Hans Joakim

I’m also struggling with astigmatism (about -1.25), and have considered both daily lenses and TV Dioptrx. I use glasses to correct for short-sightedness and astigmatism. I have tried to get on with contact lenses, mostly motivated by this very hobby, but struggle to get on with them. Probably I’m just paranoid about putting stuff onto my eyes… I also considered the Dioptrx, but then would have to fiddle around in the dark to have it fitted to my preferred Pentax XW eyepieces. These eyepieces sport 20 mm eye relief, but that is still just a bit shy of what I need with glasses on… I’m not sure what to do, but currently I prefer to observe without my glasses on (and no lenses nor Dioptrx). The attached schematic is from a post over at CN, and may give an indication of when astigmatism becomes a concern (larger exit pupils). In your case, I would think staying with EPs that give exit pupils of 2-3 mm or less should be fine?

Thanks for these excellent user reports and recommendations, @JeremyS @HollyHound @MalcolmM @Stu! @MalcolmM I'm not quite there with a personal fleet of Taks yet, but I do see myself heading in that general direction. This is such an infectious environment! Currently torn between the FOA-60Q or instead using the DF in a large backpack and with focuser removed as travel companion... Torture!

Thanks for the feedback, Gary and Jeremy! Much appreciated. Those Oklop bags are excellent. I have this two-compartment, padded bag that I’m very happy with: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-small-telescopes.html Just out of curiosity: Have any of you done a side-by-side comparison between the views had in a FC-100 and the FOA-60Q on say the Moon, planets and brighter Messier objects? Not a fair comparison aperture-wise, or considering the higher price tag for the FC-100, but curious about how well the smaller gem matches its larger sister! (Guess I’m just looking for good reasons to buy another Tak!) *** Calling Takophile Anonymous ***

In addition to the excellent optics, the portability of the 60 mm series of scopes is very attractive to me. One of my use cases would be short hikes with the scope in a padded case, preferrably a shoulder bag or a back pack. For those of you with the FOA-60Q: Do you have any recommendations for a suitable case? I assume it would be necessary and most convenient to disassemble the extender from the scope for compact transportation.

There it is! I received the AZ75 yesterday, in excellent condition and safely packaged by FLO. After replacing the stock EQ6 bolt with a longer threaded bolt (75 mm), I finally got the AZ75 secured to my UNI28 this afternoon. I am waiting for the clouds to hopefully clear later tonight, and have in the meantime updated the firmware on the Nexus and gotten to know the mount a bit better using my currently only scope, the TSAPO96. Please pardon the guidescope in the photos below; I was just too excited to get things underway! The mount itself is very smooth in both axes, and I found it easy to adjust the two clutches to get nice, smooth operation. The machining and construction is simply first class. Perched on top of the Berlebach, this is probably the finest piece of furniture I own. Being used to iOptrons Go-To GEMs, this is refreshingly simple and quick to setup for observation. We are normally not particularly well-off weather-wise in south-western Norway, so having a lighter and more grab-and-go setup was a consideration when deciding on the AZ75. An amazing piece of hardware, and I am very, very pleased so far. Hoping to share some more impressions once the clouds lift some!

Got it! Didn’t see that o-ring before you pointed it out. Have the stock bolt removed now and will pick up a longer M12 on my way home from work tomorrow. Thanks a lot Stu!

So, just took delivery of the AZ75! Very excited to get the mount up on a Berlebach UNI, but running into an issue with the length of the stock EQ6 bolt on the Berlebach top… the photo below shows the EQ6 top with the bolt as far up as it can go. Since the diameter of the AZ75 is too large for it to slot down into the recess in the top, the stock bolt will not grip the M12 tapped hole in the AZ75… Any ideas or suggestions for a quick workaround? Photos will follow when I got this sorted…

I believe the AZ100 comes with M12 tapped hole as standard (http://www.rowanastronomy.com/productsa6.htm#az100mount), so EQ6 type top plates should be compatible. The EQ5 top plate comes with the smaller M10 if I'm not mistaken, so may not fit out of the box... John worked on a nice "dual EQ5/EQ6" solution some years back that may be useful: .

ADM makes a nice counterweight option that you can connect to the dovetail: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-counterweight-kits/am-dvcw-sm-d-and-v-series-counterweight-with-side-mounted-option-and-3-threaded-rod.html I have used this to balance a 4” refractor, and found consistently better guiding results once properly balanced, at least when shooting close to the home position/Polaris. The counterweight included by ADM was too heavy, so I ended up threading thick bolts and spacers onto the rod instead.

Well, regardless of how it all turns out, I promise I will not mention the lack of slo-mo knobs. Scout's honor.

Thanks Alan! And thanks to you and Stu for the excellent test reports. It is safe to say that you had no small part in my decision to go for the AZ75!

Me too! I have an AZ75 with the Nexus DSC Pro and the shelf incoming from FLO some time next week. Needless to say, I am super excited about it! I currently use a GEM45 as my only mount, and that is serving me very well for both visual and astrophotography. It does take some commitment to align and setup properly, however, so plan to use the AZ75 as my grab-and-go setup. Will make sure to post photos once the lovely Rowan is here.

Here is a very nice video showing Derek installing the motor upgrade kit on the AZ100: https://youtu.be/8Tn04gW8-O0 What beautiful mounts Rowan make!

Actually, I think the Uranus-C is a very nice camera for the RASA: Similarly for relatively short focal length refractors; I ordered one for my 3-in 480mm apo.

Luke got very nice results with an uncooled PO Uranus-C and the f/2 RASA: YouTube link. That’s just 3 hours worth of data. The specs on the new sensors, such as the Uranus-C are really exciting, both as a lunar and planetary camera, but also for DSO work! The Uranus-C is not unlike the ASI183MC Pro in terms of sensor and pixel size, but less than half the price. I live in Norway, and so (as pointed out above in this thread) cooling is not that much of a concern for most of the imaging season. Now, only have to wait two more months for the nights to get a bit darker…!

Section 5.2 in this document shows the power consumption for the ZWO 294 MC for different cooling temperatures (assuming 25.5 dC ambient temperature). Under these conditions, you should be able to keep the sensor below 0 dC with no more than 0.4 A per hour. I expect a power tank of this capacity should be plenty sufficient.