Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi,
I'm regarded as the arch enemy of SV. I'm meaner than a 'seasick crocodile' by SV. I now own a AT1010.
Stacy and drove up the icy roads to Anacortes today.
I brought back an AT1010 Blackhawk. The following comments reflect both a manufacturer and an observer/owner. You figure which.
The images belie the telescope. This scope is remarkably heavy to the point of being overweight and I like that! To do this to a 78mm is no big deal, but if you were to buid a 5" in this fashion, it would be ridiculous!
The scope does have quality construction. It more resembles the TMB CNC tubes more than most.
We're a spat of poor weather, so there will be no star tests for a while.
The sliding dewcap is very well done. Its very smooth and solid. It stays put when stopped. It does, however, only shortens the tube by a mere 2". This is very little, considering the effort to manufacture this. To the observer, it doesn't matter, because this slider is real cool!
The clamshell is very well done and more involved than the TeleVue clamshell. The 2 locking bolts are easily manipulated and the tube rotates smoothly.
The focuser is Chinese in origin. I happen to have 3 of these focusers for another project. There was very slight focus tube shift at the extreme extension. Not worth it to improve. It would not be wise to purchase this unit with the JMI. For CCD imaging a finer focuser would be preferred, but this aperture could not achieve such great f/ratios. The other 3 focusers behaved identically.
The paint job was very good with only a couple of drip marks. I must admit that I'm being unreasonably picky there.
At $399, Vic cannot be making much profit. The machining and finish is extremely high.
This is a very attractive telescope, to say the least.
From a manufacturer's point of view, this scope is, terribly overbuilt.
I like this telescope very much! It should serve me fine, especially in wide angle imaging.
Al M
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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AT1010 Blackhawk #2272 on EQ6
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Think you'll take it up the mountain or is it to heavy? Hope you post a pic with it mounted on an EQ-6, that should be something! I thought the Blackhawk was more expensive than the Nighthawk. Doesn't it have the upgraded focuser?
Should get clear skies soon! Enjoy your new toy, Al!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I see you posted the pic as I was typing. It looks sooo tiny on the EQ-6! 
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi Tom,
Its a Nighhawk! I had it backwards.
Al M
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Bill Grass
Prince Regent
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 11652
Loc: Denham Springs, LA
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Is the EQ6 sturdy enough for the Nighthawk?  
Cool, Al! I'm looking forward to hearing how it performs optically.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
I like this telescope very much!
Careful Al. It's a very slippery slope you are starting down!
Quote:
It would not be wise to purchase this unit with the JMI. For CCD imaging a finer focuser would be preferred, but this aperture could not achieve such great f/ratios.
Could you explain this please?
That EQ6 is huge! Looks cool.
Clear sky clock says maybe clear in the morning. 
Keith
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I didn't understand that either, Al, now that Keith mentions it.
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Stacy
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/15/02
Posts: 2076
Loc: The Great Northwest
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I was impressed with the build of the scope, extremely heavy duty. However it seems like overkill for a scope of this aperture. I think it would require a fairly beefy mount. I’m thinking something like the SkyView Pro would be perfect. The focuser had surprisingly little shift and even that could probably be adjusted out. Looks very cool! Can’t wait to hear the observing report.
Regards,
Stacy
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NS11-GPS-XLT, XT-8, 120ST, AEX-10X50
www.darksky.org
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
- HG Wells
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi Tom and Keith,
When I do very high power imaging with a webcam, I use from 5000mm to 10000mm f/l. I can get good image scale at 5000mm. That would equate to f/65 or so on the Nighthawk. The 78mm aperture would produce dim images at that level. I would have to increase the exposure time. The increased exposure time would increase the number of poor images. Any focuser shift at that f/ratio is unacceptable. The CCD chip is very small at about 8mm X 6mm and image shifting can drive one nuts.
This focuser is far superior to the focuser that came with my 5" refractor. When I first had Mars on the camera with the 5" refractor, I couldn't keep the image in the field with the original focuser. I would center the planet in the field and when I went to focus on the planet, the image shift would cause the planet to vanish off-field. I would center on Copernicus and after focussing, I would be looking at Plato! I replaced it with my own Crayford and solved the problem.
The area that small, short f/ratio, scopes excel in are the low-power wide angle stuff .. M42, M31, Rossetta, etc. The very slight image shift of the focuser will be of no consequence.
I'm being very critical on the focuser, but for the usable power of up to about 200X, there wouldn't be any noticeable shift at all.
The EQ6 appears to handle the lil' guy just fine.
Al M
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Al,
Thanks for the explanation. A couple more questions.
Vic says that the stock focuser is not recommended for photo work and recomends the JMI. Are you saying that for Low power widefield photos the JMI isn't necessary that the stock focuser will work well?
How do you get a 5-10k fl? Barlows and Aperture masks?
Thanks
Keith
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi Keith,
The stock focuser will do just fine for wide angle imaging.
Barlows are the best way to go to increase the f/ratio. The 5X Powermate actually will have about 8X increase for imaging. That would push the AT1010 close to 4000mm.
The AT1010 will not be used for planetary imaging. My 5" refractor, MN66, and the 10" Newtonian are far superior there.
On the other hand those 3 scopes don't well on wide FOV imaging.
Al M
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Al, you're a scope junkie!
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Anonymous
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Naa Tom,
You arent a scope junkie till you own over 5 scopes trust me on that one.................. 
Dave
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Anonymous
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Dave, you're a special case!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
You arent a scope junkie till you own over 5 scopes trust me on that one..................
Is that 5 total or 5 at the same time?
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi Guys,
My problem is that I don't know how many scopes I have.
BTW, I often get scopes for free or at a steep discount and that goes for the AT1010. Take that!!!
Al M
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Don't make me Jealous, AL!!!!  Can you get me a Vixen 102ED??? (don't answer that!)!!!
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Stacy
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/15/02
Posts: 2076
Loc: The Great Northwest
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Quote:
Hi Guys,
My problem is that I don't know how many scopes I have.
I happen to know that it's way over 5. 
And ... Al ate a corn dog.
Regards,
Stacy
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NS11-GPS-XLT, XT-8, 120ST, AEX-10X50
www.darksky.org
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
- HG Wells
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Bill Grass
Prince Regent
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 11652
Loc: Denham Springs, LA
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I'll take a free TeleVue NP-101, Al!
(Yeah, I'll keep dreamin'!)
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