Excuse my ignorance, but does he do imaging, and has he used equatorial mounts? I hurt my back a while ago lifting my SCT as well. I've tried a number of things, including smaller SCTs, EQ-mounted SCTs, and refractors. I love refractors, but do miss the resolution of larger scopes. And larger refractors such as the 130 will still require a substantial mount, perhaps more so than an 8" SCT. For the most part there isn't anything really good that's really light, but they all distribute the weight differently. Some day I hope to try a dob .... Another Craig -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Ann Blanchard Sent: Monday, November 15, 2010 8:31 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Opinions on Astro-Tech Refractor Craig has hurt his back lifting our 11" Celestron CPC and is looking at two Astro-Tech refractors as alternative possibilities for a while (looking at prices, he still believes in Santa too). Anyway, have any of you owned, used one of these or do you know of a web site that might trusted that reviews them? They are the AT106 106m f/6.5 or the AT130 10mm F/6 . He found them on page 65 of the Sky and Telescope. I really appreciate any advice on them you can give, thanks! _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com