Altair Astro 6” Ritchey Chretien review

[ringway9]

Hi Louise,

I have a revelation 8" steel tube version of this (GSO rebadged) and it is very stable, collimation was not that hard with a cheshire and normal laser indoors and then star test no fancy glatter or anything.

You need to check carefully the accessories supplied, normally the AA version has losmandy rails top and bottom which I don't think is required on a 6", mine has a vixen rail at the bottom and I added an ADM losmandy top rail to carry guide scope etc which was quite expenisve approx £80

The listing on your link says it includes vixen rail top and bottom (on the in the box section) but elsewhere says only 1 vixen rail but makes no mention of extension tubes again these are important and I think you will need 75mm ext for camera and 25mm or so with a diagonal for visual so you need to check they are incuded, normally they have 1x50mm extension and 2x25mm extension supplied. I would check with TS exactly what is being supplied as the discount may disappear if you have to buy rails and extension tubes.

For the tilt ring I don't think these are required unless you are collimation OCD ! or if you are using a full frame sensor for imaging.

HTH

John

[Thalestris24]

Hi Louise,

I have a revelation 8" steel tube version of this (GSO rebadged) and it is very stable, collimation was not that hard with a cheshire and normal laser indoors and then star test no fancy glatter or anything.

You need to check carefully the accessories supplied, normally the AA version has losmandy rails top and bottom which I don't think is required on a 6", mine has a vixen rail at the bottom and I added an ADM losmandy top rail to carry guide scope etc which was quite expenisve approx £80

The listing on your link says it includes vixen rail top and bottom (on the in the box section) but elsewhere says only 1 vixen rail but makes no mention of extension tubes again these are important and I think you will need 75mm ext for camera and 25mm or so with a diagonal for visual so you need to check they are incuded, normally they have 1x50mm extension and 2x25mm extension supplied. I would check with TS exactly what is being supplied as the discount may disappear if you have to buy rails and extension tubes.

For the tilt ring I don't think these are required unless you are collimation OCD ! or if you are using a full frame sensor for imaging.

HTH

John

Hi John

I think they do the extension tubes separately... I'm having second thoughts now anyway (see above). I'm now thinking I could achieve galaxy imaging with scopes I already have plus maybe a zwo camera. I'll delay making any decisions until the New Year (when I have some more money!). I just bought an apo refractor which should arrive by Monday so that will keep me busy - weather permitting! Thanks for the reply and info.

Louise

[swag72]

Collimation of these RC's is interesting, not least because if you ask 4 different people about how they collimate them and how easy they are you get 4 different answers. I spoke with John at length about this prior to getting my RC and in the end, like him I used a cheshire eye piece and that was that!! No fancy lasers etc. But when you look on the net there's a lot of expensive ways to collimate.

If I can manage it then anyone can.

[RichardHurst]

Sorry to bring an old topic up but I’ve just purchased a 2nd hand Altair Astro 6” and was wondering do I need the standard 1.25” Cheshire Colminator or does it need a 2” adapter like my friend who has an 8” said it might??

[johnrt]

I used the 1.25" Cheshire back in the day when I was using my 6" RC.

[fwm891]

11 minutes ago, RichardHurst said:

Sorry to bring an old topic up but I’ve just purchased a 2nd hand Altair Astro 6” and was wondering do I need the standard 1.25” Cheshire Colminator or does it need a 2” adapter like my friend who has an 8” said it might??

A 2" means you don't have to worry about the 'fit' between multiple adapters reducing the Cheshire's alignment. i.e. it fits straight into the focuser tube rather than having a 2" to 1.25" adapter then the Cheshire each held in place by screw anchors...

[RichardHurst]

Can anyone point me in the direction for the right one. Can’t seem to find one online at 2”

[RichardHurst]

Anyone??

[Skipper Billy]

https://www.astroshop.eu/collimation-eyepieces/farpoint-2-cheshire-eyepiece/p,16411

https://www.astroshop.eu/collimation-eyepieces/ts-optics-collimation-eyepiece-for-newtonian-telescopes-concenter-2-/p,61902

 

[johninderby]

Or.....

https://www.365astronomy.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1&keep_https=yes

http://apm-telescopes-englisch.shopgate.com/search?s=concentre

Edited September 1, 2020 by johninderby

[RichardHurst]

has anyone used this reducer on their 6"

https://www.telescopehouse.com/revelation-0-75x-focal-reducer-for-revelation-rc-ota.html

Edited September 2, 2020 by RichardHurst

[RichardHurst]

On 13/07/2015 at 13:34, johnrt said:

Always with the reducer Steve, f/9 would be sooooooo slooooooooooowwwwwww!!!!

Hi, I have just picked up a used Altair Astro 6" and the CCDT67 reducer. I want to use this with my Nikon D810A astro DSLR. Can you tell me the correct spacing needed between the reducer and camera sensor please?

[RichardHurst]

So the Astro Physics CCDT67 has arrived but wondering how it attaches to the focuser, the 2" hole I can see is a slot in with the copper band that grips what you put in there but the reducer is a screw fit, anyone got a picture of their setup or can advise?

 

[misterp]

Screws into the front of the t-mount I believe

Ian

[RichardHurst]

I've now added the ADM plate to the bottom of mine and added a Moonlite Focuser with the High Res stepper motor and V2 controller and attached my QHY 268C OSC. Absolutely love the setup and is my fav scope right now!