Hyperstar-ing your meade 14"

Would a 3.3 focal reducer not be nearly as good, less restrictions and a FRACTION of the price? Ps. jed i saw a photographically optimised 10" Newton on ebay for sale from germany. Its not on the site now but i know for a fact it wasnt sold! reserve of 500 euro! Ill keep an eye out!

Ah found it. But im si=ure its not what youre looking for at this price!

cgi.ebay.ie/ORION-10-FOTONEWTON_W0QQitem...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Still for what it is its a good price!

Another scope by this sellr!

cgi.ebay.ie/Planetengeraet-Intes-MAK-Alt...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I ran it through a translator and it said its BRILLIANT for planetary imaging!

By the sounds of it, it seems this device is more of a gimic for those that don't know any better!

I'd be reluctant to buy any astro equipment on ebay, astromart is the place for that.
I wouldn't call the F2 system a gimic, it just has some big drawbacks, now that I see its problems, I wouldn't go near it, its good to be now in the know.

The F3.3 focal reducer can only be used on small CCDs, as you get severe vignetting on the outer areas of bigger chips with it. It is also abit hard to use as it is not as straight forward as a 6.3 focal reducer.

Here ye go lads! A premium price! £375 for a hyperstar for lx200 10"!

www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=11694

Dave L - I successfully used a Hyperstar on the C14. I have to say the advantages of turning the OTA from an F11 to a F1.9 imaging system was awesome!

I think you're right about the larger chips suffering from vignetting but if you choose your imager carefully (the Starlight Express imagers seem to be preferred because of their cylindrical profile) its a super way to give yourself essentially a second scope.

The C14 Hyperstar I used cost me about €700 but I have to say that it was money well spent. I know the new Hyperstar coming out will be at least twice that price but I'm not sure what the extra dosh is for.

Collimating it was easy enough and after doing that, the images were superb (with the Meade DSI).

If I had the option to Hyperstar my OTA, I'd seriously consider it over chucking in a focal reducer. A focal reducer won't give you as much a focal length change as a Hyperstar. then again, your mileage may vary...

On a final note, they do come up every now and then on Astromart. What I find worked for me was to put up a wanted post - within a day or so I got a response and bought it from a guy in Canada.

Cheers
Dave