Celestron C11 OTA
6/12/2008
Beevo got a new Optical Tube for the Atlas mount!
After careful consideration I opted for a Celestron C11 with the StarBright coatings. The other tube I was looking at was the Vixen 10" Klevstov design. While the specs for it looked good, the price tag scared me away. With one more inch of diameter, the new coatings and weighing exactly what my 10 Meade tube weighs, I think the Celestron choice was a good one. No modifications were needed for the supplied CGE dovetail bar to fit my dovetail adapter I made last year.
The box arrived at work and shortly after unpacking, Jasper our office cat took up residence...
The upper dovetail bar was finally added after some issues with metal dust inside the optical tube were encountered. The front accessory mounting screws came out hard and left a debris field of metal dust on the inside of the corrector. A call to Celestron got the ok to remove the corrector and remove it. They assured me the warranty would not be voided because I called them and we discussed the procedure. They felt confident in my removal of the corrector after a discussion where I explained my abilities and the fact I have a number of SCT's apart. Note the new Orion EZ Finder Deluxe that replaces the Telrad.
A better shot of the EZ Finder Deluxe mounting. The knob under the ED 80 APO dew shield allows removal of the finder and bracket in such a way as it can be reinstalled and not have to do a realignment.