Thanks a million Gabby!
This is an interesting case for me. I'm looking at a Shop & Swap listing over on CN, where a person has this
OTA posted for 1/2 price, and it has a Feather-Touch focuser installed, too. For $650 (probably plus shipping, for sure) it sounds like an excellent deal. The photos look like is has been used gently.
However, there is always the risk that things can go wrong with a private deal. My wife is telling me to forget that and just go and buy it new at HighPoint Scientific, or B&H Photo. $1349 there... B&H says special order, Highpoint says they have it in stock. Get it in 2 days. And, they also offer a version with the Celestron
CG-5 dovetail, which I believe is the same as the Vixen dovetail I use on my other equipment. No Feather-Touch focuser, though. That'd add another $300, as well as the risk I'd be taking having to mount it myself.
Oh, I hate the agony of going through these decisions! Maybe I'll take a look at Astronomics...
smp