Here's what came in the box:

 

First Light on SAT night, and I'm very impressed. Seeing started out at about 7/10, but improved on that to near-perfect for the last hour. I got the very best view of M42 ever at 133x -- more fine detail than I could take in or sketch. The Vixen 80 F8 fluorite gave me the best Trapezium view. The APM 152 excelled on the open clusters M35 -> M38, and the Double Cluster. Star colors are very close to natural in focus. I did see a blue halo around Altair / Deneb / Sadr during the initial star tests. My only regret was that Jupiter wasn't available -- really want to see if this Big APO can match my Tinsley Cass at 400x!

 

The APM 152 rides very well on vintage Meade StarFinder mounts. Here's the pedestal version (I haven't finished the tripod yet):


Bill, I got the blue halo at focus, and on both sides of focus.

 

Altair & Deneb -- but not with Sadr.

 

Bill, the halo was a thin ring, fuzzy, and dim. Smallest at focus. Not obtrusive, and obviously didn't spoil the DSO views. DID NOT see any CA on the Moon -- even in those areas where I do see a bit with my Edmund 4" F15. I don't think it'll hurt the views of Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn either.

 

Last night I braved sub-freezing cold to have a side-by-side with this vintage Edmund 6" F4 RFT Newtonian:


The basics were first: Star tests, and then star color comparisons. I'd look at a bright star like Capella, then use the Newt, and then compare with the ED 152. I honestly couldn't see any differences between the two scopes and my Mark II eyeballs.

In addition to the natural star colors, the APM 152 has the fine contrast & resolution we refractor owners expect. Rich tight open clusters like M37 were bright and fully resolved at just 22x (2" PL55). At this power, the Andromeda galaxy trio was beautifully framed; and, at 120x, I could see two dust lanes in M31 -- comparable to the performance of my 6" F20 Tinsley Cassegrain. M15 is dazzling -- even from my urban back yard.

We're forecast to have near-perfect seeing on SAT morning, so I set up the Meade SF pedestal mount at the only spot where I can observe Mars & Jupiter in the wee cold hours before dawn. The views should be stunning! And, if I can tolerate the weather, I'm going to try and image these two.

 

Mars & Jupiter in the APM ED 152

I observed the Mars-Jupiter Conjunction on Saturday from 1015-1145 UTC, at 1000:
Temperature 23°F (-5°C)
Humidity 72%
Wind Speed Calm
Dewpoint 15°F (-9°C)
SEEING = 7 / 10 [mid-level haze]

First: No CA or fringing on any object from 24x to 400x. I had my excellent 1971 Criterion RV-6 Dynascope for direct comparisons -- both scopes have a 1200mm FL, which makes setting equivalent magnifications easy. In the RV-6, Jupiter's zones are a pure white; in the 152, they're an off-white (a hint of gray). Seeing varied with a mottled layer of mid-level moisture coming in from the west, and I adjusted the mag accordingly. I used a high-quality spectros PL 5 @ 240x most often; but around 11Z, I was able to use the PL 7.5 + GSO APO 2.5x Barlow for 400x (67x / inch), and see 1 large & 2 small whitish ovals in the NEB -- like a trio of pearls. Even at 240x I saw more fine detail than I could sketch.

The Galileans in this APO are 4 tiny real worlds. Color & brightness differences were obvious at 120x. At 400x, Ganymede had at least 3 different colors / albedo effects, while Callisto remained a faint uniform blue-gray. Once Jupiter is better placed, I'll be able to make a serious study of these two at least.

Mars offered only one or two surface features, but the disk color was very similar between the two scopes.

Functionally, I have no complaints with the APM 152. Focuser rotation was as smooth at 23F as at warmer temperatures. I had thick gloves on, but had no problem snapping to a sharp focus at every magnification. The views were overall superior to the RV-6; and, best I can recall, are sharper than those in the 6" F20 Tinsley Cassegrain. The Meade StarFinder mount had no problems balancing, moving, and tracking at up to 400x.

If you're thinking about buying a Big APO, you won't regret getting the APM 152 -- it's a high-performing bargain!

 

Io Transit ~ 20180203 / 1015-1220 UTC

Ultra-thin high-level haze limited the seeing to no better than 7/10, and kept magnification at 333x or less. No matter. Io's disk was obvious, sharp, and faintly tinted a yellow-orange. Jupiter's disk was much more colorful: belts of orange, rust, shades of brown, grays, & black. A prominent barge on the south edge of the NEB popped at just 96x.

I was also sky-testing a "new" 1988 Pentax J60 (60x700) that will soon be a guidescope on my ED152. While the transit was visible in this refractor, there's nothing like watching a planet-sized moon creep above the cloud tops with tons of interesting details in the background.

The GSO 2" dielectric mirror diagonal was installed, but I used my 1.25" University Optics HD Orthoscopics. At no time did I see any false color in my Big APO.