6" RC - Gonna give it another try...
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 7:34 pm
I haven't been out as much as I should, but managed to get a few pieces of equipment out there to make sure all is good.
I fired-up a Meade DS2090 not long ago, and was pleasantly surprised how well it performed on Jupiter, shortly before it left for the season. Really not bad at all. I brought out the 6" SN on the Twilight I mount last night. Also looks to be fairly close in alignment, and produced a very good view of the Great nebula.
Now what is staring at me is this Orion 6"RC that has been thwarting me for years. I have a Moonlite focuser for it now (used), and the Tilt Plate. And the Glatter laser. Getting ready to do a full back-to-front alignment to see what is really going on. I am still somewhat concerned that the Primary is not square/centered somehow, but it is all coming apart for inspection. I will be careful and make measurements on the Secondary spacing, and see how square the secondary is within the optical train.
I have seen some impressive pics here, using the 6RC. Naturally, those are well collimated and be relatively free from optical train problems. This thing is like 6 or 7 years old now and has never been close to aligned, despite every attempt. I do not even think I would try and sell it the way that it is. Who knows what sort of remedy will be needed, but the weather will be quite crappy for a while.
Who knows if it will end up turning into a fancy headlight for the tractor or something. Or an artifact buried in 9 or 10 feet of soil.
.
I fired-up a Meade DS2090 not long ago, and was pleasantly surprised how well it performed on Jupiter, shortly before it left for the season. Really not bad at all. I brought out the 6" SN on the Twilight I mount last night. Also looks to be fairly close in alignment, and produced a very good view of the Great nebula.
Now what is staring at me is this Orion 6"
I have seen some impressive pics here, using the 6RC. Naturally, those are well collimated and be relatively free from optical train problems. This thing is like 6 or 7 years old now and has never been close to aligned, despite every attempt. I do not even think I would try and sell it the way that it is. Who knows what sort of remedy will be needed, but the weather will be quite crappy for a while.
Who knows if it will end up turning into a fancy headlight for the tractor or something. Or an artifact buried in 9 or 10 feet of soil.
.