John

I came across this simple list of 100 double stars which might help you identify some suitable future targets: doublestarlist.pdf

I really do believe that there is still a niche for something in between the Skytee II / Ercole class mounts and the £1K plus AZ100 / DM6 / APM Maxload class. Initially I thought the AZ100 might be it but that was not to be as it turned out. I think Rowan might have thoughts about a smaller / less expensive mount but I'm sure that the AZ100 development is keeping them pretty much fully occupied currently.

In terms of weight, the Giro Ercole quite a lot, if balanced correctly

My 12 inch dob is at least as quick to set up as my refractors are on their alt azimuth mounts. I can only move the whole thing a short distance in once piece but as the tube and altitude bearings just lift off the mount base, it is very quick and easy to move it in 2 sections. The large altitude bearings also make great carry handles !

I agree with Mike's assessment of the Gibraltar mount. I owned one for a while and found that it simply did not perform as well as it looked. One of the few Tele Vue products that I've been disappointed in. It worked OK with my F/6.5 Vixen 102mm ED refractor but was not really happy with the ED120 on board. I've also owned one of the Hercules mounts that Mike pictures above. It was better than the Gibraltar but again I was not really happy with it when the ED120 and a later 127mm F/9.4 achromat was mounted on it. My current alt az mounts are a Giro Ercole, a Skytee II (with ADM clamps) and the superb T-Rex. The Giro mounts can handle heavy scopes fine but balance seems to be key to getting smooth motions from the axis with them so some sort of counterweight is worth having on even with a lightish OTA just to keep that very smooth tracking. My Tak FC100-DL (below on the Ercole) weighs less than 4kg but even with that a small counterweight improves the azimuth motion. The Skytee II, despite having a lesser quality of finish overall, seems to manage very well without a counterweight even with an 7kg refractor on board such as my ED120.

Wow !!!! So that is what the hobby is all about ? I was beginning to forget with all the clouds I've had here for the past couple of weeks Thanks for posting a great report

Some of the TAL 150 K's had the 3 curved vane design and some the 4 straight vanes. The rear end of the scope seems consistent and distinctive though:

Surely the first and most important line of support is through the vendor from whom the scope was purchased ? For new scopes at least. I think Takahashi scopes are great, although I've only owned or used one example, but I don't want to put them on a pedestal. There are some other great manufacturers around as well.

3 hours of filming with ITV on Clifton Down, Bristol with fellow Bristol AS members pretending to be at a star party, in the fog, in the persistent rain, We bought our own scopes including an 18/20 inch dob which took ages to get in place only for the production people to decide that it didn't look enough like a telescope. They had put some tiny tents up that we were supposed to crawl in and out of looking excited. They put masking tape all over my scope to hide the branding and insisted that having the lens cap on did not look realistic (true - but it was raining !). It took ages to dry and clean the objective later. The piece was going to be part of a montage that ITV used to show local activities before the evening news. As far as I know our bit was left on the cutting room floor. We probably looked a bit too wet and grumpy ! We did get some pocket money for doing it though and I did get to know some of the good folks at Bristol AS a little better in the pub so it was not all a negative experience My only experience as an "Extra" and probably that's a good thing !

Plus TS sensibly sell it without the poor stock DT clamps on it. Those things are an accident waiting to happen IMHO Can't imagine why Synta have not improved them over the years that the mount has been sold.

Yep - get that scope under a really dark sky and the views should be stunning

Look on the bright side: you might get one in time for the next Mars opposition

Having performed as an amateur astronomer in front of cameras once, I can verify that the ideas that the director / production team have on what looks good through the camera is sometimes completely at odds with sensible astronomy practice

Your list should include PRACTICE as an enhancement of course At the end of the day it's getting out there regularly with some targets in mind and some star maps that will increase your success rate.

Coma correctors are only really needed if you use wide angle or very wide angle eyepieces AND the coma distortions that you might see at the edges of the field of view bother you. Many folks use scopes of these specs without a coma corrector quite happily. If they did include one, such as the Baader one it would add £135 to the price of the scope. If it was a Tele Vue one, it would add nearly £500 to the price of the scope ! I think useful upgrades might be to add a illuminated reticule finder to the scope, the Telrad is very good, a cheshire collimator and a good guide to what to see such as "Turn Left at Orion" https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/turn-left-at-orion-book.html In due course there are almost endless further upgrades to eyepieces, filters etc to consume any disposable income you might have ! Enjoy the scope

I've followed Ed Ting's reviews for many years and found them very interesting and useful. Ed has produced quite a few videos on his Youtube channel recently which seem to be nicely put together as well. Here is his website: https://www.scopereviews.com/ I've just watched this one on Telescopes in the Movies and on TV which is fun

That sounds like simple poor seeing to me. Mars is now a small target (under 9 arc seconds in apparent diameter) and the seeing has been variable to say the least over the past few weeks.

One of our members, eliot, has clearly managed to upgrade the focuser on their TAL 200K. It looks like it needs to be a very low profile unit though with a low profile diagonal modification as well: Unfortunately the Crawmach focusers are out of production now. Maybe there is something similar from another brand available ?

This is what I use on my 12 inch dob and have done for a number of years now. Combined with a good star chart, I've been able to locate and observe many, many deep sky objects with this setup comprising a Rigel Quikfinder and a RACI 50mm finder. For me, I don't feel that I can improve on this arrangement:

It is not a Skywatcher EQ5 mount, old or new. It is closer to an EQ3-2 but not the same design. A different manufacturer. It looks very similar to this one: https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/zoomion-telescope-genesis-200-eq/p,45319

I can't see the video I''m afraid - the message suggests that the file is corrupt ?

It's the other side of the mirror that collects and focuses the light. Telescope mirrors are front surface aluminised so the light does not pass though the glass at all.

Yes, I think you are right. Maybe they are just re-branding Celestron scopes really ?

What a nice report ! Lucky you to get a decent clear patch Well done for getting M1 - it is not an easy thing to find by any means. M101 is likewise, probably a bit harder again. A lot larger in extent than M1 as well.

Am I correct that the optical elements for all Takahahsi refractors are made by Canon Optron ? or is it just certain model ranges ?