WO66 Grab and Go Setup

[Stu]

Hi,

I thought I'd share my little grab and go setup which came on holiday with me this year. In its lightest form, it is a WO66, with a Berlebach 2D head on a DV7000 tripod. This generally works very well, the head is very solid with the only drawback being viewing at the zenith where i generally reverse it so the handle is pointing upwards. This isn't terribly convenient but it does the job. As you can see, I was having problems with my focuser flopping out when viewing near vertical, very simple fix in that it just needed tightening up a bit (now done) but I didn't have the right allen key with me on holiday. I was able to support the focuser enough to view ok though.

I can manage to cram a fair bit into the case in terms of lenses, filters and adaptors so the kit list is:

3-6 Nagler Zoom

7mm BGO

7.2-21.5mm HR Planetary Zoom

22t4 Nagler

DSLR Adaptor

OIII 2" Filter

Baader UHC-S 2" Filter

Baader Neodymium 2" Filter

UltraBlock LP filter 1.25" (I think! might be a Skyglow!)

In the end, I ditched the case to save space and weight, and put everything into a rucksack which worked ok. Carefully wrapped and padded!

The slightly heavier weight version of this is a Berlebach Report 2022 tripod with a Manfrotto 701HDV Head on it. This is generally a little more satisfactory but was too heavy to take with me this year, travelling on bush planes to safari airstrips meant we were very low on baggage allowance but normally it would be ok.

The Manfrotto is a very nice head, stable and with a smooth action and long pan handle. It reaches the zenith easily, and you can slide the scope forwards and backwards on the head to reach a good balance depending upon which ep you are using. As with any photo tripod head, once it gets too far back it is not possible to reach balance because of the pivot point being below the scope but you can lock the tension control enough to hold it well.

With this scope and setup, I can go from widefield views at x17 with a 4.8 degree field of view, up to x129 magnification which is about the limit of the scope really. I sometimes push it to x155 with a 2.5t6 nagler but only on exceptional nights and it doesn't gain any detail, just a little more scale.

I saw plenty out on holiday, highlights were probably M8 and M20 high up compared with back home, the views were as good as with a much biger scope just because of pretty much zero LP. Took me a long time to get orientated though, so many more stars and everything upside down! Lovely widefield views of the Milky Way with the 22t4.

I have also started using the Berlebach/Manfrotto combination for my PST rather than the Giro II. Works very well and very simple to setup and use.

Cheers

Stu

[DirkSteele]

That is a lovely little set up you have there. I am about to travel abroad with my new travel scope for the first time. Slightly larger refractor. Did you experience any issues when taking the scope and accessories through security?

Clear skies,

Matthew

[Stu]

Thanks Matthew.

I didn't have any issues at all. The only possible problems were weight related. Our baggage allowance on the internal flights was 15 kg plus 5 kg hand luggage. I am sure I was nearer 10 kg, plus I think I put the 22t4 in my coat pocket when they were weighing things! Nobody really had any issues with it though.

Enjoy your trip

Stu

[Moonshane]

Very nice Stu! how on earth does it work without a secondary mirror?

[Stu]

:D

I shall convince you of the merits of refractors yet Shane . Perhaps the double cluster in the 106mm apo with 31t5 might do it at PSP, though I think I might struggle still!

Stu

[Moonshane]

ha ha

either way will be good to meet up again. I have never looked through a quality frac to be fair so would be good to compare and see if I can be convinced.

[Stu]

Looking forward to it.

Stu

[mik]

Stu thats a sweet little setup, i have the older semi apo zs66 as per avatar and they are great fun.

Mick.

[Stu]

Thanks Mik. I do really like it, so convenient and quick to setup that you can take advantage of quick breaks in the cloud.

It always amazes me just what is possible to see through it. Lovely widefield views of open clusters, but also capable of showing surprising detail on planets at high power. I've seen GRS and shadow transits through it. I sort of treat it like a challenge to see what I can see through such a little scope.

Stu

[nightfisher]

Nice little scope stu, be interesting to see if you can convert shane.........after having a few problems with the 70mm WO, im waiting for the new WO71 ed as an exchange, at least it can take 2" ep`s

[Ags]

That is a lovely little set up you have there. I am about to travel abroad with my new travel scope for the first time. Slightly larger refractor. Did you experience any issues when taking the scope and accessories through security?

Clear skies,

Matthew

I had security issues with my AZ3 & ST80 at airport security. I packed everything in hold luggage so I didn't expect any problems, but I forgot about the flexible alt-az adjustment knobs sitting at the bottom of my backpack. We went through three airports on the way back from Nepal, and I got searching questions at every stop!

[Mr Onions]

Yes,I've seen shadow transits too when the seeing allows.

I love using mine.