Always wanted one of these....

[Stu]

I've been on the look out for a TV76 for a while now, and have finally picked one up at a good price. I tried for the 85 which came up recently but was too slow. Actually, I'm glad I didn't get it as I really just want a replacement for my WO66mm with a bit more aperture and the ability to go a little higher on magnification, whilst still being small enough to take away on holiday and to mount on a photo tripod. I've also got a mini giro head which will work very well on this tripod.

In the flesh, this really is a lovely scope, haven't seen anything so solidly made and well engineered before. The focuser is very smooth and optically it seems great just on daylight targets, very good colour correction from what I've seen. Can't wait to use it on some stars!

It should be fabulous on widefield targets at dark sites, and hopefully good enough on planetary/lunar stuff from home for quick sessions between the clouds. Will report back on first light whenever that is!

I intend to do a side by side comparison with the 66mm just to see the differences before the 66 goes for sale.

Stu

[Rossco72]

Looks good.

I've seen a couple lately was this from grange over sands?

I would have liked to add a 76 but with a 70, 85 and 102 already it would be hard to justify to SWMBO.....

Hope it gives you years of pleasure.

Cheers

Stuart

[Stu]

Thanks Stuart. No, this one was from the West Midlands.

I think you may be pushing your luck a bit to add another one, be nice to have the full set though :-).

Somewhere down the line I'd still like to try an 85 I think, but feel like I will keep this one for a very long time.

Stu

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Sweet! Really nice scope

[Stu]

Actually Stuart, if you swap the 70 for a 76, SWMBO need never know!

[Andrew*]

Yes, they look practically identical, so I'm sure you could get away with that!

I'm glad you got sorted, Stu. You were a very close second, so I felt bad. However, you're sorted now and the 76 is more of a go-anywhere kind of scope. I doubt the 85 would have been happy on a photo tripod, so you're probably better off anyway!

Andrew

[Rossco72]

Actually Stuart, if you swap the 70 for a 76, SWMBO need never know!

Lol. Bank balance would have given it away......

[Stu]

Thanks Andrew :-). I think on balance the 76 is better for me. As you say, I would have had to use one of my more sturdy mounts for the 85 which would have defeated the object of being very portable. I probably would have needed to keep the 66 then which I can't afford to do !

Stuart.... she may need to be obeyed, but does she really need to see your bank balance? That sounds highly dangerous :-)

Stu

[Moonshane]

looks a beauty Stu. Look forward to a peek through it at PSP13 (I'll distract you with my dob for a minute or two).

[Mark at Beaufort]

Stu I saw this advertised and I thought it would be a great upgrade to my William Optics SD66 so I sent off the email to be told that someone had beat me to it. So well done Stu and I will very interested in your comparison between the TV76 and your Willliam Optics frac.

If you decide you don't like perhaps you will let me know

Mark

[Andrew*]

Thanks Andrew :-). I think on balance the 76 is better for me. As you say, I would have had to use one of my more sturdy mounts for the 85 which would have defeated the object of being very portable. I probably would have needed to keep the 66 then which I can't afford to do !

Exactly. I've been toying with the idea of selling my WO72 and getting a 90-100m short refractor. That would allow me to use high magnifications for planets and get better resolution on the sun, but I would lose that ability to plonk it on a tripod for a "one-handed" setup. Can't have it both ways.....

Saying that, my Horizon 8115 tripod is fairly stable and I'm wondering if the Giro mini would handle a 90mm frac okay, like a Megrez 90. What do you reckon?

Andrew

[Stu]

Well I'll end up with the 76mm and my 106mm Triplet which I think is a good balance. The 85 would not be as good as the 106 or as portable as the 76 so probably wouldn't get used much.

The mini giro is quoted at 9kg capacity and you can add a counter balance bar so if your tripod is sturdy enough it would definitely take the weight of a 90mm. My 106 is around 5kg I think and I intend to give it a go on the mini at some point, I normally use a Giro II

It's a funny old world, Mark, I tried for Andrew's TV85 and didn't get it and then same happened to you with this! Given that, I will definitely do a decent side by side (on the Giro) against the WO66 and let you know the results.

Cheers

Stu

[Stu]

You will be more than welcome Shane. I imagine it will be rather nice with the 21mm ethos I also seem to have acquired. Eeeek, did I say that out loud!

Anyway, a 4.38 degree fov should be pretty amazing under a dark sky.

Stu

[Moonshane]

blimey! hark at Baron Rothschild! it will be interesting to compare the 26mm Nagler and 21mm Ethos too.

[Stu]

:-) I wish!

I do have rather an embarrassment of riches kit wise at the moment and need to get some stuff sold to free up cash!

I tried the ethos in my 106mm the other night and compared with the 22t4. The conditions weren't great so it was difficult to make any real judgements, but I did enjoy the field of view and there was just a little extra something about it, contrast probably. Can't wait for some decent conditions to get the full experience.

Stu

[nightfisher]

nice one stu, might have to grab a quick look myself at psp

[RT65CB-SWL]

TeleVue certainly make refractors look sexy!

[Stu]

This is my new grab and go kit, all fits very nicely into the case, with the exception of the Starbeam which will have to go separately.

TV76

22t4

18mm BGO

12.5mm Hutech

10mm Delos

9mm BGO (not in the pic)

7mm BGO

3-6 Nagler zoom

3.5t6

UHC-S and Neodymium filters

On a Giro Mini, plus Berlebach tripod.

It's all very compact but covers most options. Looking forward to getting it under some dark skies for some widefield stuff, plus open clusters which look great through it. Planetary performance is pretty good considering the aperture but that's not why I got it. The 3.5t6 gives me up to x137, the zoom gives x160 so enough to give some satisfying views if the conditions are good.

18mm BGO covers same fov as the Delos but x27 vs x48 so may not get much use. Will be interesting to compare on different targets.

22t4 gives x22 with 3.7 degree fov so should be lovely under dark skies.

Stu

[Mark at Beaufort]

That looks very good Stu. I will be interested in your first review.

Mark

[Stardust]

That's a hell of a grab and go kit you have there.

I really like my TV85, had a Pronto for a short time before it came up.

I use mine on a Porta mount, does the job but a nice televue would be better.

They do build thier scopes to last.

[Mr Bond]

Wow. Your grab and go looks like a very well stocked shop to me! Niiiiiiice.

I have a 70mm Pronto and my grab and go for this is just a diagonal, a 2" erecting prism (birding) and a Meade/Swarovski zoom EP ( they did this one briefly, years ago).

Light and simple, and works ok on a photo tripod.

[Stu]

Sounds great Mr Bond. Simple is good, and if it means you've got a scope with you under some dark skies then its always better than no scope. The Pronto gets very good reviews so I bet its nice.

I think I've used the TV76 more since I had it than any of my other scopes put together, in my garden because it is so quick to set up, and also under some dark (well, as dark as it gets at the moment) skies on trips away in the UK.

Here it is in action again, had some more great views of the moon, complete with Lunar X and V last night.

Took me a while to get the hang of the StarBeam finder but I've got it properly aligned and sorted now.

Just to prove it, here is the worst ever shot of the Lunar X, taken with iPhone. The views visually were lovely though.

Stu

[Mr Bond]

That's a lovely set up. Is that altaz head a Sky Tee head?

The Pronto I have is at best a semi apo, your TV 76 replaced it in the line up as a full apo so no doubt you can push out a bit furtheron that one.

I do see colour fringing from time to time but given it is mostly used with a zoom EP, and no more streched than a spotter (maybe 60x max), it's an issue in the real world.

If I want to go further I get the TV 85 out.

Did I mention I'm also a TV fanboy?

lol!

[Mr Bond]

Should read " no issue in the real world'

couldn't edit for some reason.

[Stu]

The 76 certainly is lovely. Was at x160 splitting Izar last night too, very nice.

I love the 76 as it is so portable, but could actually see myself getting an 85 at some point when finances allow.

The setup is a mini giro head on a Berlebach tripod which is generally pretty good, though the tripod is a little wobbly at high mag. Much better when not fully extended.

Stu