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Clearance: Agena Crayford Focuser Adapter for Celestron C80ED Refractor
| Brand | Agena AstroProducts |
| Part Number | PAF-AG-C80ED |
| Availability | available |
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Product Info
Manufacturer Description
The Celestron C80ED refractor is an excellent little telescope. However, owners have long complained of the poor quality of the telescope's stock R&P focuser as its weakest point. Complicating the matter further is the fact that the stock focuser screws into the rear of the telescope tube. Unlike 95% of the other telescopes in the market, the focuser does not bolt to the tube. For those looking to upgrade the focuser, the only alternative until recently was to upgrade to a competing Crayford focuser + adapter costing over $300 - almost the cost of the entire telescope itself!
However, with Agena's new coupling adapter for the Celestron C80ED, you can now attach the very affordable and excellent 86mm GSO Crayford focuser to the C80ED in a few minutes. Installation is easy - just unscrew the stock R&P focuser from the Celestron C80ED tube, screw this adapter into the tube in its place, slide the GSO focuser into this adapter, and bolt it to the adapter using three M4 screws (included with the adapter). The only tool you need to provide is a Philips (cross-head) screwdriver. This upgrade will turn your C80ED telescope into the little beauty it was meant to be.
This adapter will work with GSO's single or dual speed Crayford focusers that have an 86mm flange/base plate (focuser sold separately). It is precision CNC-machined from aluminum and anodized black to match the surface finish of the C80ED tube. The thread pitch is 1mm and the adapter weighs only 1.8oz.
Relative to the stock R&P focuser, the GSO Dual-Speed Crayford/Agena Adapter combination will allow 22mm of additional in-focus travel which is a plus for imaging applications. On the flip side, our configuration will provide 7mm less of back-focus travel compared to the stock focuser but this is easily remedied with an extension tube, if necessary.
If you upgrade your stock C80ED focuser, note that you will loose the built-in finder base on the stock C80ED focuser body when you remove it. To use a finder, you will have to mount a finder bracket directly on the telescope tube, or you can mount it on the GSO focuser body using a special dovetail base (sold separately).
Important Notes:
- The vast majority of C80 tubes have a focuser adapter thread pitch of 1mm. A small percentage of C80 tubes have poor threads machined to inexact tolerances, or threads of a slightly different pitch compared to most C80 scopes. It is therefore possible that our adapter may not mate well with your tube, even if the stock focuser has no problems screwing back on. In such cases, we have determined that the problem is with the variance in the tube threads on the C80 tubes, and not with our adapters, each of which is individually tested. To date, four customers have reported this problem (of the 80+ adapters we have sold). If you must return your adapter due to this issue, please note that our standard return policy terms will apply.
- Before ordering this item, please make sure you can unscrew the stock focuser from your telescope tube. It can be very stiff on some C80ED telescopes due to poor machining of threads, and a couple of people have been unable to unscrew the original R&P focuser from their telescope.
Reviews
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Oct 19, 2017
Perfect match for a long needed upgraded
Pros: Cons: Comments:My C80ED has never been so happy :)
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
This adapter fits like a glove, and now, with the dual speed 2" GSO Crayford focuser in place, the stars finally stay put whenever i go through various focus points (native, with reducer, with Barlow lens, extensions etc). And this ring made it all happen. Highly recommend if you are planning to revamp your refractor. Nice black shiny finish matches the OTA look. Plenty of clearance for both fitting thread and focuser mounting holes; although holes' position pushes the focuser 0.5mm back, away from face-to-face contact with the ring, but that's fine since it won't cause any tilt - i might just add a thin gasket in there.
"Let's make the ED80 great again!" :))
p.s.: no offense, Celestron (or Synta, or whoever..) - aside from the fancy look, that R&P is a joke.. not for low-power visual observations though, but the scope can perform better than just that; at least now it does :)This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Aug 29, 2017Solid feel and machined well.
Pros: Cons: Comments:Solid feel and machined well. Installed easily. Very suitable for casual visual observing with small grab and go telescope.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Aug 23, 2017Total satisfaction
Pros: Cons: Comments:As soon as the long sought connection ring for my Celestron 80mm ED became available, I was informed by the staff and could finally buy it, together with a new 2" focuser. Agena Astro knows how to take care of its customers.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Jun 8, 2017Works and looks great
Pros: Cons: Comments:I had been wanting to replace my stock focuser on my Celestron 100ED, but I had a version where the focuser threads on to the barrel, rather than attaching with three screws. Took surprisingly long to find this very simple adapter. One end has threads on its interior, so it screws on to the telescope tube, right where your stock rack and pinion focuser was. The other end has three holes drilled at 120 degree distances, and the kit comes with three screws that will hold your GSO Crayford sturdily in place. It is literally a five minute swap, assuming you have a Phillips head screw driver. In fact, if you are poorly organized, you'll spend more time looking for your screw driver than you will doing the swap out. :D
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
Also nice is that the finish of the adapter is the same shade of black as the 100 ED tube and the Crayford focuser. When you're done, it looks natural, like that's the way the telescope was always intended to look.
I still need to work out the tension adjustments of the actual Crayford focuser, but I am completely happy with this adapter.This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
May 22, 2017A great adapter for the C80ED
Pros: Cons: Comments:The adapter fits perfectly and looks like it is meant to be part of the scope. It opens the possibilities for Crayford single and dual speed focusers to be added to the scope. A must have for C80ED owners.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Dec 24, 2016Focuser adapter for C80ED
Pros: Cons: Comments:Bought this for my C80ED- worked like a charm! Screws right onto the scope tube. Nice to have a dual speed focuser on the C80!
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
May 13, 2012Adapter made good things possible
Pros: Cons: Comments:This adapter seamlessly let me upgrade from a rack and pinion focuser threaded to the telescope tube to a more precise Crayford style focuser attached with conventional screws.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Craig New Member
- Skill Level
- Unknown
- Time with Product
- Unknown
- User Notes:
- Review by Scope up north of Calgary Alberta Canada.
May 28, 2011Required upgrade:)
Pros:Well finished,Accuratly made,Easy to install
Cons:None in my instance
Comments:Very nice item that makes upgrading from the stock 'clunker' focuser to the lighter and smoother crayford an easy task.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Jan 2, 2011Upgrade your Celestron C100 ED
Pros:Accurate,Precision,Strong Construction,Compact
Cons: Comments:A precision engineered and finished adapter that allows you to bolt on (for relatively low cost) a GSO dual Crayford focuser to the older Celestron C100 ED telescopes. This adapter fitted easily to the tube once I had carefully unscrewed the original focuser. I have heard some Celestron ED tubes have different threads, but the adapter screwed ok on to mine. My only gripe was that the adapter was out of stock when I ordered and took many weeks to come back into stock which was frustrating. Communication with Agena is excellent.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Dec 20, 2010C80 Essential Add-on
Pros:Accurate,Quality Lenses,Compact,Strong Construction
Cons: Comments:This is the essential a piece needed to marry the C80 tube to the GSO focuser, its well made and matches the anodising of the GSO Crayford focuser. Very well made.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Apr 14, 2010Great adapter, looks great too
Pros:Right product and price,Perfect Fit
Cons: Comments:This adapter is the perfect fit for our Celestron C80ED, whose original focuser left a lot to be desired. Combined with the dual-speed Crayford focuser, it has completely changed our scope for the better.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
Highly recommended.
Agena's service has always been outstanding too.This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
jshalpha New Member
- Skill Level
- Unknown
- Time with Product
- Unknown
- User Notes:
- Review by James of California.
Feb 22, 2010Works well and looks great
Pros:Compact,Accurate,Strong Construction
Cons: Comments:I read the caution about poor threads on the C80ED that could result in the adapter not screwing on well. However for my scope the adapter went on very smoothly and completely. There were no exposed threads left after the installation. This is a great way to adapt another focuser to this scope.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Nov 11, 2009Adapt your adapter
Pros:Compact,Well Made
Cons: Comments:The description for this item mentions that it may not fit well on some of the C80ED's tubes. Well in actuality, some of the C80ED's tubes were apparently made with completely different threads, not just poor threads. Mine was one such tube. However, since I really wanted to use the new focuser I purchased, I made this adapter work anyway. I did this by filing down the threads on the telescope tube (not completely, only enough so the adapter fits on) and used epoxy to glue the adapter onto the tube. Make sure that the adapter bottoms out on the edge of the tube to make sure it's aligned properly. This worked like a charm. After a suitable time to cure the adhesive, the new focuser screwed right into the adapter and I was good to go.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Nov 10, 2009Does exactly what is needed
Pros:Looks great,Does perfect job,Affordable
Cons:None
Comments:All I can say about the adapter ring is basically that it does exactly what is needed and is finished off very nicely and perfectly matches the 'scope in all ways.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
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