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markse68

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markse68 last won the day on October 13

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  1. There are companies specialising in metal shims who can laser cut custom sizes- if you got them in brass you could chemically blacken them which would resist further cleaning. It’s what Baader should have used. Mark
  2. Had a really nice fun evening with the Flamsteed out on Blackheath last night- around 100 visitors! and loads of curious kids getting wowed by views of the Moon and Saturn. After the clouds passed we got a nice window of really good clarity and I was able to easily find Andromeda, the Ring nebula and the Dumbbell nebula- a few old faves. And my first sighting of the Comet earlier on 😀 Mark my scope the crowds
  3. I’ve decided I need a more substantial mount for my Tal100RS as wind buffeting is getting pretty annoying, and tracking would be nice esp for outreach use. So i’m upgrading my currently motorless GM8 with a simple RA drive and this little beauty turned up from China last week- a NEMA17 with harmonic 30:1 reducer- cute! 1Nm output torque should be plenty and minimising backlash in the drive train for hopefully a more stable view 🤞
  4. I've got the 20mm version and I think it was quite common for these to suffer clouding of the doublet cement- both of mine are noticeably clouded. I knew that though when I bought it quite cheaply. So it is quite possible (likely?) that a previous owner did disassemble it in an unsuccessful attempt to clean it, unfortunately. Hopefully all the elements are still there! Mark
  5. That’s great Roberto- glad it worked for you and that you like them Mark PS where did those extra rings come from- I don’t remember seeing them in mine
  6. Hi Roberto, I got mine for a small fraction of the new price due to the non functioning compass- I wouldn’t have done this had it not been for the bargain price I paid. Unfortunately I think you’ll still have to remove the compass to access the graticule as it sticks down into the prism housing and i’m pretty sure would prevent you from removing the prism shelf otherwise. Mark
  7. Hi Roberto, thank you! yes I think it definitely does compromise the waterproofness of the bins as there is a ~10mm hole and 3 screw holes exposed by removing the compass. I think on reflection that after having removed the angled mirror and the graticule, it should be possible to replace the compass housing to fill those holes without compromising the fov, though they were sealed with some silicone mastic- maybe some blacktac or similar would make a good enough seal. I haven't re-sealed mine yet but need to think about it. I still need to glue the rubber from the prism shelf back to the main body rubber and do something better than gaffer tape! I guess replacing the compass body will get around the problem of the ugly missing rubber from where it was so i might replace it They're nice binoculars and are held in quite high esteem by many on astronomy forums- they are certainly very contrasty and sharp. I dont have much experience with really good bins- most of mine are vintage and dodgy condition, but they are nice- sharp to a good way out and without too much distortion at the edge. They're quite heavy for handheld but if you can support them they should be fine. If you can get them for a good enough price why not! Mark
  8. Sorry about that David, I thought it was an erfle and have found others stating it was but it seems there’s a lot of variation on binocular eps! To add to the confusion i found some photos of an 7x30 Stepnada i dismantled for cleaning and it’s different again! Sounds like you’re sorted now though so that’s great- enjoy the views! These old Ross bins are lovely and sharp Mark
  9. it should be a 5 element Erfle David. You should be able to identify the eye lens from damage to its outside surface. Then there should be a singlet lens in the middle and another cemented doublet on the other side. Something like this The spacers you will have to play around with Mark
  10. Picked these up for a very good price as the compass was faulty. Don’t need a compass for stargazing so I hoped it would be easy to remove- and it was! These are a really nice pair of bins and now without the annoyance of the intrusive compass, even better. As they came The compass body needs to be removed first- don’t have many pics but you have to peel back the rubber from it, unscrew the diffuser cap, pull out the compass cell- it is held in with 3 blobs of silicone rubber, then remove 3 philips screws and pull hard to extract the housing and optical tube assembly from the main body This leaves a hole- i have gaffer taped it for now but will seal it better at some point Then you have to remove the graticule which involves first removing the eyepiece- unscrew the rubber eyecup to reveal a treaded locking ring- i used 2 small drill bits and a ruler to loosen it. Remove it and then then pull off the outer focusing grip making a mark for realignment with the eyepiece assembly- a dot of paint on each is what i used. Now you don’t really need to remove the actual eyepiece but i did- it just unscrews. If you do you'll have to play around a bit when you put it back to get the helical thread aligned to match the diopter scale adjustment. Peel back the rubber cover to reveal 4 philips screws fixing the prism shelf/eyepiece and pull it straight out from the body- it is sealed so pull hard and be careful not to allow it to rock or you’ll possibly chip the prisms. There is a small angled mirror held by 2 screws- remove it. The graticule is held into shelf with 2 small grub screws- after removing them it can be wiggled out without disturbing the prisms. Screw it all back together and enjoy uncluttered sharp contrasty views. Mark
  11. Shame that it didn't make it into production- that would have been a very much sought after scope I think! I read somewhere that one of the lens elements in the Tal 100 was made by Lomo and the other by LZOS- not sure how true that is though! Mark
  12. Hi Woldsman, I dont know about the attachment on the end of the focuser barrel but if you took it off you would lose the screws for clamping the diagonal/eyepieces so assume not unless you can find something shorter to fit? Mine has a different Crayford style focuser so I'm not sure. The adapter I think was for attaching a film camera with Pentax thread directly to the telescope- strange that it looks polished inside though! Mark
  13. My Tal 100RS has become my favourite summer scope- great for lunar and white light solar and not too shabby on doubles It’s my lightest setup so is getting quite regular use. Back to the 150p soon though for the planets where aperture definitely is an advantage. I’ve been treating it well and giving it some nice upgrades which i think it deserves and make it even more enjoyable to use. Firstly a new mount- a Takahashi Teegul I was fortunate to snap up in the classies a while ago. Only recently been able to use it since I made an adapter to fit to this old magnesium alloy military tripod i found. It’s more stable than the og mount- still a bit wobbly but very useable. Nice and light too. Much as i love the Tal finders, when i got to look through this little Tak 6x30 I was blown away by the sharp bright image, the thin cross hairs, the tack sharp field stop and best of all the eye relief. A 3d printed adapter and the ADM QR and it fits like a charm. Holds its collimation and is a joy to use. Quick to remove for solar for added safety too The Baader prism is fitted with a 2” nose piece which simplifies fitting and the 1.25” click lock I really love- so much nicer than the side screw on the Tal diagonal. And for Solar I have a Lacerta wedge- feels much safer than the Baader film and i think is sharper. Really enjoying regular observing of the crazy sunspot activity right now. These Sistema lunch boxes are great for storing it all Mark
  14. well if i could afford the WXs I should be able to afford one of these 😄 https://ffx.co.uk/products/festool-festool-exo-18-hpc-4-0-i-plus-18v-2x4ah-exoactive-exoskeleton-support-288815
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