Telescope Unboxing and Review - 8 Inch Carbon Fiber Ritchey Chretien | Observatory Install

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Question of the day: Once I get the initial testing done and I'm satisfied with how the telescope performs, what should my first target be?

[@Lacquerhead-TX]

M51 will be positioned nicely.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

@@Lacquerhead-TX I agree, and it's in my top 3 choices for first serious target with this scope

[@TheWonkyAstronomer]

A thing of beauty indeed! You got way to excited touching that focuser.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I was expecting it to be so much worse than it is, so yeah, I was excited to see that there was some decent quality to it. It's not awesome, but more so than a complete piece of crap.

[@jamestickle3070]

Nice to see a fellow geek get some nice gear.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's my first 'nice gear' since buying the Paramount MyT back in 2016. I think it was long over due!

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Excellent Allen! Congratulations!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I think I'm going to need an Off Axis guider for this one. I like that Celestron OAG you demoed in the video I left a comment on. I'd still like to know more about it later when you've got a little time to talk.

[@RaysAstrophotography]

@@I_Spaced_Out later in the day is fine. You can text me direct. OAG is always a good solution.

[@Smurf_Garden]

congrats on the new kit!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Thanks! I'm stupid excited to start imaging with it! Still working through a couple of tracking issues still, but can only address them one at a time, and it takes a few days due to cloudy nights interfering with my testing :(

[@shakenbakedmr9007]

Great Set Up.. and music track is much better volume !!!!

[@GarnettLeary]

OPT. Sweet! Great company. I love doing business with them. Beautiful instrument. I expect your weather to go south for a while now. Ha ha. Good luck. Clear skies prayer.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Nope... Had just a handful of clear nights in the past two weeks. AND the next week is forecast to be overcast 24/7. Which sucks, b/c the moon is finally going to cooperate for a good number of hours per night for galaxy photos, but I still need to some work and testing on my paramount's declination before I can see the true potential of the Ritchey Chretien.

[@DarkArtsAstrophotography]

Nice purchase. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Well, we both now know what I can do with it! More to come, buddy!

[@DarkArtsAstrophotography]

@@I_Spaced_Out I look forward to seeing the results of your planned project we discussed earlier. That should be incredible.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

@@DarkArtsAstrophotography If only the clouds clear. Also, I think I'll need a bigger hard drive!

[@DarkArtsAstrophotography]

@@I_Spaced_Out It fills up quick when you do large projects. Earlier this year I got myself a 10TB drive for all my astro-stuff, as it had filled about 80% of my NAS storage (8TB total space).

[@KENNGODD1]

Very Awesome!!! What would the FOV be with that setup? I'd say Elephants Trunk IC 1396A would be a nice one.Cheers and Clear Skies from South Texas

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's roughly a third of a degree. I can perfectly frame up M81 on a ZWO ASI1600 mono - according to The Sky X and the roughly approximated field of view indicator I created in it.

[@Inserico]

Awesome!!! I'd be interested to see a tutorial on your method of collimating it :) Thanks for sharing!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I'll do one when it needs it!

[@birreboi]

Hope you get to read and maybe answer! So, four months on, are you happy with the GSO 8" ? It is exactly the scope I am looking at as my 2nd scope (have 80mm refractor). Generally have read good things about GSO, but an independent view would be interesting. I guess for the price, I would not expect miracles, but hopefully it is good enough for astrophotography with good details. Have a very recently purchased ZWO 1600MM Pro and ZWO Filter Wheel (I think I spied the same in this video?). Any thoughts, advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

So far, it's good. I haven't really had a huge chance to get it out, and start a project. With everything being out of stock almost everywhere, and other issues - it's been 4 months of learning. What you need to know right now is that you will need a focuser collimation ring if you buy a 6" or 8" RC. You need a Cheshire. You need a laser collimator. You're probably going to upgrade the focuser to something more robust like a Moonlite (I just did) If you're slightly out of collimation, the images look fine. Collimation is easy enough actually, but you will go absolutely crazy trying to get it perfect - and perfect isn't completely needed.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Also, If you're thinking about pulling the trigger on this telescope I would only recommend the carbon fiber version if you're going to image in areas with unstable temps at night. In Texas, half the year is HOT even at night. The other half of the year the temps do drop quickly as the sun sets. Otherwise, the stainless should work out for you very nicely. Check out the links in the description to both Carbon Fiber and Stainless Steel versions for quick reference.

[@birreboi]

@@I_Spaced_Out Had a 8 and 12 inch Meade SCT's 15 years or so ago. So did some slight collimation back then, minor stuff. So, I *think* collimation wont scare me all these years on ;-)

[@I_Spaced_Out]

@@birreboi I'll have some collimation videos coming along soon. I just got it collimated for the 8th time this weekend (I've been practicing). I've lerned a few tricks that I don't see in other videos. I'll be headed to a ranch for a small private star party with a few of my friends this weekend, so I'll probably hold off on the collimation video until then. Maybe... I may decide to do it sooner if the rain in my forecast actually arrives tomorrow and Thursday.

[@birreboi]

@@I_Spaced_Out Good luck for the weather to end up being clear night skies!

[@astronomyireland5381]

I’m waiting on my MGP Box for my 10 Micron GM2000 HPS II would their be much difference between my TSA-120 and a 8 in RC in light gathering power what size is your Apo you have a MX+ ?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's a 105mm F7 from StellarVue. My mount is the Paramount MyT

[@bobbeanbags]

This looks great! Been looking at getting this or an 8” SCT, I’m doing strictly astrophotography. All things being equal, an 8” RC should be sharper (less coma) compared to the same size SCT correct? I think the RC is a bit faster and slightly lower focal length compared to a Celestron Edge HD.

[@bobbeanbags]

Also, I have a 6” RC now, is the 8” carbon fiber worth the $900 difference in your opinion?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It is faster than the SCT, but the central obstruction hurts sharpness. The carbon fiber version was worth it in my situation.

[@ChucksAstrophotography]

Nice scope!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It is, but I haven't been able to use it to it's full potential yet. Only had two reasonably decent nights in the past two weeks - and I'm having some issues in my Paramount's Declination. I can't reporduce the pointing errors with the StellarVue Refractor, which leads me to think that it's very likely not the Paramount, but the RC telescope itself. Maybe something to do with the focuser? I'll have to experiment more to see what I can determine, but it's proving to be a bit frustrating when I get streaked stars after just 3 minutes...

[@ChucksAstrophotography]

@@I_Spaced_Out Wish I could suggest something, but nothing is coming to mind.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

@@ChucksAstrophotography My two working theories are that I need to make some routine adjustments to the worm block. The mount needs seasonal tune ups, which I have neglected for two years now. They don't damage the mount, but the performance does degrade a bit. My other working theory is the focuser has a tiny amount of play in it. When a slew completes, the focuser settles due to gravity, causing the camera to be off axis a bit - mimicking mirror flop. Both are easy to fix, but difficult to diagnose. I'll have to pick one, make adjustments, and then do a new sky model to see if my delination error improves

[@chrisstrobel3439]

Is that an MX or MyT mount, and how’d the red anodizing get so faded .. or is that just the lighting?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's a MyT and it got bleached in the skyshed pod I had before. Lived outdoors for 2 years in it.

[@mycarolinaskies]

You could detach the D-Plate and take both it and the Losmandy down to a local shop and have them drill the D-plate so you can add the accessories.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I've tried to have some work done like this in the past, no shops will do a simple drill that I can find. No money in it. No worries though, I have a back up plan!

[@mycarolinaskies]

You'll probably need to do a mini star party for one of those local machine shops and then probably one of the guys will be like oh heck yeah I can see where you're going with this and will do the work. Lol