MalcolmM

Problem? What problem? I don't see a problem

I've not seen the nebulosity yet but I'm not convinced my local skies are dark enough. I'll be trying again this winter! Binoculars, now that can take me back to to the original topic of how many and why (ok not exactly scopes). I bought a bunch of cheap binoculars when I took the kids to Namibia. I also bought a pair of medium priced Nikons for myself, and a 15x70 Celestron (the cheaper ones). Also some small Steiners for my partner. The cheap ones did the job untill they tried the Nikons, then everyone wanted the Nikons. The Nikon's were a revelation to me, amazing views! The Steiner's, I couldn't get on with, I couldn't merge the images half the time. The Celestrons broke at the focuser before we got to the darkest skies I have ever seen in the Namib. I actually gave them to one of our guest house owners who reckoned his son might be able to weld the broken part. I thought the views through the Nikon's were incredible until I looked through a friend's Swarovski binoculars a year or so later! And then I bought a Tak. Perfection at last! And then the Tak started to breed! And if I'm honest, there's no rational reason for more than maybe two but they are lovely! Malcolm

Thanks @HollyHound. I've never looked through a dob but by all accounts they've give amazing views. Can you fit the whole of the Pleiades in the FOV with the Mewlon and XW40? I was a tad disappointed that I couldn't with the Mewlon and Stella Lyra 45 Kitakaru. The field of view calculator implied I should. It also implies the XW should have the same FOV as the Kitkaru. Maybe just the difference between theory and practice! Malcolm

Very impressive! I particularly like your Saturn. Mars very good too and interesting to me as it reflects (all be it in more detail) what I was seeing the other night; polar cap with small dark area just below and the large dark area with a brighter rim at the south pole. Malcolm

How does a Mewlon compare with a big dob? Love the sound of all that light gathering but my house/garden are simply not compatible with that size of system! Oh, and how can you bear to part with the little 60CB? Malcolm

You're very close. Sometimes I bring it out the front door and use the door step as a seat. That way I don't even have to extend the tripod legs! Bit cold on the cheeks though Malcolm

Sorry, I can't resist another small Tak plug! I have an FS60CB permanently setup on a photo tripod with fluid video head in the house. It's perfect for stealing a 5 minute session here and there. I can carry it out fully setup, one handed, through narrow doors and be observing in 15 seconds! I sometimes also use this to test the seeing, see if it's worth getting out one of it's siblings or it's mum or dad 🙂 Didn't you know Taks breed? Malcolm

I think I have everything I could ever need/want; much more than I need if I'm honest 🙂 But that does not stop my daily ritual of checking the 'Latest Products' on FLO every morning; em maybe two or three times a day if I'm honest 🙂 Malcolm

No iffy about it. That's a great image! And something new for me to look for. Thanks. Malcolm

If it were me (and I know it's not ), I would get as good a 60mm refractor as my budget would allow, for the following reasons. It's very different from the dobs. It's truely grab and go, take anywhere. You'll get great views of the moon and Jupiter and Saturn; a good 60mm should easily do x120. Great wide field views. You won't see as many DSOs or split as many doubles, but there's still lots of DSOs and doubles that'll give you a challenge and thrill to find. Admittedly I'm biased but I think there's lots of value in a good 60mm and I find I use it frequently simply because it's so easy to take outside and use. Malcolm

I wonder could you put two component 81's together? The threads are compatible. That would give you an extra 10mm or so light path. Just not sure if you can source them. Malcolm

You could try browsing the Baader accessories! They have so many there might be one you could get that would provide a small extension! Malcolm

OK, so I have tried it out on as distant an object as I can see from my house. It's about one mile away, so not at infinity like stars and planets, but probably as good as. Unfortunately the light path is slightly too short with the Tak prism. To achieve focus I need to rack the focuser right out and then pull the diagonal out a little bit (about 5 or 6mm) - see pic. I have attached the 2" Clicklock to component 81 in the system chart. However, the Baader prism has a slightly longer light path and I can get it to focus so in summary: system chart component 81 + 2" clicklock + 2" to 1.25" clicklock adapter + Baader prism + TOE/XW should come to focus. The Baader prism is https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/baader-t-2-prism-star-diagonal-32mm.html + https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/baader-nosepiece-125-t2.html + https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-click-lock-125-inch-eyepiece-adapter-with-t-2-thread.html I hope this makes sense! I know the Tak label says FS60Q but I have the 76 objective module attached (and no Q extender) which is in effect a 76DCU. Binoviewers is another question 🙂 The Stella Lyra Linear ones from FLO will come to focus if an eyepiece comes to focus but I was not very impressed with them. They did not give nearly as good a view as the WO ones. The WO ones typically need a GPC in order to bring them to focus. See pic for the WO on the 76DCU. I have a 1.6x GPC attached to the OTA side of the diagonal. Now this does not fit on the Tak diagonal due to thread sizes so I have to use a Baader diagonal! I spent quite a bit of time (and money 🙂) figuring out how to work with Binoviewers! It was an even bigger faff trying to get them to work without a GPC on the 100DC. I wanted to do this in order to get as wide a field of view as possible. But I gotta say it was worth it. 100DC + WO Binoviewers native + 28mm Tak Erfles and I can very nicely frame the Pleiades and also the double cluster and they really do look stunning - almost 3D like! Apologies - that's probably much more info than you want or need but I spent so long messing with Binoviewers trying to get them to focus I like to talk about it 🙂 Malcolm

Not on the 100DC. The problem is the light path is now far too short. In order to get the single eyepieces to focus I would need to add roughly 100mm extension. For the 76, you would be replacing (I assume) the bits in red in the pic with the two Baader parts. I'm guessing the light path will be reduced a bit and so you might need to add a bit of an extension. I'll try and do an experiment today and see if it works on the 76. I don't think I have tried that combination before with mono mode on the 76. I'll get back to you later, Malcolm

Here is what I do for native WO Binoviewing on the 100DC - smallest light path I can get; not sure if it is what you are after! I think the 100DC has the same draw tube thread as the 76DCU - best to check. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-clicklock-m56i-clamp-takahashi.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-clicklock-2-125-adapter-2956214.html Malcolm

I have done this twice in the last year, once to France and once to Portugal (both from Ireland) and have had no problems. Malcolm

Fabulous and congratulations. That looks a fantastic buy! Malcolm

That's a great sketch! Malcolm

Putting up a challenge eh? A finder illuminator sounds a good idea. I've been conscious recently of not being able to see the cross hairs when looking for dimmer targets! Malcolm

I've been trying to avoid this thread but the pull was too much I think the 128 is just too big and heavy for me but I was absolutely fascinated by the Twin Views. Spent half an hour researching them and must have seen the same reviews as @F15Rules; ghosting, only so so on the views but mechanically excellent. Small clear aperture too? Anyway, much as I'd love a pair, just because they are Tak and rare and interesting, I managed to resist. I value my relationship too much Malcolm

I have so far resisted the temptation! It's a vanity thing. I just love the way they look out of the box and want to try and keep them pure Tak! Though native binoviewing does require a couple of Baader bits which pains me greatly Malcolm

Binoviewing is a bit of a faff compared to mono but every time I do it I wonder why I bother with mono! Usually I start out mono and if I have the time and seeing is good I move to binoviewing! Malcolm

Thanks @Franklin and @JeremyS for your reassuring replies! It's far too nice a scope to have to endure any needless stress and strain 🙂 That's for me to soak up! Malcolm

I have removed a tube on my 100DC in order to shorten the light path so that I have the option to use my Binoviewers natively, without a GPC. See photo with the tube marked in red. This means for normal eyepiece viewing I have an extension tube attached on the other side of the focuser, to lengthen the light path again! This is also used when Binoviewing with a GPC when I want higher magnification for lunar/planetry. See pic. When Binoviewing in this configuration, the weight is now much further out from the focuser and therefore is putting more load on the focuser. I can feel the focuser is stiffer in this scenario, especially if the scope is at an angle and I am focusing in (raising the draw tube). My question (eventually!) is, might this be overloading the focuser? I have not been able to Google any specs along these lines. What's your thoughts? Malcolm

When my partner uses the word 'interesting' with a certain tone, I run for cover! Malcolm