89 replies to this topic

[Lord Beowulf]

Hi All,

 

After viewing and imaging the eclipse on Saturday, I've come to the conclusion I need to invest in an even wider OTA than my AT80LE, which with my Quark Gemini solar filter, still can't quite reach full field of view on the Sun, still being limited by the aperture of the filter rather than the eyepiece.  I'm also wanting to do wider field single shot imaging and wouldn't mind having something that performs better than the Sigma camera lens I'm using now, which isn't very flat and has lots of distortion around the edges.    

 

My AT80LE has been a great scope with the fastest performance (widest field) I could find in an 80 mm at the time, but it has had it's problems.  I believe I bought from the first batch and it arrived with a chipped objective.  Mike made good on that, but some time later the flocking started falling off the inside of the OTA.  Opened it back up and pressed that all back down, which appears to have held.  However, the latest is that now the focuser has become sloppy for some reason with the tube wobbling left/right. Not sure what that's about or what it will take to fix it, but oh well.

 

At any rate, while the specs on the AT60EDP look great as far as the expected FOV, etc., I'm a bit nervous about investing in a new scope with no reviews or prior purchases.  I have a rather long and painful history of buying things (CGEM, SkyScout, SkyQ, QHY247C, QHY183C) right out of the chute that have had less than stellar performance (no pun intended) at least initially.  I've searched the forum and while a few people have asked or speculated about this scope, I haven't seen anything from anyone who has actually seen/used it.  From the pictures on Astronomics' website, I can't really even tell the details on the mounting rails, etc. as they don't have any ortho views of the scope.  If there's anyone out there who actually has one of these OTAs and can give some feedback, a response would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Beo  

 

 

 

[Cometeer]

Careful using scopes with rear elements for non front aperture solar filters. Daystar themselves doesn’t recommend it, but many still use petzvals without issues. I’d be hesitant unless I can trace out the light path. 

 

The 60EDP literally arrived at Astronomics on Friday, so I suspect even the first preorders haven’t been delivered yet.

Edited by Cometeer, 17 October 2023 - 11:11 AM.

[Yerman]

I feel your pain on after buying remorse. I like everyone else has gone through it. On your 80mm to get a wider field is there a focal reducer field flattener available for it. That will give a wider field.
As far as your list of regrettable purchases I have a cgem that will out perform most mounts costing twice as much. To get it to do that I replaced the dc motors with stepper motors and the control with an OnStep system. The mechanical aspects of the cgem are second to none the motors and electronics are junk. The point being it was salvageable so not a total loss.

[Lord Beowulf]

Careful using scopes with rear elements for non front aperture solar filters. Daystar themselves doesn’t recommend it, but many still use petzvals without issues. I’d be hesitant unless I can trace out the light path. 

 

The 60EDP literally arrived at Astronomics on Friday, so I suspect even the first preorders haven’t been delivered yet.

Good point on the Petzval.  I hadn't really investigated the difference in the design, but I might be better with the AT60ED and the 0.8 reducer with an IR cut filter in front of it.  Granted it's only 60 mm and shouldn't be coming to focus in any of the optical path prior to the filter, so the Petzval might be fine, but I've dropped an e-mail to both Daystar and Astronomics.  We'll see what they say.

 

Thanks,

 

Beo

[gnowellsct]

Good point on the Petzval. I hadn't really investigated the difference in the design, but I might be better with the AT60ED and the 0.8 reducer with an IR cut filter in front of it. Granted it's only 60 mm and shouldn't be coming to focus in any of the optical path prior to the filter, so the Petzval might be fine, but I've dropped an e-mail to both Daystar and Astronomics. We'll see what they say.

Thanks,

Beo

Your experience might prove different, but it was my venture into Daystar quark combo which drove my conversion to scopes with high-end focusers.

1. The moonlite on my 4-in Vixen wasn't really up to it.
2. The OEM focuser on my vixen 81 mm really isn't up to it.
3. The crayford focuser by feather touch on the back of my lomo 102 mm triplet APO was not up to it.
4. The 2.5 in rack and pinion feather touch focuser on the back of my 92 mm stowaway is marginal for solar with the quark combo.


Which gets us to the two that work.

1. The feather touch r&p 3-in focuser on the back of my cff 92 mm.
2. The astro-physics rack and pinion on the back of my gt130.

I got to these choices the hard way by trying everything else and trying to save money. Trying to save money can be expensive.

Greg N

[Lord Beowulf]

Hi Greg,

 

I'm curious what sort of issues you had with the focuser?  Just not able to move the load (I could see that with a Crayford) or slipping on you or what?  So far I haven't had any notable issue on my SkyWatcher ED100 or AstroTech AT80LE (whose focuser does have a problem at the moment).  Seeing tends to be the bigger issue, just in terms of having a stable view.  

 

At any rate, after discussions with Mike at Astronomics (Thanks Mike!) I ended up going with the AT60ED, as he indicated that the AT60EDP is intended for imaging and doesn't have the back focus to accommodate a diagonal for visual use.  I also got the 0.8 focal reducer, that gets it shorter than the AT60EDP, but that can't be used for visual use either and wouldn't support the Quark either. 

 

Of course if I would have remembered the astronomy equipment curse and realized that buying this would cause two weeks of rain here in Central Texas, I would have done this long ago!  I'm not going to complain about the rain that we desperately need to break our drought, but it will be a while before I have the chance to test my new scope that arrived Monday.  It will give me some time to work on designing an auto focuser for it.

 

Thanks,

 

Beo

[BlueMoon]

After dithering around trying to find a small astrograph to take the place of my trusty Megrez 90FD the AT60EDP appeared on my radar. Not much to find about it either. It's already marked down from $849 to $764.10 at Astronomics. That's curious to me as it's a brand new model for them.

 

Regardless, it seems to check the boxes for my wide-field inclinations ...

[gnowellsct]

Hi Greg,

I'm curious what sort of issues you had with the focuser?

Beo

The video shows the problem. And the problems were much worse with the other focusers I named.

Sometimes I'm not too bright, unfortunately. It took me a while to figure out the gear has explicit and sometimes implicit specifications. The astro-physics default focuser on the stowaway is designed for medium to medium heavy applications. It's a feather touch product.

The focuser on the cff 92 is also a feather touch product. I got to pick which focuser I wanted. What I had not really thought about when I made that video is that the performance issues of the focuser have nothing to do with the telescope quality. One has a medium spec and the other has a heavy duty spec. I was given the option of choosing a medium spec for the cff but passed it over. Like a medium battle tank the 92 stowaway will handle most situations and handle them very well under constraints of weight and size. If you want a heavy battle tank you got to move further up the scale it's not really a problem of the OEM for either the focuser or the optical tube.


https://youtu.be/KSQ...?feature=shared

[Astronomics]

After dithering around trying to find a small astrograph to take the place of my trusty Megrez 90FD the AT60EDP appeared on my radar. Not much to find about it either. It's already marked down from $849 to $764.10 at Astronomics. That's curious to me as it's a brand new model for them.

Regardless, it seems to check the boxes for my wide-field inclinations ...

I marked down all the scopes new or not for a sale that an email went out on. I could have left it up as it was new, but figured why not save some people some money at this time of year.

[BlueMoon]

I marked down all the scopes new or not for a sale that an email went out on. I could have left it up as it was new, but figured why not save some people some money at this time of year.

That's cool. I hope you didn't take away anything negative from my comment. It just seemed a bit strange to me to see a price reduction so close after being a new release. It's not everyday you see a retailer thinking more about their customers than a "bottom line" one could say.

 

And ... right now, I'm looking pretty hard at the AT60EDP myself so saving a few $$$ sounds pretty nice. So thank you.

 

Clear skies.

Edited by BlueMoon, 05 November 2023 - 06:50 PM.

[Astronomics]

No worries.  I didn't think anything negative was put out at all.

 

It is odd to have a brand new product on sale, and I waffled on it to be honest.  I like money, so it was a tough call.  lol

[BlueMoon]

 

I like money, so it was a tough call.  lol

I hear you on that.

 

Clear skies.

Edited by BlueMoon, 05 November 2023 - 07:23 PM.

[BlueMoon]

Done deal. I've placed an order for the AT60EDP from the Astronomics folks.  It took me about 3 days of "analysis paralysis" over 4 or 5 different brands and configurations but the AT60EDP checked all the boxes.

 

What sold it for me? Petzval design, small size, usable dovetail and carrying handle (I have osteoarthritis in my hands so "getting a grip" is important). But what checked the final box was simplicity. It's all there in one small, manageable package. No separate corrector, flattener, camera rotator. No extra "fluff" (I've never understood the whole "Temp gauge" in a focus knob thing for instance).

 

Add to that Astronomics reputation and oh, Mike the owner, for "waffling" on whether or not to reduce the price on the brand new EDP along with his other scopes. And doing it anyways.

 

So, expect images, commentary and if everything goes right, a decent review of the AT60EDP in good time. Might be Spring as the weather in my neck of the woods isn't "photo grade" right now.

 

Clear skies, eventually.

Edited by BlueMoon, 06 November 2023 - 02:42 PM.

[Lord Beowulf]

I marked down all the scopes new or not for a sale that an email went out on. I could have left it up as it was new, but figured why not save some people some money at this time of year.

I saw the e-mail.  I haven't been brave enough to go see if you knocked the AT60ED down lower than you had it a couple weeks ago!  

 

BTW, good luck with two kids in college!  

 

Beo

[cos]

Any feedback on this scope yet? I am helping a friend and there is a toss up between this and the RedCat 51 iii, both seem to do the same job, beyond the differences in aperture and FL, any known differences? I feel like the at60edp is a giant unknown and I cant find enough info to suggest it or not, the glass appears to be different but I honestly dont know if that matters or not. 

 

 

Done deal. I've placed an order for the AT60EDP from the Astronomics folks.  It took me about 3 days of "analysis paralysis" over 4 or 5 different brands and configurations but the AT60EDP checked all the boxes.

 

What sold it for me? Petzval design, small size, usable dovetail and carrying handle (I have osteoarthritis in my hands so "getting a grip" is important). But what checked the final box was simplicity. It's all there in one small, manageable package. No separate corrector, flattener, camera rotator. No extra "fluff" (I've never understood the whole "Temp gauge" in a focus knob thing for instance).

 

Add to that Astronomics reputation and oh, Mike the owner, for "waffling" on whether or not to reduce the price on the brand new EDP along with his other scopes. And doing it anyways.

 

So, expect images, commentary and if everything goes right, a decent review of the AT60EDP in good time. Might be Spring as the weather in my neck of the woods isn't "photo grade" right now.

 

Clear skies, eventually.

[BlueMoon]

 

Any feedback on this scope yet? I am helping a friend and there is a toss up between this and the RedCat 51 iii, both seem to do the same job, beyond the differences in aperture and FL, any known differences? I feel like the at60edp is a giant unknown and I cant find enough info to suggest it or not, the glass appears to be different but I honestly dont know if that matters or not.

Unfortunately, from me, no. This has been a one of the worst winters I can recall in many years for doing anything in astronomy. New scope curse with a vengeance it seems. Constant clouds. My AT60EDP hasn't seen first light yet. I'm itchin' to get out and shoot some sky too.

 

A practical consideration is the pricing difference which may or may not be an issue. I'd consider the 60EDP to be a very good buy over the RedCat 51 III at the price point Astronomics is selling it at. And, you get 9mm more objective.  The other consideration is the brand new WIFD focuser design on the RedCat III. I personally like to give new innovations a year or two in the field under actual usage before I consider them a benefit.

 

That being said, I owned a RedCat 51 II and considered it a fine instrument. Well build, fine optics and smooth focusing. I'd say no big difference in the glass formulation that would matter. FCD-100 and FPL-53 glasses are very, very close in performance. I wouldn't consider either one a poor choice or that one really has any distinct optical advantage over the other. As the AT60EDP was released a bit late in the year, I think reviews will be forthcoming when skies are more cooperative. Cheers.

Edited by BlueMoon, 13 February 2024 - 05:16 PM.

[Nemo51]

So far, I’m unsure about mine. I managed an hour last night, with the moon and high humidity. The results were not good. 

[kgb]

So far, I’m unsure about mine. I managed an hour last night, with the moon and high humidity. The results were not good.

Can you elaborate? What is not good?

Edit: I see that the Starfield, Gear 60, KUO variant (with FPL53) states that the working distance from the 48mm thread is 41-61mm. Astronomics shows on their website that there is a backfocus distance of 55mm (not sure if that is a mistake). I am wondering if people are getting field distortions from not adhering to this design requirement.

Edited by kgb, 23 February 2024 - 01:50 PM.

[BlueMoon]

 

I managed an hour last night, with the moon and high humidity. The results were not good.

A number of atmospheric factors can influence imaging on a night like that I'd think. Moon glow and light refraction/dispersion from the moisture in the air come to mind. Any images, even raw unprocessed ones, you care to post? Cheers.

[Nemo51]

Can you elaborate? What is not good?

Edit: I see that the Starfield, Gear 60, KUO variant (with FPL53) states that the working distance from the 48mm thread is 41-61mm. Astronomics shows on their website that there is a backfocus distance of 55mm (not sure if that is a mistake). I am wondering if people are getting field distortions from not adhering to this design requirement.

I’m at 55mm without a filter and 55.3 mm with a filter. 

[Nemo51]

A number of atmospheric factors can influence imaging on a night like that I'd think. Moon glow and light refraction/dispersion from the moisture in the air come to mind. Any images, even raw unprocessed ones, you care to post? Cheers.

I’ve got a contractor building an interior wall and my computer is covered. I’ll post when I can but the files will show the appearance of multiple, diffraction-like spikes, on bright or high magnitude stars. 

[kgb]

Diffraction spikes can be introduced by many things. I guess we'll have to wait for the images to see what is happening here.

[Nemo51]

I finally processed five lights of the flaming star nebula and high magnitude stars have crosses, something described by others. I’ll try to post when I can figure out how to do it. 
 

I did NOT say they were diffraction spikes, only that they somewhat resemble them, I. E., “like.”

Edited by Nemo51, 24 February 2024 - 11:21 AM.

[Nemo51]

Attached is a very poor jpeg. The file size limit was a problem-I couldn’t figure out how to save up to the limit. 

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Nemo51, 24 February 2024 - 12:08 PM.

[Nemo51]

A number of atmospheric factors can influence imaging on a night like that I'd think. Moon glow and light refraction/dispersion from the moisture in the air come to mind. Any images, even raw unprocessed ones, you care to post? Cheers.

Can you advise how to overcome the 500k limit so I can post a fits file?  The duo produces 50 meg files!

 

The high magnitude stars have Maltese-“like” crosses surrounding them. 
 

The workmanship and design of this scope are quite good. I had a Redcat 51, and it produced stunning images, and I hope this will, too, but I’ve never seen these “cross-like” images before with any refractor, including an at 130edt and an Askar V. 

Edited by Nemo51, 24 February 2024 - 12:03 PM.