Orion 2 Dual-speed Crayford Refractor Focuser 13032 Reviews

Product Review for the Dual Speed Crayford Focuser for Synta Refractors made past William Optics
by David Milone

I'g very excited nearly my new dual speed focuser from William Optics. I put it on my quondam Orion 80ED and let me tell you, it looks and feels almost like an entirely new telescope. Finding perfect focus is at present much easier than before. I've had many nights of planetary observing, struggling with my sometime focuser, shaking the scope with every turn. I would try with my glasses on, my glasses off, rubbing my eyes, rack in, rack out, constantly tweaking, never satisfied with my focus. Attaching a photographic camera to the former focuser could be even more than frustrating. And so I was very excited when I stumbled across this new dual speed focuser on the net. It seemed like a perfect fit for my 80.

Although it is made by William Optics, it is designed to fit virtually any Synta refractor, (i.e. Celestron, Orion). It is a simple, elegant design that is light-years ahead of the old stock focuser. Information technology has a black anodized finish, it's fully rotatable, it has a 1 to 10 ratio betwixt the fine focus knob and the main focus knob, and it has a two inch draw tube and a 1.25" adapter both with contumely compression rings. All the parts are precision machined rather than die-cast similar the sometime stock focuser.

Installation on the telescope is very simple. Though for me, it was the removal of the onetime focuser that was the almost difficult chore. The old Orion focuser refused to come off. I pulled on information technology, I yanked information technology, I tried to wiggle it out, merely my little Orion 80ED would not permit go. I ended upwardly having to use a small amount of WD40, being conscientious not to permit any run into the tube of the telescope. I then wrestled with it for a while longer until it finally popped off. I really got a couple of bruises on my forearm in this struggle.

This is the old focuser removed. The housing is fabricated of die-cast metal, and the within surfaces are just spray painted with flat blackness enamel pigment. It'southward pretty inexpensive.

In improver to the new focuser, I also purchased a finder scope bracket fabricated by William Optics. There is none included with the new focuser. On each side of the focuser body at that place are two screws, one flat head toward the front, and one allen head toward the rear. All I could do was take a guess at which one was for mounting the finder bracket. There are no instructions included with the focuser or the finder bracket. There wasn't a unmarried piece of paper. I invariably chose the wrong i, picking the allen caput toward the rear. I think I managed to put it back in without anything moving, shifting, or falling off. The right screw for the finder is the apartment head towards the front. It is actually simply a plug. Here you can meet the bracket installed.

This focuser is beautifully crafted with a high caste of precision, and is solidly build and sturdy. The gold colored fine focus knob operates very smoothly and precisely. Information technology's like butter. However there was some sticking at get-go here and there when turning the silver colored main focus knob. Fortunately, this has smoothed out well-nigh completely later racking the draw tube all the way out and all the way back in over again several times. This might audio bad, but information technology really isn't. I suppose it simply needs some breaking in like a new pair of shoes.

The draw tube only has one tightening thumb screw. Fifty-fifty though there is a brass compression ring, I feel information technology could apply a ready of three. I was getting some slippage. When using heavy eyepieces on a diagonal, the diagonal would slip around when it was in a most horizontal position.

Although this focuser is heavier than the old stock focuser, I don't believe it is equally heavy as a Moonlite focuser. I have a Moonlite focuser on another one of my scopes, but I'll salvage that for a future article. I'll merely tell y'all for now that the Moonlite is a real work of fine art. But for my Orion 80ED, I felt that the William Optics focuser would work a lilliputian better. It looked lighter in the pictures, and I retrieve I guessed right.

Excessive weight at the back end of the short tube of the Orion 80ED tends to throw off the remainder on the declination centrality. The center of gravity it too far to the rear of the telescopic. With the new William Eyes focuser, finder bracket, finder scope, diagonal, and a big eyepiece, I have to push the tube as far forward as my mount will let. Surprisingly, it balances OK like this. Having all of those items at the back may be pushing the limits of balance, but it works.

Upgrading from my original stock focuser to the William Eyes Dual speed focuser has improved the functionality and ease of utilise of my Orion 80ED by a huge margin. I'm very pleased. The task of focusing is now much easier. It operates silky smooth. Even if the seeing atmospheric condition aren't the best and I feel demand to futz with the focus of an object, it's not a problem. I tin lightly touch the knob, making fine adjustments very smoothly and easily, without all that telescope shake. It is very luxurious.

Pros:

• Beautifully crafted
• Simple, elegant design
• Fine focus knob operates very smoothly
• Easy installation
• Fully rotatable
• Brass compression rings
• Makes accurate focusing much easier
• Vast improvement from original stock focuser

Cons: (by and large minor quirks)

• Initial sticking in main focus knob (smoothed out later on racking in and out several times)
• Does not come up with finder subclass
• Not completely idiot proof
• Does not come with instructions.
• Only one tightening knob on main two" draw tube
• Weight could exist an issue with shorter tube refractors

arrowoodhies1995.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.sfaaa.com/our-site/articles/85-product-reviews/124-dual-speed-crayford-focuser-for-synta-refractors-made-by-william-optics

Share this post