DaveL59

Just did a bit of background searching and I expect you'll more find an issue with in-travel reaching focus (or not) with some eyepiece combos but many should work fine. So a case of suck it and see I think then determine what's best to do. However if you plan on putting a camera on the scope then out-travel could be a problem where an extender would work.

edit: or are you also thinking for terrestrial use in which case you would need the drawtube to extend further out to achieve focus?

For the TAL-M, I love it. Very capable and when left set up in the conservatory is an easy lift and drop to get the entire assembly out into the garden in one go, where I have to dismount the OTA etc on the longer scopes. Well the TAL-1 I can manage in a single lift being its on a pillar rather than tripod. The only issue with the M is you're stuck with the OEM eyepieces as the 1.25's are slightly loose and won't reach focus. You can of course shift the mirror up the tube to get around this but that then makes the in-built finder unusable or you switch back to the OEM eyepieces to sue then switch to 1.25's for main viewing. That said the OEM 25 and 10mm eyepieces are good and with the extension tube and barlow can hit x160 and still give a good image.

Finding one that has all the parts is down to some luck I think and many show their working life in damaged paint but they are very solidly made and not hard to overhaul. Mine had the 15mm but no 25mm nor extension tube but I got around that buying an older TAL-1 just for the 25mm and then swapped the TAL-1 focuser for the later 1.25-inch version so the latter can be used with regular eyepieces (after shifting the mirror that is). I also modified the 2-part pillar on the M so that if needed I can run it with a single pillar section to keep the scope lower to the ground, was thinking for my grandaughter when she gets a chance to come out and look. 

There's also the Alcor which is smaller again and reportedly very good, I think @Stu here has that model.

21 minutes ago, Trevor PC said:

Hello Dave 

As always thank you for responding.

I would be interested if the Tal 100r did come in one of those heavyweight plywood boxes or just a packing crate like the Tal-1, will have to talk to the chap I bought it from.

As the focuser is rack and pinion my thought is that the R would need a longer rack to then give it greater movement than the 30mm of 40mm it presently has as extending the existing spacer would still only give the same amount of travel, does that sound right?

As always thank you.

Trevor 

 

 

I think shipping varied over time, early ones having formed wood inserts and later polystyrene which of course falls apart over time with use, then a shift to card perhaps. Same with the vintage japanese scopes too I believe. Of course the vast bulk and therefore storage meant many probably got rid which is a pity. I was lucky with the TAL-M as that case is a nice easy fit into the car boot but the long OTA's on the TAL1/2 and 100's would never fit into mine.

Without seeing your 100R its hard to say as the focuser on mine is also rack&pinion but the 2-inch version. The issue probably isn't the range of travel so much as getting the diagonal/eyepiece combo far/near enough to the objective to attain focus. If you find it needs to be further out than the focuser can adjust to then an extension tube would shift the focal point outward and then the focuser travel would allow you to adjust around that new point. A focuser with a larger travel makes life easier for sure, but there's ways around it if needs must.

I can't say whether this would work but here's a 35mm 1.25-inch extender which is what I was thinking if you needed to achieve more outward distance. Other lengths are also around on the market, or make your own even by removing the lenses from a barlow.

StellaLyra 35mm 1.25" Extension Tube | First Light Optics

As Paul says tho, swapping out the focuser may be more involved than a direct drop-in but may still be possible. I've seen a post that used an adaptor to fill the gap and that might be possible if you have a 3D printer or a machine shop that can make a collar to match things up. Depends how far you want to go/spend 😉 

Ahh my Tal100RS came in a card box with a wood insert to hold the OTA - the tube rings fasten down onto it in transit. Sadly no original wooden box with mine, nor the TAL-1 which I picked up fairly locally. The only one I have in the original baltic ply case is the TAL-M which I renovated in another thread in the DIY section. Needed all the foam on the wood inserts removing and replacing with felt as they'd crumbled/decayed. 

I've thought about making a wood case for the RS and maybe the 1 but never have so far. It'd weigh a ton tho is the only problem lol. Once my daughter has moved and when her OH has less workload I may see if I can get him to knock one up for the RS OTS tho (he's a builder) or maybe get hold of an old military surplus long case/box.

For the focuser then, best to check it over when it arrives and see if you can easily drop an extension in ahead of the diagonal, depends which model focuser it has I guess. Read one post where they commented about it being non-standard where the prism/focuser mate which might limit your options. Need to determine if its 1.25 inch or 2 inch etc.

Hi Trevor

well done on getting it despite minor issues 🙂

For the end cap, Mine was fine but I didn't have one for the objective, only the dew shield and when transporting it the box needs the dew shield removed. So I bought a nitrile covered bearing end cap to suit as I'd rather not be transporting it with the objective exposed to potential damage. Did the same for the small TAL-M newt too.

Can't say much on the difference with the R and RS objectives as I've not compared but I find mine is good to my eye so am quite happy with it.

The missing screw on the finder I take it are on the holder rings? Those are regular metric thread IIRC, 3mm possibly so should be easy to get replacements for in either metal or nylon.

From wookie's post it may be that in-travel is more the issue with the focuser so his post may be more useful. Extension tubes you can get from most scope suppliers like FLO I believe should you need them. Only way to know is when you have it and can test it out with the eyepieces you want to use with it.

Agree re the TAL-1, it has a slightly smaller mirror than my SW130 but I prefer it over the SW130 and don't find any real difference in the view I get with it. Sometimes wish the pillar mount had a dovetail fitting so I could pop the 100RS onto it but so far haven't wanted to hack the integral rings off to make that possible. I plan on stripping the TAL-1 down one day to repaint etc as its a bit tatty, but have been distracted onto camera lenses this past year or so.

a search on here found this re the focuser/diagonal

so in-focus could be the issue but a prism diagonal may solve that rather than using a mirror version as it'd have a shorter light path. @Ags did a review recently of the Celestron prism diagonoal which reported it to be very good if you were wanting to go that route:

wow so you got it then, well done lol

So as far as the tripod is concerned I think it likely is pretty good for stability as it'll damp out the vibrations better than an ally one. In fact I was wanting to get hold of the TAL tripod at one point myself. The head you'll find has the same limitations as your TAL-1 in that it can only slo-mo for approx 5 degrees then you need to reset the slo-mo control and shift the scope manually and start over.

If you check out astrobaby's site (Astro-Baby Telescope Reviews) she has a review of the TAL100RS and also a rebuild of the TAL-1 including the mount which should help guide you if you need to fettle any bits.

I think the RS came after the R so if anything it'll have been improved in some areas. Mine has a focuser with significant travel for example  and different to the one on astrobaby's 100RS so it seems they fitted a couple different types. Here's mine on the EQ5 mount tho it now has the bigger TAL 8x50 finderscope riding on it.

If your R has short travel and you need more outward then I guess an extension tube would help. You could determine the length by holding the diagonal and drawing it away from the drawtube till you reach focus and measure that distance.

As for light baffles, try it and see if it affects the view would be my suggestion. If you do feel you need to modify it then you're looking at removing the focuser and likely the objective cell too so you can reach in and apply something to fill the gaps (flocking or epoxy then black paint etc. ). I have seem posts somewhere on that but can't recall where and never did this on mine.

How are you finding the TAL-1,? You'd get about the same light capture with the 100R but with less CA being a newt. Both very solidly over-engineered bits of kit which along with the little TAL-M are the ones I'd look to keep in my collection for some time. I find the SW130 feels so flimsy by comparison 🙂 

edit: for the tripod, its usually best to not extend it to maximum height as they're all more wobbly when used that way 😉 

ugh I can sympathise @Ags as slugs are a real problem where I am too even finding their way into the conservatory somehow. The wee hedgehog largely derelicting its duties of late as well, tho when it visits it makes me feel guilty being out there as its very timid and runs off when I move. Can't win lol

On most of my gear I've replaced the steel/metal thumbscrews with nylon ones, that way no risk of stripping the threads on the major components and no marking the barrels being locked down. Sure you'd wear them out faster but they're cheap and easy to replace esp when compared to needing to dismantle and re-tap components on the scope/focuser etc.

Partly why I went this route was on my TAL100RS the tapped hole for the thumbscrew to lock the finder into its shoe was largely stripped so it couldn't be relied on to hold the finder in place properly. I ended up drilling that out and tapping it to a larger thread but didn't want to have to be doing that again, not enough space/metal to work with.

Never found an option to adjust the alignment but you could always exit and restart the app and tell it alignment needed at that stage. Of course with a dob the object will have moved by then so you'd have to re-centre, as with a manual alt-az. On an EQ mount with RA motor it may work ok tho as it'd be tracking anyway while the app restarts. (yes it does work on EQ or at least I find it does with mine so far).

17 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

hmm after the initial excitement of receiving this and a quick test to verify it works well, I'm noticing a very musty (mold) smell and it is very strong in the Tamron box and of course the lens having been stored in this it also smells, not so pleasant to have near your face. Have given it a wipedown with 303 but little improvement which wasn't unexpected, the rubber grips especially seem to be hanging onto the smell. Oh dear, looks like I'll be getting in touch to see what can be done as this was listed as excellent condition, which physically it is other than the smell 😞 

edit: I've dropped the company a message on their contact us page, hopefully they'll get back to me soon to see what's best to do. Reading online maybe a laundry tumble dryer sheet would help, or just air it out in sunlight for a few days. Thing is I've a vintage bino that arrived with this exact problem a long time back and it still smells to this day after a full strip-down and cleaning with bleach, vinegar etc. Hope there's a simple fix other than sending it back...

The fact that I'm a smoker and can clearly smell it I guess says it is indeed a strong smell too.

OK so we've agreed for a return & refund on this one, their customer service seems as excellent as others have said 🙂  

Gutted tho as it was pristine, worked nice and quietly and the always available manual focus override seemed excellent with a sensible amount of travel compared to many AF lenses. Just that awful mold/mildew smell, my lungs didn't feel good last night after playing with the lens for a short time. Even my cat wasn't impressed, as soon as he came in he noticed, went to the box to investigate, one sniff and recoiled and ran off!

Oh well, another will turn up and I'll manage on the Minolta and M42 glass meantime and just live without much of a wide-angle end.

43 minutes ago, Ags said:

I think zero power means zero electrical power.

darn, so no GoTo or auto plate solving then. Will have to fettle a starsense explorer bracket for the old bonce in that case 😉 

6 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

What happens if you blink both eyes 🙄

ahh that's when the built in lasers fire and you incinerate anything you were looking at 😉

I'd be concerned as to how they'd manage to maintain collimation too, didn't see any set screws in there to tweak the settings...

eek I can't imagine wanting to put something on my eyeball, not even regular contacts, so not for me thanks! Kinda neat idea tho, do let us know how you get on with them 😉 

5 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

This makes me totally understand what our better halves go through with our hobby, which can be a burden when we begin collecting telescopes like they were coins.

guess its better than collecting bigger things like cars tho 😉 

40 minutes ago, Greymouser said:

 Now today, I said I was going to Nottingham to get another scope at a bargain price, only to be told over her dead body! There are too many in the house

ooh you had me worried there!

Hmmm, at present in this tiny house I have 7 but one will be going to my daughter and another couple I may ease out the door someday as they never get used (SW130-EQ2 and the little NatGeo 76/300 tabletop). Luckily living alone I can only argue with myself if I can really justify another one, and the bank balance I s'pose tho that usually loses the argument real quick lol.

6 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

The nice man from DPD just dropped this off to me

Won't be for astro, just decided to upgrade from the walkabout/go-anywhere 18-270 that I had to the later 16-300 for a tad extra range (24-450 vs 27-405 eqv). Likely the last that model Tamron will make for the Sony mounts at least for a while from what's been reported so I figured grab a good one while it's available 🙂 

hmm after the initial excitement of receiving this and a quick test to verify it works well, I'm noticing a very musty (mold) smell and it is very strong in the Tamron box and of course the lens having been stored in this it also smells, not so pleasant to have near your face. Have given it a wipedown with 303 but little improvement which wasn't unexpected, the rubber grips especially seem to be hanging onto the smell. Oh dear, looks like I'll be getting in touch to see what can be done as this was listed as excellent condition, which physically it is other than the smell 😞 

edit: I've dropped the company a message on their contact us page, hopefully they'll get back to me soon to see what's best to do. Reading online maybe a laundry tumble dryer sheet would help, or just air it out in sunlight for a few days. Thing is I've a vintage bino that arrived with this exact problem a long time back and it still smells to this day after a full strip-down and cleaning with bleach, vinegar etc. Hope there's a simple fix other than sending it back...

The fact that I'm a smoker and can clearly smell it I guess says it is indeed a strong smell too.

I have PolarAligner Pro which seems ok when I've used it. You can do a daytime alignment with it too which is handy esp if you can't see Polaris from your location.

13 minutes ago, Gabby76 said:

Refractors always look the part!

 

I have the TAL 100RS and they are very nice refractors as well though needing a better mount than the AT 1010

They are nice, I've the same a 100RS but mine's on an EQ5 goto rather than a TAL GEM mount. 

12 minutes ago, yuklop said:

Maybe not though!

http://www.new-forest-electronics.co.uk/skylark mission index.htm

Again SL 1113 is missing. SL 1115 is listed twice, the second one with an A on. Wonder what happened to SL 1113

 

might be worth contacting the author and see if they have and records/details, they may even be interested in some pics for their website.

I noticed there's no apparent progression of sequence numbers vs dates in that some earlier launches used higher sequence numbers, a bit odd maybe?

wow, surprised it never made it into a museum then really, or did the ones that flew but not your one?

Either way a piece of history which makes it even more interesting that the first pics you shared 🙂 

1 hour ago, yuklop said:

Found this: https://www.nature.com/articles/physci246037a0

Note the Skylark Rocket payload used in that article was SL 1111. The sticker at the bottom of the first image says SL 1113, so it looks like it was a payload destined for the Skylark rocket program. 

This page: https://www.hep.ucl.ac.uk/history/Fox3.shtml  reference 224 talks about the UV astro group collaborating with Culham using a Skylark to launch a cassegrain telescope for UV spectroscopy.

Wonder if SL 1113 ever flew?

Now if you could get that officially verified might even add some value with some interesting provenance. Who knows there was a recent launch from Oz, would they be interested in using yours on the next ride? I'd imagine you'd get a nice lease/rental wedge out of it 😉 

The nice man from DPD just dropped this off to me

Won't be for astro, just decided to upgrade from the walkabout/go-anywhere 18-270 that I had to the later 16-300 for a tad extra range (24-450 vs 27-405 eqv). Likely the last that model Tamron will make for the Sony mounts at least for a while from what's been reported so I figured grab a good one while it's available 🙂 

1 minute ago, alacant said:

Hi

That's what we normally do if it's a dedicated fixture.

This is my first experience of a domestic installation where humans take priority over telescopes. I next have to work out where I can plug the adapter and the Ethernet cable at the house end so it's invisible. 

What a struggle!

if you get the pass-thru type just use the socket the router is on and plug thu router into it.

Like this type, just get the versions to suit your region
TP-Link TL-PA7027P KIT AV1000 2-Port Gigabit Passthrough Powerline Starter Kit (Renewed): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

1 minute ago, alacant said:

Ok. Getting there.

I still need WiFi from the main router to the vnc client, both of which will be in the same room.

Do I retain this?

 

Sure, if it currently connects on WiFi no reason not to, unless you want to get a 3rd LAN cable and go directly wired 🙂 

@gilesco So long as all units are of the same standard (AV1200 in your case) that works and a drop when crossing to the sub-net I guess you can't do much about other than use a LAN cable to bridge across, tho that kinda negates using them in the first place. The issue is more when folks mix say AV1200 with the older AV200/600 as then the entire EoP network slows to the lower standard.

The other thing I noticed that can/does affect performance is noisy electrical items on the mains wiring. I found that some LED bulbs would cause a 50% drop in data rate when they were turned on, for example but even then the link stayed operational. I do also have a wireless CCTV that operates in the 2.5GHz band but isn't wifi (discrete Rx box for the AV end) and that can be real neat if you wanna mess with a neighbours WiFi. Turn it on and they go dark 😉