Optec, Inc.

Optec is a designing and manufacturing firm specializing in electro-optical products used in astronomy, atmospheric science and microscopy. We are located in the small town of Lowell, Michigan near the banks of the Grand River. Our company is small but we utilize state-of-the-art equipment and techniques in the design and manufacture of our products. Our reputation for high quality and well designed products is very well established.

QSI has evaluated the new IFW 3" for integration with their upcoming 700 series cameras. Kevin Nelson, VP of Sales and Merketing of QSI, said their engineers were impressed with the new filter wheel's design and operation.

There have been some recent firmware changes by the maker of our USB-to-Serial converter stock number 17690. I have written some new installation instructions that should be read if you have trouble installing the device. Click here to read the new instructions.

The new and improved IFW filter wheels are available. These wheels have been redesigned to allow small plastic (delrin) tabs to hold the filters in place. This avoids the use of silicone sealant to hold the filters as was done for many years. There are still advantages for sealant so the new design will also allow for that method. Click here for more information.

There are new control programs for the IFW and Pyxis. These are free and can be downloaded from our Software Download page. These programs have improved serial communication and other enhancements. It is highly suggestes that all users download these new programs.

To complete the 3-inch line of products, a new series of 3-inch reducers is planned. I have started work on a reducer for the LX200 16" with the exact reduction factor still to be determined. This optic will correct for the coma and field curvature inherent in LX200 SCT and will cover a large CCD chip with a corrected field.

The worm shaft assembly has recently been improved on the Pyxis 3-inch to support larger bearing blocks and cap screws. Early units have been been known to get loose when stressed. This results in a rotational backlash. We can upgrade and adjust models delivered before December 2007 for $75.00 (our cost) which includes return shipping in the USA. Contact Optec for details.

Mr. Steven Williams from Australia has sent us an astro image of NGC253 that was taken recently with his new NextGEN 0.5X reducer. The scope as a 12" LX-200 and the camera was a SBIG ST-8. Exposure time was 3 minutes unguided. His web site is at: www.gco.org.au.

The Grove Creek Observatory has many scopes and is well placed between Sydney and West Wyalong to take advantage of dark skies. I remember the area from my eclipse adventure back in 1976.

After many delays, the IFW 3" parts are back from the anodizer and are being assembled. The massive 7 pound unit can support three different styles of filter wheels: 9-position 50mm round, 6-position 50mm square and the new standard 5-position 58mm square to accommodate the largest CCDs. The wide variety of adapters and mounts will allow this unit to attach to most telescopes and cameras. It is also compatible with the Optec Pyxis 3-inch and the TCF-S3.

Like it's smaller cousin the IFW, it uses the same cables and control box. The filter wheel changes easily like the IFW with a wide door for access. Nothing to remove from the instrument train except the wheel itself.