nicoscy

Chris,

You are right about the Tak dissassebly. And also about the Tak 60 + 76 module. Kill two birds with one stone and I have heard great things about the small 60mm Taks...

Not only that, but you can make the Tak a 76mm binofriendly scope in that configuration...

Helen ,

The main concern would be to protect the lens assembly though, but one can get a plastic dustcap from eBay or Amazon for that.

A shower cap would protect the back of the OTA from dust getting in, but you still end up with the OTA @ 19", a focuser and a dew shield to pack, so not very portable considering you want to take other accessories with you...

@ both Chris & Helen,

Now for the dilemma!!!

I must admit I am at crossroads. Just to explain, when I received the Tak, I found shortly afterwards a very small blem (like 1x1mm) on the coatings. But despite the guarantee, I did not return the scope. Why one might ask? After going through about 20 refractors with apertures ranging 50mm to 152mm, achro, ED and FPL-53 triplets, it was hands down a win for the Tak.

Nothing I have touched (including the 20 scopes I mentioned as well as other scopes of friends) has come close to the color fidelity, the superb contrast, the super tight stars, the zero chromatic aberration, the lovely intra and exrtra focal pattern of the scope, the lovely depth of field - well, I could go on forever.

BUT (yes, here it comes) it is long. Light, but long. I am considering (and will consider for some time), whether to actually sell it or maybe send the lens assembly to Mark of Moonraker Telescopes and ask him to make me something ultralight with a retractable dew shield and stick a FTF focuser at the back. I could make the Tak binoviewer friendly for example (have Mark make a shorter tube) and use an extension for mono viewing.

I don't know really. All I know is that I have no need to sell the scope but I feel a certain pain at not using it.

6 hours ago, Helen said:

Ooo that's interesting!  I'm looking to get together a portable set up ready for an eclipse trip to the US next year, but we're going to be away for a month so looking at more than just solar kit.  I've been wondering about the Borg set up you have - ie one tube and the two FL objectives.  In my case 90 primarily for visual and 71 for solar and photography on a star adventurer.  So what does 'pretty decent mean' in comparison to say a william optics 72 Megrez (my current solar and travel scope)?

Lots of other ideas in this thread too... I think the weight limit on the star adventurer is probably more limiting than the luggage allowance! (Although as we are also going on an Alaskan cruise I'll need room for warm clothes ;-)  )

Helen

 

Helen,

These photos are for you. I misaligned the Tak relative to the measuring tape so take off 2 centimeters off its length as measured. There is no size comparison here - the Tak loses big time. The Borg should also ride very well on the Skywatcher Adventurer and I can even reduce its weight further by 100 - 120 grams by removing one of the findershoes and the extra securing screws on the rings.

The Borg 71FL produces images like a very good ED scope of focal ratio of say 7 - 8. Considering that it is f5.6, I consider that most satisfactory. The Borg is mostly geared to the AP folk as when you mate it to its dedicated field flattener, it can become a f3.6 flatfield  5 element scope. In Japan it is also widely used for imaging birds e.t.c.

The intra-focal pattern indicates no serious abberations, however the extra-focal pattern is a different story. I need to sit down one evening with my Suiter book and decide on the optics, as well as use my Ronchi eyepiece to assess the optics, but offhand, there is virtually zero color on the moon (a very slight yellowish tint at the rim of the moon), stars are nice and tight, contrast is excellent and Mars and Saturn are looking good for the aperture. Lacks depth of field due to short focal length and needs very good eyepieces to tame field curvature. I use Naglers and Pans - anything else and the result is not satisfactory.

6 hours ago, Cjg said:

Totally understand that Nicos; 'dad's taxi' duties tonight, I sold my 10"Dob (hope the dob mob don't read this!) for a scope that was easier to transport and set up. I forget who it was that said "Your best scope is the one you use the most" but that's so true. 

Am fortunate to be able to use the dark skies of Seething whenever life and clouds allow. Good luck, hope you get some quality eyepiece time this season.

Chris

Chris,

I have 4 observing sites within a 50 minute drive with SQM readings between 21.1 and 21.3 which I try to frequent twice a month, so I consider myself blessed.

Paradoxically, I find it more difficult to drag my very tired rear end out the door to observe from my back yard than it is to pack a 12" dobsonian and various accouterments and drive to a dark site 

Chris,

I still have the Tak and yes, it is far superior to the Borg p, but not as portable as the Borg. I am trying to keep as small a kit as possible and the Borg is portable enough to fit in my backpack as you can see.

I also have a Borg 90FL objective so I can swap between 71mm and 90mm - 71 at home for mostly lunar viewing and the 90 under dark skies, but I have a good mind to sell both the Tak and the 90FL as I am drawn to a compact kit.

Everything is a compromise and I think I can accept optics which are pretty decent (vs simply flawless for my Tak) if I manage to get out more often in my back yard and enjoy the views.

While this may sound "shocking", family, work, pets and life in general conspire to keep me away from the eyepiece (dentist this evening!!!) and therefore optimising my gear towards portability is paramount to me.

But the Takahashi - oh my!

Haven't done any travelling with it yet, but here's my nearly complete kit (well, it IS complete but will do a couple of changes):

Borg 71FL, Televue Everbrite 1.25" - Just the scope with rings, dovetail and 2 x findershoes weights less than 1.8 kilos.

Plossl 32, Pan 24, Nagler T6 13 & 7, Nagler 3-6 zoom eyepieces

IDAS Solar, Baader Moon & Skyglow, Baader Solar Continuum, Televue Bandmate, UHC, O III and Hb filters

RDF, Sol searcher, 6 x 30 RACI, dew heater, observing hood

All of the above in a photographer's backpack.

And in another bag measuring about 50cm in length is a DSV-M mount, a Walker Stool and a Berlebach tripod with extension column.

Only changes I expect to make is to swap the diagonal for a Baader BBHS diagonal as I love the Clicklock mechanism and replace the Berlebach and extension column with a Induro CTL304L tripod.

I would not travel with a 2" diagonal and eyepiece as the Pan 24 gives 3.5 degrees TFOV, but at home when under dark skies, well, my Nagler 31mm gives 6.05 degrees TFOV and it's a stunning experience...

Hi Nicos,

Thanks. So is this normal that a regular eyepiece needs an extra extension for it to be usable?

cheers

Each eyepiece will focus at a different point. Reflector focuses typically have a small range of travel as they cannot protrude into the optical hubs too much. Therefore thr easy solution is to preserve optical performance (I.e small travel distance) and optimise the focusser location on the OTA where you need more travel out to focus. Hence the extension.

The good news is that an extension tube is a fairly cheap accessory!

Let's ignore collimation for a bit here.

You need an extension tube to reach focus as you are running out of focuser travel. Most dobs/newts come with a 35mm extension to give you sufficient travel outwards to focus some eyepieces.

Your comment that if you pull out the 2" eyepiece to manage to reach focus confirms this. Hit your local astroshop or the forum's sponsors FLO for an extension tube.

Back to collimation: It apparently needs collimation, I.e. aligning the primary and secondary mirrors, but first let's resolve the focusing issue.

That's a well rounded review. I wish Celestron would sell the mount on its own...

The option to edit appears after a certain number of posts, 250 if I recall.

There is a Baader Zoom for sale right here on SGL classifieds BTW.

The zoom is actually 70 degrees to 42 degrees according to Edz on Cloudynights and I concur after using it side by side with a Celestron zoom.

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/287534-hyperion-zoom-mark-iii-tested-afov/

As I mentioned, I actually ordered (again) the Celestron Zoom as I preferred less weight and I was willing to sacrifice a little optical performance for the weight / size saving.

The Baader has a larger field of view than the Celestron and better coatings (I have tried both).

You can also take advantage of many accessories for the Baader and connect it in various ways to your equipment.

However it is both heavier and bulkier than the Celestron Zoom. If you intend for serious use of this eyepiece as opposed to using fixed focal length eyepieces and just "having a zoom", then get the Baader, otherwise the Celestron will serve you well.

Most basic zoom eyepieces are threaded under the eye cup for this specific reason.

Enjoy the zoom. Even though I am overflowing with eyepieces, I actually ordered one myself as it is great for outreach and for when I want to just grab the scope with one eyepiece and head out of my home for a quickie...

Zeiss ED Terra 8x42

Nikon Action Extreme 10x50

Canon 10x30 IS on the way