F15Rules

3 minutes ago, A McEwan said:

I'm actually tempted by a FOA-60Q at the moment. It's in my brain now...

🥴

Don't fret, Ant...it's a "no brainer".. 

Dave

3 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I must add, that FS128 is stunning! I wasn't aware a 128 existed as i thought the TSA-120 has always been the end of the line before the "TOA" series. It is an older scope I guess, is it a fluorite? if so, a 128 fluorite must be

about all an amateur can ask for.

Yes, my 128 dates from 1999 and it is mounted on a Tak EM2 equatorial dating from 1998 (think sophisticated version of the great Vixen GPDX)..some more info:

"The FS range of refractors were introduced in the 1990s and included 60mm, 78mm, 102mm, 128mm and 152mm models, all with F8 fluorite doublets. The odd one out was the FS-60 which is an F6 and the only one still in production.

As well as a shared optical design, the F8 models all had a similar tube and focuser and family ‘look’. Most had fixed dew-shields, all were bulky for their aperture. All had a strange but classy cast ‘manhole cover’ dew cap that slid into the dewshield with a perfect fit on a felt shim." Source: Roger Vine, scopereviews.co.uk

The FS description refers to "Front Surface", as the fluorite element is positioned at the front of the doublet: this was considered by Takahashi as the optimum positioning for the fluorite element to maximise performance, however until the FS range, the coating technology at that time wasn't sufficient to properly protect the expensive fluorite lens. That changed with this FS range and the introduction of hard coatings, and  many owners consider that this was one of the best apo doublets ever designed. The manual actually encourages magnifications of up to 500x on the best nights - however, sadly the UK conditions just don't support that. I have however used powers up to c 335x on good nights.

Dave

11 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

I was thinking the same thing, put a television and, a comfy seat in there and I will rent it from you when I visit the U.K, no kidding.

And you would be very welcome, Eddie😊🇨🇦

One more..this is my avatar pic which I took a couple of years ago..I just like the way the shadow fell on the scope.

Dave

Had the FS128 out all day on Friday as I was painting the floor of the outbuilding she lives in..saw the almost full moon rising behind one of our trees..also a shot of the refurbished barn outbuilding with new concrete floor now painted and sealed.

(I did stop out for a nice session on Orion, but the moon was literally too painfully bright to view directly!)

Dave

On 25/02/2021 at 21:01, Stu said:

A few of Florence who is out for a run around tonight. Just a lunar session most likely, maybe a few doubles later. The cloud seems to have cleared, but the seeing is quite variable. Still, nice to see Schröter’s valley again.

I was using my Nag Zooms earlier but then fiddled around with binoviewers for a while until I got them working at high power, much better views, far fewer floaters!

A thing of beauty Stu!👍😊

Dave

On 16/02/2021 at 21:53, JeremyS said:

Mainly in the observatory doing CCD photometry, but couldn’t resist getting the Tak FS 60Q on the ScopeTech + Berlebach Report out for a quick look around. So I grabbed and went 🤣👍🏻

How did you "grab and went" with no handle Jeremy?🤔😊

Dave

Sounds like an interesting product John..the thought of a Morpheus sized FOV covering that range would be quite appealing😉.

And it would hopefully barlow well too..I regularly use my Hyperion Zoom 2.25x barlow with my Carton 7-21mm zoom, which turns it into a 3.1mm-9.3mm high power zoom. 

It works very well but of course is still limited to the 60deg to 40 deg FOV, so a constant 75 deg field could be pretty special. Would the APM need refocusing at different powers I wonder? My Carton zoom is almost but not quite parfocal across it's range 🤔..

Thanks for sharing, John👍

Dave

12 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

They look comfy, Dave

i just hope they are not the same as Lady Gaga ordered

Not a good look, Jeremy..

But loving the "hair handles"!👌🥴😜

New "Alpine Innovations Bino Bandit" arrived today, courtesy of Auntie Flo''s usual prompt service..

Such a neat, simple idea. Easy to fit on my Orion 9x63 mini giant binoculars and daytime testing looks very promising.

Regarding fitting, the material stretches well, and you just need to push them back or pull them forward on each eyepiece until you get to the point where you only see the view of the object and all around in every direction is just really dark.

Operating with a 7mm exit pupil, I'm hoping that night  use with these will help my eyes get the best possible dilation to maximise the performance of these lovely bins 👍.

Dave

1 hour ago, Telescope40 said:

Hello Dave. Trust you are well. 
Do you  remember the Pentax 12x50’s I took off your hands a few years back - would this upgrade sit well with them do you think. 
TIA.  John 

Hi John,

Am well thanks, and hope you are too.

Yes, I would think these would fit those bins really nicely..the material stretches well, and you just need to push them back or pull them forward until you get to the point where you only see the view of the object and all around in every direction is just really dark.

At night I'm sure they will work brilliantly.

HtH,

Dave

Mine arrived this morning, usual fast FLO service - thanks, guys and gals😊👍.

Such a neat, simple idea. Easy to fit on my Orion 9x63 mini giants and daytime testing looks very promising. Operating with a 7mm exit pupil, I'm hoping that night  use with these will help my eyes get the best possible dilation to maximise the performance of these lovely bins 😊.

Dave

Cheers, John..

I've just come in from an hour out tonight..the transparency was pretty good but the seeing wasn't so steady this evening. I did get a nice view of Mars for the first time for ages could definitely see dark markings but too small to make out solid details.

I also noticed a few aircraft con trails..there are definitely more planes in the sky than there were a few months ago.

The RAF have also been doing night flying which doesn't help, although thankfully they only do it one week in every 4 or 5..

Enjoy your night off John, I'll probably be staying in tomorrow night😊.

Dave

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

I don’t know that mount , but I avoid that design as balancing is really tricky. You get it adjusted it one elevation and then move to another elevation and it’s front or back heavy. It’s more like a video head design than an astronomical altaz 

..but it's got a lovely panning handle though?

Beautiful John, a "proper scope"!👌😊.

If I may join the "gratuitousness".. I was painting the floor of my recently refurbished outside brick barn today, where my scopes live, so I had to move lots of stuff out, or up off the floor, while the floor paint dries: so I took a few pics of the FS128 while it had to stand outside, and a couple as dusk fell and the almost full moon rose..

Also, John, did you check out The Trap last night? I had an hour out and despite the brightness of the moon I was easily able to see the E&F stars with direct vision..the transparency here was very good and the seeing was good too, got a lovely clear split of Alnitak as well😊.

Dave

2 hours ago, Frank the Troll said:

Dave,let me know how they fit, I have a 9x63 celestron

Sure, they have been dispatched today so may arrive tomorrow with any luck. 

I'll post a photo when they arrive.

Dave

Thanks Ade. 

I've just ordered one tonight to use with my 9x63 Orion Mini Giant bins👍

Dave

Lovely eyepieces 👍. I have the 17.5mm and have owned the 9mm and loved them both, very sharp right to the edge of the field.

I've not tried the BBHS mirror diagonal, but have read good reports on it. I have used the Baader T2 prisms for years and love them. I do feel that differences in performance between diagonals are often much more subtle than between various eyepieces.

Look forward to reading of your experiences 😉.

Dave

Thanks John.

No additional words needed from me. 

Just a sense of awe, wonder and humility.

And a heartfelt wish that back on Earth, we and our governments will truly rise to the challenges of saving our beautiful blue planet from turning into another red one..

Dave

It's a cliche, I know, but in one word?

"WOW!!!"

😁

Dave

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

If you can't beat 'em....

Great Jeremy..and two handles included in the price!

Dave

If you are new to the hobby, I'd really recommend that you don't go above 10x50..and a good 10x42 or even 8x42 will show you loads of objects, and importantly, help you to learn the basics of the constellations by season.

The bigger bins are great, don't get me wrong, I also use a pair of 9x63s for Astronomy, both handheld for short periods and tripod mounted for longer sessions.. however, as stated above, I'd advise you not to run before you can walk.

You can't go wrong following Steve Tonkins' advice (Binocular Sky.com -  checkout his book on choosing and using binoculars, a goldmine of useful info and target objects for different sized instruments), and he would definitely recommend 10x50s as a great starting point.. 7x50s are good in dark skies, but in light polluted suburbia the 7mm exit pupil may show too bright a sky background and you will lose some of the precious contrast ("blackness" and sharpness of the image) that makes binocular observing so rewarding.

Be aware also that nothing is for nothing, so if you're tempted to jump straight in with "cheap" 15x70s or 20x80s, they often have poor quality control and the least knock can ruin the collimation (alignment) of the objectives. A decent pair of big bins like the Helios 15x70s mentioned above will cost several hundred pounds new, and at least c£175 on the used market..and they are heavy, so WILL need a tripod or monopod.

Finally, if you can't wait for other models of 10x50s mentioned to come back into stock, the Nikon Actions you referred to as being available will make an excellent first pair for you👍.

Good luck, and welcome to our wonderful hobby!

Dave

Hi Stu,

Great image! I was referring to the two faint stars just closely above, and slightly right, of the 4 main A-D stars of the Trap in your image..

..you have captured the two nicely and they are easy to see when you enlarge your shot (sorry, I don't know how to add a pointer to your image - they are almost immediately above the slightly overexposed 4 Trap stars, in the centre of your image).

I could see the brighter of these two, (the one on the right) with my Carton 60mm, with averted vision, but not the fainter one to the left. 

In the FS128 both of these are easy, direct vision targets, and my previous Vixen ED103s would have shown both readily as well..(and I'm sure John's Vixen he used last night would have shown them both readily too).

I tend to use the visibility of these two stars as a rough guide as to the  transparency of the sky. Three nights ago the Moon was much less obtrusive ( I could see some of the Milky Way through Cassiopeia into Perseus and then via Auriga and Gemini, with the naked eye - but no chance last night with the Moon placed as it was), but that night I was using the Tak and they were very easy with direct vision that night.

My 9x63 binoculars don't magnify enough to show either of these two faintish Orion stars - maybe 15 or 20x60s would?

Also, I don't think the Carton's light  transmission is quite as good as the Telementor, from what I can recall of the one I had until a couple of years ago? Can you see both of the above stars with your Telementor and direct vision Stu?

Thanks for posting the image, you definitely picked up the two stars I was referring to!

Cheers,

Dave

A lovely session with a lovely scope, John, a great read as ever..👍.

I managed an hour last night, but as I still didn't feel 100% after my first vaccine jab late on Tuesday, I just got out the little 60mm Carton frac and 9x63 binoculars. 

So I just started in Orion (where else?) , and enjoyed the usual targets with my modest little Carton. I had my Orion bins tripod mounted and they gave some lovely views of the Belt Region.

The small Carton aperture gives a very different perspective compared to using the FS128, for example seeing the 4th Trap star was not that easy or to be taken for granted with the Moon up.. but I did manage to glimpse the brighter of the two faint stars near to the Trapezium, embedded in the nebula to the east (right hand view) of the Trap (Refractor /diagonal upright but reversed view).. does anyone know the magnitude of these two stars? I'd estimate something around 9 to 9.5.for the brighter one?

I also turned the bins to the Double Cluster in Perseus and got a nicely framed binocular view of 5 degrees of both these clusters, and also a lovely view of the Pleiades, again beautifully framed.

I viewed both clusters with the Carton 60mm too, with my 28mm Carton ep giving 25x, and just a delightful sprinkling of tiny glittering points..took me back to.my teens in the 70s when my Dixon's Prinz (Circle T optics) 60mm F15 was my pride and joy!

A different, but very enjoyable little session..☺️

Dave

2 hours ago, cloudsweeper said:

So right, Paul - I'd have had a job getting something to replace it as an all-rounder and doubles-hunter!

Doug.

 

Thanks Dave (and Steve) - that padding is a great idea, something to look into!

Doug.

And of course, Doug, the very BEST feature of the Nadira Chair is that it's got a HANDLE!!😂🤣😁