F15Rules

Many thanks Mick, much appreciated 👍.

Dave

Is Sky Safari a free or one of payment or a subscription service? And does it work well on Android devices?

Thanks!

Dave

I went out delivering cards around the village last night, around 6.30pm, and was struck by how (unexpectedly) clear it was. 

So I hurried back and got out Trinity the FS128 Tak turning her to Mars. Sadly, the seeing was poor, although transparency was pretty good. Using an orange red 23a filter did help a bit, and I could see some rather vague darker areas, but the north polar hood which was so prominent in last week's -7 deg freezing skies was almost invisible this time. I couldn't get anything like a decent view much past c100x (Pentax 10.5XL), whereas last week I was getting over 300x with reasonable image quality.

It was a strange evening: the temperature dropped quickly to freezing, and condensation(not ice) began to form on the scope tube, and my RACI finder began to fog up more than once..but the objective stayed clear!🤔🥴.

I checked out Alnitak, couldn't split it, then Rigel, (I could split that at 7" but a mushy sight), and M42 (nice tendrils and contrast of the Bat Wings, but only the 4 main Trapezium stars were visible, with E&F only suspected once or twice).

General transparency was still quite good, but deteriorating, so I abandoned thoughts of further higher power views and just went over to the Pleiades. Out came my Celestron Axiom LX heavyweight UWA pair: 23mm 82 deg and 31mm 82 deg, the latter a hefty 1.4kg😱. So, a little rebalancing of the scope was called for, but Oh My, the views!

Using the 23mm first, the whole field was littered with dozens and dozens of scintillating pure white points on a jet black background..but I couldn't quite get the whole cluster, which is almost 2 degrees across framed comfortably (this was at 45x, with the 23mm giving a 1.81 Deg fov in the Tak), so I popped in (well, heaved in😱😂) the big 31mm to give 33x, and this did the trick..I now had a 2.41 Deg fov, so the whole cluster was beautifully framed, with the long tail from Alcyone of c7 fainter stars standing out like mini beacons.. (does this "mini asterism" have a name? If not, it should!).

All in all I was out for about an hour or so..not by any means a great session, but those Pleiades views made it so worthwhile👍. Isn't it just great to have so many varied targets to look at, in all types of seeing and transparency?😊.

Dave

13 hours ago, IB20 said:

Surprisingly OK seeing despite a silly amount of dew forming. Only really observing Mars as it will start to recede soon. Some nice albedo markings and that polar hood still very prominent. Having a play with a new digital sketching app as want to start sketching more of my observations too.

 

 

You've got a lot of detail there👍..what scope were you using?

Dave

🤦🤦🤦😱

😌..a close escape..but thankfully an escape nonetheless 👍😊.

We've all done daft things like that though, so we live and learn from it. Don't let it spoil your Christmas!

Dave

I have a Tak FS128 and fitted it with an MEF 3 micro focuser about 3 years ago. I bought mine used but in excellent condition from this forum and have been delighted with it. Very smooth and makes fine focusing at high powers much easier.

Mine also has the original big clamshell for the tube (which has a 145mm ID compared to your new Taks' (I believe) 95mm)..I love the clamshell, it's safe, secure and holds the big tube on my scope perfectly.

I do think your new Tak deserves high end eyepieces once funds allow: I use a combination of Morpheus, Pentax and Celestron Axiom LX (the latter are probably too heavy for your scope). The Pentax and Morpheus are excellent, as are the Tak LE range and many observers also really rate the various Tele Vue ranges such as Delite, Delos etc. So plenty of options, and eyepieces bought in good used condition can offer very good value.

I also have an SP mount, (should be great for your Tak), and on mine I use a Skywatcher counterweight which I painted in Wilko Sage Green and I believe is around 2.5 kg or so..

Enjoy your new Tak!

Dave

I understand some hesitation ref downloading online files, sadly it's a fact of today's life..

..but let's give credit and thanks to ukskies for their efforts and good intentions👍😉

Dave

These look very nice and a good price...

(I'm not involved in the sale in any way)..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255860168742?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ejB2bcQqTQ2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=GThsQlXySw-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dave

On 16/12/2022 at 14:51, JeremyS said:

Love it 👍🏻

Are you a fan of Takahashi equipment Jeremy?🤔

Dave

I always remember as a lad in the late 60s/early 70s that Sir Patrick Moore always urged would be observers to get a decent pair of binoculars rather than a cheap n nasty telescope.. a great way to learn the sky, he said and he was right.

I've always had a real fondness for binoculars..they are such versatile instruments, being great for sightseeing, nature watching, and in most cases, astronomy as well. They are low maintenance, good bang for buck, and just great fun to use: just point, focus, observe!

Tim, I heartily agree with you about smaller binoculars. My most used pair are Vixen Apex Pro 8x32 roof prisms which I too bought used about 3 years ago. My first ever pair of "roofs", I was, and am, delighted with them:

Pros:-

Small form factor, light weight but solid build, (can handhold them without fatigue for ages), wide 7.5 degree fov, very comfortable 4mm exit pupil, being 32mm aperture and 8x magnification, great ergonomics (very comfortable to hold), great eye relief, ultra smooth focusing, Made in Japan, superb phase coatings, waterproof, very little CA, and very sharp on-axis.

Cons:-

Very few indeed. Compared to my 7x50 Vixens' (recently acquired from your goodself of course!), the Apex Pros begin to go softer after c 60-70% out towards the edge of the field. But since these are mainly used for low power scanning and starfield cruising, it's never a major issue for me.

This particular model was I believe discontinued some 8 or more years ago, but occasionally come up for sale pre-owned. They also came in 8x40, 10x40 and 10x50mm variants as well.

Vixen also made an identical version of these for Avian Optics, called Ace Avian, and if you see either brand come up for sale in good condition for under £100, grab them, you will not be disappointed!👍

I also have 7x50 Vixen porros, waterproof and MIJ, recently acquired from Tim, as mentioned above. I haven't properly tested them as yet, but they are immaculate, weighty and interestingly have IF (Independent Focusing), rather than a traditional centre focus wheel. What I have already noticed is that these bins are very sharp out to 80% or more from the centre. Being 7x50s, they have a 7mm exit pupil, which for older eyes such as mine, might suffer in light polluted skies. I'm lucky enough to have fairly good Bortle 4 skies, so am probably not losing too much light from them. I will do more of a write up on these when I've used them more. These have a stated 7.3 deg fov.

Finally, I have my trusty, 20 year old Orion Mini Giant 9x63 porros, made in Japan , nice 5 degree fov and still going strong (they are still available new and still made in Japan). A 15x63 version is also available. I nearly always use mine on a Ravelli (Amazon basics) trigger grip mount (see photos), and they are lovely bins in every way..

Dave

Thanks Michael..no problem for me either, as these particular bins live in my car for "just in case" nature spotting etc: they're mainly plastic body anyway, but some rubber trim such as on the focussing wheel has this stickiness, and it makes them almost unpleasant to the touch, quite "gooey" almost..worse in hot weather..

Dave

Have you got an "after cleaning" photo to compare with the "before" one you posted above, that you can share please?🙂

I have an old pair of 20mm Carton mini bins with the same issue..

Dave

On 30/11/2022 at 19:20, JeremyS said:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vaonis-telescopes/vaonis-vespera-observation-station-smart-telescope.html
 

Sorry..but YUK!!!🤦😱

Dave

On 30/11/2022 at 14:03, CCD-Freak said:

At that time I thought a long white tube on a heavy EQ mount is what a telescope is supposed to look like.

I still think that..

Dave

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Having stared at this pic for a few minutes, I can now see 4 foxes, a mole and 5 handles 🤔

What beverage were you drinking at the time, Jeremy?🤔😉

Yes, I got it too..

Extreme left of photo, right underneath the letters ALP of Alpetragius..you might need to zoom in to enlarge the image..😊

Nice capture, Nik271👍

Dave

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Not trained my brain to ignore them yet. The more I think about ignoring them when I view, the more noticeable they become 🫣

Just think of them as handles, Jeremy...so, with 4 vanes and the Mewlons' unique finder/handle, you have 5 handles in one scope. What more could you ask for??👍😎

Dave

50 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

 I could be wrong but the Tak pic of the FS128 on an EM1 may have been one of the pic's I posted on SGL a few years ago. I have a collection of photo's showing the history of Tak scopes and their development over the years. I think i posted many of those pic's, so you should be able to search for them if you know how.

That's quite possible Mike, I found the image with a Google search a good while back..

John, the pic of the FS128 with piggybacked Sky 90 in a dome was posted by Roger Vine on his scopereviews.co.uk site - which has some fine reviews of many scopes, not just Taks..you can find it here:

http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/

Ref Mars, I tried an orange/red filter last week in poor seeing, and it definitely improved contrast and brought out a large land mass clearer than the unfiltered view..

HTH,

Dave

46 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Hey Dave. This post has gone thru my head more than a few times over the last few weeks. Talk about crystal ball dreaming and then. My SGL signature is somewhat shorter than it used to be.  The 3 scopes I had at the time have now been sold over the last couple of months. Still knocked out the 128 is in the conservatory.  Views have been just what I dreamed of.  I'm done but then I have seen the @mikeDnight ad for his SKY 90.  Burnley ain't that far away. I'm joking !!!    You cant look thru 2 scopes at once ( as my late Mum once said to me)  although it would not be for the lack of trying. 

Trust "Trinity" is in fine fettle  ??!! 

 

John  

Hi John,

Yes, Trinity is fine, thanks, am just keen to get her out more..the past two nights were pretty good, quite clear, but at minus 5 or worse it was just too cold to be comfortable. Tonight is shaping up the same, I'll have to see if I can bear it!❄️🤔😊..

Here's a couple of nice pics of her on the original Tak tripod from the  warm and sunny weather of summer a couple of years back.

I normally use my home built fixed height wooden tripod with Trinity (shown above carrying my then Moonraker 80mm F15 achromat)..it's shown below, this time carrying Trinity..

The original tripod shown below is an extending hardwood Tak one, identical to the one which originally came with Trinity as a new scope in c 2000..it's very lovely to look at, but in truth, the big FS128 is happier on the more solid, less glamorous, fixed tripod.. it's quite a big tube (almost 6" diameter), but only 7.5kg in weight.

Here's another Tak library pic of the same Tak Tripod carrying an FS128 on an EM1 mount back in 1994..

This Tak tripod would be just perfect for any 4" Tak, including the TSA102, and I may move mine on soon as I'm just not using it much.

Good to hear you're getting good observing with yours, John👍

Dave

On 31/08/2022 at 13:51, Telescope40 said:

Looking forward to looking thru this thread. Fraid I am a "lesser mortal " as a Tak is not in ownership and never has been. SW and Stellarvue ATM. Always nice to look at kit of all types. 

Thought crosses my mind here and there. 

Sell the 3 scopes I have and go Tak. TSA 120 seems like a nice number??   LOL  Time will tell. One day maybe.  

John 

John, 

Just 4 months back, and now you have a lovely FS128 of your own..kind of a prophetic post, eh?😉👍

Dave

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

There are no handles in here 😜

Thank the Lord for that!!🤦

5 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

🤣

Someone that used to handle post.

So, you could refer to such a person as "Postman Past"??

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

When are we going to change the title of this thread to “What the postman didn’t bring”?

😊

What's a "Postman"???🥴😭😋

Dave

On 11/12/2022 at 18:02, Stu said:

These two little gems turned up recently. We were beginning to worry they had got lost, but they got here safely in the end. They make a nice part set of 6, 7, 12.5 and 18mm with the two I had already. I’ll likely use them in the AstroSystems 6” mainly, but will try them out in other scopes too, perhaps the Vixen FL102S.

Nice, Stu..are these 0.965" eyepieces? I've tried a few of the older Vixen "small bore" orthos, and in a modern 1.25" sleeve they were remarkably good👍

Can't beat a nice Vixen, new or old!🤗

Dave

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