televue powermate 5x

michael o'connell wrote: Have a look at this link
aberrator.astronomy.net/registax/html/rgb_shift.html /quote]

So thats what that box does Thanks for the link I'll try that tonight.

Ive checked up on the CCD, and some folks do remove it but only as it blocks some wavelengths. It seems more for the perfectionists! I think I'll leave it there to protect the CCD chip for the moment.

Thanks,
~Al

By the way, you don't have an IR filter by any chance do you (not that I think this is at fault or would solve the problem). I've seen where some people swear by them, especially for imaging Mars...where do you get them or can you make your own??
Michael

One of the guys in the club (SAC) has a 2x meade barlow (the short focus barlow) and it work very well on his scope which is a ETX90 (90mm MAK F14).
I tried it out on my scope (12"SCT) and the chromatic abberation (colours) was severe, bad colours around stars, like coloured wearing 3D glasses. The reason for this is the the shorty barlow is designed for F14+ systems and when I put it in on my F10, its been pushed beyond its design spec.

I see that the LXD55 is a pretty fast scope so maybe the 2X apochromatic cant handle the fast scope given that most of Meades gear is F10+ (except for the LXD55s of course) and this barlow predates the LXD55 by years

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY, is atmospheric defraction. If the object is near the horizon (within 30degrees) you do get red/blue edges on objects. This is very noticable on bright objects like Venus and gave me a heart attack when I first saw it. See if the orientration changes through out the night.
Sorry for the long mail, hope its useful.

For Gods sake don't take off the protective screen from the CCD !!!
A spec of dust on the CCD will block image area, the damage you could cause cleaning it is irreversible, you're basically touching the surface of an integrated circuit !!! static electricity .. etc....
and atmospheric moisture will corrode it in a matter of months (depends on how good the surface coating on the chip is)!!!