stored the fork mount in the original coffin case. (just in case I have a change of direction or decide to sell the package at a later date)

Here are the results.

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[nightfisher]

Very nice tweedy, has it got decent optics?

[m.tweedy]

The corrector and mirror are pristine. Looking at it, it looks months old not 33 years old. The only thing I changed was the perished rubber band in the finder scope. The focus is so smooth and I cannot detect any mirror flop what so ever. It has been cherished. Sadly I had to de-fork it but even the motors in the fork mount appear to be in full working order.

[swamp thing]

Hi Michael

How does it work on the skytee 2?

I've used these as two observing buddies have them. Must admit I really like them.

They have a nice movement if you just let the locks off and push/pull like a Dob. Don't like using slo-mo's myself.

[m.tweedy]

I must admit not having first light yet but set it up as a dummy run to iron out any potential issues. There were none. Yes it is easy to use like a dob hence the reason it is on the side saddle which is easy to balance. I did get the ADM replacement clamp instead of the stock one as it feels a lot more sturdy. The skytee 2 handles the C8 easily with the addition of the counterweight to balance it all up.

[Dunkster]

Oh my

You are a very bad man

[m.tweedy]

Oh my

You are a very bad man

Compared to my other set up this is lightweight

[Dunkster]

Compared to the C11, grab and go indeed!

[johninderby]

Yes the Skytee 2 handles a light OTA like the C8 easily. Makes a nice cmbination.

BTW the Skytee 2 should handle the C11 OTA OK. I've used it with a heavier OTA (Meade SNT10) and the OTA stayed wherever I put it without the clutches being locked and could still be moved with a fingertip. You'd need an extra counterweight though.

John

[m.tweedy]

I thought about using the C11 but with it having the losmandy plate it would have meant attaching another converter the the vixen saddle. the C11 is heavy with the crayford and the ethos eyepieces and the opportunity for the C8 came up. I was holding out for a C9.25 but could not resist this old scope.