F15Rules

2 minutes ago, MalcolmM said:

I too had a good session on the moon last night. I saw at least one easy craterlet in Plato and was convinced others were occasionally discernible.

Hadley's Rill was very evident to the South of Hadley, but nothing to the North. At lower magnifications it appeared as a curved line. At higher magnifications I was sure I was able to see/sense the jagged turns.

Strange how simple things can fascinate but I loved the sharp triangular shadow of what must be a large mountain at Promontorium Laplace.

Like @mikeDnight, I spent a bit of time 'touring' the landscape. There was so much detail I really didn't know where to start or stop or go to next! I always mean to observe with more discipline but generally just get carried away!

I was mostly using the 100DC + Maxbrights + 1.25 GPC + 7.5mm Tak LEs which must give about x125 but seemed higher.

The big wow moment for me though was replacing the 7.5 LEs with Tak 12.5 Abbes. The decrease in magnification may have had something to do with it but wow! Never have I seen such contrast and sharpness. The moon was like an etching! Quite breathtaking.

I agree with @Stu, the Maxbrights are excellent and a joy to use.

@F15Rules, I took a couple of phone pics through the eyepiece last night. I was very pleased with them. Then I saw yours above. If you get a new phone, send me your old one 🙂 Great pic!

Interestingly I also had the Mewlon out last night and even though I think it had properly cooled, the views were not as good as with the 100DC. Other times it has provided much better views; not sure if it was the atmospherics or eyepiece/binoviewer combinations.

Malcolm

Very kind, Malcolm, but I know the phone is on its last legs..I've had it 3 years (Moto G8 Plus) but have dropped it several times and the screen looks like a spiders web now, and I can actually see a crack on the rear main camera lens too!🤦

Dave

I'll post a new thread later rather than hijack Stu's thread, as I want to cover Lunar observing in general 😊.

Good to hear that a good few of us got out last night..it was a lovely day here, sandwiched between a dreary and wet New Year's Day, and now back to the same today. But yesterday was lovely and a sharp frost came down during the night❄️❄️.

I also tried out properly my new to me and absolutely mint Vixen 7x50 binoculars, (courtesy of Tim @Franklin), heavy things that they are, but rock solid on my Ravelli Pistol Grip mount..👍

Dave

I too had a nice session on Plato last night..in a rush right now but will post more later today..I did catch 2 or 3 craterlets but I was plagued by floaters, even in the binoviewers 🤔..am going to arrange an eye test very soon, as I want to invest in some other Bvs..but only if my eyes can handle them..

I also badly need a new phone, as you can see!!🤦

Dave

I've added a 2nd image above which perhaps has slightly better contrast, and shows the valley a little better?..

I've now got 3 proper pairs of bins for Astro and occasional wildlife/holiday use, all made in Japan:

9x63 Orion Mini Giant Porros Prism FOV 5 deg

7x50 Vixen Series B B4 model Porros Prism Waterproof and Independent Focusing FOV 7.3deg 

Vixen 8x32 Apex Pro Roof Prism, Waterproof FOV 7.5 deg

They are all excellent performers..the Orion 9x63s I use almost exclusively on my Ravelli Pistol Grip and Ball Head with adjustable height tripod.

The B4 Type 7x50s are like new, heavy for their size, and with Independent Focusing on each diopter. They are best used on the pistol grip and/or when handheld while lying down or reclining. Very sharp out to c 80-85% of the Field.

The Apex Pro 8x32 Roofs are my most used bins. They are light, Uber sharp and have (just) the widest FOV. Actually, they look and feel as though they have much the widest, largest apparent FOV, but slightly less sharp to the edges if I'm being picky. I love these bins. These were well over £300 when new c 7or 8 years ago, and can also be found used now and then under the Ace Avian Brand name in the UK. Both made by Vixen and of great quality.

All 3 pairs deliver very pleasing, sharp and contrasty views 

Dave

1 hour ago, Grotemobile said:

I know this is not a refactor but this scope is one  of my most used. 6" Mac. Way better than my 4" vixen Doublet on the planets

 which is what l image  . Horses for courses . Have done imaging with both these scopes on the CG-5 mount .6" Mac is easier to use.

A nice pair of scopes.

I'd expect the Mak to comfortably beat your Vixen..not perhaps a truly fair comparison though? Apo Vs Achromat.. now, if you compared an ED103s or SD103s Apo to your Mak I think the contest would be much closer, and the Vixen would also give you a significantly wider fov, not to mention faster cool down and lighter weight👍.

Btw, I really like Maks: if I couldn't have an Apo refractor I'd happily have a decent Mak..I had 150mmLomo Ylena and Intes Maks some years back and both were excellent.

Dave

8 hours ago, RobertI said:

I was so impressed with the first one, I just had to buy another ……..

I must say, Rob, you look much younger than I'd have imagined!😂😂

Dave

"I remember skipping most imaging equipment related threads here on SGL as being esoteric and unfathomable. "

I've done that for years! And shouldn't there be a law against wrapping lovely scope ota's in miles of wire and spaghetti??😂😂

I do like some of the pictures, though 😊

Dave

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Perfectly balanced... Dual use for astro, and in this configuration, birding.

Me like the little Tak...

Me LOVE the gorgeous LVW22!!😍😂

Dave

Your 28mm will really come into its own on clusters like the Pleiades, the Double Cluster in Perseus and the Orion nebula when the moon is out of the way and skies are dark.

If your scope is well collimated, you should comfortably split the following:

Castor in Gemini, Rigel in Orion, Alnitak (lowest star in Orion's Belt), Polaris (the Pole star of course).

A really good guide book for observing double stars in urban skies is this one:

It's on page 507, dated 6th December if this link doesn't take you straight there..

Dave

17 minutes ago, imakebeer said:

A little update...

I managed to get out for a couple of hours last night. My primary goal was actually to try some new stuff for imaging Jupiter and Mars, but while I was out I made a point of putting away the laptop and cameras and doing a bit of visual...

I started on the moon - not the wisest idea in hindsight but it's a lot sharper through the 150PDS then the frac...

Then I moved on to M31 - not helping myself having just looked at the moon, but it was right there. Still a faint smudge but clear enough along with 32 & Nu Andromeda. Possibly not ideal conditions with the moon and Jupiter going down in the west, but...

My eyes were just starting to adjust again when my neighbour turned on his landing light which shines down into my garden like a flipping searchlight! 😖😂

I decided to call it a night at that point but it's a start 👍🔭😊

Good for you!👍

The moon is waxing now, so will dominate the night sky for the next couple of weeks. It's a good target now, but will become overpoweringly bright as it nears full, especially in a 6" scope like yours.

Your scope is a very capable one, so if you have some high power eyepieces to give you say 130x or higher, why not try splitting some doubles? I've found it can become a bit addictive!😊

Dave

Mike's incredible gallery of his sketches, made mostly with a 4" refractor, remember, make me feel both inspired and inadequate..

Not in a bad way inadequate, but just knowing that my eyes are just not able to see so much of what he sees, nor will they ever be..😭😭

Tell you what Mike.. I'll do you a straight swap..your 100mm Tak for my 128mm FS128..on condition that we can swap our eyeballs at the same time!!😇😂😂.

All joking apart, thanks to Mike (and everyone else who posted) for sharing his/their incredibly gifted work, and thanks to @imakebeer for starting what has become one of the most thought provoking and "hobby affirming" threads I've read for a very long time 👍.

Dave

That's 3 of the 4 that I know of in the UK..and one more I know of in Australia. But there are quite a few in the US, I believe..

Dave 😊

The FS128 OTA weighs just 7.5kg. with finder, diagonal and large 2" eyepiece you're looking at c 9-9.5kg. Data below is from my FS128 manual:

Takahashi FS-128

Aperture 128mm

Focal Length 1040mm

Focal Ratio F8.1

Tube Length 1176mm

Weight 7.5Kg

The tube is, like all FS scopes, is oversized, but lightweight. It's tube diameter is 145mm (almost 6"), and c165mm at the dewshield.

If you haven't already seen it, this is a great review of the FS128 done some years ago in the UK by Roger Vine:

http://scopeviews.co.uk/TakFS128.htm

Hope that helps😊

Dave

I think Mike nailed it with his opinion that "I feel there is a more obvious jump in performance between a 4" to 5" than between a 5" to 6".

In case it's of any interest to @Sunshine, I posted my thoughts below in answer to a thread asking the question "if money was no object (ie if you had unlimited budget), what 4" or 5" quality refractor would you buy?:

"IMHO it depends whether you mean by "money no object" a new or used scope..

If new, I'd probably go for Tak, but would definitely also consider TEC, Pentax (if they were still available) or maybe a TV127 (is it still available?

I couldn't consider Astro Physics as I won't live long enough to get up their waiting list!🤦. I couldn't in good conscience contemplate an Lzos scope now either.

If buying used, at 4" aperture I'd go for a Vixen, whether ED or SD103s, or the classic FL102 without hesitation: they are optically right up there with Tak or anything else, but they don't for some reason hold their used value like Taks do, so they make fabulous used buys. Another pair of great used  "dark horses" are the Celestron and Skywatcher  ED100 F9 doublets..superb optical performance with budget mechanics at an affordable price. I've owned both of these scopes and was very pleased with them.

At 5" aperture, I'm lucky enough to have one of the best, my lovely Tak FS128..they are however very rare in the UK (I know of 3 others, and not cheap). Other great used 5" choices could be:

- Tak TSA 120..ok, not quite 5" but an 8-10mm difference wouldn't probably be significant under most nights' skies. Now discontinued I believe, but come up used now and again.

- Astro Physics Starfire.. not common though and very expensive.

 - Vixen SS130 again very rare, but I've seen a couple under £1600 in the past.

- D&G 5" F12 or F15 achromats..truly amazing scopes, with almost Apo like correction especially at F15. But again not common and really need a pier or pillar type permanent mounting due to their size and length.

-Meade ED127 doublet. A bit left field, these, and not common, but by all accounts excellent performers and I've seen them for sale used well under £1000.

-APM are also offering some superb 150mm F8 ED doublets (a friend of mine has one and loves it)..not sure if they do a 5" version though.

- I should also include the various Skywatcher 120ED doublets..I've owned 2, an Equinox and a DS Pro: to be honest, I didn't get on with them myself, but I know that many on SGL have them or have had them, and loved them, so I was probably either unlucky or unfair with mine. The Equinox had a lovely build quality too. They certainly represent great value for money as a used proposition."

HTH..

Dave😊

2 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Can I ask which Refractor is the one most people would love in their possession I have seen loads of posts about Takahashi`s but I have read posts about the Skywatcher Equinox 120ED so if money was no object what would you go for.

Paul,

IMHO it depends whether you mean by "money no object" a new or used scope..

If new, I'd probably go for Tak, but would definitely also consider TEC, Pentax (if they were still available) or maybe a TV127 (is it still available?).

I couldn't consider Astro Physics as I won't live long enough to get up their waiting list!🤦. I couldn't in good conscience contemplate an Lzos scope now either.

If buying used, at 4" aperture I'd go for a Vixen, whether ED or SD103s, or the classic FL102 without hesitation: they are optically right up there with Tak or anything else, but they don't for some reason hold their used value like Taks do, so they make fabulous used buys. Another pair of great used  "dark horses" are the Celestron and Skywatcher  ED100 F9 doublets..superb optical performance with budget mechanics at an affordable price. I've owned both of these scopes and was very pleased with them.

At 5" aperture, I'm lucky enough to have one of the best, my lovely Tak FS128..they are however very rare in the UK (I know of 3 others, and not cheap. Other great used 5" choices could be:

- Astro Physics Starfire.. not common though and very expensive..

 - Vixen SS130 again very rare, but I've seen a couple under £1600 in the past.

- D&G 5" F12 or F15 achromats..truly amazing scopes, with almost Apo like correction especially at F15. But again not common and really need a pier or pillar type permanent mounting due to their size and length.

-Meade ED127 doublet. A bit left field, these, and not common, but by all accounts excellent performersand I've seen them for sale used well under £1k.

-APM are also offering some superb 150mm F8 ED doublets (an friend of mine has one and loves it)..not sure if they do 5" versions.

- I should also include the various Skywatcher 120ED doublets..I've owned 2, an Equinox and a DS Pro: to be honest, I didn't get on with them myself, but I know that many on SGL have them or have had them, and loved them, so I was probably either unlucky or unfair with mine. The Equinox had a lovely build quality too. They certainly represent great value for money as a used proposition.

Dave😊

On 13/01/2018 at 18:59, JeremyS said:

Here's my Tak FS60CB setup for H_alpha viewing with a Quark. Mounted on the William Optics EZTouch. Also shown is it on the NEQ6.

Jeremy

Perhaps a tad undermounted, Jeremy?🤔..

Saves needing a handle for the scope, though!🤭😇😂

Lovely setup!👍

Dave

Looking good, Paul, nice job!!👍

Dave

14 hours ago, fozzybear said:

from my 3 year old grand daughter to Grandad 

As a present to her grandad your grand daughter's pressie Tak's some beating, Paul!! (Sorry..🤦😁).

Dave

Interesting discussion re tripods..

These are SUCH a vital part of the overall setup, aren't they? I personally don't think you can beat a good wooden tripod, but even wooden tripods have their load limits, and I would agree with @Nakedgun that ukskies' beautiful setup does look a bit "under supported on that tripod"... - the SP is a great mount (and so versatile, being able to operate  in altaz as well as equatorial modes), and perfectly able to support the scope, it just needs a beefier tripod👍. 

The Berlebach bigger tripods are great, of course, - and a nice Tak one would be good  too😉..like the one in the photos below.. this one currently hosts my Vixen SP102m F10 achromat, also on a Vixen SP mount really well.  Note that the Vixen tube is much larger and longer than the Tak DF/DZ etc.

When spending a lot of cash to get a superb scope, it doesn't make much sense not to have a tripod that's up to the job..

Dave

2 hours ago, Franklin said:

Santa has very kindly brought me an upgrade kit for my Polarie star-tracker.

 

 

Not like you to acquire more Vixen products, Tim?😁😂.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you😉

Dave

Hi Paul,

I used an old chromed 1.25" eyepiece barrel which I heated up on our ceramic hob. I made sure I wore log burner/fireplace gauntlets and carefully pressed the hot contact end of the eyepiece barrel into the foam at the spots I had marked  for the placement of the ep's..the foam then melted in the circular hole shape I wanted, til it looked like this..

On 22/12/2022 at 16:40, josefk said:

Thank you. I’m not an impressionable chap I don’t think but there are a few bad influences on here if I were. 🤣

I don't know who you could possibly mean, but what I do know is that that is a Jeremy, sorry, Gem of a scope! Congratulations!

Dave

On 22/12/2022 at 16:40, josefk said:

 

Yes, I've got one and like it a lot..

Just one small watchout, in cold weather it can capture breath and cause some fogging of binocular eyepiece lenses. But the way it keeps out stray light is excellent👍.

Dave

Best wishes for a Happy and Peaceful Christmas holiday to everyone in the FLO team😊🎄.

Dave

7 hours ago, JeremyS said:

There’s been a spate of falling ota’s on here and CN lately 😳

I too am paranoid each time I mount one on my ota’s

Are you trying to drum up New Year business for your Handle making company, Jeremy?🙃

Dave