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Deadlake

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Everything posted by Deadlake

  1. The AZ75 is super smooth, not tried chasing a planet yet but it's almost as if the slo mo is in the pan handle as the scope glides around on the mount. That includes the C11...
  2. I placed a C11 on a AZ75. So far so good, the scope can be panned quite smoothly. The Vixen carbon tripod dampens any vibration very quickly, however to give confidence of no toppling I attached a sand bag (not shown) and this made the whole structure very sure footed. Would it be ok in high winds, maybe with a heavier sand bag. 😀 I'll try out first and then see want else needs to be added. Note I use a BB chair, I can then raise and lower my seating position as needed. Another half pillar could be added as well.
  3. How does the APZ deal with a heavy EP on the back, what happens with the balance?
  4. Yep, the only competitor is the 31 mm Naglar type 5, however it's many times the price and this level of performance splitting hairs.
  5. Or a little more accuratly: A telescope that combines the widest possible field of view with the maximum usable exit pupil. Its magnification is just low enough for the exit pupil to be the same as the observer's maximum dark-adapted pupil size. If the maximum pupil size is taken to be 7.5 mm, the magnification will be approximately 0.13 times the aperture in millimetres. This is usually provided by a telescope of small focal ratio and wide-field eyepiece, and is particularly suited to observing the Milky Way, extended deep-sky objects, and comets. A typical RFT has an aperture of 100–180 mm, a focal ratio of f/4, and a field of view of 2–5°. Now a surprise to me is a ratio of F4, seeing as more fast refactors are in the F5-F6 range. The rich/er part comes from the density of stars you can see/per angular resolution.
  6. I was looking at this APM https://www.apm-telescopes.net/en/apm-telescope-apo-sd-refractor-152mm-f6-with-37-zta Dennis is going to review one on CN, at less then 11 kg and with a Strehl nulled in the green of 0.985 high expectations. However as ever larger is better 😀
  7. The SD115S Mark II is £2789. One question I have is why choose the Vixen when the StellaLira 125 mm is around 4 kg in weight. I probably would have brought the Vixen as I suspect it has better optics, however I've really only got the SD103S to base my view off.
  8. I sold my SD103S as I had a 105 mm LZOS that has better optics however does not have the lightweight freedom of the Vixen that I miss. I was tempted to get another one, but took a look at the SD115, the old model is £100 more then the new model, see https://www.bresseruk.com/Astronomy/Telescopes/Vixen-SD115S-apochromatic-Refractor.html Crazy, maybe they withhave a sale on the old model?
  9. Now my 105 mm is grab n’ go, why would I go smaller? Also bino friendly as well given Y balancing. Only 500 mm long when compressed down, no need to take off the FT. 4” at a dark site can really take advantage of the contrast.
  10. @DirkSteele posted how many time is 180 mm had been used…
  11. @DirkSteele told me his 180 mm was around £1000 a view as it does not get out much. 😀 So from consensus around 180 mm is the larger limit in the UK? As far as large scopes, saleries do play a big part and salaries like for like are higher in the US then the UK even taking into account health care costs. The decrease in the electorates spending power due self inflicted mortgage rate increases, for example by the popcon does not help…..
  12. Slight topic diversion, but I do not see many APO scopes larger than a 130-140 mm aperture in the UK. The seeing in the UK does not support large apertures or is it the high magnification? There are deeper, more star rich views in a large mirrored scope, however the joy of seeing the night sky is just more when using a APO due to the sharpness of the image. Always tempted to go up to 160-195 mm, however I feel I'd never get the use. Back to the glass candy, here is a 130 mm LZOS triplet on a AZ100. The AZ100 has tracking installed. and is on a TPod 110 tripod. For me this is a must for high power work. First time I had a BB chair, does make all the different. Taken in Surrey Hill, under SQM 21 skies (well they where later that night)
  13. Zero sessions for me, the weather has been cloudy this January in the Surrey Hills. I think maybe two clear nights, but I missed those for various reasons.
  14. Thought this was bet place to post. Managed to purchase an AZ75 this week along with a Vixen ASG-CB90 carbon tripod. The result is a stable platform, AZ75 (4.5 kg) and tripod (3.5 kg) puts the total around 8.0 kg. The tripod legs are very wide and with the spreader very stable, no chance of tipping! The tripod is around 50 cm's when folded, very easy to transport. Very stable from indoor use so far and the pan handle does not bump into the tripod. One issue I wanted to iron out is balance, I tried to just use a counter weight on the front however this would of not worked with a BV attached, in the end I deployed a YAB (Y axis balance) and now it works perfectly at all angles: The brakes and tension mesh are not engaged. This a costly purchase as I shall have to duplicate up wit the AZ!00 as well. One question I have is why does the AZ75 feel a smoother mount then the AZ100, surely not the weight, surely an explanation somewhere? Added some photos with the tripod folded up for transport With out the YAB, with just a Vixen plate I think the bag would close Compared with the AZ100 on a TPod 110
  15. TS optics does have comparable mirrors on their ONTC line or if you have a mirror they will build a scope around it. TS also sell Orion, so you do not have to deal with them.......
  16. Or you could just get in from APM's dealer in the UK.... https://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Categories/Shop/Eyepieces__Accessories/Wide_Angle_Eyepieces
  17. No, but I thought that only helped with stopping tube currents with large temperature swings. Is it really that good in helping out stopping tube currents forming?
  18. The issue with the SCT is it needs a night of good seeing to use and also needs to acclimate to be usable. In the end I run out of time to use the C11, I just go for the APO as it's ready to use in thirty minutes. The SCT has more image scale, however it's never as sharp or has the contrast of my APO. The MTF of the APO I have just pulls away when looking at planets compared with the SCT. Why do I have the C11, it's great on DSO, it just goes so deep on the stars I can see. My back yard is SQM 21.
  19. Apparently works very well, the supplied saddle’s knob is badly thought out but can be replaced or a new saddle ordered from ADM. About to take the plunge.
  20. I'd also look at the HAZ31, it's a similar price to the AZ mount pro but weighs just 3.1 kg. A lot of AZ owners are moving off from the AZ pro to the HAZ31 for this reason and from the people I know who have one rate it quite highly.
  21. That's a shame as smaller LiFePo batteries that attach to the mount are not very available this side of the pond..
  22. Blindspot make a battery that fits well, see: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/708353-rowan-astronomy-az100-arrived/page-27#entry12941485
  23. As you have said not many clear nights, the ES127 is a scope you can take out and it will acclimate very quickly, allowing you to take advantage of available clear nights or periods of good seeing. I have a C11 and it takes a while to be acclimated, apart from NV usage it gets little use on planets as the view is not as sharp as an APO. However where the C11 wins is the depth it can go, just so many more stars that are visible. The C9.25 is actual the best visual SCT in the line up due to the smaller corrector plate resulting in the highest contrast. I would take the advice above and not buy anything until I found out how visual astronomy worked for me. If that was a route I wanted to go down, I'd probable get a mount that would allow faster setup then the EQ5 or EQ6 mounts. A C9.25 would be a great companion to the ES127.
  24. Vixen ASG CB90 would work with this as well, good to know thanks!
  25. Does the base of the AZ75 fit inside the base of the half pier or have you made the base of the AZ75 flat for it to fit flush? thanks
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