I had <10 minutes with it the day I bought it before the clouds completely rolled in, so last night was the official first light. My observing session was at Sunnyside Rec Area in Middletown, NJ.I have the OTA mounted on a brand new Celestron CG4. The OTA weighs in at just about 12 pounds, so combined with the 46 inch length, puts it pretty much at the limit of what the mount can comfortably handle. (see note below)
The scope is a multi-coated achromat doublet. The lens cell is fully adjustable and was dead-nuts on from the factory. The OTA is well baffled and features a rotating dual speed Crayford focuser and sliding dew shield. Dual rings and a 7.5" long Vixen type dovetail round out the package as delivered. I'm using a Telrad for a finder, but will probably add a Stellarvue F50 RACI finderscope soon.
The scope star tests beautifully, both inside and outside focus exhibit expected results from a well designed and adjusted achromat. As one might imagine on an f/11 achromat, false color is non-existant on most targets with only slight, and I mean SLIGHT "achromat blue" on very bright targets. Using a minus V filter completely eliminated that chromatic issue in visual use. Targets included Jupiter, M13, M92, M57 (which was so beautiful through this scope), M31, M22, M29, M39, and M8. EP's used for testing were a Meade Series 4000 20mm (56X), a Celestron 40mm Plossl (28X), and a BO TMB 9mm Planetary (125X). The 40mm EP was used only as finder when my Telrad dewed over! I used my Stellarvue D1031ED 1.25" diagonal. Atmospheric conditions weren't great, so I didn't push the magnification any higher than 125X.
My only gripe with the scope is the focuser. I knew when I bought it that the slow speed section of the Crayford had "issues", and even after a complete disassembly/cleaning/re-lube, it feels a bit "chunky". It's a LOT better than it was, but I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot more time with it apart on the bench. With the slow speed portion of the focuser off, it is smooth as silk, so the problem lies somewhere in the ball bearing mechanism. Gary Hand is working on the problem and I have confidence he'll get it sorted out, but impatient me couldn't wait and I bought the scope even though he said he wasn't happy with the focuser. I suspect that the problem is the profile of the small shaft that engages the 3 ball bearings that transmits the rotational force to the main focus shaft. During the rain this past week, I made some adjustments to the tension inside the slow speed mechanism which resulted in huge improvements, but the mechanic in me wants to play with that shaft some more.
Lessions learned: Balance on the CG4 mount is critical for an OTA of this length. When I first set up, I was a little tail heavy and the mount was very unstable when focusing. Adjusting the position of the OTA on the mount cleared that right up. Last night, I ordered the dual axis drives for the mount, as well as the Orion 16" SkyView Pro Telescope Mount Extension (thanks for the tip Kit!) and the CG4 polar alignment scope. The 16" extension is an absolute must (for me) as I found myself sitting on the ground, hunched over, to look at targets near zenith. The drive motors are also necessary as you need "monkey arms" to operate the RA slow motion controls to track from the eyepiece. I was able to polar align well enough for visual use without the polar scope, but since I was already spending money, what's another $35.00 or so.
All in all, the scope is a winner. I wanted a long focal length 4" refractor for splitting doubles and planet watching, and f/11 fits the bill beautifully. Once the focuser issue is ironed out I'll be even happier. Regardless, it was an excellent buy.
note: The decision to go with a CG4 vs a CG5 was that I wanted a manual EQ mount to which I could add motors, I have no need for goto, and since I'm a visual observer, didn't need auto-guider input capabilities.
