mikeDnight

Thanks for that Nicos. They still look like very nice mounts. ☺

Because I'm primarily a lunar and planetary observer I wanted an equatorial, and have used an old second hand Vixen GP with my FC's from the start. That old mount would carry even a 6" refractor with ease given a strong enough tripod. But I also like to sweep at low power, and use a cheap as chips AZ4. So I've nothing really that fancy in the mount department, and both are lightweight and can be carried, including tripod, with one arm. I really like the look of Nicos suggestion of mounts, and in particular the Noh's with its slow motion controls. I wish I hadn't looked at those!

No! Unfortunately the FS128 and the FS152 were before my binoviewer days. Of the scopes I currently own, the 150mm Edmund achromat blows the rest out of the water as regards detail on the moon, especially with a binoviewer. Even my 60mm vintage Carton Comet Seeker gives terrific views with a BV. But the 100mm DZ has undeniably the better optics and gives the most aesthetically pleasing views.

Hi Gary, I wouldn't hesitate to go for the 125mm if I were looking for a 5" class visual scope. It will certainly have greater resolution and light grasp than the FC100D. It will also very likely keep pace with the Tak in terms of definition and contrast, which is something refractors are legendary for, and I think it will utterly amaze you. I think that a 5" class ED refractor is the perfect compromise between aperture and portability and a very serious instrument. If that's what you feel you want then go for it otherwise you may harbour regrets in the future. Even though I've had a larger apo and much larger reflectors over the years, the scope I most regret selling was my Tak FS128. There's a big gain between 4" & 5" especially on deep sky, so again if you want a good all rounder, the 125mm makes more sense. If the moon and planets are your thing then the difference is not such a game changer, especially if you use a binoviewer. I've seen much more on the planet's with my DC and DZ while using a binoviewer than I ever saw through my FS128 while using a single eyepiece, so that's something worth considering as it would give a 125mm a serious performance boost too.

I've no idea who that might have been. That depends on whether you live in this universe, or the Takiverse. 🇯🇵

I think budget comes into play too. If budget was no problem, I'd have no hesitation to say get a Tak TSA 120, or even a TAO 130 if you could carry it and afford a mount to carry it. If budget is of concern, I'd grab the 125 Technosky and never look back.. However if you're looking for an easy to carry/mount that's top tier the DZ is the a dream scope.

I'm glad you clarified that. I was beginning to think your good ladies parents were very mean naming their daughter FS-102 NSV.

I'd imagine the Tak would pull ahead at very high power, but how often will you ever need 500X? And over the last 20 years the gap between scopes like Tak and Astrophysics has closed dramatically, so you would not be buying the poorer cousins as it were if you bought a Technosky.

You're very perceptive Jeremy. Cool I certainly was, as despite the sunshine, there was a north wind blowing up my kilt, while Paul for the most part was as snug as a bug inside the observatory oggling my mount and scope.

I believe the DZ to be the best doublet 100mm refractor currently in production. It truly is a superb instrument and punches way above its aperture class both in percieved brightness and in magnification range. 500X without breaking into a sweat on double stars, and perfect star images. And Tak do have a faithful following for a reason, their optic's by Canon Optron are legendary. The DZ is so easy to mount and use it could easily wear you out. Technosky on the other hand has the advantage of aperture, which at 125mm for their doublet and 130mm for the triplet is a noticeable jump in image brightness. It's still highly possible that despite the aperture increase and resolution, that the DZ could deliver the better planetary view.. If I were to choose between the 125 doublet and 130 triplet I'd go for the doublet. Cool down will be noticeably faster in the doublet, being around 15 mins on a cold night, while the triplet can take 45 mins for the triplet. The Technosky may also have the better focuser. Tak focusers, although very good, are old school rack and pinion - excellent but no frills.

Often these refractors rely on a the lens cell fitting flush to a squarely cut tube, so it could be that the cell is out of flush with the tube, or possibly that the objective has slipped slightly to one side after a knock during its long life. Another possibility may be that the focuser is slightly askew. Whatever it is, its almost certainly a small thing and certainly rectifiable. Es Reid may be willing to take a look at it if he has time. Some old lenses were held in position by a brass split ring that acted like a spring clip and could easily be knocked out of alignment.

That's an excellent report, and your 120 year old refractor has probably seen more action with you as its current custodian than throughout its previous life. Brilliant! It might be worth having it collimated as it's star images should be exquisite, then it will give superb views of the planet's too.

I was observing with my 6" refractor around the same time and something that jumped out at me, and that I can't ever remember noticing before, was the crater Marco Polo indicated in the crop of your image by the arrow (21 by 28km). It drew my attention because of the radial valley's surrounding it. To me it looks like valleys are the result of the impact blast, gouging material from the surrounding terrain radially. Charles Wood in his atlas however claims it is a remnant existing prior to the Imbrium impact and creation of the appenines. If that's the case, how were the radial valleys preserved?

I agree with you Graham, the 150 StarTravel really is a superb RTF. A number of friends had 150 (HELIOS) StarTravel's when they first came into the UK back in 1999, and I spent many happy hours using them. Some of my most memorable views od DSO's and general jaw dropping rich star fields were emblazened on my mind by this humble 6" F5 achromat. It is a truly specialist instrument, a real true comet seeker, and very few scopes even approach its performance in its playground of rich, wide, star fields.

I was observing with my 60mm Carton refractor only a few nights ago, and after being previously told by F15 Rules (Dave), that it would take a binoviewer, I attached my BV to it. You could have blown me down with a feather as with a pair of 25mm plossl's and a barlow on the nose of the binoviewer, the lunar views were jaw dropping. A cheap binoviewer and a pair of good 25mm plossl's or similar, will outperform even some of the most expensive top end eyepieces on the moon and planets. And most likely significantly cheaper too.

You could try some reverse psychology by suggesting you sell all three scopes to save space, but you'd need to spend quite a bit to afford a scope that will do everything the three will. But then emphasise the space it would free up, and add something that I say each time I buy a new scope - "It will be the only scope I'll ever need, honest!" You never know it may work!

That's an interesting comparison. I suppose each scope has certain qualities that may endear it to you, but for me I think the sharper scope would sway me.

I'd have told them "I'm not paying that for delivery!" Then I'd drive further and order from someone else, and ultimately pay double for delivery rather than back down on my principles. I've done that on more than one occasion, but I'm learning slowly.

Top Man Jock, you'll go down in the annals of lunar history along with Beer, Madler, Krieger, Greene, and Wallace & Grommet.

Stan Laurel is definitely up there. I've seen him smiling back at me many times. There's also a smiling emoji crater. I'll try snapping a pic of them next time I see them as I'm sure it will amuse, if not thrill fellow SGLers. Or may be not!

The lunar X etc are old hat. What about something more challenging staring out from the crater Chladni - The Lunar SKULL? 😲😱 You may need a good imagination! 😆

Here's a hand held phone pic of LX. It's a bit blurry which I'm putting down to the phone camera needing cleaning.

My first scope was a 60mm Prinz Astral that I bought from Dixon's camera shop. I was 18 years old and had saved hard to afford the £110 sale price. The scope held pride of place in the shop's main window. After achieving the desired amount I borrowed dad's car, a beautiful pale green Vauxhall Viva (Delux) ((Posh!)), drove into town and because it was almost 5pm when the shop closed, I parked on double yellow lines and just hoped I didn't get booked. I rushed to Dixon's only to find some bloke fondling my refractor and asking questions about it. I'll be honest, it seriously crossed my mind to knock him out if he tried buying it but to my relief he didn't. I told the shop assistant I wanted to buy the scope and he walked away, bringing a big box back with him. Dixon's had more than one 60mm Astral in stock, which was great as I didn't want to tell dad I was in a cell for assault, and that he's also got a parking ticket. That 60mm was great! I rushed home without the traffic warden ever knowing I was a criminal, and after cutting the strapping and lifting the lid, being told by my mum to "leave my toy because my tea's ready!" That 60mm refractor ignited a fire thats still burning 42 years later. I used it extensively to observe Sun spots. Today I've come full circle, almost! Below is my latest refractor, an immaculate vintage 60mm Carton Comet Seeker. This little scope is truly awesome both in engineering and performance. Being only 60mm and having an F11.8 ratio, it isn't much of a "Commet Seeker", a title it was given in the run up to Galleys comet in the 1980's. So the scope is fast approaching 40 years old but it looks brand new apart from a few small marks on the mount. Optically the Carton is something else, delivering awesome views of the Moon. It's focuser can take 1.25" eyepieces which is unusual for such scopes of the era, and with a binoviewer the views are breathtaking. Below is the Carton 60mm Comet Seeker being used this morning for solar projection.

Bin's as a bin is for putting rubbish in.

That's truly awesome! Thanks for posting this great image. It may take me a while to get an accurate count for the stars.