TEC 200 15.5

I know this sound random, but I am beginning to study this scope. I have talked to our sponsor and looked for some reviews. Anacortes suggested asking for user/owner comments. So, if there is a fortunate owner, How does this little gem stack up? I am strickly a visual observer, no Astrophotography or CCD in my immediate or long term future. I have owned two exceptional APO's, a 4" and 5". I sold out looking for Apeture, and now am saving for a combo of apeture, focal length, and top notch quality. I have a good size CAT for now to get me by, but I can see a scope like the TEC 200 in my future. I would also like to know if this is a scope that always holds collimation from the factory?

I would love to hear some comments, especially from Yuri if possible.

If there happens to be other scopes that some might suggest, please let me know.

Thanks to all,

Steve

Steve

I owned one for about a year. Its a beautiful, well made scope that will give refractor-like views of planets. The deep sky views were exceptional for an 8 inch also. The only downside was that I didn't like waiting for it to cool down. I live in Colorado where the temperature drops rapidly all night. The internal fan helps but couldn't keep up on those cold winter nights. Collimation was perfect even after shipping.
Thanks
Bill

Hi Steve.

I own one of the older 8" f/20 scopes and have found it a gem for planets and double stars. Very sharp images. It's good for compact DSOs, too, but I get about .5 degrees of unvignetted view and sometimes that feels a little restrictive. The f/15.5 would offer a slightly wider TFOV, which would be nice.

I cool the scope for at least an hour (usually two) before observing and haven't had much problem with unsteady images.

I've never had to goose the collimation so whatever TEC is doing to keep the system stable seems to be working.

Hope this helps,
John