A McEwan

Only partially, but not enough to make any real difference. In fact, I tried that and it led to some more problems that I really now need to get it off to fix. I know it does unscrew - I've seen pictures of the focuser dismantled, and my 839 has a similar arrangement.

The focuser screws directly onto the end of the OTA. It probably hasn't been unscrewed in several decades, so is understandable that it's hard to shift.

The other week I happened to be surfing through ebay, just seeing if anything interesting cropped up. Well, it did. A Swift 831 77mm f1000mm OTA complete with erect-image converter and an original 12mm Kelner. The pictures looked good, so I sent a couple of questions to the seller. The item was listed in the UK and the price was reasonable. I didn't get much info back, but looking closely at the pics, I decided to go for it. It "looked" good, including the pictures of the optics. I paid and waited. It arrived a few days ago. THe condition matched the pictures, and I was impressed by the condition it was in! Considering that this could be from 1968, the tube has only a very few small marks, the optics just some minor dust, and the focuser....well, the focuser was gummed up pretty tight, but worked. I had ordered a 36.4mm to 1.25" adapter to fit on the drawtube, so I can use 1.25" accessories, and some 76mm rings, so was able to set it up on my AZ4 for a quick look before going to work. Nice and sharp with a 20mm TV Plossl, and apparently colour-free. Focuser was unreasonably stiff, but otherwise very pleased! In the days since I've tried to do some work to the focuser, but it is on the tube so tightly I wonder if I'll ever be able to unscrew it. I suppose I may have to resort to WD40 or something, but really want to avoid chemicals if possible. The focuser definitely needs to come off as the adjustments I made to it in-situ have actually made it loose and sloppy now, so....yeah... that's a little project! I've been lucky enough to source an original finder for it through one of the regulars on the CloudyNights Classics forum in the USA so hope to get that here in the next few weeks. Hopefully then the focuser will be sorted and it will be looking more complete. So this is the big brother to my 60mm Swift 839, and sits between it and my Tak FC100-Df. Now depending on what you read, it is possible that all three of these scopes have Takahashi DNA in them, so I'm pretty happy. I hope to have the 831 as a working, regularly used scope and look forward to lunar, double-star and planetary viewing with it. (Assuming I can get that d%£m focuser off... lol!

Yes, this is where I ordered from but was then told it would be blue. Thankfully, Adam later checked physically on the colour, and it looks like they have a green one for me.

Rusted: You raise many interesting points! MY replies may not correspond chronologically to your points, but here goes. The reasons for buying a Tak. For me personally, when I first became interested in astronomy, I had tiny amounts of disposable income and huge aspirations for quality equipment. I started off small and cheap and spent a couple of decades (!) going through dozens of scopes, getting the most out of each one, comparing and contrasting, tweaking and trying, until I found ones that were right for me. During that time "Takahashi" was always the name that was uttered with reverence as the benchmark of optical quality and excellent Japanese manufacture. Did I buy into the hype? Yes. But I had to wait a long time before I was able to buy the Tak (and even then it was an opportunity I could not refuse as it was an excellent price and the seller had a very sad and genuine reason for parting with his hardly-used Tak). So, given all that, do I want to molly-coddle it? Yes, but no more so than any other quality scope I own. I always store them in cases between use, I always give them a clean down every few months, I make sure everything works as it should, if there are any DIY tweaks or mods I can make to improve PERFORMANCE, I do so. I always pack them away after a session, and am very careful to handle them carefully. Excessive? No. I don;t like to break my toys, and have never thrown a video game controller against the wall in frustration either! Is colour-match important? It is to ME. Because? Of the above. I've waited a long time and I want it to be right in every regard. I will probably spend more time looking at it than through it, unfortunately, so a mismatched colour on an accessory is a big issue to me. In the same way that a cafe menu calling a bap a sandwich is wrong. In the same way that drivers forgetting where their indicator stalks are is wrong. It irks me. Refractors give views that refractor lovers love. Of course Newts can be bought much more cheaply and do "basically" the same thing, but they are different. I'm not an Apo-snob. I like long focus achromats and I like biggish Newtonians and I like Maksutovs too, and have owned and used them all. Did I want colour-matched accessories for them too? Mostly, where possible. Did I molly-coddle them too and store them safely, mount them carefully, and polish out scratches on the OTAs? Yup. So hopefully this explains some of the reasoning why I want the colour of the finder bracket on my telescope to match the existing hardware colour already present. Ant

Tak green. To match the FC100Df.

I've hit a snag. I ordered the Tak bracket but was told it would be the newer blue colour. Not good. Is anyone still selling the Tak green ones?

Oooo where's that?

John, this is what I decided to go for. I've ordered a SW 6x30 RACI and a Tak bracket for it to go in. I notice your bracket is black - is this because it is the DL model's version?

Would you say that it was "better" than a standard Skywatcher/TS/etc finder? Does it show more? Is it the 30mm or 50mm?

Hi all. I'm in a quandary. I love my Tak FC100Df and enjoy using it. But... for finding, I have my Telrad mounted onto the top of the tube cradle. It's an ugly and slightly cumbersome setup and one that, while functional, does not fill me with the joy that an elegant solution would. I obviously can get either the 6x30 size or 7x50 size finder mount for the Tak, and insert an optical finder, but I would rather not pay the asking price of Tak finderscopes, good as they may be. I'm wondering what finder solutions you other Tak users emply? I'm happy with RACI Style optics, or straight-through normal styly, but would probably want to use a small RDF in addition to the optical one. So, just curious really: what do you use and why do you love it? Ant

Aha! Interesting...... 😮

Cool. And what is the end result of this? Enhanced glowy views of what's in the eyepiece, or something else?

Good, I'm relieved it's probably not a fungal problem. I will take some time at the weekend and open it up and follow the advice above. It's a nice finder and it would be a shame to have to lose it.

IPA? Er... India Pale Ale?

Excellent! I have always been curious about the TV55 Plossl. So can you explain the NV idea please? I've not heard of this before.

Thanks. I must dismantle it and have a closer look then. The view through it is actually ok (in daylight anyway). Ant

Pictures, or it didn't happen!

Hi. I wasn't sure where to post this, so here it is. I fished out my TAL 6x30 finder from cupboard where it's lain for the last couple of years, and found this. Is it, as I suspect, fungus? If so, is it completely on its way out now? Ant

Personally, I've owned scopes that I knew were good, but which I just didn't enjoy setting up and using. The Skywatcher GoTo 12" Dob was one of them. It was just such a struggle, even though the views were excellent. I sold it after a few months. If you have to think hard before setting it up every time, it's not worth hanging onto. Convert it into something you'll actually enjoy. Maksutovs are excellent planetary scopes. Notwithstanding, I'd expect an 8" Newtonian to give superior views. If collimated properly and cooled down, of course. Sounds like you're having fun though!

Glad that the Mak is working out for you! I've had a few - they perform very well. Why do you wish to add a 4" refractor as well? The views will be pretty similar - unless it's the faster f5 refractor for wide-field views? Personally I miss my 8" f6 Dob too. It's a very good contender for "All-round-scope" of the century. Ant

Sounds like there re a few options. We (Highlands Astronomical Society) use Orion Optics and get their Hilux coatings whenever we need mirrors recoated.

Hi. I have used a Chromosphere Quark with my ED80, and I have a Lunt LS60PT scope as well. They are quite different setups. Note, I said ED80 (f7.5) not standard 80mm f5 achromat. You would find the ED80 better, as at f7.5, with the built-in image amplifier in the Quark, which multiplies the effective f-ratio by 4.3, this will take it to f32 which is right at the level that the Quarks function best at. In an f5 scope, that would only be at f21.5, so you would not be getting the best out of the device. Also, cheaper f5 objectives may have optical issues that also degrade the image, whereas a tried and tested f7.5 ED performs very well. The Lunt will give you a full disc image, with plenty of space around it, and still be capable of using higher magnifications to zoom in for more detailed views. A combination of 80mm and Quark will give more of a zoomed-in look by default, as it's recommended that you use a 40mm Plossl as the default eyepiece, possibly increasing to a good 32mm Plossl if conditions allow. You will NOT get a full disc image (unless you use a very fast scope, which is maybe why you're considering the f5 80mm?) Detail in the Quark / ED80 combo is extreme. The tuning takes longer as it works by heating it by means of a power supply, whereas the tuning on a Lunt is "instant" by means of turning a wheel or cylinder (angle tuning or pressure tuning). In my case, I quite like having both setups as they are sufficiently different to be both worth having (though I actually tend to use the Quark now with my Takahashi 100mm, but the argument is the same). Ant

I've had a lot of telescopes since I started observing. If I had to have only one of them? Really difficult. I could pin it down to one or other of 8" f6 Dob with good optics, or Skywatcher ED120 f7.5. Interestingly, I have neither of those at the moment, though I do hope to add a new 8" Dob at some point. At the moment my Tak FC100Df serves very well as an all-rounder for solar, planetary, lunar, and brighter DSOs - and it's portable, high quality, easy to set up and use as well. So that could be a contender too. Although for me, I don't think I'd ever "choose" to just have one scope on its own.

Awesome - thanks!