F15Rules

On 03/09/2024 at 15:35, JeremyS said:

Saw this hardwood EP case video, by Doctor D, mentioned on another forum:

https://www.youtube.com/@DanielSmith-km4tu/videos

Hi Jeremy,

When did you first saw this case? Did it hurt your fingers, or did you saw it gently and slowly? Why did you saw it, was it too big? 

It may be a saw point, but I have to say that I do find all this talk of saw-ing a perfectly good eyepiece case rather, er, sawdid...🤦‍♂️.😋

Dave

Interesting and useful comparison, Michael..👍.

Sadly, I had to let my LVW 3.5mm go just last week. This wasn't due to any lacking  on the part of the eyepiece,  but due to deterioration in my eyes, especially my right eye 😏. 

I now see floaters regularly at anything much over 200x. The LVW 3.5mm delivered c 253x in my Vixen SD115S, and the floaters just became too distracting. I still have the rest of the set (5mm, 8mm,13mm,17mm, 22mm, 42mm), and will keep them all except possibly the 42mm (where I have a different UWA which is significantly better).

The 5mm gives 177x native, and x283 with my 1.6x barlow, so I can still go above 200x if I need to.

I find that I get less floaters in my binoviewers..and, using an excellent pair of Tak LE 12.5mm and Carton Japan/Megavista 10.5s and a Baader 1.7x OCS, I can get quite high powers with much reduced floaters..and the aforementioned eyepiece pairs are much lighter than LVWs, so better suited to binoviewing.

Dave

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

First use of Tak FC 76DCU newly installed on top of the C11. OTA is held with Losmandy rings and dovetails allowing it to be aligned with the C11.

Jeremy, I knew Takahashi offer Epsilon scopes with a Tak finder that acts as a carry handle..

But using an FC76 as a carry handle for a C11 is a new one to me..very Creative!!👍👏👏👏🤪😋🤣

Dave

1 hour ago, Sunshine said:

Is it a skywatcher?

Nope..it's a SkyEater..🤭🤭

Dave

Thanks, Sunshine😉.

I dont take many images with my phone, but now and then a visual image looks so stunning that I feel compelled to try and capture it..and probably only 1 image in 25 is any good at all!

I find that keeping my phone still once I align the phone camera with the eyepiece view for 3 seconds is the biggest challenge..

And, IMHO you still can't beat a live visual MK1 eyeball view at any time!😊

Dave

First night out for literally months..

Vixen SD115S on Takahashi EM2s equatorial and selection of mainly LVW eyepieces.

And a handheld phone shot of Albireo..through the eyepiece the colour differences were so striking..

It was so lovely to have a really dark clear sky with the Milky Way showing structure to the naked eye.. 

The new to me Everbrite 2" dielectric mirror diagonal performed admirably, holding all my eyepieces really effortlessly👍

8 hours ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Tilt, coma, huge amount of amp glow, poor tracking

I also can't wait.

 

I havent a clue what any of that means, but thanks anyway😊

Not seen tonight but last Wednesday night on Iona,  the beautiful Scottish Island where we spent an idyllic week, first on Mull and then Iona..

Due to loads of walking I didnt get out at night with binoculars, (I was shattered!!)..but on the last night on Iona, a call of nature woke me up at c 3.45am.

I walked over to the bedroom window and looked out due east towards Fionnphort, I mile away across the Sound of Iona, on Mull. 

I could clearly see Orion's outline and also Mars and Jupiter right above Orion's main asterism.

A not brilliant phone shot below, but to the naked eye a lovely sight, and SO great to see my favourite constellation reappearing!😊.. the small left hand cluster of lights are Fionnphort, the bottom right light is set over the Calmac Ferry landing pier on Iona, just 150m from our hotel.

Dave

I havent bought anything for months 😇..

But I saw and bought this lovely (BIG!!) TeleVue Everbrite 2" diagonal..its a real Beast and solid as a rock..it will be ideal for my LVW set in 2" mode and my 23mm and 31mm Axiom LX UWAs, both 84-85 degrees and weighing, in the case of the 31mm, a fair bit more than a 31mm Nagler.

Came with a non original but very solid 2".to 1.25"adapter too..

Dave

Littleguy (Neil) said:

"I should add that there are plenty of other 100mm scopes for much less money that would also tick the box!"

I agree, Neil..

Like this one, for example:

Vixen ED103s F7.7 apo..very light, c3.6kg, on Vixen Porta II altaz mount.

Superb grab and go setup which delivered me many memorable views and short but rewarding sessions on my then tarmac drive back in the Midlands.

The whole setup in excellent used condition cost me less than £800..I wish I still had it now!😊

Dave

Very interesting post Nicola, thanks for posting😊..

I have a niece who is doing Japanese studies at Uni and is in Japan right now, doing an internship with a large company. It sounds a fascinating country to be sure, and a very difficult language to master!

My wife and I have recently enjoyed watching the drama series 'Tokyo Vice' on BBC iPlayer, a gripping story of the Yakuza gangs and a young American Journalist's investigations working with a local Japanese Detective (played by Ken Watanabe) to bring down a very evil gang leader.

Enjoy the rest of your trip, and safe return home.👍

Dave

Hi Nigel,

Many thanks for your post, most interesting!😊👍

I will discuss more with my friend (who is currently isolating with Covid), and report back on any other history I can find on the scope.

I also plan to try out the scope at some point, if I can master the dark art of the collimation of these beasts!😜😂

Thanks again,

Dave

Hi all,

I've been asked by a friend in our village what scope this is..as a refractor only man, I know very little about Dobsonian reflectors..

It has Star 250 and a Union Jack flag on it..is it therefore a 10"? Or maybe an 8"?

If anyone can shed any light on it, I'd be grateful😉..and so would my friend!😄

cheers,

Dave

Yep, I too am a "Stargazer"!!😄

I first got into stargazing back in the 1970's, when most amateur refractors were F15 achromats: they were great on double stars (still are!), but they definitely were not ideal for viewing starfields.

In more recent years I have got quite hooked by more modern wide field 2" eyepieces for low power "cruising" around the sky.

My main scope has an F7.7 focal length, and with my pair of Axiom LX UWA (84/85 degree FOV) 2" eyepieces of 23mm and 31mm focal length the views of star clusters and the Milky Way starfields are jaw dropping.

A few standout objects, particularly with these two eps are:

Pleiades, Praesepe (Beehive Cluster), Perseus Double Cluster (outstanding, mesmerising!), M42/Sigma Orionis/the Belt trio, Cygnus Region around Sadr (central star of the Cross asterism, too many stars to take in), Albireo double star and background field, Mizar/ Alcor multiple System in Ursa Major, to name just a few.

So for me, I would take one of the above clusters/vistas over any number of wispy, ghostly, barely discernible nebulae!😊😄

Dave

On 28/05/2024 at 09:38, osbourne one-nil said:

I managed first light with my SD115 overnight and....I'm quite happy. I only managed to get about an hour and a half, due to cloud and the time of year, but I got something.  According to astap, there's some pretty severe tilt, but that would be because I was using a cheap rotator and hadn't locked it down. 

This is a very quick edit in Pixinsight. 

https://astrob.in/titx68/0/

Great image!

Forgive my visual only ignorance, but what is "tilt"?🤔

Dave

29 minutes ago, John said:

I'm in my mid 60s and both these chime strongly with me.

I've recently parted with my TMB/LZOS 130mm F/9.2 for those reasons despite it probably being the best scope that I've ever looked though 🙄

Got to be realistic though and I'd much rather a fine instrument is homed where it will get frequently used 🙂

Hi John,

Sorry to hear of you no longer having your fantastic Lzos scope, I know you made some amazing observations with it.

You still have some excellent scopes I believe, and maybe you will choose to acquire another, large, but lighter scope at some point? 

Whatever your plans, I am sure you will continue to inspire us with your interesting and informative observing reports!

Dave

1 hour ago, lunator said:

It is always good when an opportunity presents itself. Sounds like the vixen is a good balance of aperture and weight 😀

Cheers

Ian

Hi Ian,

Thanks, yes, the balance is pretty much perfect..the Vixen tube weighs c 2 kg less than the Tak and is c 150mm shorter. Add to that it is less "bulky" than the Tak (Tube diameter Tak is 145mm vs 125mm for the Vixen). So, all in all a very noticeably easier setup to carry with the Vixen than it was with the Tak.

I would emphasise, though, that I am now in my late 60s and it's only been in the past few years that I have found the Tak setup a bit cumbersome to move about.

And I have found, in the past 2 years or so, that the periods of clear skies we get where I live are noticeably shorter than they were, so a lighter setup should encourage me to take those quick session opportunities more often.

Dave

This is the first time for many weeks that I've had any session to report, due to a mix of weeks and weeks of awful weather, family related needs involving multiple trips around England, pre-planned short breaks, and flu like illness (not Covid) for nearly 3 weeks..🤦‍♂️🤨😅

But last night I got out for a short 45 minute session!🍾🥳.

It was not "remarkable" or "amazing" in itself, but just so great to be out with my new Vixen SD115s scope..only the 3rd time I have had her out since February l, when I bought her.

I went outside at 10.40pm and it was still not properly dark..there was about 50% cloud cover, but the eastern aspect was pretty clear, so I turned to Albireo in Cygnus which was low down at the end of the "Northern Cross" asterism which was "on it's side", still very low down in the east..I just wanted to look at a couple of "celestial lollipops"!

I used just 3 eyepieces, LVW 22mm, 13mm and 3.5mm, giving respectively x40, x68 and x254 in the Vixen. Even though Albireo was still quite low down, the views were lovely. The colours actually stood out best last night at the high power, perhaps the low power, which showed such bright, smaller images, was suppressing the colours..

The second target was Regulus in Leo..a hot, blue/white Spectral Class B8 star which is actually a 4 component system. I wanted to check out the purity of the colours in the 115s and I wasn't disappointed..a white,tight, hard point, a single diffraction ring, and no visible CA at all...the images were very like my late departed Tak FS128..just a tad less bright due to the 1/2" aperture difference. I can live with that!😊

Finally, I turned the scope vertically upwards to the Mizar system in the Plough..again, textbook, pure white components of Mizar itself, with Alcor and the fainter star between them, Mag 8.5 "Sidus Ludovicanum" sitting between Mizar and Alcor..all against a very dark background.

And that was it. A short, but very refreshing session, most enjoyable...oh, and I really noticed the weight difference between the new "Svelte" Vixen ota and the "Yard Cannon" FS128 when lugging the rig back under cover to it's storage building!

The weather may settle a bit this weekend, and no further trips away planned for weeks.. so I hope to get out again for a "proper" session very soon!👍

Dave

On 25/05/2024 at 13:00, JeremyS said:

Easily done on first outing 

She clearly got confused looking in vain for the handle, Jeremy!🙄🤭

Dave

Hi Nikolai,

I wish you well with your exciting new venture.

Good luck!

Dave

On 24/05/2024 at 12:03, osbourne one-nil said:

It was always a matter of when rather than if.....

 

 

Simply gorgeous!! Sublime design, great engineering and superb optics all in one delightful package!

And that's the first of the very latest 115SII series I've seen 'in use".

The only other 2 115"s I know of in the UK (but I am sure there are a fair few more) are mine and Steve's (@Saganite), and they are the previous generation (although both almost new scopes).

I believe the only difference is the presence of traditional "foil spacers" between the objective elements, while the Series II 115s has no foil spacers but a plastic spacer ring between the elements..I understand that this is a slightly better arrangement for imaging ( I'm visual only)..see photo of my objective below..

Perhaps it's time to set up a Vixen SD & ED owners' section..(only joking, this thread does the job just fine, for all Vixen stuff -including eyepieces!!..).

..and with that thought in mind, here is my full set of Vixen LVWs..sadly discontinued a good few years ago, but still wonderful eyepieces😊👍.

Dave

For sheer value for money, an older 80-100mm achromat is great value, has virtually no CA, and although long, is very light. Images from a good one such as Vixen are superb. I paid just £150 plus shipping for this one.. (1980s 80mm F15)..

However, you have said you prefer a shorter scope so I'd say go for a used Russian 150mm Maksutov, usually between F10 and F15.

I've owned 3, all 150mm ( and the Russian Maks are full aperture, not stopped down like some of the chinese ones), and all optically superb.

A good, well cooled 150mm Mak can deliver wonderful lunar, planetary and double star images, very similar to a good 5" apo refractor..

This one was made by Lomo, marketed under the "Ylena" brand name, and cost me £450 complete with EQ4 class mount, steel tripod and various accessories about 13 years ago. The other two, made by Intes Micro, were the MK66 and MK67..a bit more common than the Lomo, and both very good optically..

I don't know where you are based, but a wanted advertisement could be worth a try..these fine scopes are no longer made, but are worth trying to track down..and can be bought used for at or close to your stated budget.

If I recall correctly, the MK66 and 67 have the same optics, but the 66 has a rack and pinion focuser and the 67 has a helical focuser ( or maybe its the other way around!)..

Dave

2 hours ago, dweller25 said:

However, overall the TSA120 cools quicker and will be useable on more nights in my poor seeing area.

Just for the record, I made my tongue in cheek remark about sticking with fracs precisely due to my local seeing. We live at the bottom of a hill (in Lincolnshire!!🤦‍♂️😂), a hill which rises from the bottom, where we are, at just over 100 feet above sea level,  to c 440 feet just a few hundred yards up the road.

This may not sound much, but it does cause regular temperature inversions which often play havoc with seeing into the early hours, after which time it does steady down a bit.

When we moved here I didn't know about this micro climate phenomenon, but was tempted by the Bortle 4 skies vs Bortle 5 back in the Midlands. In practice, since we lived here, this has definitely and regularly reduced my opportunities to observe in good seeing conditions.

Lovely though our rural location is, knowing what I know now, if and when we move again, my first astro priority will be a level location, with good southern horizon and no very close by tall trees and conifers!

I do agree that the Tak 180 Mewlon is a very interesting scope..it's light, compact, a nice aperture, and I just love the way the finder stalk doubles as a carrying handle (seriously, Jeremy!)..that feature alone speaks to superb, high precision engineering by Takahashi..👍

Dave

I have read all of the above with interest.

I think I will stick with refractors.😉

Dave

6 hours ago, bosun21 said:

This was my first light for my 180 Maksutov and also first use in the field for my AZ-EQ6 mount. I made sure that it was cooled properly as I needed to check the collimation accurately before covering the scope with Reflectix insulation. I set up the mounts home position and balanced properly with scope and its accessories etc about 5pm to give it plenty of time for acclimation. Aligned my RDF which I swapped over to from the RACI. Polar alignment is a lot easier with a 90° adapter fitted. Once I did the customary 3 star alignment I went straight to Arcturus to check collimation. It was ever so slightly out, but not enough to really notice with the views visually. But now that I knew about it i had to sort it. I used a reticle eyepiece to ensure that the star was centered each time before adjusting the collimation. Several adjustments later and the magnification increased to 432x I was happy with it so locked it down. Final check and all was well. The transparency was good and the seeing pretty mediocre. I tried to capture a hand held photo with my phone but Arcturus had slightly moved off centre or it's the angle I'm holding the phone.

I then was amazed at the resolution and detail that I could see on M13. The stars were easily resolved and could even start to make out the propeller. I then shifted to M3 next door for an equally impressive view however I immediately returned to M13 to soak up the view. Next was M57 which I'm glad to say was centered in the eyepiece. The go to was extremely accurate and everything was held solid. The mount is heavy but it's a price I'm more than willing to pay for NO vibrations. CA and vibration are my nemesis. M57 was well defined in the eyepiece although I do like to use a UHC filter on it which I forgot to include in my gear. I then had a look at Albireo to get a look at the colour differential which was lovely. Up to M51, M63, M81 & 82. The galaxies although dim were easily seen in the eyepiece. M103 in Cassiopeia next followed by a return to Hercules and M92. Finished the night off with a final look at M13. I am pleased with both the 180's performance and the overall solidity and accuracy of the AZ-EQ6 mount. I bought the 180 mainly for lunar, planets and double stars but it's also pretty capable on some of the brighter DSO's like clusters and PN's. It's now 1am and time to put the kettle on.

 

Great report and a good read😊👍!

I do like a good Mak..when properly collimated, they can rival an apo refractor for colour free, sharp images..

Dave