mikeDnight

Is a straight through non-Tak finder ok as a temporary measure Jeremy? My FS128 did come with a RACI finder which I admittedly struggled with last night, and sold a few hours ago. I've since sprayed a black SW 9X50 white and am waiting for it to dry before I fit it to the Tak finder bracket. It will drive me nuts eventually, but as I've no funds for a Tak 50mm as yet, it will have to wait a while. Now with tacky SW finder fit. Looks ok in the dark!

What a brilliant Idea!

Yes I think so! The seeing was a bit in and out last night, with a lot of cloud crossing my line of sight. It did begin to clear up quite nicely around 11pm but I'd had enough by then. Venus, which is probably the harshest test for any telescope was beautiful, with a sharp limb and no false colour. Mars was getting low and nearing the high tree line as seen from my site by the time I turned my attention to it. The seeing tends to go off at this point, but I easily saw the north polar cap, a couple of bright regions and some subtle dusky markings. I'm just not used to such a bright image! 😎 Cant honestly say at this stage that the 128 showed me anything that the DZ hasn't easily shown me, but it's early days and I'm now eagerly waiting for the Moon, which should show a noticeable difference. I've only just noticed that mine doesn't have the Tak writing on the Dew shield. I've never seen one without it, but the scope is 25 years old and may be missed out on later niceties?

I couldnt stop laughing at you comment Paul. You know me so well! 😂😂

Are you sitting comfortably? David (Dweller25) invited me over to his place after he'd read my lamenting post about me regretting ever parting with my FS128. He said I could observe through his and rekindle some memories. On arriving he'd already set up his 128 in his garden and after giving the old girl a thorough ogling (David told me it's a she), I attached my binoviewer and together we spent the next hour or so observing Venus and Mars. Then almost by accident we crossed Castor, which stopped us dead in our tracks. It was after this that David said he was thinking of selling it as it's getting a bit heavy, and so on the spur of the moment we agreed a price and that was that. Now I need someone to kindly donate a Losmandy GM8 or G11, or a Tak EM500, as my little GP boings around a bit if knocked.

You're right, it is a Vixen GP. The mount carried the scope ok, but it is mounted on a steel pier bedded in concrete, and not a flimsy tripod. There's a bit of tremor if I knock it, but i tent not to knock it. Can't afford a new mount just yet, but a Losmandy GM8 would be better.

Stu, I picked up Dweller25 (David's) FS128 last night and managed first light on Venus, which was nice as the last thing I observed through my first FS128 was Venus, so beginning where I left off. Anyhow, mine like yours came with only the 1.25" back, so I quickly removed the green adapter in the drawtube and replaced it with these, which I bought a few weeks ago from FLO. I seem to remember it was Telescope40 (John) who advised me to get these as they allow maximum inward focus for low power bino viewing. I still needed to use a 2" extension when using a 1.25" prism for planetary, but not with a 2" diagonal.

FS128 last night after checking out Venus and Mars.

Like Jeremy S I really like the Tak 30mm straight finder. I often just look along the tube of my scope to roughly align it with an object, then it's the most natural thing in the world to me to look straight through the finder while looking along the tube. I even keep both eyes open more often than not, and that makes it easy to align the target with the crosshairs while keeping it in view in the sky. Tonight was my first real experience with a 9X50 right angled finder, but i found it to be awkward compared to the more intuitive straight through finder. My favourite finder has to be the Tak 50mm, which has a finely etched illuminated crosshair, but its quite pricey at around £300 just for the tube assembly. By comparison the 30mm Tak finder is a real gift.

Are Takahashi exorbitantly priced?

I've never checked their individual identities, but have attached the pic's below for easy identity. The orientation of my sketch is a little different, but the stars are the same.

Your imaging skill never fails to impress me Nigella, and this image of the Sun is nothing short of brilliant. (That's almost funny!)

That depends on where abouts in England you're moving to. Sometimes we don't even understand each other.

The triplet may be appealing, but from experience I had in side by side comparison between my friends Meade 127mm ED triplet, which was a very nice scope, and my Equinox 120ED doublet, the triplet always took 45 mins to cool, compared to 15 mins for the doublet. Both were beautiful performers when thermally stable.

An ED120 immediately comes to mind. They really are excellent and could be carried comfortably by an EQ5. I've had three of them and they've shown me many amazing sights. I rarely go on field trips these days but generally prefer to observe from home. Before I built my observatory I decided to sink a pier into my lawn with my mount permanently attached. That simplified matters, as I only needed to carry my tube assembly and eyepiece case outside. I used a canvas garden chair cover to cover the mount and its electronics, which at the time was a Losmandy GM8. In the five years I used that set-up the electronics and mount never once got wet. It also made packing up, when I was tired and frozen, and the scope was caked in ice easier.

I suppose it depends on how far do you intend to carry it? If you can cope with a 14" Dob, I can't imagine the weight of a 5" refractor putting you off. The weight of my FS128 and its heavy Celestron G11 mount and tripod never seemed much of a problem to take on field trips. I'd just load it into my car and off I'd go. Now if I needed to take it on a bus, then there'd be a problem. Me and my youngest on a field trip to observe the Transit of Venus 2004. (An image very kindly enhanced from a blurred old photo by Louis D)

I love star atlases also. The one in the photo is The Cambridge Double Star Atlas by Bruce MacEvoy and Wil Tirion, 2nd edition.

I remember looking longingly at advertisements for Cave reflectors like this one in S & T decades ago. I'm not a fan of Dob's or Newts on most modern mounts, but for some reason the Cave really holds some magic for me, and I'm sure I'd enjoy using it as much as I'd enjoy looking at it.

Looks awesome Stu. It will be nice to hear how it performs.

The one that's within your financial reach, and that you can handle easily. Tak's get heavy real fast!

Yes, I mainly use the helical focuser with the Baader prism, though I have a 2" click lock that I can also use on it, but i think that adds a bit more length to the system, and with the FC's that can sometimes be a problem. At times I also use the Tak prism which has a slightly shorter light path than the Baader.

I use a 2X Ultima SV Barlow at present, but I have used a Skywatcher Deluxe 2X Barlow and had amazing views. The SW Deluxe can unscrew so you can then screw the Barlow lens directly onto a 1.25" nose piece of the binoviewer, or use it attached to its Barlow body to give a little extra magnification. I prefer using the full Barlow. It is still only short and so doesn't pause any issues. There's a 2X Ultima SV for sale on ENS at the moment. I think most modern Barlow are optically very good though!

Repetition for emphasis perhaps? Anyhow, we don't mind at all, as your sketches are wonderful. A 4" F15 is becoming a rare beast these days, so it's nice to see that some are still in use. Thanks for posting, I'd love to see more!

I know this was posted some time ago, but i was looking at Castor a few days ago (April), and they did look white with one slightly brighter than the other. A truly beautiful sight! It was then I remembered past observations of this double star, and that to my eyes at least, the secondary has the slightest hint of pink. Once I paid a bit more attention it did appear to show a mild pink hue. I'm not certain if this is actual or just my colour perception. It would be interesting to hear what others think!

I'm not certain of its actual name John, but it was a Celestron version of the G11 made for Celestron by Losmandy. Ive owned both the Celestron version and the Losmandy G11 and much prefered the Celestron. I regret ever letting it go! Thinking back at the incredible kit I've let slip through my fingers over the years, I'm starting to think I'm not just short sighted, but actually stupid at times.