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Air Travel with 1000mm refractor

TonyD

By TonyD
in The Astro Lounge

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AndyH

AndyH

Posted
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Are there actually any 150K's in the UK on a shelf waiting for sale though?

Of the two I've heard of, both were bought 2nd hand.

The quirky Estonian dealer has one, that probably just needs a collimation tweek. Can't get the page to load at the moment.

www.teleskoop.eu

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Yeah the thing with the Alkor was that it was Buy It Now and could be delivered by the time I was back in London, otherwise there'd be much more messing around if the delivery were delayed. Besides, I have a reasonable chance of getting this one into the house unnoticed.

You're in so much trouble if your OH finds out. How many does she think you're bringing back? :rolleyes:

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TonyD

TonyD

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Yes, if my profile suddenly goes into hibernation, you know that something rather nasty has happened to me.

What was it Basil Fawlty said to O'Reilly about Cybil? "she can kill a man at ten paces with one blow off her tongue."

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TonyD

TonyD

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Or the awesome Tal M. An 80mm F6.58 Newt with a dual purpose alt/az or eq mount and the most cunning of cunning in built finder scopes.

Must ... buy .... another .... TAL .... can ... not .... resist .... futile .....

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AndyH

AndyH

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Alcor's are possibly even more awesome than the 'M'. I used to have 3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One went to my dad, one to my cousin's wee one.

Siebert Optics in the states even do a special order eyepiece/spacing tube accessory as an upgrade to the std supplied eyepiece.

http://www.siebertoptics.com/SiebertOptics-Tal%20eyepieces.html

But the std eyepiece, barlow and spacer work very well to be honest.

I kept my battleship grey one, with fitted out compartments in the weapons grade crate.

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AndyH

AndyH

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Do the TALs come with a 2x or a 3x barlow? The TAL 2x barlow is a joy to use, it really is, although the top of it is a bit odd.

Different scopes in different eras come with different barlows. Are you daring me to name them all?

LOL

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AndyH

AndyH

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The fracs don't come with barlows. The only range of Tal's scope that don't !!

The alcor comes with a 2.7x barlow and a spacing sleeve. Using them in different configurations gets you different mags. If I remember correctly the focuser I/D is 0.965". Same as some microscope eyepieces. Focuser is just like all the other R&P focusers, in that you can vary the tension by twisting the right hand wheel, whilst gripping the left. As long as you keep it well greased it should be as smooth as butter. Well, mine is.

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Qualia

Qualia

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Since I last viewed this thread it looks like the original Tal 100 has had children :p . I can't believe you're onto three already!

This is beginning to look really exciting and only a few days to go! I really hope everything goes smoothly without any problem, Tony.

And Andy, you've been a star on this one! I bow down to your help and most excellent depth of knowledge :icon_salut:

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TonyD

TonyD

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Keeping one eye on the weather at Edinburgh for Sunday. Please don't snow so much to affect the flight.

That is my one concern. Been trapped at Edinburgh before with snowfalls (November 2010).

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AndyH

AndyH

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Oh by the way and this is a shout out to all older scope users, if your paint job is looking a bit drab, get some of that car body wax/cutting compound stuff. Give your tube a good rub and it should bring the old sheen back and/or hide some marks that have appeared over time and years of use.

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TonyD

TonyD

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Oh by the way and this is a shout out to all older scope users, if your paint job is looking a bit drab, get some of that car body wax/cutting compound stuff. Give your tube a good rub and it should bring the old sheen back and/or hide some marks that have appeared over time and years of use.

I once resurrected the refrigerator door in the kitchen with this trick. Gave it a whole new lease of life!

Tried to save a few scratched CDs and DVDs. No dice, though.

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TonyD

TonyD

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Continuing the randomly wonderful meandering development of this thread, looking at the −8°C that is predicted later on in the week, reminded me of another thing I was going to comment on. Those kinds of temperatures can be pretty usual for me here in Norway at this time of year. Indeed, the temperature can sit around −12°C or thereabouts for a couple of weeks at least in February.

What are the temperature operating specs of Chinese-built OTAs? Do TALs have any record of performing better in cold weather?

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Marki

Marki

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There are 1 or 2 supposed stories of this nature, but I think it's a bit of an auld wives tale myself.

Neil English's review of his TAL125r suggests it is happier colder than the synta tubes... . He seems to suggests that if the temprature is continuing to decrease throughout an observing session that the TAL is better keeping up (down?) with that change. I have noticed my own 125r seems to perform better the colder it gets too. However, there may be something else going on than simple thermal equilibrium in the tube with my scope. I haven't noticed the same with my 100rs though.

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TonyD

TonyD

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OK so the jitters are kicking in...

I have another case that can fit inside the other case (they are all squashable). This way I would come back with two cases which would allow for more packing (protection) and less heavy.

Note: the tube shown is an offcut - I have a full length (120 cm tube) ready to be cut down to 80cm.

post-27346-0-44676700-1358520325_thumb.j

If I cut the 125mm diameter tube to 80cm I can still fit it into the case diagonally. That would take care of one of the OTAs with focusser and objective lens removed. Am I correct? Plenty of packing stuffed in the ends. The corners of the case are reinforced as well.

Peter Drew's earlier post suggests that I only need 79cm for the OTA itself - but I want to double check.

As my Dad used to say, "measure twice, cut once"

Tony

EDIT

Tony. A Tal 100 OTA is 79cms long with dewshield and focuser removed. You could cover the exposed objective end with a taped on disc of hardboard or plywood. :smiley:

I imagine with the objective removed it is even shorter? How much shorter.

And please confirm possible length differences between the 100R tube and the 100RS tube. The shorter one would probably have to go in this case.

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