12 inch AT Ritchie Chretien

Hello,

I am considering getting a 12-inch AT truss RC primarily for imaging. I have a Losmandy Titan mount which should be more than adequate. There seem to be very few posted images taken with this or other AT RCs and I see many of them for resale on Astromart. Does anyone out there own one and what is your conclusion? The same line of scopes in both truss and solid tube version is also sold by Orion and OPT under different brand names.

Thanks in advance for any input. Klaus

The mount would do fine. I have tried to find something on these too. What I have found is that the same design was used as the old AT12RC for the mirror and that was very problematic in the 12" model. This was what turned me off about these new scopes.

Hi Klaus,

I do not own an AT RC, but I do own a 20" PlaneWave which is a Dall-Kirkham Cassegrain and I love it! It is streets ahead of the C14 that I was using for imaging. One of the best benefits of a carbon fiber truss is that the focus is stable through the night and from night to night. With the metal tubed Schmidt-cassegrains I find I am constantly adjusting the focus.

The scope also works quite well for visual observing, but not on planets. I have an 18" dob and it is far better on planets. I think the main reason is the very large secondary.

Regards,

Maurice