Moonlit Night

The ED150 had lots of mixed reviews when it was released first. I was very tempted until then. Didn’t John have one on loan from FLO for a bit?

Anyway…

Whatever you decide you are going to have an excellent scope. As long as you can mount it on a stable mount you are going to have a lot of fun.

43 minutes ago, johnturley said:

A couple of months ago, I compared the views of Jupiter and the Moon through my Tak 100DZ, with that through my then ES 127 FCD 100, and Esprit 150 Refractors. The view through the Tak did not even come close to that through the Esprit 150, which was streets ahead of that through both the 100DZ and ES 127. I would expect the Esprit 150 to have the edge over the Skywatcher 150 ED, but they may well be close, and I think someone on Cloudy Nights did a comparison between a Skywatcher ED 150, and a TEC 140, and the ED 150 compared quite favourably. One point to bear in mind though, is that according to Es Reid, the quality control tends to be better with the larger Esprits, which also I think, have a more robust lens cell than the Skywatcher ED Refractors.

Regarding the comparison between the ED 127 and the Tak 100DZ, I thought that they were very close, but maybe the 100 DZ had the edge over the ES 127, when it came the sharpness of the view. Bear in mind though, I purchased the 100 DZ, mainly because I wanted something lighter and more portable than the ES 127, rather than because I expected it to give superior views.

Some Tak owners also state that they can comfortably use 100x or even 125x per inch of aperture with their Tak scopes, this may well be the case when it comes to double stars, but on Jupiter, and admittedly not under the best of viewing conditions, I felt that the 100 DZ ran out of steam if I tried to go above 200x (50x per inch of aperture), and found the image rather dim and nor very sharp. 

John 

As one might expect.

Anyway, boring scope wars aside, and to return to topic, have you made a decision yet. 

Some of the claims about various brands of telescopes from various companies and parts of the world and supposed magnification need taking with a pinch of salt btw. Consider your seeing conditions and the laws of physics. It will stand you in good stead. 

On this occasion I would side with the ED120. The extra light grab would be most useful indeed and truth be told you kinda need to use your imagination to see a difference in optical quality beyond a noticeable jump in resolution. 

Yes, it’s fl8.6, a Tele Vue 102 refractor. The 13mm gives me an exit pupil of 1.5 and the 32mm 3.7. Planetary and lunar observation are where my interests lie, hence the 4mm, 5mm, 7mm, 9mm spacing with the 13 mm and 32mm as fill ins for times of poor planetary position or white light solar. I plan my ocular choices based upon my personal interests, which I think is probably the way to go.

On 09/03/2024 at 09:21, NGC 1502 said:

 

Note- All allen heads on my Pronto accept Imperial allen keys. I don’t know if that applies to all TV refractors.

 

I would think so, I found obtaining the right ones a bit of a pain. Same is true with Tele Vue mounts in my experience. I love my HD4, best mount I ever owned, although I did mod it with a AMD clamp which I prefer as a mounting option.

I recently cleaned my Tele Vue 102 using the bulb blower and Baader wonderfluid and a brand new micropore cloth method (absolutely no lense pens) I didn’t need to remove the objective and quite frankly find the prospect terrifying. However that doesn’t sound too bad so if I am ever in that position (whisper it, fungus) then perhaps I will give it a try. 

Cheers Don. It is 102mm and that was kinda what I thought. Just checking in really. Thanks for your time, appreciated. 

My 32 mm plossl gives me x27 (ish) and my 13 mm gives me x67. How many of you would bisect these with an 18 mm (ish).

9 hours ago, ST_Steve said:

The wait is going to be agonising though…

I couldn’t begin to imagine…

Hello there, you are most very welcome. 

I got started with the Observers book of astronomy. This was some time ago…

13 minutes ago, Elp said:

Full frame can be very unforgiving, even full frame camera lenses doesn't usually result in perfect stars across the frame with camera bodies. The RVO scope is likely okay, Im however biased as I've owned a Z61 for years, really is an excellent scope (ive put it through literally everything, visual and AP, planets, WL solar,  HA solar, DSO imaging).

I rest my case m’lord

Perhaps, not the same as being tested in the field by loads of other more impartial users really.

Priddy up in the Mendips? 

6 hours ago, ST_Steve said:

I had already made up my mind before reading these replies @JeremyS @John @Deadlake 🤣🤣🤣 and haven’t changed my opinion since yesterday evening.

LZOS it is! I will be contacting the seller this afternoon.

Again thank you all for the balanced responses 👏 SGL really is a fantastic forum with wonderful members.

Steve
 

I think you have made the right decision. As has been previously stated:

A) The price is right 

b) These are not going to be imported back into the UK any time soon/ever (The last big import of TAL (Russian) refractors must be getting on for 15 years ago)

c) There is just something wonderfully reassuring about buying a premium refractor. Yes some of the reasons we buy these things is a little, dare I say… irrational, but you are no longer wondering if the glass is greener (or a nice purple or blue) on ABS. 

You could even argue (I’ve actually tested this out with Mrs Moonit) that it’s cheaper in the long run. The chances are you’re going to keep it forever if it ticks all your quality boxes. 
 
You’re not just buying a telescope, you’re peace of mind. 
 

Well done and congratulations. 
 

One another note, thanks for the appalling weather you are undoubtedly going to inflict on us all the moment you part with your cash! May include clouds, may nothing, it’s a given!

LZOS 

https://gostargazing.co.uk/

You should download the Go Stargazing App. It lists most of the activities of most astronomy clubs and lists day by day when they meet and can be set to just list your local astronomy clubs 

My patience, honesty some people…

Anyway, back on topic

1 minute ago, John said:

It's off topic but there is / was I R Poyser:

IR Poyser – Telescope Makers | Makers of fine Brass Telescopes in the traditional style

And also we had Moonraker Telescopes:

Moonraker Telescopes - Home

And, again in the past, Skylight Telescopes.

All niche instruments, I guess. 

A topic for another thread perhaps ?

Perhaps, I remember those candy red and brass scopes. I didn’t think they make the glass themselves. I remember they used TV achro glass in some of them. The others were steam punk numbers I seem to remember. They still come up for sale now and then. 

36 minutes ago, Second Time Around said:

Telescope Express in Germany hold good stocks of OOUK products.

Go to https://www.teleskop-express.de/en/orion-uk

I used to get loads of stuff from them before the event we don’t talk about on here. It got far too expensive afterwards. I got hit for a tax bill I didn’t expect, so that was the end of that. 

Oh well we have The Thames, Mersey, Ouse, Trent and Humber rivers and the Manchester Ship Canal for big wide beam barges