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Starlight Instruments, Inc. |
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Quality Focusers and Accessories for the Amateur Astronomer |
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| Newtonian 2"
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| Schmidt-Cassegrains
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| Refractors 2" |
| Refractors 3.5"
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| Micros
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Testimonials |
"I have received my Feather Touch Focuser in perfect condition. Here are my first impressions: Jean-Pierre Prost, France |
"I wanted you to know I received the focuser today and got it mounted on my TV85. It is a beautiful piece of equipment you have made! The fine focus is just the thing for Saturn, and the brake allows me to completely eliminate drift in position of the drawtube and still have a light focus touch. I did reverse the knobs already to the left handed position so that the fine knob is at the top of my case and that the scope is not resting on it. I do find I can just reach focus with a 22 Panoptic with the drawtube within a fraction of a mm of fully extended (my AP diagonal is a little longer path length than my TV, so I'm using that one). Since I can focus with every eyepiece I have, it seems like I will not need the riser. I'll of course let you know if I do decide I need the 0.65" spacer after all. Anyway, the focuser works great, installation went perfect (having already spent an hour patiently digging the epoxy out of the factory set screw), and no change in collimation or anything like that." Dave McGough |
“I've had one of your focusers on my 20 inch Obsession for almost six years now and also have your micro reduction units on three Astro-Physics focusers and am totally pleased with all of them. Harvey Gryttenholm |
"I recently purchased your Feather Touch focuser for my new TAK TOA-130 through Highpoint Scientific. Let me tell you this has definitely improved the TOA-130’s performance! I already have one on my NS11GPS for three years now so I am quite familiar with its capabilities. The TOA-130’s focusing though good wasn’t quite good enough when skies were not so calm and I could not get a clear image and for the investment I made into the TOA-130 I decided it needed your focuser. Replacing it was easy and quick. The supplied tools helped in the replacement process. The Feather Touch focuser even looks cool on the TOA-130! So I am recommending it to other TAK owners. Your product definitely improves my visual viewing through my TAK. " Clear Dark Skies, Mike Heuler, |
“Y'all definitely have the focuser thing figured out! It's beautiful! Just a note of thanks for the wonderful job Starlight Instruments did on my focuser. I had many observers comment on the buttery smooth action of this fine focuser, especially when critical focus was needed on tight double stars. Keep up the great work!” Best Regards, Paul Webb |
“The focusser arrived safely about a week ago. I have just returned from the Equinox Star Party the biggest such event in the UK. The clear skies gave me a real chance to use my NP101 with its new Starlight Focusser. The NP101 is in my view about the best 4" apo there is for visual work. With the Starlight focusser attached the best simply got better. I am very pleased with the upgrade which has outstripped all my expectations. Engineering of Startlight Instruments quality is rare these days and caused quite a stir as folk looked over my upgraded NP101. Under the dark skies of North Norfolk the scope performed exceptionally with the focusser really improving the performance of the scope. Please pass on my best wishes to all at Starlight Instruments. Your products are quite simply stunning.” Very best wishes, John Orr, |
I have owned 4 telescopes with Starlight Instruments Feather Touch focusers and find them to be of exceptional quality and value. Purchased my first Feather Touch focuser for a Celestron CGE 1400 SCT in 2003. Through the C14 OTA had very little image shift and was easy to turn I found I needed something better for planetary imaging when using a web camera. The Feather Touch worked perfectly allowing me to make very fine focus adjustments without the planet moving in off the CCD sensor. When I started looking for a short focal length 80mm telescope for wide field astrophotography and as a grab and go scope, one of the main reasons I decided on the Stellarvue SV80S because it had a Feather Touch focuser. After using the one on my CGE 1400 I just could not see buying a high end scope without one. I have had numerous comments on how well the focuser works on the SV80S. When I replaced the CGE 1400 with a Meade LX200GPS 12” I upgraded the focus knob with a Feather Touch Microfocuser. This made focusing much easier and precise but image shift was still a problem. The Meade LX200GPS has a motorized Microfocuser as standard but I kept wanting to just turn a knob instead of pressing a button so I replaced it with a Feather Touch. That made life much more enjoyable for visual viewing and I could replace the star diagonal with the Meade Microfocuser and have both while doing imaging. I came upon the good fortune of obtaining an Astro-Physics 900GTO mount so I sold the Meade LX200GPS 12” and purchased a Meade LX200R 12” OTA. I kept the Feather Touch focuser and placed it on the LX200R. The Feather Touch focusers I have owned and have used on other scopes, the astronomy club I am a member of purchased one for their CGE 1400 and my brother has one for his 8 inch Newtonian, have always worked flawlessly and hold the Televue Nagler 31mm without even knowing it is a very heavy eyepiece. I consider the focuser the second most important part of any telescope and Feather Touch focusers are best I have ever used. Starlight Instruments also has great support. One of the Feather Touch focusers I purchased arrived not working correctly, the movement was hard and uneven. I was told the focuser was most likely dropped in shipment. A replacement was shipped to me from them directly from Starlight Instruments. It was very nice to deal with the company who makes the product and can correct any problems right away. Everyone has been a pleasure to deal with and I greatly appreciate all their help. Sincerely, William Risonhttp://members.aceweb.com/wsrison/ |
"Telescope makers would be wise to install Feather Touch focusers as stock equipment on every telescope they make. If they all did so, the world would be ridded of focuser-related complaints! I won't be satisfied until all of my telescopes say "Feather Touch" on them. Thanks for making such a well designed and beautifully executed product." Daniel Perry |
I recently purchased one of your focusers to replace the stock model on my 12.5" Obsession. I just wanted to let you know what a pleasure it is to use the Starlight focuser. The mechanics and finish are superior, and the smooth motion makes observing a lot more comfortable and rewarding. Thanks very much. Will Hopkins |
I would like to say that if all companies in the world paid as much attention to the quality of their product, and to customer satisfaction as Starlight Instruments do, we would have nothing to complain about, ever again. Already being a convert, using a Crayford Feather Touch for the past few years, I have today received the TRF102 Micro Focuser for my FS128. What can I say, it is a work of engineering beauty, it is a shame to fit it to a scope, every home should have one on display, to prove to any doubter that perfection in a product is possible. Not only is the focuser excellent, the instructions for fitting it are clear, well written and presented, and your customer service is a lesson to anyone. I am looking forward to enjoying the many years of use this fine addition to my telescope will give me. I would have no hesitation recommending your product to the most discerning of astronomer." Martyn Pitt,UK |
“Starlight, Thank you for this fantastic focuser. I never dreamed a focuser could add so much to the observing experience. I can finally focus my eyepieces without even the slightest movement of my scope thanks to the ultra smooth performance of the fine focus knob. I love it!" George N. La Grange, IL. |
“I have just installed your zero backlash Feather Touch Focuser TM on my Meade 16-inch telescope. This focuser is the finest I have ever used! It is built with the precision of a Swiss watch. Your superb workmanship has produced a focuser in a class by itself. I attached a dial micrometer to measure the focus differential required for demanding CCD tri-color imaging and cannot get over the smooth performance of this incredible instrument. My Pictor1616XT and a large filter wheel have a combined weight of over 7 pounds. Even bearing this heavy load, the focuser moves with micrometer precision. Thanks, Starlight Instruments, for this wonderful contribution to my CCD focusing!" Sincerely, Jack Newton |
"I have one of your focusers on a 25” scope and it is FANTASTIC!!!!!!! Thank you for making the best focuser in the universe." Peter Read, |
"The fit and finish of your work is extraordinary. The focuser works perfectly, up to your usual standards. Thank you so much." John, Northville, |
"I like to express that the Starlight support is just great. Thank you again for such wonderful support, this is unfortunately rare in Europe nowadays." Gradimir Petrovic, |
