Prototype from Exhibition: TS-Optics RC16 Pro 406 mm f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Telescope Mechanics from CFF

TS-Optics 16" f/8 PRO Ritchey-Chrétien Telescope

This high-quality telescope is the result of years of development work. The result is an RC telescope in the absolute high-end range. Even with high-resolution sensors, the stars are imaged pinpoint. Especially with RC telescopes, however, it is also important to have perfect and sophisticated mechanics. CFF Telescopes manufactures the complete mechanics for these selected optics from Teleskop Service, from the mirror cell to the single tube segments.

Each telescope is a one-off production. The mechanics are built around the optics. The result is a telescope that works from the start and offers outstanding photographic and visual results, following the motto "the sky is the limit".

Of course, each TS PRO RC is inspected on the optical bench by Teleskop-Service before shipment.

Astrophotography with the TS-Optics 16" PRO RC:

RC telescopes are mainly used for astrophotography. Even without a corrector, the RC offers quite a high speed (f/8) and a large usable field. Sensors up to 35 mm diameter can be used without a corrector. They have a pure mirror system without lenses in the light path. Therefore, infrared light can also be used or even infrared photography can be carried out with suitable filters.

The 16" PRO RC has a large illuminated field of view of 65 mm diameter. The use of full-frame size sensors or even larger sensors is also possible. In this case, however, we recommend image field correctors. Both correctors have the M68x1 connection thread at the telescope side.

TSRCFLAT3 - corrector without change of focal length:
The corrector leaves the aperture ratio at f/8, so you can shoot at full focal length. The working distance from the camera-side M69x1 internal thread is 89.5 mm. With the adapter M69A-M48A you get an M48x0.75 connection thread at 55 mm working distance, perfect for DSLR and many astro cameras.

TSRCRED - 0.8x reducer and corrector for f/8 RC telescopes
This corrector is specially designed for RC telescopes. It improves the aperture ratio from f/8 to f/6.4 and shortens the focal length to 2598 mm. On the camera side the corrector has the M68x1 external thread. A working distance of 82 mm to the camera sensor is at your disposal. So you have enough space for all popular cameras, off-axis guides and other photographic accessories.

Manuals for the TSRC-Pro telescopes

Manual for initial setup

Secondary Mirror Focusing Guide

You will find further information under "FAQ "

Instruction video

Teleskop-Service has created an instruction video about collimating an RC telescope:

Question:
What is the purpose of the secondary mirror motor, and how is it supposed to be used. It is well known that the distance between the primary and secondary mirrors of RC telescopes is critically important. As we were informed by TS for a 16" RC telescope, this distance is 900 mm so any movement of the SECONDARY mirror will spoil the optical characteristics of the telescope. We received a SELETEK controller, but we haven´t turned it on for now because we don´t want to spoil the telescope´s optical performance.
Secondary mirror movement via motor was desired by the Seller, in order to have a fine adjustment of M1 – M2 distance.?

Answer from Teleskop-Service:
Yes, it might look critical, but that’s not the case and sometimes, different distances work best for example when using different optical accessories like flattener and reducer.
For the flattener 900mm might be great, but for reducer, you may find a difference of 0.5 – 2mm to work best.


Question:
We are using the telescope remotely and want to know when and how the heating is being used and what controller we can use to adjust it.?

Answer from Teleskop-Service:
YOu can use a Pegasus Power Box or a Controller with similar features.. Check which one is best for your requirements.
Cables should be RCA – RCA (male – male) and with them both heaters + fans can be controlled.



Question:
Please send us a full optical characteristic of the telescope including mechanical schemes with crucial dimensions.?

Answer from Teleskop-Service:
There’s not one optics identical to the other, although it might resemble so.
So, best approach would be to arrange spacing of M1 – M2 to have 400mm back-focus, per specification from the producer (GSO Optics).
If you encounter any issues with this, because of mechanical reasons, please let us know.


Question:
Please send us a maintenance manual for the telescope mechanics and its optics. Crucial is to know how to collimate secondary mirror without moving or rotating it in an unwanted direction as it is connected to the moving motor.?

Answer from Teleskop-Service:
You can find the manual we send to customers in the detailed description. Most of the information apply to this telescope as well.
There are good internet sources as well, for collimation.
What you must understand is that moving in and out the secondary, doesn’t have anything to do with collimating it. These are two separate factors to be considered.

Please keep in mind that rotating of collimation knobs/screws for M1 and M2 will impact the M1 – M2 distance!
Do not over tighten them nor leaving them loose. You will feel by hand the proper position for using.

The M1 knobs as well as the M2 collimation screws have 1 mm/full turn.