mikeDnight

Hi Dave, I put the DZ on the electronic scale this morning and it didn't register. So I stood on the scale while holding the telescope. I've put a stone on since I last got weighed - thanks for that! It's the ginger nuts combined with the lockdown that's done it!! The DZ with everything on it weighs 10 lb after subtracting my weight, according to the scale. It is noticeably heavier than the DC and although I can pick it up with one hand, I'm not going to make a habit of it. The AZ4 as a grab & go still seems to handle it ok though.

Essence of blokes in shed's wouldn't be my first choice as an observatory air freshener. I bet it would stifle the sales of Tak scopes too. ( I wonder how long it will be before you cave in and start sniffing your scopes Olly?)

Three weeks ago. It was on for a full hour before it was bought.

😂😂😂😂

Ill have to get back to you on that one Dave. It might look suspicious if she sees me weighing my scope. She thinks im weird enough to begin with!

Sorry Jeremy, I didn't photograph the scope in a bag, or me inhaling deeply the poisonous paint fumes that give every Tak owner that momentary high, but it did happen. 😆 The wonderful thing is that the smell lingers for years. Hmmm! Now where's my therapist's phone number?

Binoviewer and the FC100DZ The DZ accommodates the binoviewer in both barlowed/GPC mode and without. Simply remove the 71L extension tube for binoviewer only viewing.

And mor pic's... The essential - idiot stood next to his scope pic'. I've included the following image only because I don't think I've ever photographed a telescope from quite this angle before. It's of no real significance!

I would have loved to hold on to my DC, but finances dictated otherwise. However, I have a friend who lives only a few miles away who owns a DC, so there will be an evening of direct comparisons in future months I'm sure. ☺

Hi John. It's not as long as it looks in reality. The front of the lens cell is only 8cm down inside the shield, so it may need an Astrozap. Something I have just found out is that the DZ is binoviewer friendly, so I can use my binoviewer without a GPC or barlow if the mood takes me. 😊

Thankyou Olly. It came about after the bare steel froze my hands and legs if I leant against it in winter. And the foam cover on the counterweight arm came about after an observing buddy, who wasn't very tall, walked into the end of the arm with his eye socket. There was blood everywhere!

Believe me, after sneaking this one past the wife, fitting it to the mount wasn't nerve racking at all. Thankfully / hopefully / prayerfully she'll never notice the difference.

Here's another pic in a prettier setting. 😎 I had been in correspondence with an astronomer on CN who found he had difficulty getting all his eyepieces to come to focus, but after trying both extremes of focal lengths in my collection, along with my binoviewer, I've had no difficulty at all so far. The rack & pinion focuser is buttery smooth. So much so in fact that I'm having second thoughts about fitting the Tak micro focuser I have. I'll need to try it at high power before I make a final decision on that though.

New TAKAHASHI DZ arrived! Back in February I happened to be reading a few comments/partial review about the New Tak DZ, and how it compared to the others in the D series. In a moment of insanity I'd placed an order with Nick atTruTek Astro. I had been totally happy with my FC100DC and posted numerous times on SGL that i would never part with it. Yet, three weeks ago I watched, broken hearted, as my faithful and amazing DC was carried up the garden path by a UPS driver, who had no idea about the precious content inside the box he carried. It was quite genuinely a real wrench on my heart strings, as the DC had won my heart by showing me more than anyother scope I've owned ever did.It was my pal! 😭 I've been in a no-mans-land since the DC left me, and have even resorted at times to using one of those scopes with a mirror at the bottom end, - I forget what they're called! Anyhow, this morning another UPS van arrived carrying my new refractor. Ill shut up now and show you the pic's, as tedious as they may be. (The box pic's are compulsory viewing with any new Takahashi thread!) Dew shield retracted: Dew shield extended: More to follow!

A lovely image of one of my favourite objects. I have fond memories of M44 as it was one of the first Messier's i found. I decided I'd take my 12X60 binoculars to a park not far from where I live, so that I'd be in a reasonably dark place. I also made a flask of coffee and equipped myself with a pocket guide to the stars by Patrick Moore. I'd set my flask and book on the bench alongside me and sat back sweeping the sky above the houses opposite the park. Suddenly M44 drifted into the field of view, and what a thrill it gave me. Binoculars are arguably the best instrument to use to see this M object visually. This was back in early 1981 and I was 18 or possibly just turned 19 years of age. Moments after my first deep sky find, a pair of headlights suddenly started moving towards me along the park path. It was a Panda car (remember them?). Someone had apparently noticed a weird pervy teenager looking into the bedroom windows of the houses opposite the park. The two Bobbies found it both amusing and interesting as I explained what I was actually looking at, and helped themselves to my coffee, before leaving me to carry on my lonely sky search. Happy memories! After that, I seem to remember dragging my girlfriend along with me to dark countryside locations, every time I felt like a deep sky expedition. She never complained, and always encouraged me in my hobby. She's still with me as my wife almost 40 years later. Every time I see the Beehive, this memory comes flooding back as if it was only yesterday. Thanks for posting that great image!

Unless you need to sell it to fund the 102mm ED it could be worth keeping, however, you might find you don't use it much once the ED is on the scene.

You could observe it while its high in the sky as long as there is no chance you'll sweep across the Sun. So perhaps position a scope so you're in the shadow of your house. It's always best to leave the focuser set at infinity then you know you'll be in focus as you sweep the sky in search of Venus. It's easier if you have some idea how many degrees it is away from the Sun, and how many degrees it is above the horizon at any given time. It may be worth a go if you can't get it low down.

Oh! Reading is so overrated. You're right of course, I was engrossed in that wonderful picture. And although the 60mm Astral gave a nice view, there was CA. I'd hate you to rush out and sell your 80ED and replace it with a 60mm frac.

It looks identical in your 120ED as it did through my grandsons 60mm Astral last night. Very pretty Paul! ☺

That's a lovely pic Trevor. Thanks for posting it. 😊

That's a great report Jeremy. There seems to be a growing number of observers now on SGL who are able to detect detail on the cloud tops of Venus. It's very encouraging! Those HR's are something special aren't they? It beggars belief that a 120mm telescope can deliver a good image at 550X. Venus is going to get the chance to put on a show in my DZ on Monday evening if the clouds stay away. The 1.6mm HR will only give me a measly 500X. I wonder how it will look when barlowed?! 😁

Plenty of opportunity to follow it for some time yet Paul. If you shield yourself so that the Sun is behind a building or a wall, Venus can be observed until its almost an annulus.

Oh yes! That would be one of those times I beat you Paul. 😂 You did have to go into hospital though, but I was more than happy to take advantage of the situation. 😈

I've been finding solace in the fact I've still got a Tak at my fingertips. It was actually perfect for observing Venus in the Pleiades a short time ago. And, after taking this pic', I realized there was a chocolate bar on the top of my books that I'd confiscated off one of my son's last October. It tasted like it was from last October too!

I'm betting you wished you hadn't asked? ☺