Roy Challen

I'm an ortho man myself 😁

Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've written, I don't let philosophy get in the way of a good planetary or lunar session. The fact that light from distant objects took a long time to get here because those objects are far away is not important. What is important is that I am looking at them, and enjoying them, here and now.

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

It's the same size - you only need the 60 clamshell. You unscrew the 60 objective and screw in the 76.

So, the FS60-CB is £749 with clamshell and finder; the 76DC objective unit £949, that's a total of £1698.

The FC-76DCU is £1285.00 and the clamshell/finder is £355, a total of £1640...

What?

The FLO site says the FS60-CB is £749 for the ota only, finder and clamshell are extra, glad I got mine second hand 

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I don't want to add temptation, but if you have a FS-60CB you can purchase a FC-76DC Objective Unit to fit to it. You then have two scopes, a 60 and a 76 

I have an FS60-CB, and you have just added temptation 😉. With a 76mm objective and the Q extender, there are four scope options.

Having owned a Starwave 70 in the past, and an FS60-CB currently, I know which I prefer. The Tak is surprisingly capable for planetary observing despite its small aperture, but it won't show any more than a 70mm.

I have two other scopes that are arguably better for that purpose, but maybe the Q extender would change that.

16 hours ago, Nik271 said:

On a positive note for visual astronomy, remember that unlike other type of pollution light pollution clears up quickly, it disappears the instant when the lights are off. It is by no means certain that in the future people will insist on keeping the lights on when not needed.  

Excellent point

2 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

What’s it doing in the binoculars thread 🤔.

Binoscope?😉

A good comet is also high in wow factor. And the lunar occultation of Mars last year was great, but at a slightly unsociable time.

1 hour ago, tomato said:

The Moon and Saturn, if they are visible. Easily the two best celestial objects for a first time view wow factor at the eyepiece.

In my experience non astro enthusiasts are not usually impressed with barely discernible fuzzy grey blobs.

Exactly what I would show 'em...unless it was the daytime, in which case I'd show them the sun in Ha

You could fill the tripod legs with concrete. I had a Skywatcher EQ3 Pro a few years back, doing this noticeably increased stability, at the expense of increasing the weight.

I think I posted the results on SGL, DIY section maybe.

On 06/08/2023 at 21:11, nitram100 said:

Finished a 12 hr shift, setup the scope and left it for an hour to cool down in the garden with perfect blue skies. You would think it would be safe with the forecast?

 

No chance, this is England. It just started raining ahahah, had to pack the scope up quick.

I'm done with this hobby, in the UK at least.

 

 

Hmm, I'm in Watford too. It was definitely clear 2am onwards, I had a very nice planetary session with my Mak and Tak😀

Another fantastic set of images, the arching prom my favourite. 👍

5 hours ago, Franklin said:

Quick question. You have an ultra high contrast, high end super-duper Takahashi dream scope, so why the contrast booster query? 

I have owned a Baader CB and the Semi Apo filters but not at the same time. I preferred the SA in my long achro. I also tried it with my FS60-CB - it made no noticeable difference.

The contrast booster did help with a short achro I owned at time albeit with a yellow cast.

I also tried a Baader Solar continuum filter in the baby Tak while viewing Venus. It sharpened up the image a fair bit, but with a very strong green cast. As @Louis D says, a less aggressive green filter would be better.

Contrary to most, I'm not too disappointed with the weather with regards to astronomy this year. I've had 35 sessions so far (minimum of 30mins observing time).

Last year I had 120+ sessions and I  didn't even take advantage of every clear day or night. Too much of a good thing? 😜

21 hours ago, Steve Ward said:

 

It's such a dynamic object that there's always something new to see , especially at the moment when it's so active , there's only so many times you can sit squinting at a faint blurry object that looks exactly the same as the last time you looked at it ... 😉

Totally agree with this, if I were allowed to keep just one telescope it would be my Daystar 

Well, I only have 6 eyepieces and one of them,  a Meade plossl, is rarely used so that would have to go. Job done 😄

Sorry, no pic because I don't have an FS128, but I believe all Tak clamshells have a 35mm bolt hole pattern. Certainly, the clam for my FS60-CB does, enabling me to bolt it directly to my vintage Tak mount. However, so that I can use the mount with other scopes via an ADM saddle, I simply drilled two holes in a dovetail and bolted the clam to that. Not sure if that is recommended for a 128 though.

6 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Wow. I am saving this thread for a first line of defence against accusations of too many eyepieces. 

I'm saving it as proof that I don't have enough 😄

6, but if if I'd kept every eyepiece I've ever owned, it would be well over 100😄

Looks amazing, shame I'm at work 😔

For me, good sleep is way more important than astronomy. I would rather have 7 hours of good sleep, than even a couple of hours of astro (heresy, I know!).

Luckily, I'm very much a morning person, so getting up at 2 or 3am isn't a big deal as I'm usually up at half three anyway. It's always quieter, there's usually less in the way of street lights being on, and the seeing tends to be better. Of course, it does depend on my desired targets, whether I'll get up earlier or not.

Solar astronomy doesn't require any of this, of course! That's why I love it so much 😄

1 hour ago, Richard N said:

 

I am only interested in visual astronomy. Bortle 5 site.

I don't have any specific observing interests but DSOs are hard work from my site so I tend to look at other stuff.

Budget £500.

'Other stuff' being planets, moon, double stars? In that case, it will be difficult to better the ETX, imo. My FS60-CB certainly isn't better than my Skymax 90 for those targets, but it is a great wide field scope and very portable, but then again so is the ST80. They complement each other very well.

An ED80 would be a decent upgrade over the ST80, and may even beat the little mak if the seeing is good.

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

Clearly a yes, they would not expend time and resource otherwise, it say Tak on the side, it will sell.

Yes, I suppose. I guess I should have asked 'what will these offer other than a premium name and price?' 

The title of this thread is pure clickbait, the reality is somewhat underwhelming. Is there really a market for what seems like a plossl variant when there are plenty of good equivalents already available at much lower cost?

9 minutes ago, John said:

I've just thought of one quite local to me - the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street, Bath. Fascinating place and Uranus was discovered from the garden 🙂

Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Bath Astronomers hold their meetings there.

I visited whilst on a uni residential week in 2017. Not sure it's 'pilgrimage' destination, but worth a visit if you're in Bath.

Whilst on holiday in Kazakhstan, I took a very basic phone cam shot. No editing at all.