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TrueRC™ Design
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The RC14C is a true Ritchey-Chrétiens.
It is not a cheaper design modified to work better.
The RC design has inherent advantages over other Cassegrain designs.
While others like to claim "RC" like performance, the TrueRC™ series astrographs have RC performance.
That's because they really are Ritcheys!
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Optics by Star Instruments
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Star Instruments optics are legendary.
Paul Jones has been making RC optics for over 30 years.
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Six-Point Mirror Cell
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A six-point flotation cell is used to support the primary mirror eliminating astigmatism that may otherwise be induced due to poor support.
Collimation is pre-set at the factory but may be adjusted as required using three traditional push/pull locking adjustment screw sets.
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Electronic Secondary Focuser
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The RC14 incorporates a precision, zero image shift electronic secondary focuser.
This allows your optical train to be firmly secured to the OTA.
It also means that the focuser is not required to support the weight of your camera, filter wheel, adaptive optics, off-axis guider or other instrumentation.
The focuser uses a standard 12VDC uni-polar stepper motor that is compatible with the RoboFocus motor standard.
This means you can use any RoboFocus compatible controller and ASCOM drivers for focusing through applications like MaxIm DL and FocusMax.
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Secondary Dew Heater
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A secondary dew heater is incorporated for those nights where the dew point can create condensation.
On/off may be manually or PC controlled.
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Cooling Fans
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Three rear mounted cooling fans provide fast cooldown and constant thermal equilibration.
Like the secondary dew heater, on/off may be manually or PC controlled.
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Carbon Fiber Tube
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High-performance carbon fiber tubes are used in the RC14C astrograph.
They are strong, durable, light-weight and weather resistant.
They also minimize thermal expansion and the need for continuous focus adjustments.
And they look great too.
Our carbon fiber tubes are thicker than other tubes of similar size.
They are a full 0.1" thick.
They are also 100% carbon fiber/epoxy resin to optimize thermal stability.
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Stainless and Aluminum
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Stainless steel and aluminum are used throughout the design for light weight and corrosion resistance.
Our machined aluminum parts are made from a special zero-stress cast aluminum alloy.
This guarantees precision parts that don't deform during the machining process.
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Design
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All of our scopes are designed in SolidWorks and modeled/optimized in COSMOS to improve quality and manufacturability.
Many features are computer generated for optimal performance.
All of our optics are designed and modeled in ZEMAX.
Our corrector designs are optimized and toleranced to provide the smallest possible spot sizes.
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DSI 3.5" Optical Interface
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Our RC10 astrograph uses the Astro Physics 2.74" threaded standard interface.
But when it came time to choose an interface for the RC14C, no suitable standard was available.
So we created our own.
Our threaded interface is 3.5" x 24tpi which guarantees zero vignetting for even the largest CCD chips currently available.
All of our threaded parts are manufactured by Optec to guarantee compatibility.
This includes various length extenders, a 3" Pyxis rotator adapter and a DSI 3.5 to AP 2.7 adapter... all available from Optec.
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Overall Value
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The TrueRC™ series astrographs were designed to be an exceptional value.
They are purpose-built to provide the performance and features that really count when your goal is the best astro-images possible.
You can buy more expensive equipment, but why would you want to?
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| System | True Ritchey-Chrétien |
| Optics | Optics by Paul Jones, Star Instruments |
| Primary Mirror Size | 14.625", 14.25" usable |
| Secondary Mirror Size | 6.5" |
| Performance | Diffraction limited |
| Mirrors | Hyperbolic, enhanced coatings, Pyrex or Fused Quartz substrates |
| Corrector | Two element field corrector/flattener, fully multi-coated all surfaces |
| F/Ratio | f/7.0 |
| Focal Length | 99.75" (2534mm) nominal |
| Back Focus | 12" primary front surface to focus
8.4" from back of OTA |
| Corrected Imaging Circle | > 2.0" (52mm), 1.2 degrees |
| Focuser | Electronic secondary focuser, computer/manual control, ASCOM compliant |
| Interface | 3.5" 24 tpi, female |
| Tube Construction | Carbon fiber, glossy carbon fiber finish |
| Tube Length | 40.5" nominal (not including handles) |
| Tube Diameter | 16.5"
18.5" from dovetail plate to dovetail plate |
| Overall Construction | Carbon Fiber/Aluminum/Stainless Steel |
| Estimated Weight | 58 pounds without dovetail plates
72 pounds with integrated dovetail plates (included) |
