Re: Minutes from Meade RCX meetings
From: Tim Killian (TJK_at_notmyrealemail.com)
Date: 02/02/05
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Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 08:13:45 -0700
All this talk about nuances in the RCX optics IMO misses the real
purpose of these products. Meade has put together a telescope _system_
which incorporates automated pointing, guiding, collimation, focusing,
and even dew prevention. Look for them to receive patents that stake out
this territory as a competitive edge over smaller rivals.
The term "Ritchey-Chrétien" sounds very exotic to most consumers, and
IMO is simply a marketing ploy to help justify the higher price.
Roger Hamlett wrote:
> "RichA" <none@none.com> wrote in message
> news:3u2001ljs156gnkao4r0809k37tfe0bl97@4ax.com...
>
>>On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 16:50:15 -0800, Chuck Taylor <not@thisaddress>
>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>bratislav3162@hotmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>>>Chuck Taylor wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>They added this line:
>>>>>"The RCX design is very similar to the Classical RC and achieves the
>>>>>same benefits by using a hyperbolic secondary with a new advanced
>>>>>front corrector plate and primary mirror that together perform as a
>>>>>hyperbolic primary."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Bingo !
>>>
>>>You called it!
>>>
>>>Clear Skies
>>>
>>>Chuck Taylor
>>
>>So now that that is settled, is the scope worth having?
>>-Rich
>
> The answer probably depends on what you want.
> By introducing a corrector, they have introduced a little chromatic
> aberration, so the scope will not give quite the 'pinpoint' white light
> images in really good seeing at the field centre, that a true RC is
> capable of (notice that the spot diagrams they show are for green light
> only). Also the scope is still going to have the curved field of a RC or
> SCT, and a field flattener, should be a standard accessory (maybe they
> will produce one - this would be a 'good' decision). With the flattener,
> it'd produce views comparable to the 'best' at the centre field of an SCT,
> across a much larger field.
> Now there is some 'question' as to the size of the central obstruction.
> The pictures seem to suggest about 38%, which is only fractionally more
> than a standard SCT. If so, this will mean that the loss of contrast from
> the CO, will not be as bad as was perhaps initially feared, but at a cost
> in terms of the size of the fully illuminated field. The loss of contrast
> from the CO, is a thing that can be processed out when imaging, but would
> downgrade it as a visual scope. The 'real' answer on how well this
> performs, will have to wait till the scope has been used by quite a few
> people.
> Realistically, the scope will probably perform like a really good SCT, but
> with less coma. It is worth being aware, that a properly designed SCT, has
> a slightly more complex secondary, that is supplied on the normal 'mass
> production' scopes. Historically, Celestron, have repeatedly been reported
> to get slightly 'closer' than Meade to this, an opinion, that seems at
> times to be 'borne out', when the scopes are used together, though a good
> example of either make will manage to better a 'poor' example from the
> other manufacturer. If you assume that a reasonable proportion of the
> extra cost, goes into improvements in the actual quality of the optics,
> figuring a slightly more complex curve on the secondary, and on the
> corrector, then the scope should give results comparable to a
> 'traditional' RC, when using narrowband filters, and results perhaps
> halfway between an RC, and a traditional SCT, when working in white light.
> I think the term 'SCT-GT', is probably going to be a good description of
> the likely performance. :-)
>
> Best Wishes
>
>
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