Secondary - WOW!

As I am putting my reflector back together, I am gluing my secondary on. I had the old one (Orion 2.25 ?? pv wave) and the new one Antares 2.14 1/25 pv wave fused silica next to each other to humor myself. Like I would be able to see the difference. The laughing stopped when I looked down. The new secondary is like being in a bright room and the old in a room with a lamp in the corner with a 40w bulb. I thought it was the angle so I switched hands. Same thing. WOW!!!!!!!

I can't wait for my primary to get back!

According to Rick's Wild Card Article 3.1, Strehl is like adding aperture (between the lines - efficiency thing). I'm spending the money to add light (effective aperture) without adding the weight - my back is doing a jig - or killing portability!!!

Ed

I know what you mean.

I've never understood why some of the premium scope makers (Starmaster, Obsession, others) don't bother to at least offer a high-end secondary upgrade as an option with their scopes. So many people are obsessed about the quality and perfomance of their primary mirrors, but few talk about optimizing the optical train with a super-precise secondary. And in the overall picture, the added cost is negligible.