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A McEwan

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Posts posted by A McEwan

    Pondering Second Takahashi

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    Revisiting this, and still considering options...

    How does the FS60-Q fit in?

    I presume it gives me the option of FS-60CB (f5.9), plus optional CQ-1.7x extender, which makes it f10 (and would also fit if I ever got the FC76 optic unit.

    That looks to me to be the most versatile package, but it "loses out" on the extreme focal ratio and "perfect" optical performance of the FOA scopes.

    To what extent, visually, would I be losing out by using this instead of a FOA scope?

    🤔  Ant

    • Like 1

    Pondering Second Takahashi

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    22 hours ago, Stu said:

    @A McEwan 

    Anyhow…. That moved on (at a considerable loss!) and was replaced by an FC100DC which, for me, was a complete game changer. I blame Mikednight’s reports for convincing me to buy it but have never been disappointed. To me it was portable and capable enough to replace scopes from 80mm to 120mm for my sorts of observing. I took it to the US in an Airport Accelerator case with a load of eyepieces and it was fine as carry on.

     

     

    When I got the FC100 I also had an Evostar ED120, which I really liked and performed well. But after a few views with the Tak I sold the ED120, as the extra weight and bulk didn't warrant the extra 20mm aperture - for me, anyway. I may be wrong but I felt the Tak was particularly light weight for the aperture. If so, that's a brand feature that I really like now.

    • Like 2

    Pondering Second Takahashi

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    25 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

    Hi,

    Like @JeremyS, I have all three of the scopes you mention… the FC100 is such a superb “do anything” scope and I think it could be the one scope to keep if you only wanted one, as a “lifetime” scope.

    The FC-76DCU will show you nothing that the FC-100 can show you and of course, being smaller aperture, it will not give as much light gathering or resolution ability. However, it’s significantly smaller and a bit lighter, so it is much better suited to being a “grab and go” scope. Mine lives on a Berlebach Report tripod with ScopeTech mount, and I can (and do) lift the whole unit out the back door with one hand, to start observing very quickly. The size means that it doesn’t shake as much on a lightweight mount. As it unscrews into two halves, it is obviously perfect as a travel scope 👍

    If you don’t need either that “grab and go” or travel capability, then the FC100 is the better scope.

    Now the FOA-60Q is a different animal indeed… this is a specialist scope, it’s supposed to be the most optically perfect scope that Takahashi make. I use mine almost exclusively for lunar and double stars, as even given it’s smaller aperture, I find it can keep taking magnification and still deliver useful views which are colour free and with super contrast, even when the exit pupil gets very small. The diffraction rings are tight and very clean, so it’s superb for doubles. Being long it needs a reasonable mount to avoid shakes. Really such a fun little scope 😀

    No matter what happens, the FC100Df will be staying with me. It's quite possibly my dream scope, and certainly my do-it-all scope.  :) 

    • Like 1

    Pondering Second Takahashi

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    38 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

    Gosh that’s a difficult one. I have both, but use them differently. The FC76DCU is my main aeroplane portable scope cos it splits into 2. It’s a very capable 3-inch scope. But as you say, it’s quite close to your FC100. 

    The FOA60 Q is in a very specialised category. It’s obviously very tiny,  hence limited, but the pleasure comes from its sheer perfection. 
     

    If travel weren’t a consideration, and I had an FC100 already, I think I’d go for the FOA60Q. Have you seen this guys observation with and FOA 60 +/- Q? https://www.fzu.cz/~kupco/astro/equipment/FOA60.html
     

    That's an interesting page. I do find it interesting observing - and seeing what other people have observed - in 60mm scopes. Thanks!

    • Like 2

    Pondering Second Takahashi

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    Hi all.

    Notwithstanding my current lineup of telescopes, and talking purely about the Takahashi line, I'm really enjoying the FC100. I mean, like REALLY enjoying it. It's the quality of the view. I think I've become a fluorite addict.

    Anyway.  I'm beginning to ponder a second one. A smaller one.  I really like the look of the FC76-DCU model for its lighter, thinner tube assembly, and the ability to add the extender to make it a "Q" scope at f12.5.

    I also like the look of the FOA-60Q. (and I do regularly use my 60mm achro)

    What I'm wondering is... would I think the 76mm is too similar to the 100mm, and just take the 100 out instead, whereas the 60mm would be an entirely different beast and offer a completely different experience when I used it?

    Of course I've read reviews, and ultimately I know I would love either, but the question I think is which would be more useful for me, if I went ahead... I also know that possibly only I can answer that, but I'd still like to hear opinions if anyone would like to share.  🤔

    Ant :) 

    • Like 1

    The Long Refractor Thread!

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    I've had a few long refractors, and still do. Swift 839 60mm, Swift 831 77mm and Celestron Omni XLT 100mm (f10) are all here and all get used, though the 60mm probably gets the least use, and the Celestron is my dedicated solar scope.

    I used the 831 last night to view the Moon (with Zeiss Huygens and Tak Ortho eyepieces) and it was very enjoyable and rewarding, as expected.

    Attached pic of the 831 on AZ04 mount.

    Ant  :) 

     

    125345951_1704264413080510_1734176334600185267_n.jpeg

    • Like 3

    EQ Wedge for Skytee II ?

    in Discussions - Mounts

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, johninderby said:

    I did build a custom wedge for a Skytee II years ago when I also fitted SynScan to the Skytee. Worked very well. Built it out of thick Acetal engineering plastic. Was based on a DIY design I found on the net.
    Should  work fine with the manual slo-mo controls.

    338F783D-90C0-4ACD-9F54-4845E20F40C3.jpeg

    Excellent! Glad that there is real potential then. I will continue to work on it then.
    I should have known, if anyone had.... 😉

    Ant

    Vintage Vixen SP102M F10 achromat purchase

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    On 01/07/2021 at 10:22, F15Rules said:

    No tutorial needed Ant😊.

    I first used this on my FS128 a couple of years ago, see this thread..

    ..you actually posted in this thread that you had some...and it appears that you used it too!! ??🤔😂😉... see bottom of the attached thread "Gave the Tak a treat today" 😊

    Dave

    Good grief! I'd forgotten I'd even done that! I knew I had some somewhere but didn't realise I'd used it as recently as 2019! 🥴 Now where did I put my memory pills again....

    (Edit - I must use it on my Omni XLT 102 soon....  :D ) 

    • Haha 1

    Show us your Frac

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    On 26/06/2021 at 17:36, F15Rules said:

    I was having a "me" day today after some busy days lately, so I decided to partially strip down my Carton Japan 60mm Comet Seeker achromat mount..

    It's about 35 years old and there was a bit of "stickshun" in the mounts' movement, due I suspected to hardening of the original grease used for lubrication.

    I'm not a very handy person to be honest, but the mount seemed simple enough in its build, and so it proved. I did take a few pictures of each step though, just in case I couldn't recall which bit went where!

    As I thought, the original grease was very sticky, so I soaked the parts in white spirit to remove the old stuff, and then dried each component carefully with a clean cloth. I then applied some Lithium grease, which I've always found to be really effective as a light form of lubrication, and put everything back together carefully.

    There is still a little play in the RA axis, but I'm not fussed enough to get into disassembly territory that I'm not confident I could sort myself. The main thing is that the motions on both axes are very smooth and light, and the mount really suits this little scope.

    The mount is unusual in that it can operate in both equatorial and altazimuth modes - a feature that used to be found on other vintage mounts such as the Vixen Super Polaris. It's a shame you don't often see this design these days, as I feel sure that an altaz facility could easily be added to modern eq mounts for relatively little additional cost?

    The scope itself is a simple achromatic doublet with single Mfg coatings typical of the 1980s. With a focal length of 710mm and 60mm aperture it operates at just under F12: as such, CA is well controlled, and the scope happily takes 100x on most targets, and up to 150-160x on the Moon. It was marketed at the time of Halley's Comet in the mid 1980s as a "Comet Seeker", and as such would have given nice views of the comet to astro newbies.

    The scope came with a very useful camera counterweight which you can see just behind the objective end of the tube. It was originally meant to provide a balance to the included camera mount to allow the tube to stay in balance..as I've adapted the scope to take modern, heavier 1.25" eyepieces such as Morpheus, and this balancing ring really helps with the balance of the OTA.

    I've had this scope for around 7 months now, but have yet to have a really good, dark session with it, although the double star views I have seen are very nice.

    Optically I'd rate this scope as good to very good, definitely better than a Unitron Polarex 114, but definitely not quite as good as a Zeiss Telementor, mainly due to the Zeiss's better coatings and polish I suspect.

    All in all a lovely, nicely made vintage refractor which many oldies like myself cut our teeth on in our younger days!😊

    The pics show the scope after reassembly this afternoon, in both EQ and Altaz modes.

    Dave

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Very nice! You can do a lot with a nice 60mm achro! Just wondering, that finder-scope mount.... a home modification, or is that the original bracket with a modern RA 6x30 on it?

    Ant

    • Like 2

    What did the postman bring?

    in The Astro Lounge

    Posted

    Just another refractor!  😉 A nice one though. Celestron Omni XLT 102mm f10 achro. Very nice condition with clean optics, but needs some little jobs done: focuser needs to be stripped and adjusted, dew-shield needs to be flocked, need to source some replacement visual back compression ring screws as they've obviously got lost and been replaced with some really odd big-ass ones, and after all that collimation adjusted. Oh and a good polish and wax will really bring out the gorgeous paint! ;) 

    omni1.jpeg

    omni2.jpeg

    omni3.jpeg

    omni4.jpeg

    • Like 9

    Vintage Vixen SP102M F10 achromat purchase

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    53 minutes ago, John said:

    I'll always look at adverts for Vixen's even though I really don't need another scope. The proportions of a Vixen refractor and their mounts just seem to be "right" somehow plus they evoke very nice memories of drooling over them during the 1980's for people, like me, of a certain age :rolleyes2:

     

     

    Yes, agree completely! Thing is, that would be ideal for me as I was interested in a SP mount for my Swift 831, but I have enough kit (I know, heresy, heresy!!!) at the moment. Or to put it another way, my kit/space ratio is in balance! ;) 

    • Like 2

    Vintage Vixen SP102M F10 achromat purchase

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    On 15/06/2021 at 16:55, jock1958 said:

    Talking about Gumtree there’s a Vixen SP 102m with a matching Vixen EQ mount including some bits & bobs for £390, not sure how much they usually go for? Looks nice though! 
    Agree what you say about eBay, been buying stuff for years and recently sold my first item which I found easy enough but had to wait at least a week for the funds to hit my account...not impressed at all! 
     

    Is that the one that's on AB&S at the mo for £375? I looked at it.

    Ant

    • Like 2
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