Mr Jones

So... its not the holy grail, but a smart find all the same. All I need now is clear skies. Not looked through my Takahashi in over 6 weeks. 😪

Omg... I actually found a NOS Vixen #3728 adapter in Singapore! Now just have to wait a few weeks and see if it actually arrives...

So, here is a single jpeg snapshot of the moon I recorded tonight using an Olympus micro four thirds camera, and a 100mm refractor. Question is, would I gain much in quality or impact by going to the trouble of shooting 100 raw files and stacking? Not sure if I could deal with the time in front of a screen if it won't really deliver. And if you think it would; what software for Mac?

Urgh... you had to go one better, didn't you. 🤣

I have those rings...

I was worried it was stolen. Is there a register for such items?

Oh man... who bought the FS128 and EM200 off ebay just now? The guy was taking any offer... sold in minutes...

My Tak DL ready for action...

Just found out that the Adapter is VIXEN part number #3728. If you see one...

Here she is... As all the other eyepieces I have are orthos, the lens on this thing looks HUGE.

I seem to have found a vintage (old as me, I think) Vixen 40mm eyepiece. Trouble (for me) is that it was designed to screw directly to a focuser. So has a 36.4mm thread at the end instead of a 1.25 nosepiece. My search powers must be weakening, as I can't seem to find a 1.25 nosepiece with the right thread. Anyone know who I should be speaking to?

I use the Baader fluid when needed. So far only needed it once on just one of my eyepieces. When (clearly too often for my own good) bored; I shine my red-light torch down the tail end of my eyepieces and project through the lens onto a wall to see if any major debris is present. Not sure if I should be admitting to such behavior?! The only time I saw something that looked like a container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, I used the Baader fluid, a microfiber cloth, and a q-tip.

In the app, you'll find a power 'button' to activate shutdown. But then you already knew this... 🤣

As someone who uses mostly small orthoscopics, I often worry about what damage would be caused to the tiny TAO if I dropped it on my patio in the dark. I'm guessing with something like that, you worry about cracking your patio slabs. 😅

Did someone say eyepieces worthy of a Takahashi?

So right now I'm enjoying being able to nip out with my Tak DL and grab clear skies as they show up. Purely visual observing. I do like to document what I see, though, but using my Note 20 is becoming a right chore. So I figured out that with a bunch of adapters and extentions, I can create an easy to use set up with my camera and a Baader FfC that can mimic pretty much most the fov's I get with my eyepieces. And it would be a simple twist of the lock to drop the prism etc out and pop the T2 FfC and camera in. This saves me the hassle of laptops, cables, etc required for a full astrophotography set up. I've been waiting for a used FfC to show up, but nothing doing. So are they worth the high retail price? And if not, are their other flexible magnification options that work on the T2 system?

Love the book and the posters. Not sure how I feel about the scope or that tripod; I can only imagine the vibrations that pair create.

I know what my lifetime scope would be... because I recently bought it... 😜 DL in the dark.

Some daytime shots. Brackets were £15 on Amazon, carbon tube £12 on ebay.

Glad I'm not the only one to sneak a quick hug.

How hard is it to get a nice handle for your scope? Let alone one that's affordable. After spending way too long searching, I pulled something together myself. It's not what I'd design if I had the money to make a short run, but it's not bad for a bunch of bits off ebay and amazon.

So, I have a bunch of Tak Orthos and one dull day (I know, so many, right?!) I thought I'd set the scope up by an open window indoors and see what the TAOs were like vs a new TOE 4mm I'd purchased recently but not been able to use yet. The TAO eyepieces (25 down to 9) all performed identically (bar magnification). I could not see any colour or contrast differences between any of them. The TOE worried me, though. I was centred on a power cable pylon about half a mile away. And first thought was, damn, that really is impressive magnification and sharpness. But second thought was slight concern at lack of contrast. It looked very washed out and lacked pop. But last night, out in the dark observing the moon and stars, the TOE shone. Contrast seemed very similar to the TAO pieces. Why such a day / night difference?

Finally got some clear skies tonight. Grabbed this shot with my Samsung Note 20 through a Takahashi DL and TOE 4mm. Crater bottom right is Theophilus. It's 4km deep, and the mountain formed by the impact is just over 2km high.

Okay, clear skies tonight, so no pressure. But tomorrow, when it's cloudy again, and you guys are board stiff; which one of you brave souls are going to reach for the rusty hacksaw and slice that pinion down?

Righto... Saturday now cloudy, but clear skies tonight. Time to dig out the unfeasibly warm clothes and dew heaters; I'm going to 'person' up, and get out in that there snow.