StellaLyra Classical Cassegrain & Ritchey-Chrétien Telescopes

[neil phillips]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

The SW, GSO and Bresser newt mirrors are pretty much the same quality and are actually pretty good and similar to the lowest grade of OO mirrors.

The SW 12 i had was reasonable. But i know better could be had. Its just the extra cost

[johninderby]

Just checked and German dealers are saying the Bresser dobs are due mid April.

[neil phillips]

On 14/01/2021 at 18:43, Chris said:

Thanks, no voiceovers on this one, just the text on the slides. 

No just thought i would show the cheap mod. it was late very close to nextdoor sleeping. But 30 mins drawing air out certainly would speed up cooldown

Edited January 28, 2022 by neil phillips

[johninderby]

Had a SW 150PL that had decent mirrors but picked up a set of OO 1/12pv mirrors on ABS and put them in the 150PL.  An amazing planetary scope. Never should have sold it. 😢😢😢

[neil phillips]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

Had a SW 150PL that had decent mirrors but picked up a set of OO 1/12pv mirrors on ABS and put them in the 150PL.  An amazing planetary scope. Never should have sold it. 😢😢😢

Yeah thats a nice scope 150 F8 

[cajen2]

32 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I'll let you know when mine arrives 😜 From what I've been reading the GSO mirrors are rather good on these. That and the better build quality and accessories made it an easy choice over the Skywatcher.

The Skywatcher Dobs are looking a bit tired and basic now. 

I really really hope you're right, MS. Mine should be arriving soon, too....😛❤️

[RobertI]

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I suspect people using the modern CCs we have now are starting to realise just how ordinary SCTs are for visual use. I think a shift from convenience to quality is a welcome shift though. 

I am very tempted to get a 8” CC with a view to replacing my C8. The C8 has its good points (relatively light, compact, loads of SCT fit accessories including dedicated F6.3 reducer, will focus just about anything, easy to collimate) but many bad points too (hairy stars, poor performance on doubles, dew magnet, tube currents, mirror flop, mirror shift when focussing).  It seems that the CC solves many of these issues, but possibly at the cost of others? I would love to do a side-by-side test just to see what the difference is in the real world, in terms of performance, convenience and usability. Wonder if anyone has done this yet? (it’s a long thread, I may have missed it!). 

[Peter Drew]

I would love to do a comparison, I have a couple of good C8's, one ancient and the other modern.     🙂

[johninderby]

Having had two C8s I’m quite familiar with how they perform. With the CC find it’s a bit sharper on axis with a bit better contrast Just has the edge optically. The CC build quality is extremely good. Great fit and finish. When I sold another scope recently the buyer had a look at the CC and was impressed by the build quality and he owned a Tak Mewlon.

As it’s used for lunar / planetary diffraction spikes are not a problem and although this should degrade the sharpness and contrast it still has the edge over the C8.

No scope is perfect of course but the CC is a great compromise and very happy with it. 

I have the 6” CC as well as my grab’n’go setup.

 

 

[RobertI]

45 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I would love to do a comparison, I have a couple of good C8's, one ancient and the other modern.     🙂

Two C8’s is an even better starting point for comparing! My C8 is over 20 years old, and I’m really not sure whether it is a good, average or poor example. So any side by side test may not be a fair reflection of the ‘average’ modern C8, but if the CC is better then I guess that’s all I need to know. Perhaps we can crowd-fund you a CC8 Peter so you can do an in depth comparison! 🙂

[johninderby]

Find the CC maintains collimation nearly as well as a mak. Most arrive with good collimation and are fine for visual use but for imaging would benefit by fine tuning the collimation.

[RobertI]

34 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Having had two C8s I’m quite familiar with how they perform. With the CC find it’s a bit sharper on axis with a bit better contrast Just has the edge optically. The CC build quality is extremely good. Great fit and finish. When I sold another scope recently the buyer had a look at the CC and was impressed by the build quality and he owned a Tak Mewlon.

As it’s used for lunar / planetary diffraction spikes are not a problem and although this should degrade the sharpness and contrast it still has the edge over the C8.

No scope is perfect of course but the CC is a great compromise and very happy with it. 

I have the 6” CC as well as my grab’n’go setup.

 

 

Ah yes, the spikes, forgot about those! I’d never worried  about them after years of using Newts, then I got the 100EDR, now they grate a little! I just need to get used to them again. Good to hear of your experiences, the CC does sound like a step up visually. I do have an RC6 and have been very impressed with the build quality. Never tried it visually, and I don’t think it would tell me much about a CC8, but I do like the solid construction, baffles and dual speed focuser. The RC6 weighs about the same as the C8 so I expect the CC8 to be quite a bit bulkier. 

[johninderby]

Performs somewhat like an f/12 newt. The mirrors are Hyperbolic secondary mirror and parabolic primary mirror which does indeed make collimation easier than the RC.

[johninderby]

The stock focuser is OK but a Baader Steeltrack refractor focuser can be fitted if you want something better.

Edited January 28, 2022 by johninderby

[RobertI]

56 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Performs somewhat like an f/12 newt. The mirrors are Hyperbolic secondary mirror and parabolic primary mirror which does indeed make collimation easier than the RC.

That’s good to know, it was a slight concern with the CC. 👍

51 minutes ago, johninderby said:

The stock focuser is OK but a Baader Steeltrack refractor focuser can be fitted if you want something better.

That looks really nice. The stock focuser on my RC6 is the standard GSO affair, nicely made, a slight step up from skywatcher I would say, effective, but a little ‘rubbery’ when turning (I guess your CC8 is the same?) and lacking that nice weighted feel of a more premium focuser. The Baader looks real quality. 

[johninderby]

The focuser on the 8” is the Monorail one so slightly better than the one on the 6”

Edited January 29, 2022 by johninderby

[Froeng]

We really need a "shoot-out" between a C8, an 8" CC and a Mewlon210! That would be very interesting indeed...

[johninderby]

Someone who had the 6” CC and then bought a Mewlon said the Mewlon was better but not by much.

Edited January 29, 2022 by johninderby

[Mark at Beaufort]

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

Someone who had the 6” CC and then bought a Mewlon said the Mewlon was better but not by much.

John what gives you a better view of the Moon and Planets between your 6" CC and your new 5" APO frac?

[johninderby]

Pretty close on lunar / planetary although the 125 having the wider fov is better for other things of course. A better all rounder. The CC6 being a short OTA works on a lighter mount as well so better for grab’n’go.

Purely for lunar / planetary the CC is a great buy. On Jupiter / Saturn might change my mind next summer when they’re better placed.

Edited January 29, 2022 by johninderby

[neil phillips]

On 29/01/2022 at 13:31, Froeng said:

We really need a "shoot-out" between a C8, an 8" CC and a Mewlon210! That would be very interesting indeed...

I havent tried a Mewlon 210. I was wondering too about differences ?

[bosun21]

On 28/01/2022 at 23:18, johninderby said:

The stock focuser is OK but a Baader Steeltrack refractor focuser can be fitted if you want something better.

Is there an adapter required to fit the Steeltrack onto the CC8”?. Thanks 

[johninderby]

The Baader Diamond Steeltrack RT comes without the focuser to scope adaptor which needs buying separately to suit whichever scope it’s being fitted to. You just need to get the Baader Adapter M90 to Diamond Steeltrack BDS-RT to fit the CC.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-diamond-steeltrack-focusers/baader-steeltrack-diamond-rt-adapter-m90x1-for-refractors-gso-rc-scopes.html

Edited January 31, 2022 by johninderby

[Len1257]

Just preparing the kit for an impending RC8. Do the secondary mirrors suffer with dew? I know I have had problems with my 150PDS occasionally so I would rather be prepared. Are there any dew straps that are suitable for these? 

[johninderby]

Secondary mirror can sometimes dew up if dew is heavy. Kendrick makes dew heaters that fit RC secondaries but are bringing out a new design in Feb so temporarily unavailable unless you can find a dealer with stock.

https://www.kendrickastro.com/rcoptics.html

Edited February 6, 2022 by johninderby