From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>

Date: January 5, 2010 10:19:57 AM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] GSO RC`s

Hi Mark;

I don't have an opinion on Edge VS RC, and unless something picks up dramatically in 2010 I won't be buying any new hardware. There have been a reviews of the new RC scopes in Sky & Telescope magazine in the last issues. I'm waiting to see how the Edge stack up against them.

I do have an opinion on RC Spider vanes though, and I'd rather not have big diffraction spikes in my images, especially if the camera rotates or changes position between imaging sessions. They could go to curved spider vanes, but seem to only offer straight ones.

I do like the fact that the smaller RC scopes I've read about reviewed do not have movable mirrors, like the CAT scopes do for focus. That too me is a major advantage to me and I'd love not to have idiotic mirror flop or shift happening when I focus my images.

TTYL..

Milton Aupperle

On 3-Jan-10, at 1:55 PM, Mark Gaffney wrote:

Hi Milton & others,

There`s been some discussion on the SCT users group (initiated by me)

about comparisons between the new cheaper style of Ritchey Chretien

scopes & the new Celestron Edge HD ones. I`ve noticed these GSO ones

for sale locally (& they`re cheaper than the Edge scopes) I think if

you scroll down to Guan Sheng on this site & go down that page a

little you`ll see them;

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

Rod Mollise believes these scopes`ll remove coma alright but introduce

their own problems of astigmatism & curvature of field. Michael Bieler

from Astronomics I believe, has volunteered to the discussion the

information that a 0.75 reducer is in the offing for these scopes but

Rod upon further questioning says the place to start with them is to

replace the focuser. I know you were showing an interest Milton in

similar Orion astrographs at one stage. What would be your & others

considered opinion of them be..I haven`t got sufficient funds to buy

even one of these  8" OTA`s but who knows later in the year?

Mark.