jock1958

24 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I'd look for a used Takahashi 1.25" prism or Baader T2 prism diagonal, both come up fairly often for c.£70 used. 

Both optically excellent, but the latter is more robustly built.

HTH,

Dave

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.  

11 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

 It was a glorious day here yesterday, but come late afternoon the clouds rolled in. I phoned my mate Paul just for a chat and he told me it won't be clear over night.   As luck would have it however, it did clear sufficiently for me to have an hour and a half observing the Moon and so, because he was clouded out and because I'm a true friend, I sent him this: (I think he hates me!)

 

 

I spent my time playing with my ultra flat's and a Barlow,  as well as my amazing SvBony 3-8 Zoom. The following pic's are through the zoom using a hand held phone camera. The camera lens may not have been perfectly clean and there was an annoying thin cloud covering the sky that varied in thickness. All things considered however, I think it turned out not too bad.

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!! 

55 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

I will be going for a Skytee2 mount. 

Wise choice IMO 👍

18 minutes ago, Stu said:

Out of interest, how much do the SkyTees weigh? I had one for a while and from memory they are chunky beasts? Very solid, though a little agricultural as has been said. Mine was drilled to take saddles both ends which was useful, I think some versions come like that now?

 

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

6 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Hi Jock.  From memory, the only differences are it comes with two counterweights and has StellaLyra written on it in a coupleof places.  I think it's also about £30  cheaper.   You can check it out on their website.

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. 

3 minutes ago, John said:

Yep - my old ST 2 does a sterling job with my 100mm - 120mm refractors. The fit and finish is a little basic but it just works.

 

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

18 hours ago, paulastro said:

Yes it would.  My Askar 103 apo triplet ( a bit heavier than the Starfield) was not good at higher powers on an my AZ5 or AZ4 which I tried it on - I couldnt use the Askar to its full potential at higher powers, VERY frustrating.  I had a Tecnosky (the Starfield is a rebadged version of it)  which gave the same problem.

I bought the FLO version of the Skytee11 and it really is steady as a rock with either of these scopes.  The slow motions are very good.  

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. 

27 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I hope the Tak brigade will still speak to me now I've revealed this!

Your secrets safe with me Mike!! 😉🤣

10 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

New to me, an old scared 50mm Tak finder for my DZ.

After sanding and a respray -

And now on its telescope -

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. 

6 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Nearly as good, but for a bit less is the white bodied non BBHS version #2956100. Incredible build quality again.

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. 

4 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Atmospheric it definitely was, although it was relatively calm at ground level. I'm glad you like them!

It was my first time out with this mount and I loved it. The friction is adjustable using grub screws, but last night it didn't seem to matter what I put on it, or even if I removed things, the mount held perfect position. Yet it moved with a gentle push in both altitude and azimuth, and without stiction. The slow motion controls were smooth and precise even at high power, and strangely pleasing to use, which is probably due to me using an AZ4 for 9 years. 

I avoided this mount for years, because in pictures it looks too lightweight and a bit toyish, but its nothing of the kind. It's a hefty, well built piece of equipment. The price also put me off, but last week I received a notification from Bresser UK that the APZwas reduced by over £100. As luck would have it, before I could place an order, an APZ came up on AB&S cheaper still, so I grabbed it while I could. I was considering the Rowan 75 but that's expensive and has no slow motion controls, so it was a no-brainer really. I'm really glad I bought it. I have no doubt the APZ would handle the FC100DL, the mount has a load capacity of 8kg which I think is 18lb's or there abouts. You could check Bresser UK to see if their reduction is still on.

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? 

34 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

...and the winner is....

David (@dweller25)!!!🤩

May I introduce "Superfox" 🦊🐺🦊🐺, a stunningly beautiful, and as new Vixen Japan SD115S, courtesy of Mr Tim Lumb, a real gentleman and all round top notch fellow..

And accompanied by an as new, almost complete set of Vixen LVW eyepieces..a full set minus the 3.5mm which my good friend Steve is now looking after.

I will post more details and photos shortly (after supper!) on a new thread in the Scopes forum.

I am thrilled.

Dave

 

 

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.

On 28/10/2023 at 15:46, Franklin said:

Looks like it could possibly be a hair on the inside of the lens. The cell unscrews from the tube, then use a bulb blower to blow off the dust etc from the rear of the objective.

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. 

5 hours ago, John said:

Luckily for me, my Nagler 31 cost just £200 🙂

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

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

I used to have a CSV tube but they are all but impossible to get hold of now. Almost worth buying an extra CB tube and getting it shortened….

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 🤔

19 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I've not seen a CSV tube for sale; the 2" VB is a possibility - the scope didn't come with one.

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!

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

I could get 7.7° with the 42mm LVW but the FS-60CB doesn't have enough in focus  It's probably about 10-15mm short.

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

On 15/05/2023 at 10:11, GoldTop57 said:

Just tried https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php and is was OK

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 👍