Achromatic refractors

Aloha
I do not know where to begin..
I have a Meade 14" LX 200 UHTC GPS telescope which is quite heavy to move around.. It now sits on a permanent pier on my roof and it's a great scope.
I just want to go to star parties and cannot take that 14" with me so I'm planning to buy a 2nd scope to move around with, and I since my budget is limited, I was thinking about the Celestron C6R with the CG5 mount, sturdy for viewing and some astrophotography....But since the achromatic refractors all have somekind of false color, is there a filter you can buy that can be screwed on the front lens to minimize this color problem with refractors ??
I really do want an apo-chromatic refractor but can not afford it .. Thanks for emailing me some suggestions.
Freddy

Freddy,

Orion has a Minus Violet filter that's designed to remove the most objectionable color fringes from achro refractors. It makes a big difference but of course it doesn't make your scope an apo.

I don't know if you've handled the C6R before, but if you're looking for a portable scope to take to parties, this isn't really it. It's big, pretty heavy, and has lots of inertia that will put a strain on the CG5 mount. A better option might be a C8. It will be easier to move, has better optics, and there are lots of them available on the used market for about the cost of a C6R OTA. Hope this helps,

Tim Iafolla

An economical alternative would be one of the 5" or 6" MAKs that are now on the market. Portable and essentially free of extraneous color.

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Freddy WILLEMS said:

Aloha
I do not know where to begin..
I have a Meade 14" LX 200 UHTC GPS telescope which is quite heavy to move around.. It now sits on a permanent pier on my roof and it's a great scope.
I just want to go to star parties and cannot take that 14" with me so ...Freddy

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Hi Freddy,

If you can figure out a way to get your 14" off the forks, I have had some success building an alt-az mount for my old C14. It collapses down easily, and the OTA goes in the front seat. Setup time around 15 minutes. This scope has made it to several starparties, and the comfort level is quite good.

As for refractors, you could get an Orion ST120 and mount it on top of the Meade 14", that would be a nice setup !

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Hi Freddy,
Just some personal notes about the CR-150HD I owned. Both of these have been stated by others (Tim, Chas, etc.) I'm just confirming their posts with my experience.
First, the CG-5 mount is marginal at best for this scope. I replaced the aluminum mount with a Vixen Wood mount. That and vibration pads help but still don't make the set-up even close to adequate for astrophotography. About a 1 second vibration damping time. Putting the Vixen mount on a portable stand helps a great deal with raising the eyepiece when viewing anywhere near zenith. It allows you to shorten the legs for stiffness and brings the EP up about 4" or 5" so you only have to get on your knees instead of stomach at true zenith.
I tried several of the Minus V filters with my CR-150HD and found the MV-20 seemed to work the best for a single filter. The Baader Fringe Killer stacked with the Contrast Boost worked very well also so you might try the new Baader Contrast Boost/Fringe Killer filter which is supposed to be the two combined. Just remember a Minus Violet filter does not improve the view by maintaining information. It works by eliminating the ultra violet i.e. deletes information.
There's also a company that makes an adapter that corrects for the different points of focus for various colors but it costs about $600.00 new.

In general I'd agree with the idea of getting a 6" MAK or good 8" SCT to take to Star Parties. You can find them on AstroMart quite reasonably, they're stable and reliable, and both are easy to transport and set up. I used to take an 8" SCT but now take a C9.25" which is a bit more to lug but still very transportable. The idea of a Meade ED/APO is good also but probably a bit more expensive.

Hope you find something that fits your needs. Mahalo, Bill

Freddy WILLEMS said:

Aloha
I do not know where to begin..
I have a Meade 14" LX 200 UHTC GPS telescope which is quite heavy to move around.. It now sits on a permanent pier on my roof and it's a great scope.
I just want to go to star parties and cannot take that 14" with me so I'm planning to buy a 2nd scope to move around with, and I since my budget is limited, I was thinking about the Celestron C6R with the CG5 mount, sturdy for viewing and some astrophotography....But since the achromatic refractors all have somekind of false color, is there a filter you can buy that can be screwed on the front lens to minimize this color problem with refractors ??
I really do want an apo-chromatic refractor but can not afford it .. Thanks for emailing me some suggestions.
Freddy

Aloha

Thanks everybody for a quick response, you guys on Atromart are the best.
Thanks again for helping me out.

Freddy