JMI motofocus on an 8se

[lulu57]

Well, the thread title says it really...

Has anyone got a JMI motofocus on a Celestron 8se, and is it worth the money for purely visual work?

Ta in advance.

Lulu

[johninderby]

Hi

You might also consider the Feathertouch SCT MicroFocuser. Not cheap, but works really well on the 8SE as you only have to lightly touch the 1:10 focuser knob. with a fingertip for fine focusing which means no focuser shake as with the standard focuser. Also cured any mirror shift as well.

"The Starlight Instruments SCT MicroFocuser provides the smoothest control for fine focusing. Two focus knobs allows for standard or 1/10th-speed focusing, making the MicroFocuser extremely accurate. Excellent for both imaging or visual observing, this focuser is precision-machined and anodized black with a brass fine-focus knob. The SCT MicroFocuser is easily installed in place of the original focus knob on Celestron CPC-800, NexStar 6SE and NexStar 8SE telescopes. A built-in stop prevents the primary mirror from detaching from the focuser."

Here's a photo of one fitted to an 8SE I used to

have.

John

[Helen]

...I see you've got the 'I can't use my scope so I'll just spend my time buying bits for it' bug!!

I've got a motofocus, but not the JMI one, for my C8. I bought it for imaging and decided on one with all the bells and whistles (counter, PC control) as I was taking ages focussing and this was wasting good sky time! I really like it, but it does add complexity, wires, need for power supply etc In my case I also HAVE to use the motor, there's no manual over-ride.

For visual work, I'm not sure its really worth it. What you can get to make focussing easier is a disc that fits over the focus k n o b (sory, the swear filter..!) which gives you much better fine focus like this . In fact while typing this I remembered I have one I now don't use because of the motor focus! so if you want to give it a try just PM me and I can drop it in the post...

Helen