Specifications

Like many starting out in astro-photography, I too have gone down the path of the astro-equivalent to discovering beer, cask wine, wine in a bottle-with a cork! & some not too shabby vintages (read: small plastic refractors, SCT's with forks, SCT's on a good GEM, semi-APO's, APO's, RC's etc. )

When I realised some things, like Penfold's Grange, or rare highland single malt just take time - and a little maturity to fully appreciate- I finally took possession of my first Astro-Physics telescope back in 1995.

With those thoughts I put my name down on the now infamous "AP-waitlist" for an even larger telescope. I waited...and waited...the patience required reminded me of getting into the Shao Lin Monastery as depicted in the old Kung-Fu TV series...but...anyway.....after around a decade of "patience-grasshopper-patience" from AP's legendary team of Roland and Marj Christen....I was finally rewarded with an instrument that has significant aperture and a fully corrected field that simply didn't exist in the decade or so it took for me to acquire more grey hair ...........

Here are some pictures

The AP RHA arrived in a beautifully made and rather big (and dammed heavy!! ) box...all up weight around 45Kg !!

Even the dew-shade is baffled. It attaches via quick-release locking pins.

Typical AP. The 14" ID rings are machined to keep their weight down while maintaining rigididy.

AP dovebar with a Losmandy D-series pattern, again.... much machining.

 

The rear focuser has a 3.5" ID and 10:1 reduction knob.

Scope and rings all ready to mount. AP's specs listed below.....

Sitting sided by side (Losmandy twin bar DSBS, unfortunately no longer produced) with its AP155 F7 stablemate.