F15Rules

Maybe worth an upgrade to Moonlite or similar? Dave

That's a nice reflector, and non too common now I imagine? How are the views through it? Dave

Great observatory, great setup! Must be great to have a nice calm dome around you at this time of year.. Dave

I'm really surprised that the new SD103s didn't come with a dual speed as standard, especially at that price.... As you say, it's not the end of the world, but a retrofit fine focuser will cost around £180 I believe. My own ED103s, being an older model, also only has a single speed, but it's very smooth, and with a T2 Baader prism and fine focusing eyepiece holder (1.25), I effectively have a dual speed focusser on the cheap?. My ED103s worked well on the Porta II and I will probably get another Porta eventually. Dave

The NA140SS always intrigued me.. such a big refractor for not all that much money. And not SO much CA according to some reports? And you DID go for the ED103s replacement, the SD103s! Brilliant! Did it come with the rings, handle, finder and flip mirror all included? Please do a full report, first light etc with more pics asap??. Dave

Cracking setups David! An FS128 on a GPDX mount, a dream combo.. An Intes Micro Mak on a GP mount also a dream setup. I had the same model scope I believe, almost refractor like sharpness and contrast?. Dave

That Atlux was a beast Stu! I recall drooling over that in the Astro mags back in the day, I think Fullerscopes sold it on the matching mount for around £5k? - a fortune in those days..but what a scope! Thanks for sharing??. Dave

"You have a beautiful set-up there Dave! Your 103mm makes my 100DC look pathetic!" Er, I don't think so, Mike.. mind you, I'd love to do a side by side comparison of the two, that would be interesting! Dave

That tripod and pier extension is a work of art, Steve Dave

Great pics Jeremy..I really think the C8 looks great in "refractor white"! Dave

Lovely John☺. The goto handset on the Bresser reminds me of how big mobile phones used to be!! That must have been very cool back then.. I suspect your lovely ED102SS will have to be prised from your cold hands many years from now?. Dave

I have loved Vixen telescopes and mounts for nearly 30 years. I think they are a very underrated brand, and they have (and still do) produced some of the best, most accessible amateur scopes and mounts ever. From achromats to reflectors, mak-cassegrains to apochromats, they have offered, in my experience, excellent optics, understated but attractive build characteristics and very pleasing instruments. Their Super Polaris, Great Polaris and GPDX mounts were the original (and best, IMHO) affordable equatorial mounts, much copied, but not bettered for longevity and quality of engineering for the price. I have owned the following models: SP102m, Custom 80m, Pulsar F13 102mm all achromats), and 2 ED103s doublets...and 2 wonderful GP mounts. I'd love to see your pictures of Vixen scopes past and present, of whatever type, and with any anecdotes or stories about them that you are happy to share. Here is my starter, my ED103s doublet, seen here fixed to a CG-4 mount with a Takahashi FS102 clamshell. It is optically excellent, very lightweight and portable, and makes me smile every time I use it. Looking forward to seeing yours Dave

Just superb Jeremy! Dave

That's s lovely setup?. Dave

I think the thrust of this thread is that the Mission Controller needs a rocket up his solid fuel booster! Still it's given us all a lift to watch it... Dave

Depends what you mean by "travel"..if you mean airline carry onboard travel, then fair enough, but if you mean travelling to a dark site by car, then I think both scopes are "portable", whether fixed or sliding dewshield. And the same for "grab and go" portability. In those applications there would be no reason to keep unscrewing the dewshield. I'd actually love to see a 4" F12 or F13 Fluorite doublet being offered..now that would be a special planetary and double star scope - and blow the portability? Dave

I suspect that if the optics are clean and well collimated it would hold its own very well ?

Great story Mike☺. Thanks for sharing! I had an ED120 for a short time, but didn't get on with it. I also had a DS Pro, and didn't fall in love with that either. It must be me, as I know there are loads of paid up fans of the ED120 on SGL. The Tak, Vixen and D&G are the ones that really got to me..

Below is my old GP mount which was a pleasure for me to use. Only sold it to help finance my Tak. Great, well engineered mounts ☺. Dave

One more..

Mike, that FS152 is magnificent! I assume that you sold on your FS128 when you acquired the 152? How much of a step up is the 152 Vs the 128? A couple of shots of my 128, my first ever Tak, complete with EM2 mount☺

Pystab, If you read this,how did you get on with your Vixen GPE mount? Pictures please?? Dave

Many congratulations John! A wonderful thread which I only saw this morning. I was rivetted. I know I'll never see the HH through my 5" apo, but what is the smallest aperture you have heard of it being seen through? Another question..do you observe through your Dob always standing up? Or for lower down objects can you do it seated? I always find I concentrate better and keep my head more still when I can sit down. I think that one of the things that's always put me off reflectors was the (for me) discomfort and awkward angles for viewing that I experienced the only time I owned a reflector an 8"Helios Newtonian (not a Dob). And I only had a couple of sessions before concluding it wasn't for me. I guess I maybe need to try again, with a Dob next time, and give it more chance. Certainly it's the only way I'll really be able to step up in aperture. For now, though, my fracs keep me very busy on the all too short and all too infrequent sessions I get?.. Thanks again for sharing that wonderful report! Dave

Mmm...nice aperitif Mike. What's on the main course????.. Dave

I had an hour outside last night in sub zero bright moonlight. I was checking out the Plato area on Luna and also M42. The seeing wasn't much good, neither was transparency, but I just wanted to get outside for a bit. Specifically, I wanted to compare the Pentax SMC zoom with my 7mm and 10.5mm XLs. The conditions were tough on all the eyepieces..I am only the most casual of Lunar observers, and I tend to usually just have a 5 minute scan around and then move on to something I'm more interested in. Last night, I didn't have much choice, given how bright the moon was, as so many favourite objects were pretty washed out. Anyway, I had a good look at the Plato area and I thought all 3 eyepieces did well, but the 7mm just made the shimmering of the atmosphere all the more apparent. The 10.5mm was better, but the zoom really was the best choice last night, having the flexibility to dial in different mags without swapping eyepieces about. I saw some nice detail in general, but no sign of any craterlets, the conditions and brightness of the 3/4 full moon being just too much, washing out the contrast almost completely. M42 was a similar story, but again the zoom at between the 24mm setting down to the 12mm setting was best on the night. Actually, the view at 24mm was lovely, the one I enjoyed most. It looked almost like a photograph, with the nebula framed beautifully against a surprisingly dark sky and the Trap fully resolved into 4 sharp individual points, with the bat wings clearly evident despite the moons' proximity. And this was a FOV of only 40 degrees, yet it never felt tunnel like. Each time I use the Pentax zoom I like it more and more. Yes, it's a big eyepiece, but with it securely held in the Baader clicklock the zoom action is very smooth, and the build quality is the best of any eyepiece I have owned IMHO. I see that FLO have a brand new SMC zoom on their sale at £296 at the moment..considering a single XW new is £249, to me that price makes this zoom wonderful value. Add a decent SWA Pan 24mm, LVW 22mm (my choice), or ES24mm and you could have some great observing sessions with just two eyepieces?. Dave