John

I had one of the first generation Porta mounts a long time back (probably around 2008). It was quite good with my Vixen ED102SS F/6.5. I didn't try anything else on it though (just had one scope back then 🙄)

Thanks very much Mark. I have one just like that on my FC100-DL. I'll see if I can find another one 🙂

I must have missed you 🙄 I was there from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. Very enjoyable event. I did meet up with @Mark at Beaufort again, which was lovely and had good chats to Grant and Ian from FLO 🙂 FLO very kindly have loaned me a set of the new Ursa Major eyepieces to try out and report back here on. That should be fun 👍 Ursa Major | First Light Optics Congratulations and thanks to the folks at the Norman Lockyer Observatory for the welcome return of this event - it was good to be back under sunny Devon skies 😁

I have recently acquired a Tele Vue 85 refractor 🙂 I want to attach a short (100-120mm) dovetail bar to the 3 inch TV tube clamp to allow connection to Vixen clamps on mounts. I believe that the clamp uses 1/4 inch threaded screws. I wonder what DT bar's others who own this scope have found work well ? Thanks 🙂

From North Somerset tonight:

I'm looking forward to the event, and meeting some of the FLO team again 🙂

Have you read Rod Mollise's used SCT buyers guide ? It's a mine of information on the Celestron SCT's and other brands through the years, and it's a free download: Home Page (brainiac.com)

I've recently acquired a TV Bandmate O-III (V2) which I've yet to try with any real purpose. Looking forward to that 🙂

Though the aperture may be modest the CONTRAST that these fine refractors deliver works wonders on DSO's 😁

And again tonight, this time with the Tak FC100-DL. Seeing is better tonight and secondary star is visible from 225x upwards quite clearly and stays visible for longer periods. Probably the best views I've had of Antares B despite the modest aperture. The stready seeing is delivering rewards 🙂 The "gap" that I have to observe Antares gives me about 30 minutes of observing time before a large chestnut tree (to the right in the photo) "swallows" the star.

Thanks. I find it important to make sketches / notes etc BEFORE consulting further sources on positions etc to minimise the possibility of "averted imagination" 😉

Thats what I thought when I first used my Elliott / BC&F 3 inch F16 brass refractor. I don't think I've used a refractor (or any scope) with that focal ratio before and it was a bit of a revelation 🙂

I've managed to split Antares this evening using my ED120 refractor. Clearest view was at 257x (Nagler zoom @ 3.5mm). Antares was subject to some scintillation but for moments it's airy disk and 1st diffraction ring popped into view along with the greenish-grey secondary star sitting at around the 10 o'clock position to the NE of the primary. I did a quick positional sketch of what I seemed to be seeing, then confirmed it again, before consulting Stelle Doppie and checking the current PA of the pair. My sketch does not seem far off, I was pleased to see. My sketch posted below together with the PA diagram from Stelle Doppie tweaked to put it into the refractor orientation with added north and south labels (in red) for clarity. Actual view quite a bit "messier" than my sketch of course - I was just trying to capture the positions of the stars as I saw them. First time with the ED120 for this split.

I tried a 6 inch F/12 and my Vixen ED102 (as a finder !) on the Skytee II once. Not a truly viable option but the mount coped (ie: nothing broke) and it enabled me to star test the big refractor. I was on my knees of course ! 🙄

Excellent report ! Antares is a real challenge from our latitudes. I've managed to split it a few times but mostly it's been a scintillating ball of light that flits between nearby houses and trees. The "window of opportunity" to view is short ! Your report shows that summer night observing is worthwhile even if some DSO's are not quite at their best 🙂

I've owned my current Skytee II for around a decade and it was pre-owned when I bought it. Both saddles were replaced with ADM ones by the previous owner and I would have done that myself if that had not been the case. My Skytee II has carried scopes up to an 8 inch F/6 newtonian well. It's a regular for my 100mm F/9, 102 F/6.5 and 120 F/7.5 refractors and occasionally coped with my 130mm F/9.2 triplet refractor although I'd have to say that it was a touch out of it's comfort zone with that one. I don't find that I need counterweights up to and including the 120mm F/7.5 refractor. I have re-lubed the mount once during my ownership and I have tweaked the worms to reduce backlash from time to time. Overall I feel that the Skytee II has provided great service during the years that I've owned it. It's fit and finish is not as polished as Rowan's or Tele Optik Giro's but it does the job pretty well. If the saddles have been improved on the later versions then that's great - they were poor on the earlier ones that I've used, frankly. I have only rarely mounted 2 OTA's on my mount though. I can see that the mount would take that but it's not something that I do. I still feel that there is a niche for a better engineered / finished alt-az with similar capabilities / capacity to the Skytee II. I also have a Giro Ercole which is a little lighter, has similar capacity but no slow motion controls. The Rowan mounts are brilliant and superbly engineered but, understandably, occupy a significantly more costly price bracket.

I have owned a couple of the AZ-4 mounts. They would work OK with a 100ED but not on the aluminium tripod that is supplied with the one in your post. The steel legged tripod would be a much better choice for that scope. I used my AZ-4's with a 102mm ED F/6.5 which is around the same weight as the ED100 but has a shorter tube - shorter tubes create less stress on both the mount and the tripod. Even with an AZ-4 on the steel tripod there would still be some vibrations when using higher magnifications (say 150x plus). Something like the Skytee II would be more stable but those are both heavier and more expensive.

Nobody will be impressed by my scopes - no wires at all 🙄 Perhaps I'll add some dummy ones to make the rigs look more "technical" !

The trouble is, if you want something, you want it 🙂 It's (oddly) not just about one being slightly better than another. There is something about the Astro Physics marque that appeals and their scarcity (in the UK at least), cost and the figurehead of Roland is part of that, IMHO. Taks are great though and available, more or less, off the shelf 🙂

4th call for the BST Starguiders here, given your budgetary target.

Delta Cygni was split with the 70mm at around 150x. The secondary star was quite faint though. Izar and Epsilon Lyrae (both pairs) were also split and a little easier than Delta Cygni. Zeta Herculis showed a suggestion of a "lump" on the correct side of the airy disk of the primary star. Nowhere near a split though, for me. It was like a slightly less distinct version of the 2nd Abberrator generated image that @Nik271 posted earlier in this thread. Seeing was probably around 6/10 maybe 7/10 at best ?

Similar views here of the moon with my little 70mm frac this evening, plus some doubles. Izar, Epsilon Lyrae (both pairs) and Delta Cygni all split at around 150x. Just loafing around with the small scope really 😁

I'm going to try Delta Cyg with my 70mm refractor this evening. I'll see if it "goes" with that 🙂 I might even point it at Zeta Herc, but without too many expectations !

Around a year back I picked up a nice pre-owned Altair ED 70 F/6. It's one of the "entry level" ED doublets but I've been quite impressed with it's optical performance for visual use (I don't image). It's small and light (around 30cm long in it's shortest form) and weighs 2.2kg. With the case and other bits it came with I think it was a good deal for around £200. There is a touch of CA around the lunar limb, bright planets and brightest stars but the optical figure of the objective seems good and the scope has split double stars down to close to the max resolution for the aperture. It may well be the least exotic of the ones being discussed here but for it's cost I'm quite happy with it 🙂 Being able to carry scope + mount + tripod out with one hand and practically no cool down time doesn't half help get a few more observing chances with the dodgy and changeable UK weather we have had over the past months 😉

I managed Zeta Herc quite nicely with the Tak FC100 last night, and Delta Cygni 🙂 The latter would be a challenge with a 60mm though, I agree. I also got Mu Cygni last night as well which is quite tight (1.6 arc secs) and uneven brightness as well, like Delta Cygni but not quite as extreme.