Deadlake

8 hours ago, Elp said:

Another option would also be the Pegasus Astro NYX which would be similar to the HAE43.

This handles the C11 very well, the waiting list is long and the amount of users quite high.

There is native suppprt for this mount in most astro software as well.

The only gotcha is the power supply needs to maintain correct ampage…

PUAS

6 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Sadly, not me posting about those two scopes. Would love to get my hands on either though and put them through their paces.

Gavstar sold the Baader Traveller some years back…

@DirkSteele

From a mount point of view I would look at the AZ75 or HAZ31.

The HAZ31 is very light and would make excellent use up until your 130 mm, whereas the AZ75 would support the C11. 
 

Depends how manual you would want to go.

If I was taking a trip to some dark skies, then maybe the AZ75 and a Nexus DSC would be the better option, as goto without creating a large amount of light..

Here is a 130 mm LZOS on an AZ100

And a 130 GTX on the HAZ31, not mine. The AZ100 is 6 kg larger then the AZ75. The HAZ31 is 3.1 kg’s, but no encoders. If you knock the mount on changing an EP it is start again.

The AZ100 does have a YAB adapter to balance in the Y axis which is unique to the AZ100 and the Half Hitch

On 09/09/2023 at 10:45, Littleguy80 said:

I think I’ve pretty much ended up with that kinda set. APM 30mm UFF, APM HDC 20mm, Docter 12.5mm, Delos 10mm, Pentax XW 5mm and Vixen HR 3.4mm. I started out with a more matching set but over time just starting picking whatever seemed best for my tastes at particular focal lengths. 

 The only EP's I could think of adding is the Nagler 31 mm and maybe a TOE 4 mm when the seeing is not good enough to support the HR 3.4 mm.

The 30 mm UFF I have and really is in a class of it' own.

And yes I would add the Noblex 12.5 mm to my collection as well. 

A dream scope is one you have chased after and then it arrives.

For example a LZOS 130 mm F6 with a Kruppax tube to stop dewing and the tube freezing.

I have larger mirrored scops, however for being able to relatively easily take the scope out, align and view and the sharpness on planets and widefield this scope gives a lot of flexibility. Larger mirrored scopes allow to see deeper, the view does not have the pristine view of the LZOS.

Would I like a larger APO, of course however any scope  over 130 mm needs a dedicated observatory IMHO to offset the setup time.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Looks good. Where does the Y axis adjuster come from?

It's a Rowan add on.

Not available on Flo, I suspect there is a back log for it.

Make sure to get the knob set as makes adjustment very simple, I have the counter weight but not used it yet.

Observed Jupiter and Saturn through a C11 (9mm XWA x431) and 105 mm LZOS (4 mm TOE x164). 

The bonus was Saturns rings where visible, wonder how long this will last before they are edge on?

On Jupiter I could see more image scale thru the C11  however the view was soft compared with the LZOS. 

There was no acclamation required for the C11, the scope was stored in the garage and it was still 22 degrees last night however the image was SCT soft while the LZOS did not have the image scale however the view was pin sharp.

Not a fair comparison as the C11 will never have an MTF similar to an LZOS scope and the price reflects this. 

 

I don't think I've posted these together, however slight twist in that the C11 and LZOS 105 are perfectly balanced in the Y axis. 
Both of them just float when manually moved in any direction and stay there without any clutch applied.
Makes viewing Jupiter and Saturn very enjoyable, especially controlling the mount from a joystick without any vibration.



Balanced in Y axis



Y balance adapter

The other option is Y balance, SuperMount make a compact AltZ which will balance in the Y axis.

See:

http://supermount.kr/?act=shop.goods_list&GC=GD00

The smaller mount will take the FSQ and allows Y balancing which is a game changer as the scope will be effectiviely balanced in any position. 

3 hours ago, Stu said:

The 31 Nag is 82 degrees, not 85 so that makes it even worse value 🤪🤣. Doesn’t stop me loving mine. Cost me £375 for a mount used one fairly recently, John seems to find the real bargains although that was a while again I think.

I’ve never used a UFF, but when I compared the 30mm 82 degree ES with the Nag, the Nag was noticeably better at the edges so is worth the premium in my mind.

The 31 Nag is almost 1 kg while there 30 mm UFF is 556 grams.

Good thing my scopes have plenty of glass at the front to balance them. 😀

The last Nagler 31 mm listed on SGL was at £495.

On 29/08/2023 at 21:48, John said:

I've posted these quite often but here are my 3.8 degree rig, the Vixen ED102SS + Nagler 31mm, and the more recently put together Altair ED 70mm + Nagler 31 setup which delivers a 6 degrees true field.

These ED doublet refractors (and others posted in this thread) are notable because not only can they deliver views of wide swathes of space but they can also quite comfortably handle, and often exceed, magnifications of 50x per inch under decent conditions and on the right targets. 

Really usable versatility 🙂

Is the Nagler 31mm (85 deg) the goto EP's for this, I have a 30 mm UFF (70 deg) at present?

I'd use in either  a 105 mm F6.25 or 130 mm F6 scope.

Is that extra 12 degrees worth it?




 

Using a 55 mm Plossl, AP compressor gets this 105 mm to 5.5 degrees field of view

The Y balance adapter is now available.

 Just need the spacer if ussing with the motor kit.

12 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

I remember a time not that long ago where that was still somewhat unique and would often get called out - “oh, satellite just flew through the field.”  Now it is all the time. I really see this when I do out reach. It’s a new experience for most and I lose count of how many times I hear it during a session.

I’m not convinced that Starlink is the best value for delivering the internet globally.

The cult of Elon has much to answer for…

3 hours ago, The60mmKid said:

I haven't, but the e-ink tablet that I mentioned earlier (or a similar one) circumvents this issue nicely.

The more digging on this any screen you can see from more then 30 cm is too bright ( effect on night vision ), I’ll be using the nexus and a voice to text program.

I can imagine why the AP route is so popular is the amount of light pollution that at the same time is making visual observing hard to do. The impact on star hoping, in some places only push/goto can navigate the sky.

 Visual to me is the real time observation of the sky, EAA is out of this due the integration time taken to generate an image however sometime soon this will achieved.

Now a lot of the objects I look at under SQM 21 skies with a C11 are mono chrome in nature whether using glass or boosting the contrast to SQM 23 with an intensifier.

I can also look at methane clouds on the planets with the intensifier.
Galaxy spiral arms becomes more defined.

iI’s not just H-Alpha that is made possible.

It’s easier then getting a 30” scope out that may not acclimate or while waiting getting clouded over. 
 

Visuals decline is IMHO because of light pollution….

All this talk of 12” dobs, I find my C11 (with a glass EP, but better with an intensifier) works well and using an AltZ mount makes the scope very mobile plus push to is easy to add.

It’s around two trips to assemble in the garden and a lot easier to store then a dob.

Very mobile in a car, when I need to find more altitude for more stable air.

Only downside is the use of a dew shield however that’s a minor issue and if you are used to a APO the stars colour and sharp ness is not the same.

Has anyone tried to take notes on an iPad using a stylus with the iPad screen in red mode only?

I get the feeling that even using a tablet or phone in red mode will still impact vision at nigh time, of course the impact will be related to the skies the observation is under.

12 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Sorry misread, thought the original question was about the DZ.  I saw what Stu did to take abroad.  Tempting to get a light weight 4" scope.  Love the LZOS 105 but the weight means the mount and tripod need to be far more robust.

They are other options, this 3.5 kg tripod (Supermount) and 4 kg mount (HAZ31) makes a 130 mm grab n’go

Perfect for taxi trips…

1 hour ago, DirkSteele said:

I recalled there was a Beast (though looking a the pic, I would say smaller than your one so let’s call it Beast Jr) at AstroFest about 10 years ago. Though I think there was some smoke and mirrors (should that be smoke and lenses?) going on as I do not believe the actual objective was installed.

When was the last time you bought a scope? 

Maybe all those scopes that would of been yours can be pooled into one last one..

46 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

I can resist everything, except temptation…

 

And holy cow, that beast is the temptation!

Does it fit in the back of a taxi?

7 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

I was using the Tele Optic Ercole, but I used a cabon Fibre tripod (also up to the job)

Gitzo tripod or something else?

How is you review going of the LZOS 130 mm / f9 going? 

As you mention mounts which one where you using?

I've finally got the AZ100 with motor kit working with a joypad. I mention here as would be great for outreach (tenuous link?) as the scope is controlled from a joy pad

Aka control this:



With this



Screen looks a bit like this:
 

Note the star 1+2 align buttons can be hidden.

9 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

That one is extra special among special scopes of the LZOS range. Have started writing a review of it after almost 5 years of ownership.

The extra light grasp of the 130 mm over the 105 mm is quite noticeable. I’d really like to know if a 0.99 vs 0.98 Strehl rating can be seen when comparing f 9.2 vs f 6?

The f 6 is big enough and the f 9.2 will have a smaller exit pupil.

14 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

Not familiar with that model. I shall look it up now.

https://www.telescopengineering.com/telescope/apo160fl-f-11/
 

There is a 200 mm model as well..

https://www.telescopengineering.com/telescope/apo200fl-f-11/