jock1958

Yeh I thought as much Dave same as my 5mm Vixen SLV, it’s a bit of clunky affair but does the job. Must admit I like eye cups as they help with my eye placement, I added them to those Halloween Plossls I bought off you and it does make a difference, cuts out the glare and kidney beaning.

Hey Dave they look more sleek and expensive now, one thing what’s the purpose of those bits if they only add weight & bulk? Maybe they could etch Celestron Axiom on the barrels like the Halloween Plossls 🤔

Good choice the Skytee 2 & steel tripod combination. I’ve tried other mounts but went back to the ST purely for its robust and functional design, and dare I mention Slo Mo controls 😉 Enjoy!

Never seen it after trying for the last few years. Every time I’ve looked Sirius has been too low and bubbling away like a frothy latte! At my latitude I think the seeing is the key to having a decent chance.

I’ve bought some really good second hand gear off UK Astro Buy & Sell & SGL so it’s definitely worth considering but obviously do your research first. A lot of the items in my pic are second hand including the Skytee 2, WO binoviewers, TV eyepieces, TV power mate and Baader diagonal...anybody would think I’ve got Scottish routes 🤣🤣 Screen grab of that Skytee 2 add below.

I have my 4” F9 refractor mounted on a Skytee 2 and steel leg AZ4 tripod which is permanently set up and ready to go in an instant, it’s easy to pick up and move round the garden, virtually vibration free and also has Slo Mo’ controls....what’s not too like! Lots of my kit is second hand which has saved me a mint, if you go on UK ABS there’s a year old Skytee 2 and upgraded clamp for £250 he’s also offering an EQ5 tripod as well but not sure if its steel or condition? If you can’t stretch to that I can second the AZ4 friction mount and steel leg tripod as a starter then upgrade the mount later, that’s what I did.

Nor me!

For any doubters about the quality of Tak optics the proof is in the pudding so as to speak!!

From memory I think it’s about 5kg but not 💯 sure 🤔 I leave mine fitted permanently on top of my AZ4 tripod with scope so I can zip it outside in a one-er if I’m lucky enough to have clear skies!

Much easier observing whilst sat down especially if you have dodgy knees & back. Started off using one of the wife’s old dressing table stools until I invested in a Berlebach Hydra!

Don’t worry Mike it’s well and truly part of the family and not going anywhere 😀

Unfortunately no handle Dave 🤣🤣 and if it’s inline with recent second hand car price rises and inflation maybe £1900 or even £2000 isn’t unreasonable 😉

Thanks for that I shall investigate this. Just had a look its £33 for adapter on eBay and £16 from RVO for T2 locking ring, might hang fire on that for just now 🤔

I already had a lot of the kit before I got into binoviewing also some of it is second hand. As you say the standard Tak focuser is good, however I eventually buckled and went for the very nice but expensive pinion feather touch, its brilliant end of! If you don't want to spend on one of these there are cheaper options like the MEF3 and More Blue do nice ones, I have one fitted to my little Tak FS-60Q. I already had my power mate and it works a treat, not sure if it would work for your setup though? they do come up quite regularly on ABS for about £100 and if it doesn't work use it for cyclops or sell it on. Cheers

Ah that’s what I do more or less, I swapped out my helical focuser for the much better (IMO) Baader ClickLock and if I’m using the WO nosepiece I screw it into the end of BV. Recently I’ve been using a 2.5x TV power mate and 15mm TV plossls which gives me approx 150x. There is a way you can directly connect the WO BV to the 1.25 Baader prism diagonal but not sure how to do it? maybe sometime in the future I’ll invest in some Baader MB 2’s with the very connective T2 system 🤔 Pic below of latest configuration, it’s a bit tail heavy but I just rebalance to compensate.

Ah that bit of tube, I don’t have that on my DL and as @Saganite says it’s an easy way to swap from one configuration to the other for DC owners. As a matter of interest how do you attach your BV’s directly to your diagonal, do you need an adapter ring?

Hi Malcolm Glad you’ve found a way of gaining a couple of inches of in focus, which tube are you looking at removing? Your right native will give you lower powered views with a wider FOV to a point, my WO BV’s have their limitations which include the reduction of light passing through them that’s why I tend to use them for high powered viewing of bright objects. Another thing to consider is apparent vignetting on eyepieces greater than 25mm although I haven’t noticed this with my 26mm plossls, let me know if you have this with your 28’s?

Hi Malcolm as you've probably guessed 'natively' is the ability of bringing your BV's into focus without the use of your WO nosepiece, barlows or glass path correctors (GPC's) As you say its about how much light path your BV's add and how to reduce this to reach focus natively. From what you've said you already have a prism diagonal (shorter light path than a mirror) so maybe swapping out your Tak 2" visual back for a Baader ultra short clamp like Dave @F15Rules and I did, it saved me 20mm of in focus with my Tak FC-100DL, there is another adapter that would save even more but they are out of stock. Before rushing into spending more cash I would do more research as your FC-100DC is F 7.4 and mine is F9, so what works for me might not for you. Some photos below of my Tak with standard 2" visual back, 2" Baader mirror diagonal & WO BV's with 1.6x nosepiece. Baader ultra short clamp, 1.25" Baader prism diagonal, no nosepiece. Diagonals and ultra short clamp adapters.

Found that Williams Optics binoviewer thread from 2016, there's some good stuff in there and some nice diagrams explaining the different light paths of the prism & mirror diagonals https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwigmePel9bzAhUPXMAKHR4FA40QFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstargazerslounge.com%2Ftopic%2F274841-williams-optics-binoviewer%2F&usg=AOvVaw33lXsRiLCMs2ASLv0X0wLv

Nice one Dave @F15Rules you beat me to it, I was just about to post photos of what I did to reach focus with & without barlows but your thread is much more detailed and in essence what I based my early bino viewing experiences on! There is a SGL thread specifically about the WO BV’s I’ll see if I can find it 🤔

Ahh good old grease 33, came in 45 gallon drums where I used to work! 🤣

I have a Tak FC-100DL and WO BV's. For me to achieve (native) focus without a Barlow / TV 2.5 Powermate or supplied WO 1.6x nosepiece I use a Baader 1.25 PRISM diagonal and a Baader ultra short clamp. To achieve focus and increase magnification I use either a Barlow / Powermate or WO nosepiece and a 2" Baader MIRROR diagonal. What I've found through trial & error and good SGL advice is a mirror diagonal uses up quite a lot of back focus compared to a prism diagonal, also switching to shorter adapters for native viewing did the trick for me. Not sure how you could achieve this with your TV 102 & Dob but just a thought 🤔

Got to admit was a bit disappointed to hear no slo mo's were being added, maybe they could future proof it with the ability to add these as a modification? Having owned an Ercole it frustrated me lots having to nudge, nudge then miss the target completely especially during high powered viewing, maybe the AZ75 won't suffer from the same stiction and balance issues I encountered, I'm following these threads with interest to see what you both come up with.

My prayers were very nearly answered by Rowan bringing out this new mid range mount!! something similar but better than the Skytee 2, only thing that totally baffled me was no Slo Mo’s?? Is it too late to have them incorporated or is this the final design apart from a few minor tweaks?

Like it @Stu not surprisingly looks very similar to the AZ100. Does AZ75 mean its 75% the weight and size of its big brother?