F15Rules

40 minutes ago, nicoscy said:

Speaking of which, all my refractors have a date this weekend with a bottle of Renaissance wax I have - I like a well polished OTA!

Me too! Polished mine back in October with Renaissance Wax and it still looks great😊.

35 minutes ago, nicoscy said:

Bah, still for sale, but nobody can fly here anyway 😷

Ah, Nicos..the Planet itself is telling you not to sell!!😊...(but if you do, please make sure Stu gets first refusal!)..

Dave

Me too, Stu.

I believe Mike Bacanin had one too and really liked it, but found it a little awkward to handle due to the size (not the weight, it's quite light, he had back problems).

The price is certainly good for it's aperture if it is a good one..but my FS128 is surgically attached to me now and "ain't goin nowhere"!!😁😂 - hard to believe it's now 3 years since I bought it!..my dream scope 😊...

Dave

58 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

An SD115 would be nicer £££

Have you seen the very rare ED130SS for sale on UKABS?

Here is a thread on the ED130SS from the USA..https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/531826-vixen-130ss-refractor/page-2

Dave ..😈😇😁

I just think Vixen fracs look great.

Even though I now have a wonderful FS128, I still miss my Vixen ED103s..shown here in a Tak FS102 clamshell on a CG4 mount I used when visiting family in a rural darkish site in South Norfolk.

Dave

+1 for the Baader Zoom, it's very good. And if funds allow you to also buy a Baader Hyperion 2.25x Barlow lens (often come up used, here or on UKABS for c £50), this will transform your 8-24mm zoom to a c 3.55-10.66mm high power zoom for moon, planets and tight doubles.

The 24mm setting is rather narrow, at 40 degrees, so you might want to add in a single wide angle low power  eyepiece of say 22-30mm.. if you could stretch to a used Vixen LVW 22mm (65 degrees), or Televue Panoptic 24mm (68 degrees), you might never need anything else😊.

Dave

21 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

Nothing special by this threads, nor my previous scopes standards, but a frac none the less!

That's a cracking looking setup..it just...works!😊👍

Dave

John,

As a complete non -Dob user, your solution looks really neat and unobtrusive. I also love the fact the weight(s) can be moved quickly and easily up and down to achieve perfect balance.

And your Dob actually looks really...er...Cool!! (Did I really say that???) 😇

Dave

9 hours ago, Stu said:

Was this what you had in mind? 😉

Absolutely Stu!

What a lovely pair of Fluorite scopes..I'm very much looking forward to your detailed thoughts.

I do understand your present domestic constraints: we have just yesterday had to take my wife's 86 year old mum into our home for who knows how long..she lives 100 miles away back in Coventry, in sheltered accommodation. The residents were told last week that they would have to be in isolation in their small flats for 12 weeks, and wouldn't be able to mix with their friends or go into the common areas.

Within just a few days she really started to deteriorate, and wasn't eating or drinking properly, and began to have hallucinations.. my wife's sister who lives locally, and who was helping their mum since we moved to Lincolnshire after my wife's breast cancer, has now also got cancer and is awaiting radiotherapy (now on hold thanks to Covid-19): their brother is still working and says he can't help, so we felt we couldn't leave her to just fade away. She is hard work at times, and can't walk very well, so we will need a lot of patience to cope with her for maybe many weeks, but it's the right thing to do and we will get in with it 🙂. In the meantime, observing opportunities are likely to be quite restricted.

I've just come in from a very short (30 minutes) session with my FS128 as the sky is SO clear here tonight..just had time to check out Castor, Algeiba in Leo, Praesepe cluster, and the Double Cluster, and the contrast and "diamonds on velvet" effect was just wonderful. 

Bloomin' cold though, it's forecast to be freezing or below by morning!

Hope you can get a few good sessions to do your comparison soon Stu..👍

Dave

On 20/03/2020 at 21:12, JeremyS said:

Thanks Mike. When I bought the Tak FC 76 DCU a couple of years ago I didn't realise it was going to get quite so much use!

Lovely travel scope Jeremy, and great travel write up, thank you! Two questions..

1. Will you take your ES 34mm on your next trip with the FC76?

2. Have you got a handle for the scope?? If not, I believe @johninderby can advise...

Sorry..🤣😈

2 hours ago, Stu said:

A lovely Moonlite with Vixen three hole flange for my FL102S. It will allow me you use my other diagonals with it and gives me fine focus which I have been missing on this scope as well as the two finder shows. I think it looks great, very happy. Pics before and after.

That's great Stu!

Did you acquire the FL102s recently? A beautiful scope 💘..

Have you still got your Tak 100 too? If so, we MUST get a head to head comparison asap please!

Yours in anticipation 😊..

Dave

On 22/03/2020 at 16:57, Stu said:

Isn’t it remarkable, no planes in the sky, peace and quiet and beautiful blue skies suddenly return. Just like during the ash cloud ban.

One of the few silver linings in all this gloom.

Agreed, Stu..

A nice kind of "feeling blue" after all the not so nice ones.

Try just looking at your image whilst listening to this..

Dave👍

On 05/04/2016 at 21:22, FenlandPaul said:

1881 is the date on this lovely book ("Half Hours with te Stars"), salvaged from my great aunt's house, although not sure where she got it from:

 

 

I've actually got a later copy of that book, reproduced fairly recently..it's a great fireside winter read👍😊 

Dave

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I do hope you chaps dressed for the occasion, with dinner jackets and dickie bows, and a stiff British upper lip in the face of our current situation.

(I really need something better to do with my time!) 

 

..and what a splendid figure you cut sir.. Top Hole!!

We'll have to make you an MDNight of the Realm!😁

Dave

5 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

When I saw him there again in '07 he mentioned that he was gathering up this first scope from owners, said he was donating them to schools, and if I would send it to him he would swap it out for an 80ED f/7. So I did, and in January '08 I received the scope pictured here, with rings, at no charge. 

Who else in this hobby would have done such a thing?

Very few, I imagine. What a great gesture! Full respect to the man

Dave

My FS 128 with Revelation Binoviewers in place ready for a session this evening.

Had some lovely views of M42, (probably the last time this season), the Auriga clusters, M35 in Gemini, Pleiades and the Double Cluster.

A lovely night out there tonight!😊👍.

Dave

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

I told you he'd know! 

What @johninderby doesn't know about handles is, quite frankly, not worth knowing.

You've got to handle it to John..he's always got a handle on handles. In fact, he's a dab handle at it! Perhaps he should change his SGL handle to, er, Professor Handle?

Dave

On 09/02/2020 at 09:06, Highburymark said:

It would be ideal Alan. I used to own a pair of William Optics too, again more expensive than the OVL, and the OVL branded pair are just as good. Though don’t come with their own eyepieces

+1 for that, Alan.

I have used Baader Maxbrights, WO, and currently have a pair of Revelations (these are a later version, with compression rings in each eyepiece holder, and individual focusing capability).

I've found that all are very similar optically, ie pretty good: they do have some feature differences, for example the Baaders have T2 connectivity, which, like Mark, I am a big fan of..but I disliked the very fiddly 3 screws per eyepiece holder arrangement, while really liking the focusing compression rings holders of the Revelations. However, the Revs have a fixed 1.25" nosepiece, which is less flexible. The WO felt the classiest built but this is largely cosmetic I felt, ie to do with bits of external trim/finish. Optically, if they are well collimated, I'd say there is little to choose between them and other variants.

You can pick up a used pair of these cheaper bv's for around £100 or so, so for the price of a decent eyepiece you can try them out for yourself.

Finally, binoviewing isn't for everyone. Not everyone seems able to merge the images into a single clear image: also, it can initially be frustrating, with what seems like a plethora of small screws to check for tightness (or risk eyepieces dropping out, for instance!). And longer focal length eyepieces (15mm or more) tend to work best, I find.

But bvs can be superbly comfortable to use for extended periods, and I can say with confidence that twin eye viewing helps me with my deteriorating single right eye vision: my left eye definitely seems to pull my right eye up in performance versus cyclops viewing.

But if you don't give it a try, you will never know!🤔🙂😀👍

Dave

48 minutes ago, Saganite said:

I suppose you are aware Dave that another lad called Isaac, who lived not so very far from you, had a hand in inventing  ' ships funnels '. Thought I would mention it as young Isaac David is sure to have an Astronomical future.

Yes, Steve, we visited Woolsthorpe Manor just a month ago..

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/woolsthorpe-manor

Sadly, it's just closed yesterday due to the virus (as have all National Trust properties, sadly). It's a quite small but very interesting place, with some exhibits in the adjoining barn/coffee house building, including a full size model of an 8 or 10" Newtonian Ship Funnel😁.. seriously, well worth a visit and fascinating to learn more about the great man - and to see both the original old apple tree and the new seedling, which had germinated in space, as planted by Tim Peake very recently👍.

Dave

5 hours ago, Stu said:

Other lovely examples like this; fish and dolphins appearing in the canals of Venice now the boats have stopped churning up the sediment. Perhaps we will all find a different, better way of life once we are through this?

That's a great thought Stu😊👍.

A few things I've noticed..

- Apparently, over China lots of birds and animals began to be seen in some towns again, once the smog had blown away.

- From space, very visible improved clarity, and less smoke has been noted..

- Many communities are actively helping one another and keeping in touch with vulnerable people - my own mother in law who is 86, and in sheltered accommodation, was told on Tuesday that she must stay in her own flat and can't socialise with her friends in the communal areas for at least 12 weeks. That makes it so important for people like her to have regular phone contact so she doesn't feel totally cut off, and of course to take shopping to her (the housing association are taking a hot dinner to her every day).

We have asked that all her grandchildren make a special effort to give her a call at least once a fortnight. If they all did this she'd hear from one of them every other day, and of course her own 4 children and other friends can do the same.

- Much less traffic on some of the roads!

In the middle of all the chaos around us, we've been at my son's place in the Midlands for the past 5 days, to see our newly born grandson: and so much has changed in that time.

Every day has brought news of new restrictions on travel, sport, socialising etc. So we are heading back to rural Lincolnshire today, not knowing when we will next see our little new addition to the family and his parents. But we are full of love for our family, optimism for the future beyond Covid and thanks to the willingness of the vast majority of our nation to pull together, and admiration for the fantastic NHS and front line service employees who are working tirelessly to treat the most needy at this worrying time.

Here's our own little star,  Isaac David, a week old tomorrow💘😊

Dave

Mike,

Couldn't you just find some used Vixen kit if you're using a GP mount? The drives and handsets do come up for sale fairly often..😊

Dave

I've owned many volcano tops over the years, both orthos and Kellners, and never had a poor one  - although I did have a couple of exceptionally good examples - probably ones that Mr Tani gave some extra polishing!

I mainly used mine in long focus (F11 to F15) refractors, and they just seemed to be a "match made in heaven", so to speak. I used several in my 80mm F15 achromat and they made a superb double star splitting combination, and the same could be said in my D&G US 5" F15 refractor "Andromeda", now in the care of Steve (Saganite).

I agree that the BGO type flat tops had the slight performance edge, but were generally less comfortable for extended use, I felt.

I do remember 2 exceptional flat top orthos, both branded Antares HD Ortho (Hi Definition?), in 9mm and 12.5mm, which were just outstandingly sharp and contrasty. IIRC, at least one of these went to @Nightfisher a few years back.

Obviously, time moves on and more modern eyepieces can now offer a more technically advanced design/performance/value mix. I think of the Baader Morpheus range as offering the best blend of value and performance/excellence today, a kind of modern day Ortho equivalent but with wider fields and much better comfort levels..but I will always have a very soft spot for the wonderful VT orthos from Japan💘👍.

Dave

On 12/03/2020 at 14:41, GlenM said:

I much preferred the volcano top design to the newer Fujiyama design. I did have a little input on the design of the Fujiyama. At least I got rid of the undercuts😀

 

Glen.

 

...and for that, Glen, you should be in the next New Year's Honours List !!

Dave

Great info there, Geoff, thanks for sharing! 😊👍

Dave

Always nice to read of a first light with a new scope😀.

It's good to hear you are happy with your new C6/mount combination and it's initial performance.

In the past I have often found that it takes a while to get used to new optics: sometimes, I've even felt mildly disappointed at the initial lack of obvious superiority to an older, smaller scope. I had exactly that feeling when first going up from a 4" refractor to a 5"..but having got used to the 5" level, with a few good sessions under my belt, and crucially, good dark adaptation, it is amazing how many extra faint stars and objects just "pop" into view, and in so doing, really add to the overall view.

The same goes for those subtle planetary features and shades. I wouldn't mind betting that when Mars and Jupiter come properly into view later this year, your C6 will deliver you some wonderful views!

In the meantime, just use the scope as much as you can and get to be so familiar with it that the operation of it becomes second nature, and you can then just concentrate on extracting every last photon from your optics 😊👍.

Congratulations!

Dave