mikeDnight

It's definitely better built than the SW ED Pro, so even if its of identical optical quality its still an excellent buy. As for the graphs, they always look worse than the reality at the eyepiece. You'll often read about doublet ED refractors, that they show colour either side of focus. I never really understood that! I always tend to observe while the telescope is in focus. It really does look like a terrific refractor John, and im looking forward with great interest to your views on its performance. I know paulastro rates his 102ED version more highly than his 100mm SW ED. May be he'll shed more light on the difference optically!

I'm not so sure! I think we've seen a strong measure of fair play from a number of vendors over a long period to know they'ed do their best to offer a good service. FLO in particular has been very good at offering low prices even on high end equipment. Behaviour like this not only offers reassurance, but it also keeps others on their toe's in maintaining a relatively level playing field. Perhaps I'm an eternal optimist and see the good in everyone! Even the Birmingham vendor of second hand, overpriced gear, can at times advertise some rare items. If you really want that rare item, then it's there for you. Generally however, I do think their prices in general are double the second hand value, so i rarely ever buy from them.

Thats a good observing session. I particularly like the fact youve concentrated on one area rather than flitting around all over the sky.

Nobody likes price rises, but I can't help but feel we've lived through an unusual 'low price' period, which may have caused us to expect more for less. Forty years ago a 4" refractor would be a scope of dreams for many, and a 6" a rare beast indeed. Just looking back at adverts for the beautiful classic Unitron, which I used to lust over, and comparing their prices with today's great refractors, we have little to grumble about really. I know times are hard for many of us, but perhaps that may serve to reinforce how valuable our hard earned telescopes really are. And even though they may be relatively pricey items, once we have one it's ours for life, so in real terms, even expensive ones are still value for money. We just have to save a little longer!

A case is a great thing to have, and silica tell would be an extra protection. What I've found though is that often my tube assembly is either wet or coated with ice after a night's observing, so I'd be careful never to lock a wet or frozen tube inside a case. I've always allowed the tube to dry off naturally in the house over night before putting the tube in a case. With something as small as a 4" apo/ED, its quite easy to carry it securely in your arms. I did almost drop my FS152 when my back gave way as I lifted it into its G11. So the bigger the scope, the greater the risk.

With the cold damp, or moist warm air trapped within an observatory, there's the potential to promote fungal growth on the optics. I kept a pair of 15X70 binoculars permanently in my observatory, and despite them being permenantly capped when not in use, after only one year both objectives had fungal spots. Even eyepieces can fall victim if they are left in an observatory, or boxed away while condensation is on the lenses. A friend once loaned me a pair of 18mm Tak LE's that he'd kept in his observatory. Both had fungal threads between the elements.

I like the cream tube colour. It reminds me of Murray Mints. Yummy!

I've had an FS128, a FS152 and more recently a FC100DC and now a FC100DZ. I've also had one SW black diamond 120ED Pro, two Equinox 120ED 's, one SW 100ED Pro and a Equinox 80ED. I loved the SW ED's and have seen amazing things with them. My least favourite of the SW scopes I've had was the 100mm ED, but I'm not sure why. My first impression of the SW ED occured when I looked through paulastro's old gold version many years ago now. I do remember being very impressed and thought it was very close to a Tak in performance. I sold my NP101 IS costing over £3000 new the day after I looked through the SW ED. I do believe a Takahashi is noticeably better, but feel the SW ED's not that far behind. I certainly wouldn't lose sleep over the difference if I had a SW ED instead of a Tak. In fact, the reason I bought one of the new FC's is because my 'friend' paulastro, phoned me one evening to tell me that Takahashi had returned to making fluorite doublet again, and that he'd placed an order. I'm a sucker for fluorite and thought if Paul's having one then so am I. To fund the Tak I'd need to sell much of my high end eyepiece collection, so I put up for sale my Naglers, Ethos and my refractors. Things sold within hours, and the following day Paul saw the ad's on AB&S and phoned me. He asked what I was doing selling all my gear. I told him that I was funding a Tak Fluorite, telling him that if he's having one then so am I. He went deathly quiet, then started to laugh. "I was only kidding," he said. "I just wanted to see how you'd react"! I can't remember my exact response but I doubt it could be written here. Paul was hysterical with laughter, and as laughter is contagious, I was laughing too. A few days later my FC100DC arrived from TruTec Astro and it was beautiful. My Equinox 120ED was still in my possession, and id kept my Pentax XW's, so that first night gave me a chance of comparing the view of Jupiter, which was high in the sky, in both scopes. The 120ED was a good scope as was the view of Jupiter, but the view through the FC100DC simply popped! I remember exhaling a loud "WOW" at the view of Jupiter' through the FC. The vibrancy of the little Tak made the equatorial belts almost jump out in stark relief, and festoons, garlands and white ovals were all easily seen.

That's a good question! If I still had my FS152 I'd be in astro heaven in an observatory. However, I'd still carry the tube assembly back into the house after every session. I think the worst place to keep a telescope is in an observatory. Plus, with a 4" scope in a darkish observatory, where I'm comfortable and out of the wind, I can see a remarkable amount of detail both on the planet's and even in deep sky objects. I've often thought that if I had another lifetime to live, I'd still not be able to use a 4" to its full potential. The 4" is truly an amazing scope that is so pleasant to use and who's capability never ceases to impress, that the 10" F6 Dob rarely becomes my first choice. I recently sold an 8" F6 Newtonian, which although being a very nice telescope, just didn't have any meaningful advantage over the 100mm Tak either in planetary detail or image quality, to make its bulk and awkwardness worth the effort. I know I'm odd and it may seem totally illogical to many, but even when I started out in astronomy some 40 years ago, all I ever really dreamed of having was a 4" refractor in an observatory, so I think that's simply where my heart lies. Nice ↘ Nicer ↘☺

Brilliant idea! I've actually thought about constructing a dome for my observatory rather than the run-off roof I have at present. Although it will still need to be cool, it will offer a little more protection from cold winds, and will aid in maintaining dark adaption. I think this might be a project for this spring! ☺

It's rare these days that I'll stay out long enough in sub zero temperatures for my lens to dew. Going back to the time i had my NP101, I remember sitting on a deckchair ankle deep in snow and sweeping the sky for two or three hours. My next door neighbour called to me over the low garden wall "Youre mental you are! I've always known you're simple"!! (She's a sun worshiper)! I replied to her with some witty comment, but after she'd gone, I realised that although my body was as warm as toast, the cold night air I was breathing was making me wheeze. That was back around 2007/2008. Since then I've been careful not to let the cold affect me like that anymore. Now I'm more a creature of comfort and relish the milder spring nights. Perhaps I'm just getting soft as I get older.

If you check your lens by shining a red torch at it at the end of your observing session, and if its dew free, you can cap it and bring it inside. It shouldn't dew up! If there is dew on the lens at the end of your observing session, bring the scope in while its uncapped and leave the cap off. The moisture will evaporate over night, after which you can cap it the following morning. Moisture on or between the elements only becomes a problem when its prevented from evaporating by being trapped inside by the lens cap. You might consider a dew heater strip or an extended astrozap dew shield as a means of offering added protection.

I'd be happy to if David feels sorry for me and accepts my three figure offer. Somehow though I think he's far too ruthless and will demand just a little bit more.

According to some on CN, the FC100DZ might not be available in the state's until August. That could mean a TSA 102 in top condition would bring a high price. Over £100!

It's a different language this side of the pond, isn't it! A fiver is £5. A tenner is £10 etc.

That's a very good telescope and capable of showing you spectacular views. If you have a 25mm eyepiece, you'll have a great view of the Orion Nebula. The barlow might come in handy when viewing the Moon, planets and double stars. Many deep sky targets are quite large, so hunting them down using an eyepiece of 25mm or 30mm focal length can be great fun.

I'm not sure its the amount of glass or the thickness of the lens that causes the problem, but rather the cell in which the lens is secured. I had a beautiful NP101 IS ( a quad) that just didn't like the cold. It easily took an hour before it gave good star images on a night of -5°C. I have observed with it when the temperature had dropped to -15°C, at which point it just didn't want to play at all. None of my Takahashi refractors ever had issues with accliatisation, not even the 152mm fluorite doublet, and I'd regularly use them while they were caked in ice. With the Tak's, the lenses are mounted in a cell that is mounted in a cell, so the lens doesn't get stressed by the outer cells contraction to the same degree as some other scopes on sub zero nights. The FS152 for example was at full power after 15 to 20 min's no matter what the temperature drop. Granted, I can't ever remember observing at -25° C though.

Hi Andy, I enjoy using an old-fashioned star atlas such as Norton's Star Atlas, or S&T Pocket Sky Atlas. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with the constellations. Once you've got a few of the major constellations under your belt you'll be able to find your way around the night sky. Even though the Moon wasn't on view, there is still plenty to see, even in a small scope. Orion is a large constellation that is easy to find. Beneath the three belt stars are three fainter vertical stars ( known as the sword) or thats how it appears. In fact the middle star in the sword is the Great Orion Nebula or M42 (M stands for Messier, after a French astronomer called Charles Messier). See if you can find Orion and the sword on the next clear night. Aim your scope or binoculars at the centre star in the sword and you'll see a beautiful nebula. It might help if we knew what equipment you are using too!

Moon boots are what you need! They have thick rubber soles and either thick foam or fur linings. Feet stay nice and toastie even in snow! Moon boots being a general term that was used back in the 90's & early 2000's. In the pic below they're called YETI. "Cant believe I've actually photographed a pair of boots"!

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It's not necessary to align on Polaris to be polar aligned. It can be done by aligning on two other stars on the equator that are a long way apart. If the scope centres both stars then you're aligned.

I'd move in next door! 😆

But then, for the refractor nut, on those exceptional nights the 10 - 15cm refractor would still be the instrument of choice, as it will be even better than it is on a mediocre night. 🔭

Being a dinosaur, I'm at a loss as to how app's and gadgets can make finding Polaris in a polar scope any easier. But from my dinosaur perspective, I've always found it very easy to align Polaris providing the scope and counterweight are not attached to the mount. It just makes manipulating the axis much easier when its just the mount body that needs adjusting.

I have at times been momentarily star-struck when I've been out in the stick's on a particularly clear and transparent night, but only ever momentarily. There were no goto or computers on the scene when I started out in astronomy in 1980, so learning my way around the night sky meant either learning to star hop and use actual star charts, or learn how to use setting circles. So looking back, I consider myself lucky in a way, but I do sympathize with the more modern observer/imager who hasn't benefited from my clear 1980's skies and simple but effective way of observing.