TAL 100R

[col]

Having kept this scope in my attic for a few years, I thought I had better get it down and use it. It cost £240 about 4-5 years ago and is my first large scope. It came in a wooden box with everything firmly held in its own spot. There is a moon filter, an eyepiece fitting solar filter - which I have decided not to use , a 25mm wide-angle eyepiece and a 10mm plossl. There is also a screwdriver, lens cloth, cross hair reticule, 6x finder-scope and instructions in English that have been translated by a Russian, I think. It was a hoot reading it ! Overall, a very complete and impressive package.

First light was the next clear night. I can’t remember how long I waited but it was a while, as always seems to be the case. About midwinter, a friend came round and together we guessed at a bright object and by chance happened on Jupiter. It was one of those WOW moments, a tiny dot of an image but easily identifiable. When I swapped to the 10mm Plossl the image was so impressive I called my wife and son out to see. We could not believe the crispness and clarity of the view.

Well, here we are now and I have seen Mars for the first time. It was great, nothing detailed, just an orange disk, but I was able to see dark patches whenever the atmosphere sort of popped into focus. Later, when I turned it to Saturn, in between clouds there was the odd minute of very clear seeing when the rings and the Cassini-division were sharp and clear. The view was fantastic and I cannot wait for another clear night when I can view it for longer.

In summary: Its size is easily manageable and the optics (described as eighth wave; not sure what that means) give crisp, clear views. Though I did not use the finder, I did look through it and it seems sharp and clear. The only bad thing I found was the focus adjustment, which was a bit lumpy to use, though not detrimental to the performance. Overall, a fine scope, especially at the price. I am very happy with its ability, especially when I consider that it was potluck that I chose this scope. I didn’t have a clue but luckily ended up with the TAL100R.

[tom.yates]

Fab scope, the only downfall was the mount had limited travel as i recall.

Tom.

[col]

oops sorry tom, forgot to mention, i put the TAL on my EQ5, , nearly flawless tracking . yes i agree the mount that came with it was a bit ristrictive, shame realy,i found the legs and base quite stable too.

[FLO]

Fab scope, the only downfall was the mount had limited travel as i recall.

It wasn't the mount Tom, it was the focus travel.

The current version - TAL-100RS - is an improved version featuring an extended travel, dual-fit 1.25"/2" focusser and superior internal baffling for enhanced image quality.

Steve

[col]

looks a nice piece of kit too, ? have any of you seen the new TAL 125? i saw it on the web somewhere, if my 100 is anything to go by id expect this to be pretty good??

[moondog]

I changed my Tal 100R for a 100RS on HEQ5 mount at the end of 2005.

Tal 100R has good optics and supplied eyepieces.

I changed as 100R focuser had a very restrictive travel, and mount and tripod a bit too shaky with jumpy slow motion. I live on a pretty exposed south facing slope and need a firm mount and tripod to combat the drafts! Very happy with 100RS/HEQ5.

Moondog

[col]

Hi moondog

Did you find much difference in the optics, , clarity, in your 100RS, i have my 100R on my eq mount and am pleased with its performance, but im very curious if there is a noticable difference in the views??

[moondog]

Hi col

I think the 100R and 100RS share the same Objective lens.

At lower powers I don't think there's a difference, but at higher powers 150 - 200x on bright objects like the Moon the 100RS give a more contrasty image. This is due I think to the improved internal baffling. The better, longer travel focuser also helps to get the sharpest focus easier. The 100R struggles to focus with some combinations of eyepiece and Barlow lens.

One of the best upgrades I got for the 100RS was to substitute the supplied 1 1/4" diagonal with a better quality 2" diagonal.

(This is unfortunately not possible with the 100R). This gave superior views of Mars showing an amount of detail ( both diagonals using orange/red filter).

I think the 100R provides good quality images up to about 100x, above that it struggles.

Moondog

[col]

yeah i tend to agree, mars did look better to me with lower mag ,just a bit small, but when i did see it i could make out darker patches but nothing else.but then thats the downside of the smaller size too i think.

Have you seen the new TAL125? whats your thoughts on that, im thinking itl be a bit special maybe?? :

[moondog]

Hi col

Not tried the 125RS.

It's much more expensive than the 100RS though.

As I understand that the objective lens is still an achro. I think it will probably show more CA (Chromatic Aberration) than the 100RS.

The 125RS has a larger objective lens and is only an F9 and not an F10 and theoretically the CA should be worse.

Perhaps Steve could advise?

I don't intend to consider changing to the 125RS. My current set up is good value for money.

Moondog

[John]

I had a TAL 100R for 5 years and I found it to be a great scope overall. My previous scope was a Vixen SP102M which had fine optics but I reckon that the TAL was as good, optically at least. The Vixen cost me £800 in the early 1990's wheras the TAL cost £240 in 1999 - shows how things have changed over the last decade thanks to the Russian and more latterly, the Chinese stuff coming on the market.

The area where the TAL 100R was not so strong on was it's mount which is the same as TAL use for the TAL-1 11cm Newtonian. I reckon it was not quite sturdy enough for a 4 inch f10 optical tube and the tripod legs were about 2 feet too short for comfortable viewing at the Zenith (for me at any rate).

I thought that I might have problems with the limited travel focusser but it proved fine with a wide range of eyepieces. The only time that I could not reach focus was using a Celestron Ultima 35mm where I ran out of forward travel about 5mm too early.

I can't comment on using barlow lenses as I did not try any with it.

In the end it was the gymnastics due to the mount that led me to sell the TAL. My back was complaining too much !!.

A great scope for the money though.

John,

North Somerset.

[col]

It was probably lack of experience on my part at the time ,but i found the legs ok, it was the levers on the mount i found a bit awkward, sometimes the lever would be too close to the mount to tighten properly, i had to move it round to be able to tighten it,thats why i put it on my EQ5 and im glad i did too, makes things a lot better.

As far as a barlow is concerned, iv used a 2x and found it ok, iv never had a problem with the focus travel as yet, but then im only using basic eyepieces and a barlow just for viewing only, i havnt tried a camera on it yet, i will do but not sure when yet.

Thankfully my change to the EQ5 has sorted any problems i might have had with my back

[FLO]

Perhaps Steve could advise?

I cannot recommend the TAL 125R.

It is simply too expensive for a 5" Achromat - not at all like TAL(?!)

Steve

[col]

yeah,i must admit i was very shocked at the price, probably that that made me think it was something special,but thinking about it , it is a lot of money for a basic scope realy, id still like to get a look through one though, just curiosity

[Naz]

If I had of seen that before I bought the Startravel, I would have gone for it.

The 4.5 inch reflector looks good value for money, I believe that are assembled in house, make a decent starter scope.

naz

[moondog]

About 4 years ago the TAL 100R was my first scope.

It was a great introduction to the hobby.

I only updated to the latest TAL 100RS on the HEQ5 mount back end of last year.