A bit on the side

Posted by @ 10:20 pm on Sunday 18th October, 2009.
Categories: Astrostuff, Shiny new kit
Tags: ,

It took a while to summon up the courage, but eventually I got myself a little frac. It's easy to mount and fits in nicely beside the big black 8-incher!

😯

 

    For those with an interest in such things, it's a Celestron ED80 APO Refractor. Here are the specs:  
  • Premium quality featuring Japanese Ohara FPL-53 ED glass
  • 25 mm Plössl eyepiece - 1.25" (that was the theory, in reality it came with a 20mm instead).
  • 90° Diagonal
  • Clamshell incorporates vixen-type dovetail and thread for standard tripod
  • Aperture: 80 mm (3.15 in)
  • Focal length: 600 mm (23.62 in)
  • Focal ratio: 7.5
  • Finderscope: 6x30 Erect image
  • Angular FOV: 2.2 °
  • Linear FOV (@1000 yards): 114 ft (34.75 m)
  • Optical coatings: Fully Multi-Coated
  • Camera-adaptable: Built-in T-thread on 2" focuser
  • Optical tube length: 23 in (584.2 mm)
  • Weight: 72 oz (2041.17 g)
  Observant readers will note that it's already undergone some changes:  
  • The Plössl eyepiece has been replaced by a Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom, and the 90° diagonal by a 2" straight extension (an old 2" Barlow with the optics removed)
  • The clamshell has been removed and the scope mounted in a pair of guide-scope rings
  • I swapped the finderscope with the one that was on the C8N (they are interchangeable)
  End-of-line sales are great opportunities for grabbing that bargain kit that you couldn't afford before. FWIW, we're talking a saving of £260 off the RRP, that's well over 50% discount. Quite a bargain, I reckon. And yes, before you ask, those weird things on the ends of the Newt are plastic shower-caps. Well, would you shell out a small fortune on a pair of custom-made scope dust-caps when these work fine for just 49p each?

4 Responses to “A bit on the side”

  1. Scott says:

    If a James Bond villain had a garden shed, that's what it would look like inside.

    🙂

  2. BG! says:

    Ah, but it's not a shed, it's a Command Centre.

    😀

  3. Mike Bell says:

    This type of filthy innuendo as no place on a family website....

  4. BG! says:

    Yes indeed, that's why it's here and not on a family website.
    Innuendo only works when the recipient knows what you're "innuending" about.
    I'll bet the kids of today know more about such filth than they do about refractors.

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