DirkSteele

I am getting married in a few hours. Just got to see the wedding cake. Some of you may have seen a couple of posts from over the last year about the proposal (under the stars in Namibia with a scope pointed at Saturn), the engagement ring (with star motifs and pieces of meteorite) and my cufflinks which are the same. We have kept the theme going with the wedding cake, choosing several of our favourite constellations showing both Classical Greek representations and actual star positions. The cake topper is Lyra (my favourite). The colour has been airbrushed on so not to affect the flavour profile of the cake.

I suppose one's eyes could be considered an equipment set up as well? After everyone else at the lodge in Namibia went to sleep I just sat on a sun lounger by the plunge pool and just took in the view. Had my camera with me and took a few shots.

This is the 12" LX200 I have used a lot in Namibia. A sort of Astro-selfie using the Vixen SG 2.1x42 Bins. My APM LZOS 105 in the desert in Oman just before dawn after an incredible night of stargazing. My Takahashi FS-60 just before sunset on a beach on Benguerra island off the coast of Mozambique. My Takahashi FS-60Q set up ready for s night of stargazing in Sossusvlei in Namibia.

Nice review. Have not come across this piece of equipment before.

My Takahashi FC-76 and Baader Herschel Wedge. Great combination.

On the morning of 22nd Feb I ordered a Baader 2" ClickLock Adapter for 3.25" SCT. I received an email shortly after confirming receipt of my order. On the morning of the 23rd, I received an email confirming the order had been completed and dispatched. It arrived the following day. Nice and easy as it should be.

Me using the Vixen SG 2.1x42 binoculars in Namibia in September 2014 (love them). The blackness at the base of the image is the observatory wall (where a 12" LX200 lives) rather than the horizon. Was tricky to hold still for the 15 second exposure.

It is an easy split at 59x (6mm setting of my Nagler zoom) with my baby Takahashi FS-60 so only 2.4" aperture. Not tried it lower but given the ease I suspect it wouldn't be hard. Must try it. It is considered a challenge for 3" because the secondary is so faint.

Nice. I will be watching this thread closely and look forward to reading more of your thoughts.

Having read some very helpful reports posted on SGL by Shaun (aka Pig) I decided to take the plunge on the new iOptron Az Pro mount. I contacted Tring Astronomy Centre to let Neil know about my interest. He informed me they had recently sold out but a new delivery was expected shortly and he would hold one back for me. Last week he contacted me to let me know they were incoming. I confirmed my desire to buy one so he sent me an invoice last Thursday. I requested a delay in dispatch until Monday 15th as I was traveling for a few days. The package was sent Monday with tracking and arrived in one hour delivery slot on Tuesday. Nice easy transaction. Now I have to hope it has not come wrapped in clouds when I open the boxes!

Just realised I have a few pics of the 180mm Apo at night thanks to the BBC and their fancy night vision camera. This was before I purchased a 12" pillar extension to raise the scope up and a 80mm finder and counterweight set to shift the balance point up so I could get off my knees!

Not mine exactly but I have accumulated about of month of stargazing with this 12" LX 200 in Namibia over the last 4 and half years.

Fantastic report. Sounds like you have a real gem.

I don't duel-wield often but it is fun. Not much benefit from the photos as both scopes are LZOS made triplets with only 10mm aperture between them but in this case I was running a side by side comparison.

That is a fantastic idea and removes the biggest concern one can have when purchasing a scope at the lower end of the pricing spectrum. I would suggest that for the peace of mind, that small cost is minimal compared to the protection and lack of stress it provides.

Beautiful scope t0nedue. I am not jealous.....much

But continuing the Takahashi theme that seems to have dominated this thread over the last few pages.... I posted photos of all but one of my refractors many pages ago, now here is the FS-60Q, a 60mm f/10 quadruplet.

Loving the Tak FC-60. Never seen one in the wild. Not very common as I understand.

I decided I would like a new 2” diagonal and the Baader BBHS-Sitall seemed like it fit the bill. A quick Google search did not turn up many stockists in the UK, but 365Astronomy were showing one remaining in stock. I placed my order at around 10:30am on the 11th April. I received a confirmation of my payment processing shortly thereafter. This morning (2 days later) the diagonal arrived, very well packed and via Special delivery though I had not paid anything for shipping. A quick and easy transaction. The only improvement would have been an email to state that the package had been dispatched. Cannot wait to try it out and compare its performance to the other diagonals I have.

I recently ordered a 2” Baader BBHS-Sitall but needed the 2” to 1.25” adaptor. I am rather fond of the Baader click-lock mechanism since using it with my Herschel Wedge so did a quick search on FLO and found they had just what I was looking for in stock. Placed my order in the morning, received a confirmation email and then another email perhaps only an hour later stating the order had been completed. It arrived the next day and was waiting for me at home when I finished work. Simple and easy.

I placed an order for a few small items with FLO on Friday morning. Not long after I received an email notifying me that the items had shipped. The next morning the package dropped onto the doormat. Straight forward and simple as it should be.

That is a nice looking mount and provides another option for heavy weight scopes. Perhaps slightly lower capacity but certainly a similar order of magnitude. I wonder if you can switch out the vixen style clamps for a Losmandy mounting system? From reports I have read about the Argo Navis digital setting circle system, it is a very accomplished piece of equipment. I suspect if one were more technically minded than I am, it might be possible to retrofit an Argo Navis to the AzMax Load, but unlike the AOKSwiss model you mention, cables etc would be on the outside.

I am not actually sure how the two arm model functions. Certainly not clear whether you can switch between the two. On my older Tele Optic Giro II, the second arm could be taken off (loosen a couple of hex bolts) and it exposed a connection for a counterweight bar. Not so much for visual, but dare I say it, my mind is now wandering towards an EQ mount as i am currently looking to sell my house in central London and move to the countryside. And you know what that means..... Darker skies and possibly a permanent observatory! Thanks John. I recalled you mentioning your interest when I first posted pics of the APM 180 on SGL. I had not heard of the Losmandy Alt-Az mount before. Looks rather nice. Different weight class for sure, but at that price including a tripod it looks like to could be rather good value if it performs as good as it looks. Will have a Google and see if anyone has reviewed it.

Many of you will recall when I purchased my APM LZOS 180mm triplet a couple of years ago I wanted to mount the scope on an Alt-Az but at 23kg for the barebones OTA and more than 1 metre in length, there was very little choice available that was up to the job. Fortunately APM themselves actually manufacture a seriously heavy duty Alt-Az mount called the AzMaxLoad. At the time a number of SGL members expressed some interest and more recently I have received a couple of PMs asking about it so I have finally got round to committing my thoughts into a review (work seems to have taken over my life over the last year, hence my inactivity on SGL). You can find the review on my astro-site on the link: http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2016/02/27/apm-azmaxload-mount-review/ To give a flavour of the size, here is the AzMaxLoad (on the left) next to my very capable Tele Optic Ercole (18kg OTA capacity). Quite a bit bigger isn't it!

I currently use the Takahashi clamshell TKA20420Q with my FS-60 though it is intended for the FC-76DC (same tube diameter). While it is perfectly fine for the job, it is larger and heavier than it needs to be and with another trip to Africa coming up and limited weight allowance I decided I wanted the lighter weight TKA20420 clamshell which is specifically designed for the FS-60. I emailed True Technology about the clamshell with a couple of questions including the possibility of attaching it to a vixen-style dovetail. Within an hour I received a response from Nick, answering the questions and quoting me a price for the clamshell, dovetail and screws. I confirmed my interest, and made the payment (by which time it was past business hours). Nick confirmed the package had been dispatched the following morning and it arrived the day after, very well packed with plenty of bubble wrap. A good transaction.