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SuburbanMak

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SuburbanMak last won the day on January 20

SuburbanMak had the most liked content!

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About SuburbanMak

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Visual, Messier-chaser (99/110) dabbling with doubles, light-polluted DSOs, tooled-up for planetary & lunar, grab & go a must.
    Telescopes: Tak FC 100DC, Tak FS60-Q, Skywatcher StarTravel 80 with 2 inch TS Monorail focuser, GSO Revelation 10” Dobsonian.
    Classic ‘fracs: Hilkin 60mm f13.3, Prinz 60mm f11.8, Clarkson 3inch f15, Towa 80mm f15.
    Mounts: AZ GTi goto, AZGTiX, Berlebach Report 312, Manfrotto 55.
    Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 24mm, Stella Lyra 30mm UFF, Baader Morpheus 12.5mm, Pentax XW 5mm, SV Bony 3-8mm Zoom, Hyperion Aspheric 31mm, Baader Hyperion 8-24mm & 2.25 Barlow, Baader Classic Ortho 6mm, 10mm & 18mm, TS Optics 32mm Plossl, TV 15mm Plossl.
    Other stuff:  SW 9x50 & Telrad finder,  Canon 10x42 IS Bins, Celestron Nature 10x50 ED Bins, Helios Fieldmaster 7x50 Bins.  Nikon D80, D90.  
  • Location
    Winchester, Hampshire. UK 51 3' 56" 1 18'51"

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  1. Let's see... 1) 250mm f5 GSO Dob. (The "FLT" or "Fairly Large Telescope" - doesn't get enough use, all the bits purchased for a future refurb). 2) Tak FC 100 DC + FT focuser - a forever 'scope - a winner on contrast, star presentation, colour fidelity & sweetspot between aperture & portability. 3) Tak FS 60-Q f10 (also used in CB mode at f5.9 alongside the 4" above as the "Winchester Small Telescope Array" or "WSTA"). 4) ST80 + TS Optics 2" monorail focuser (whopping field, slightly retired due to FS60 purchase). 5) Towa "Topic" 339 80mm f15 (cracking 'scope but a bit long for my mounts, for sale in classifieds if anyone's interested...) 6) Clarkson 3" f15 (c.1909) "The Gentleman's Telescope" - a steampunk joy to use and an object of beauty. 7) Hilkin 60mm f13.3 (Also for sale) 8 ) Prinz 60mm f11.8 - an optical gem this one. (+ Various finders & bin's which I suppose are also telescopes. The Tak 6x30 finder would receive mention in dispatches here, often find myself lingering on it's crisp widefield views whilst orienting the main 'scope).
  2. Well first of all let’s hope it never comes to this conundrum… & secondly, phew! At least the exam question is limited to ‘scopes so I can keep my Canon IS 10x42s (which I already have a plan to designate to marine/wildlife use if push ever comes to shove over the level of Astro-clutter question). Other than that I would, predictably, plump for the 4” Tak (FC100 DC) for all the many reasons stated above. (Although if I couldn’t hang on to the bin’s the FS60 Q would be a strong contender as it doubles up as a widefield instrument).
  3. I was heading to bed but noticed the sky hereabouts looked really quite good - having taken a moderate helping of wine, I plumped for the Canon 10x42 IS rather than a ‘scope & enjoyed a super hour on a sun-lounger, pyjama and NorthFace clad. Meandered around a distinctly spring-like sky. Highlights were M13, Lyra generally but spotting M57 in AV. Rich fields through Cygnus for the first time this year, taking in M39 & picking up M29. A rewarding steady split of Alberio. Delighted to accidentally land on the coathanger asterism Tonight’s stand out view though would be Melotte 111, the Coma Star Cluster - a perfect wide field binocular object & really quite stunning.
  4. Haven’t been out for a while so it felt great to sneak in an hour and half out there with the baby-Tak, FS60 in CB mode with the two zooms - Baader 8-24mm and SV Bony 3-8mm. Transparency really quite poor and magnifying the local LP but still managed some rewarding views of clusters and easy doubles. Meandered around Orion, messy split of Rigel, nice view of the Trapezium (4) amidst slightly washed-out nebulosity, but even under these conditions still one of the best views in the sky. Pleiades, Beehive and Double Cluster never fail to delight. Dim views of M67, M35 through M38 - not the best but nice to know they’re out there… Looked at Algieba, Castor, Cor Caroli, Iota Cancri, Tegmine (as a double only, of course with a 60mm at 118x) and, the view I will think about as I nod off later, Beta Monoceros, a tiny but cleanly split triple system.
  5. It's a good thought, given the light weight of what I have running on the L-bracket (FS60CB) however its all nice and stable, it does look a bit "Heath-Robinson" but works well and I suspect that your practical 'scope customisation skills are a little above mine
  6. Great read @Stu thank you, & my kind of session! Work & other things been thwarting a little lately so great to get some vicarious enjoyment, have to say, much as I love checking in on "What did you see tonight?" I do love a longer form observing report!
  7. He brought an ADM Tak clamshell vixen bar. This is a beautifully engineered thing allowing me to run matchy-matchy Tak clamshell mounts on the AZGTiX for the FS60Q & FC100DC
  8. A short session early evening last night as I had to pack and prepare for a business trip today. Had the FC100 & FSQ side by side and a nice look at Jupiter showing tight detail and the GRS. Pleaides, Hyades, M44, M42 (still a bit low down) Castor, Alnitak - then a band of cloud rolled in. A nice “top-up” of views to remember in my week away. I also learned that it’s possible to thread the objective on the FS60 on back to front - views not recommended!
  9. Spent a nice hour out with the little Tak FS60 from midnight & just two zooms, Baader 8-24mm & SVBony 3-8mm. Aligned goto and hopped between whatever was popping out between cloud bands. Some lovely views of the Beehive, M35, Cor Caroli, Algieba, Mizar, Coma Cluster and an amazingly rewarding view of the Double Cluster given how far into the light extinction from neighbouring properties it had slipped. M3 was great with a hint of sparkle at 4mm (89x) in the SV Bony, Also enjoyed some dimmer views of M67, M36 and M94 - always nice to bag a galaxy from the garden even if there’s little detail available. A nice session then with the FS60 in f5.9 CB mode on a Manfrotto 55, being truly “grab and go”.
  10. looking forward to hearing how this all works out, should be a great rig! (may even be a couple of clear hours tonight in the South...)
  11. Great information thank you & I have the same 30mm so very good to know! Also, that does look nice...
  12. Hi @Stu - the widest I am likely to use in the FC100 is the Stella Lyra 30mm UFF (APM clone). With the TS 2" mirror I am having to drop the diagonal back about 5mm to achieve focus with this EP currently, not ideal but secure & workable. I'd love to get a diagonal that doesn't require this so maybe a somewhat longer lightpath might actually help.
  13. Thanks @mikeDnight - this is a good & potentially money saving tip!
  14. A question for the hive mind... What's the best 2" diagonal option for an f7.4 Tak 100 DC? Having recently acquired a FeatherTouch focuser which came attached to the lovely new-to-me FS60Q (purchased in immaculate condition courtesy of @astro_al ) I've got this up and running on my Tak FC100-DC & after a bit of allen-key fiddling it's now working perfectly. In 1.25" mode, the FC100 DC was working beautifully with the Tak Prism, which makes me think that at f7.4 I am fine with a prism. My 2" diagonal today is a TS-Optics 99% Dielectirc mirror, originally purchased as part of an ST80 2" conversion. It's giving lovely views and although not a "budget, budget" option I am thinking that it may be the weakest link in my optical chain. So, the questions are: Do I need to upgrade at all, will I notice the difference? If I do upgrade am I best with a Prism or a Mirror and if so which is the best fit with this scope? Options seem to me to be from the Tak 2" mirror, Baader 2" BBHS Mirror or Prism, Televue Everbrite. Main considerations are 1) optical fidelity & 2) weight.
  15. Love my Baader Zoom, only reason I didn’t mention it here is that at £237 it’s a way outside the price range described in the thread. Also agree that having used the SV Bony which is genuinely parfocal, having to tweak focus every time you change fl is a bit of a drag, but still a great bit of kit.
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