Altair Astro 115 APO with Starlight Feathertouch issue

[mrflib]

The Altair Astro 115mm APO comes with a 3" focuser... which is nice... but so very expensive to upgrade.

I'm looking to get a Starlight Feathertouch - Altair want nearly £750 for it, plus another £100 for a field flattener adapter (which also costs lots). See scope here: http://www.altairast...&cat=270&page=1 and focuser here: http://www.altairast...&cat=294&page=1

I've found what I think is the same focuser in the US for £560 including shipping, VAT and Duty to the UK (here: http://www.optcorp.c...-5inch-dtt.html).

Will this focuser fit the scope? Altair's site states of the focuser:

This package includes a custom designed Starlight Feathertouch focuser rotator to fit the telescope. Simply screw on the rotator, connect the focuser, and you're ready to observe.

Which has me slightly worried about compatibility issues.

Any help appreciated.

[ollypenrice]

Well, to be honest Altair Astro have done their homework and sell a package. This is often the case for dealers, not just AA. FLO and others spend a long time trying to put a compatible package together, ensuring that it works, etc. This is time consuming and it's what they do for a living. Is it unreasonable to pay them for it? You can buy 'Widget X' more cheaply, shall we say, but will it arrive? Will it work? If it doesn't, what will you do? We consumers do need serious dealers and in something like astronomy buying from unknown sources is risky. You'll hear 'This scope is the same as that.' But is it? The Chinese optical factories make lenses that don't come up to scratch. They throw them away? Ahem!!

Olly

[mrflib]

Where I come from profit is not a dirty word. I have no problem with Altair trying to make a profit but I disagree with this method of doing so.

It seems I've been locked in to Altair Astro if I want to buy this focuser. From what I can tell this is not normal practice from other manufacturers (please do correct me here as I only own the Altair).

This would not bother me too much if the item didn't cost nearly double the retail value. When I consider that the service I have received from them previously has been pretty slow and inefficient that it seems I'll have to pay more for less.

The scope however has been excellent, so no complaints with what Altair do deliver. Please don't think I'm having a go at their product.

My main question was finding anyone with an Altair that managed to use the standard Featherlight. It seems the scope is rare enough for this to be a tough one!

[mrflib]

Just an update in case anyone does find themselves in a similar situation...

Just in case anyone else bumps in to this issue I found this on FLO:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/starlight-instruments-feathertouch/ft-feathertouch-ftf3035ba.html

Who offer the exact same focuser with all customisations required for Altair Astro 115/130 APO's (and other scopes) for £200 less. Lovely stuff!

[spudlet]

Looks very nice. Got any pictures of it on your scope?

[fwm891]

I have a 115, no feathertouch but the 3.5" standard focuser. I have a distinct feeling that AA make custom parts so third party ad-ons fit AA scopes. Not only that I think there's quite a bit of R&D work within AA to make sure things are compatible, rather than just off-the-shelf.

I've not had the 115 for long but its not something I feel is going to be pushed to one side in a year or so.

The standard focuser takes my OAG, Filter wheel and Atik 383 without any problems and hold focus very well even when pointing straight up, which is more than I could say about other focusers I've used.

[ronin]

No idea of the equipment details but Altair scopes are often ones from TS, or the same source as TS. Therefore check out the TS site for replacement focusers.