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Would a Tal 150P compliment a Skywatcher Heritage 130P?

Dodge

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Dodge

Dodge

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My SW Heritage arrived only two weeks ago and I've been enjoying finding my way around the skies, but the scope I originally wanted was the rather lovely Tal 150P. Typically, nobody had stock but now FLO do and I still want one.

Do I upgrade already, or is it worth keeping the SW as a second scope? The Flextube and Dob mount is VERY portable and would be handy for a quick impromptu viewing session without the 10-15 mins set up that the Tal would need.

They're both F5 scopes - the Tal is a lot more money for not a lot of increase in focal length and aperture, but comes with a 'proper' GEM and better quality eyepieces, optics and focuser.

And yes, I am trying to justify the purchase. :)

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Hobbes

Hobbes

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Tricky one. I have a TAL 2M loan scope at the moment and a lovely piece of kit it is. Nice optics and lovely views. The downside, if you want to see it that way, is that it is built like a tank! Portability is not it's strong point on the other hand it copes with a lot of abuse.

I think you could justy the purchase. The TAL for serious observing sessions in your garden or organised and planned observing parties and keep the Heritage as a grab and go scope for those spur of the moment decisions to pop out when the mood takes you. I have a set of big Bins + tripod for this.

Hope tis helps

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MikeP

MikeP

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Only you can decide whether the expense is justified ..... or is there a financial controller to convince?

Mrs MikeP receives the same amount of money to spend on herself / the house as I spend on scopes - expensive but it avoids any arguments.

Mike

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AndyH

AndyH

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Nick(nicnac), has had a Tal 150P for some time now. I'm sure when he sees this thread he'll give you his views of the scope and be able to answer any possible questions regarding it.

Cheers,

Andy.

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Dodge

Dodge

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Tricky one. I have a TAL 2M loan scope at the moment and a lovely piece of kit it is. Nice optics and lovely views. The downside, if you want to see it that way, is that it is built like a tank! Portability is not it's strong point on the other hand it copes with a lot of abuse.

I think you could justy the purchase. The TAL for serious observing sessions in your garden or organised and planned observing parties and keep the Heritage as a grab and go scope for those spur of the moment decisions to pop out when the mood takes you. I have a set of big Bins + tripod for this.

Hope tis helps

Thanks for the reply - I did briefly borrow a 2M just to see how feasible it was to use so I know how big and heavy they are.

The 150P has a shorter focal length than the 2M and of course no motor, so the set up time will be a little less and it should be easier to handle.

On another positive, the SW eyepieces are a little average and I was always going to upgrade them but the Tal comes with a couple of decent ones plus a barlow, so that's a result.

Only you can decide whether the expense is justified ..... or is there a financial controller to convince?

Mrs MikeP receives the same amount of money to spend on herself / the house as I spend on scopes - expensive but it avoids any arguments.

Mike

Hi Mike,

My girlfriend is pretty cool about me spending money, it'll only be the size of the scope she might not be too enthusiastic about.

It's my heart ruling the purchase, the Tal is what I dreamed of owning - my head suggests the scope won't give me a massive improvement on what I already have.

That said, I bought the little SW as it was cheap and a good place to start. I'm delighted with it, I just want the Tal. :)

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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if you calculate the square mm of the two scopes, the Tal (17673 mm2) has 33% more area than the 130 (13274 mm2) so there should be a reasonably obvious difference in light gathering I think. Having both would be OK for the convenience but personally I feel you won't use the 130 once you have looked through the 150.

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Dodge

Dodge

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I feel you won't use the 130 once you have looked through the 150.

I actually hope you're right - I REALLY want the Tal to be a lot better optically. My concern if it's not, then the 130P will get grabbed first as it's more portable. 10 seconds from decision to viewing vs 15-20 mins for the Tal. (Cooling down time aside).

Dodge - Here's a link to the Tal 150P user manual(pdf file). May be of interest.

http://www.npzoptics.com/files/TAL1,1M,2,150P,150P8.pdf

Andy.

ps: Be aware, that the mount that's shown on FLO's site is the MT-1

Thanks Andy - I've got the manual already. Not entirely sure what you mean about the mount, do they now come with something else?

Cheers.

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AndyH

AndyH

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Hi.

The user manual shows and describes the 150P on the MT-3S stepper mount. It was just in case you didn't realise, when looking through the manual.

Sorry for any confusion.

Cheers,

Andy.

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nicnac

nicnac

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in short, the TAL would blow the 130 out of the stars, it is a fantastic scope. Many a time I have said I would rather be rid of a kidney than the TAL :)

if your buying from FLO, which I would recommend, you should be getting the current spec 150P, which has a 2"/1.25" focuser, older models had a 1.25".

it has been said that TAL's are built like tanks, they are!, rolled steel tube is very sturdy and collimation is held very well, very well indeed!

Having said that its tank~ish, the 150P is light enough not to be a bother and that finder! oh yeah! its great!

The TAL's are not sold with the pillar style mounts here, I have mine on a CG5 manual EQ (sturdier than the EQ5)

As you can tell, I am most passionate ;)

Any questions, giz a quick poke :(

oh, the TAL users group here on SGL is a fine info source

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nicnac

nicnac

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your right Andy, just nipped onto FLO website, they have the TAL mounts now, which is great! could I justify getting the GEM over the CG5 I already have??

oh well, looks like Dodge will get the whole package if he chooses right :)

another note for the poster, you get quite a few bits n bobs in the box too, I got a 25mm and a 7.5mm EP a x2 TAL barlow, an adaptor for a cam and a cross hair adaptor for the EP

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Dodge

Dodge

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Hi.

The user manual shows and describes the 150P on the MT-3S stepper mount. It was just in case you didn't realise, when looking through the manual.

Sorry for any confusion.

Cheers,

Andy.

Ah, thanks for that. Much appreciated.

in short, the TAL would blow the 130 out of the stars, it is a fantastic scope.

Hmm - I feel it's going to be an expensive 24 hours...

Thanks all for the info - going to sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

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jamespels

jamespels

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Just seen this and fully agree with all that's ben said!

I have a TAL 2M and it takes only about 5 mins to set up (take base and mount out in one piece, roughly polar align, take ota out, bolt together). Add a bit longer if you want to properly polar align. Similarly, putting it away again is only another 5 mins. Until recently, I have been very lucky though - my wife has allowed me to keep it in the conservatory and I set up about 20 feet away. Our neighbours have just put up an extension blocking most of my view to the south from that location and I know from experience that lugging the TAL around any distance is not fun (I have used my bins far more and the TAL hardly at all in the last couple of months as a result).

Optically, my dad has a SW130; it's a great scope for what it is but it is not a patch on the TAL :)

J.

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Dodge

Dodge

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you'll not regret buying the Tal but I bet you'll sell the other one and recoup some of the cost at least.

To be honest, whilst the little Flextube 130P is a nice little scope, I think I'll struggle to sell it without taking a bit of a hit so I'll probably keep it.

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