DirkSteele

Welcome to SGL. Having spent an accumulated few months stargazing from Namibia and Mozambique over the last decade I can safely say you will have some amazing skies to explore. A pair of binoculars could serve you and your daughter well. I would suggest a lower magnification (say 6-7x) so she can hold them still and fairly light weight would be the place to start. If she maintains her excitement for the subject, then a telescope in the future perhaps.

Of all that is good and great! That scope would cut the impressive figure on the observing field.

In which case, could be a perfect second scope. I would say if you are considering Takahashi, the FC-76 is not that much heavier (i use the same mount and tripod combo with both) will show way, way more than the FS-60. http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2017/03/12/takahashi-fc-76-dcu-review/ This is the upgrade module for the FS-60 but you could build it your self if you want the split tube without buying the FS-60 as well as detailed in the review, or just the regular OTA. The reality is, you could even go to the FC-100DC (I just bought one two weeks ago) as it is still light weight at 2.8kg and I think the same mount and tripod will still work, and that is a big step up from the FC-76 and would blow the FS-60 away.

I have reviewed both of these scopes on my website. http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2016/04/03/takahashi-fs-60-review/ http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2018/03/31/takahashi-fs-60q-review/ Love both, and the reviews should give you a lot of the info you seek. But I will leave you part of the conclusions to consider.... From the FS-60 Review: The baby Tak is perhaps one of the ultimate grab-and-go scopes available, especially for the internationally travelling astronomer, but unless you are really pressed for space or must always travel to do any kind of observing it should not be your primary scope. It is expensive (OTA, clamshell and finder will set you back about £740 as of the date of this review) and you will see a lot more in a good 80mm scope and immeasurably more in an 8”. But as a second (or in my case sixth) scope to compliment your main larger instrument, it is worth serious deliberation. From the FS-60Q Review: If you happen to be new to this hobby, the FS-60Q is definitely not for you. Unless you always have to travel to observe or have no room to store a larger scope, you will receive far more bang for your buck buying a larger scope such as a 4” refractor or better yet a 6-8” reflector which will be easier to use and show you far more of the heavens than the little Takahashi ever could.

This is becoming the watch Matthew build his full Tak FC-100DC set up (see the two posts above). The standard Takahashi finder mounting is a bit of pain if you transport the scope so I added the More Blue quick release finder base. Was out of stock with an expectation of 10-15 days for new supply. Registered to be told when it came back in. Email was sent last Friday so less than 10 days from when I flagged interest, but I didn’t notice till Saturday morning. Placed the order. Dispatched Monday and arrived the next day. Nice and easy.

Oh and I see FLO are back to telling the truth with their sticker seal! 😉

Needed another widget for my recently acquired Tak FC-100DC. This time the More Blue quick release finder bracket.

Is that in the Vendor forum? Do not see it.

Optics in the cabin, tripod and mount etc can go in the hold. Wrapped in clothes in a suitcase and served me well for many years. I tend to secure the tripod with cable lock in side the case just on the off chance a less than honest security person opens up the bag. It won’t stop a determined individual but makes a snatch and grab impossible. For optics, maximise the carry on allowance. Never seen anyone weigh a bag (so long as you can lift in to the overhead bin) but dimensions can cause issues. I have experienced multiple size allowances over the years. A flavour below (the backpack is a camera bag and small enough to under the seat). One other thing I have found helpful. X-ray scanner staff see camera all the time. Telescopes and similar not so much. A camera in the bag makes the scope lol like a huge telephoto lens. Never had questions with a camera present. Also have a star chart handy to get over any language barriers (that was a Middle East experience).

Time to buy some more kit then that I won’t be able to use. Always makes me feel better. Seriously do find my mind plagued with thoughts about picking one of the dumbest hobbies as a resident in the UK.

I might have borrowed that second one, but the first one is me (and often my Astro pub quiz team name).

Reinforcing previous known statements by me that “mirrors are for shaving” and “only refractors will do otherwise you never see the space vampires coming.”

Probably explains why I just added another scope to the collection. Chances to observe this year have been slim and I am somewhat sustained by an amazing session at AstroCamp back in the spring when the aurora also put on a display as well (despite being in South Wales). We have definitely had a bad run with the Baker Street Irregular Astronomers. We have to select the meeting date as much as two weeks in advance and no long range forecast is accurate enough. Think we have had clear skies perhaps 2-3 times this year (if only partially). Right now back to the FLO website to see what else I can buy… 😉* *only semi-joking….

Most of the time the YouTube recommendation algorithm is a mystery to me. But sometimes it makes very appropriate calls as it just did. A 102mm f/4 truss tube dobsonion that weighs 800g, More cute than anything but quite nice piece of woodworking (scaled down his 400mm dob). Certainly worth 4 mins of your time. And now I want one....

Pretty remarkable capture consideirng the brightness of your skies. Nice work.

Decided to add the Baader Click Lock 2” adaptor to my Takahashi FC-100DC. Also added an Astronomic 2” OIII filter as had been thinking about trying one out alongside my UHC for a while. Placed order very late Friday (after office hours). Received a dispatch confirmation the following Monday and was delivered Tuesday morning. Nice and easy.

Decided to get the Baader 2” click lock adaptor for my Takahashi FC-100DC. Also decided to pick up an OIII filter as well.

Great list. At least you let some go (though from the list I can see at least one mistake rectified at a later date). My issue is after the first (my dad’s 10x50 bins) instrument, I only let the next two move on (a 4.5” Newtonian which wasn’t great, and an excellent 8” Newt on a simple alt-Az) and the rest are still mine.

Congrats. Always a best view and that first one will stay with you. The great thing about Jupiter and it’s moons is over short periods of time you can easily see changes in the orbits and cloud features. It’s one of the few things we can watch that change quickly l.

Really interesting, thanks for sharing. Certainly shows how special the 130 f/9.2 is. Considering how many amateurs are hard core optical perfectionists, it is a real shame that more did not realise how good this scope is and purchase one. It has redefined my definition of what optical perfection is.

So those of you who paid attention to what did the postman bring v2 yesterday would have seen I have taken delivery of a new Tak FC-100DC. There was a brief spell of semi clear skies this evening. Looking a the forecast that might be it for quite some time. I wanted to try out the scope and thought I will have a quick peak at Saturn and the Moon. Here is the thing, neither of them can be seen from ground level at my house currently so I popped the scope out on the roof, about 40ft up (I travel for most of my Astronomy sadly). Even with an uncooled scope, heat rising off the house and a turbulent atmosphere, I was quite impressed by the quick glance. Saturn held up quite well even at 185x. Look forward to seeing what this scope can do when I have a proper session with it. Yep that is the chimney. Saturn was just under the dish.

Wow, look how far those correction graphs showing theoretical strehl to wavelength go into the UV and near IR! “Price on application.” If you have to ask….

It is pushing the limit of that tripod. It’s ok but once the magnification starts to get pushed something more robust is really needed. I just tend to favour the Gitzo when out and about with the scope as it keeps the weight down of what I have to carry (2.8kg in this case).

Been thinking about a light weight 4” refractor for a while and one that could be airline portable with some disassembly as my LZOS 105 is a bit heavy and needs a beefier mount. Found my finger hovering over the buy button of the FC-100DC all weekend before finally pulling the trigger at 23:30 on Sunday evening. Also added a dovetail and some tube rings. Received an email early Monday afternoon stating order was complete and then communications from DPD the courier who provided a 1 hour slot on Tuesday to deliver the packages. I like DPD as you can track the driver so I headed home when the courier was 4 deliveries away and he showed up less than 10 mins after I did. The box for the scope had taken a knock which had punctured the outside box and dented the inner second box, but Takahashi triple box with polystyrene inserts and chips so all seems fine. Hopefully that clear skies guarantee* holds true so I can actually use it some point this year! Box1 and Box 2 Box 2 and Box 3 *eventually

Thanks, glad you liked it and spotted the quote from yourself near the end. I know of one other owner, actually a fellow committee member of the Baker Street Irregular Astronomers though he keeps his in Tenerife where he goes several times a year as his wife is from there. I imagine there may be a couple more but that means mid single digit owners of this scope in the UK. Shame there are not more.