iPeace

1 minute ago, DRT said:

Ok, but we’re not going to talk about focusers in case you two get a bit rowdy ?

Eschew the Labrys!

14 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

The Tak prism wasn't new was it? I've bought a couple of these new in the past and both came with a good quality Tak box and two end caps.

Well, I bought one absolutely mint new from a local retailer, at the shop, and there were no caps with it in the Tak box. They did give me caps, free of charge.

In any case, it wouldn't surprise me if a Tak prism came without caps.

10 hours ago, iPeace said:

I'm so happy.

 

...because it was not the only box. It contained the primary mirror for this:

I'm so happy.

8 minutes ago, Stu said:

That's quite a stack under the eyepiece you've got there Mike! Can't quite make out what it is?

Which motor focus unit is it? I had a couple of Baader Steeldrives which I enjoyed.

Glatter Parallizer screwed on to a 2" Baader Fine Tuning Ring (basically an extension tube), with a Baader parfocalizing ring clamped on as a spacer. Need all this to reach focus with most of my EPs as the focuser tube is a bit too short. New Newt will come with Baader SteelTrack which has longer tube.

Motor unit is a TS job; the OO focuser seems to come from the same manufacturer. I swapped out the right-hand knobs, and it fits and works perfectly.

On the Lunar X.

23 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Its a "Neewer Carbon Fiber 65 inches", John

It looks very similar to my Sirui - apart from the colour scheme. If it's as good, it's very good.

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

I'm thinking a supermarket plastic bag filled with sand would be a good option

2 or 3 half litre water bottles is the ticket. Takes the shakes right out, even at full leg extension.

22 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Too true, John. £302 for that experiment! Moreover, the Panoptic 24 doesn't seem to be as widely available as other Pan's and not at huge discount either.

Maybe I should look for a second hand one, although people tend to hold on to them

I'm an addict; I've got three. Every scope should own one, and my fracs all do.

10 minutes ago, John said:

Interesting. Are they capped inside the baggies ?

 

Oh yes. Always capped when not in use.

Here's one.

1 hour ago, Lockie said:

Thought I'd re show this now it's on a proper mount.

May well be a good match.

8 minutes ago, GordonD said:

Very nice indeed.

Ah, that would be me that took the remaining 5mm at FLO then and made you have to wait. Sorry! (But not very .. ?) 

Gordon

Never mind. Who knows how long yours was just lying around there? Mine will be freshly baked.

Seriously though, it will only be a couple of days, no inconvenience at all.

As always, @James at @FLO is keeping me well informed - the 5mm will soon join the gang to complete the Short Set.

8 minutes ago, John said:

If you think the 5mm XW is tall one, wait until you see the 3.5mm !

3 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

Yep . And John is not joking about that 3.5 XW.

A high stack up it certainty is. Don't even think of putting a Barlow on it ?

 

I probably don't really need the 3.5 XW for the newt - 342x is a lot for my skies. But it completes the XW Short Set and I thought: what the Herschel...

2 minutes ago, John said:

If you think the 5mm XW is tall one, wait until you see the 3.5mm !

Like, Ethos 3.7?

1 hour ago, GordonD said:

iPeace, this feels a bit "Me Too" but I have been promising myself an XW of some description for years and this is what arrived today

Nice one! My own 5mm is back-ordered, 7mm and 3.5mm should arrive tomorrow.

5 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Unfortunately, my initial euphoria has been a little crushed because I seem to need much more in- focus than I have and yet there is nothing else I can remove.Focusing on objects just 30 feet away is all I can do, beyond that , I cannot bring anything to focus, so I will wait until the scope is properly mounted and then try objects in the sky. 

I'm sure you'll get it sorted in due course, Steve. All the more interesting.

Meanwhile...Steve, our resident OP, has a beautiful new Tak and an unexpectedly ideal way to bino-view with it!

Looking forward to reports once the mounting bits are sorted.

On 04/06/2018 at 18:51, John said:

I'm quite happy with this.

Here's what I've got on the Amici prisms. The well-known 1.25" ClickLock adapters have a lesser-known feature: an inner T2 thread. With the spacer ring between it and the diagonal, there's no way an eyepiece will touch the prism. Apparently the combination also provides the required focus travel for use with the Borg 71FL. So the plan is to get a T2 BBHS mirror (or T2 prism) and configure it just like this for the Borg...in case you're wondering, my commitment to correct-image observing is a bit shakey as of late.

15 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

A great, high quality prism - and good value

That's what they all say - and now, I'm inclined to agree...

16 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I only swapped my Tak prisms for Baader prisms because a) I feel the Baader is stronger built and thus (seem) better able to hold larger 1.25" EPs (like Pentax, Morpheus and LVW), and b) they have T2 connectivity

...I'm likely to get a Baader T2 BBHS mirror (or prism; haven't decided) for similar reasons. I also use Baader T2 Amici prisms, and the T2 connectivity means I can put a 2" nose on them to fit the TV or FT focusers and put a bit of spacing (T2 spacer rings) on the eyepiece side to help reach focus. I had done the latter to prevent long-nosed eyepieces from hitting the prism; only discovered the focus benefit when I tried a 1.25" TV Everbrite diagonal in the Borg 71FL and it wouldn't reach focus...apparently the Borg's 2" FTF doesn't have a long enough drawtube to use a 'regular' 1.25" diagonal! I did have a 2" 35mm extension tube in the spares box, so this works with the Tak prism as well, but the OCD banshee is screaming for a neater solution. I can always use the Tak prism in the TV-60; that's native 1.25" only.

The unstoppable onwards march of the United Front For Japanese Eye Relief continues...

This mint specimen arrived in perfect condition, something that simply could not and would not have happened without the most considerate and selfless support of @Saganite

A true gent if there ever was one.

My grateful thanks and appreciation are for Steve.

Wow. I think I should have done this long ago.

...and another one.