jock1958

Never tried the Tak diagonals but for me the Baader T2 diagonals are the way to go with lots of interchangeability options ie different nosepieces and eyepiece holders also the sheer quality.

Some great pics there Mike, think I can see a glimpse of Hadley Rille 🤔 Love the video as well, have you thought about doing your own You Tube channel? 😉😉🤞

What a lovely image Alan. Have seen this many times visually but missed out on the all the starburst action that you’ve captured incredibly well!!

Wise choice IMO 👍

Not 100% sure Stu but I think it’s around 5kg 🤔

Cheers Paul, I will have a look at their website. I know there’s been various iterations of this mount over the years including the TS Optics AZ5 which looks the same with apparent quality improvements.

Yep was out with it last night and my old Tal 100RS.

Hi Paul what’s the FLO version of the Skytee 2 and how does it differ from other versions? Until an affordable quality replacement comes along I’ll soldier on with my 8 year old ST 2.

Your secrets safe with me Mike!! 😉🤣

Very nice finder and paint job Mike and you’ve retained the made in Japan sticker. What make and shade of white did you use? Closest match I could find for my Taks is Amalfi White.

Bought mine off an SGL’r a few years ago and agree about the incredible build quality, love the chunky feel, kerfs on the nosepiece and easy to use click lock. Also it’s the mainstay diagonal for edge to edge views with my 31mm Nagler T5.

Thanks Mike I must admit I've seen this mount in passing but never payed much attention to it but now you've spiked my curiosity, I've always been on the lookout for something similar to the Skytee 2 but with a bit more quality and not forgetting Slo Mo controls!! Also glad that you mentioned it can be motor driven as I was confused with your picture with the fuse in it 🤣

Some nice atmospheric pic’s there Mike and interesting comments on your very sleek looking APZ mount, I take it the Alt / Az friction is adjustable and slo mo knobs can be removed and cables fitted? I wonder how my Tak FC-100DL would fare on that mount?

Lovely looking acquisition Dave and should be more manageable especially with the Vixen handle!! 😉😀

Really sad day for you Dave @F15Rules never thought you’d be selling your FS128 seriously!! 😩 if it’s something lighter and more portable you are after what about joining the Tak FC-100 appreciation society 🤔😉

Excellent report, sketches and photo @SuburbanMak this is what being part of the SGL community is all about, love it!!

Out with the FS-60Q earlier but conditions weren’t up to much so didn’t stay out long.

Agree with you it doesn’t look like a scratch and if it unscrews without knocking out the collimation I would be very tempted to do as you suggest with bulb blower. I know you should look through it and not at it but I’m Mr OCD 🤣

Love all your sketches Mike regardless of Terbys Spot!!

What with the lousy summer, short nights and loss of mojo it was a tonic to have clear skies accompanied by a lovely warm breeze. With the evenings getting darker earlier it allows me see the top of the Teapot before it disappears, using my Tak FC-100DL, 31 T5 + UHC filter and Nunki & Kaus Borealis as guide stars its fairly easy to pick up a variety of lovely clusters & nebulae including the lagoon, triffid & swan. For me the UHC filter makes all the difference in being able to see these targets especially the swan & lagoon. Ditched the filter and swung over for a quick look for the blue snowball that @John mentioned, not an easy find through the 31 T5 but once spotted it was much nicer through my 14 mm Delos, tried it through my 3-6 NZ but it was a bit too much. Finished the evening off with some of my old favourites, M31, M81, M82 and a wander through Cygnus including the Veil.

Wow £200 that’s what I call a bargain, I think I paid just over £400 for mine four years ago!

My CSV tube is fitted all the time, if I fit the longer one then I have trouble bringing some of my eyepieces to focus, for me I can’t see the point in the longer one. Don’t forget Stu If you shorten a CB tube you will need to cut a new internal thread or you won’t be able to connect that end 🤔

If you can’t buy a CSV tube then it might be a case of a shorter VB 🤔 the standard 1.25” VB that came with my FS-60C is about 85mm long and 2” VB is 40mm. Something else to consider is the length of your tubes, my CSV tube is 105mm long and standard tube is 145mm, one of the reasons the guy I bought it off sold it was he got fed up having to constantly swap adapters, tubes, prism & mirror diagonals around!

What about trying a Tak 2” visual back or a Tak CSV tube or a combination of both?

Hasn’t been working on my iPhone for sometime but works on my MacBook, cant figure it out? Just tried that link on my iPhone and it’s working now 👍