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TV85 - Romanian import!

Stu

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Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

Having been rumbled by Luke after subtly mentioning this 'new' scope, I thought I'd better post up

about it.

It was a very brave/foolhardy purchase off ABS from Romania! The seller was excellent I must say, communicated very well and packaged the scope up beautifully. One day I'm sure I will get caught out but I could just tell all was well from the conversations and responses. Still a nerve wracking experience until it arrived but he even chucked a free, and very nice 17mm Vixen ep in!

The scope itself is a 2005 vintage with more satin-ey finish but still with the original retro wheels and single speed R&P focuser which is buttery smooth! It really is in fantastic condition, optics are excellent and from the brief results last night it performs very well indeed.

I originally tried for an 85 to replace my WO66, but just missed out on it and ended up with a very nice 76. For travelling and as carry on luggage on a plane, I think the 76 will remain the favourite as it is that bit more compact, but I do think the views are appreciably better in the 85. It has that bit more resolution, haven't had a chance to see the effect of the light gathering power yet, but it easily took x200 with the nag zoom on Mars and Izar last night.

I'm looking forward to using it with the Hershel wedge when I get a chance, should be ideal.

I now have a lovely family of old 'fracs which I hope I can afford to hang on to.....

TV76

TV85

Genesis

Vixen 150ED

Just need a nice 127 to fill the gap now, I wish!!!

Will post a family picture up soon :-), but here are the sellers pics of the 85.

ezy6u2ym.jpg

8yzujydu.jpg

5eva6y9e.jpg

Cheers,

Stu

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Excellent Stu, one of these would be a nice scope to own, and glad it all went smoothly, i think i would be worried making a costly purchase from another country.......a while back i was going to buy a TMB planet hunter from the USA, but i bottled out

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Luke

Luke

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What a beauty, Stu :) Sorry for rumbling you :grin:

Hope you get a white light view soon. We have the white version too, which for us is a bit of a token nod towards solar! I am hoping ours will get a fair bit of use with the new Quark h-alpha "eyepiece," which we hope to get in early June.

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Luke

Luke

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Yeah, Stu, your collection seems to be more or less the blueprint that we'd like to achieve in the long run!! Add in the 60mm and I think I would sleep very well at night (or not at all!!)

Congratulations Stu! Very nice acquisition and a great addition to your line up.

Sarah

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Stu

Stu

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Nice scope, fairly brave to buy second hand from Romania but sounds like you found a good seller.

Most folks are honourable on abs, and glad it arrived in one piece :)

Thanks Jim. Having been nearly scammed before with a wanted ad, I tried to ask all the right questions and also got alternative photos and the sellers details. He was totally open and happy to provide all this so it felt ok. Always a relief when it arrives though!

Stu

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Stu

Stu

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Have just managed a few moments with the Herschel Wedge during a gap in the clouds. My AT413 does a great job, extending very high with reasonable stability and putting the eyepiece just at eye level (I'm just under 6ft).

Very happy with the views, I tried everything from my usual 12.5mm Hutech, down through the Orthos to 5mm and finally tried the nag zoom. It handled the magnification better than my 76, despite annoying floaters at the high mags. I do see a strange effect on the 6 and 7mm Orthos, a kind of darker circle in the centre which doesn't show at night but does for white light. Strange.

Anyway, the sun is not so active today, but still some nice spots to see and granulation visible at times. Nice to be able to use higher mag.

One more advantage is that the 85 balances much more easily than the 76 which tends to be back heavy even pushed right forward.

Photos before the sun came out!

3upaga7y.jpg

enesapeg.jpg

6udutu8e.jpg

Cheers,

Stu

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Mark at Beaufort

Mark at Beaufort

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Stu I get more envious by the minute :smiley: . You now have two lovely Televue fracs which must be fantastic with the Herschel Wedge. Do you still have binoviewers? I am sure you said that you could not get focus with binoviewers and the TV76 so I am interested whether the same applies with the TV85

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Stu

Stu

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Stu I get more envious by the minute :smiley: . You now have two lovely Televue fracs which must be fantastic with the Herschel Wedge. Do you still have binoviewers? I am sure you said that you could not get focus with binoviewers and the TV76 so I am interested whether the same applies with the TV85

Thanks Mark......three if you count the Genesis ;-).

I'm afraid I've now bought and sold two pairs of binoviewers, I found them too much of an additional hassle, couldn't get them collimated and my eyes just don't seem to suit them :-(.

To me, it seems that they are more suited to high powers, but focussing and alignment are more critical/difficult then. Perhaps I'll get someone to show me how to use them at a star party one of these days, I can certainly understand the benefits!

So, not sure if they would come to focus or not I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Stu

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alan potts

alan potts

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Stu,

What is the score with this type of scope, is it a double or triplet, there is no chance of me getting a second hand one here as you have just bought it.  Romania is only about 100 miles to the Capital from me. This seems a popualr scope and I have often thought the eyepieces would like some company of a night but they are dear new.

Lovely buy I'm a bit :Envy: :Envy: with envy

Alan

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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Well done Stu. This is the most under-valued scope on the used market and an absolute beauty. Lovely for visual, obviously, and a peach for imaging with the TV flattener reducer. The price these seem to command second hand makes me feel they have to be the best value available. Maybe it's because they lack the bling bits of the more modern designs but give me chunks of machined alloy and chrome-over-brass any day. Heirloom quality. And no C-word focusers in sight!!!

Olly

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Stu

Stu

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Stu,

What is the score with this type of scope, is it a double or triplet, there is no chance of me getting a second hand one here as you have just bought it. Romania is only about 100 miles to the Capital from me. This seems a popualr scope and I have often thought the eyepieces would like some company of a night but they are dear new.

Lovely buy I'm a bit :Envy: :Envy: with envy

Alan

It's an ED Doublet Alan, like most, if not all of the Televues it has a wide air gap between the elements. Not totally sure of the benefits but it is a very good apo visually.

As Olly says, it is built like a tank, lovely focuser and will last a lifetime, probably more!

My apologies for pinching it from under your nose ;-)

Stu

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alan potts

alan potts

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I don't see how you can have pinched it from me, I never even saw it. I am thinking of something like an 80-90mm, the SW Espirit 80mm would fit the bill or the TS 90mm F5.5, I sort of like my refractors, bit like you really but I don't have so many. The lovely little looker you have just landed would have done nicely, normally I would need to be in England to land a secondhand one, they are 2,500 euros new, I guess that's about 1900 quid.

Alan

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Stu

Stu

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Well done Stu. This is the most under-valued scope on the used market and an absolute beauty. Lovely for visual, obviously, and a peach for imaging with the TV flattener reducer. The price these seem to command second hand makes me feel they have to be the best value available. Maybe it's because they lack the bling bits of the more modern designs but give me chunks of machined alloy and chrome-over-brass any day. Heirloom quality. And no C-word focusers in sight!!!

Olly

Thanks Olly. I must say I'm delighted with it. I actually prefer the older versions with the retro focus wheels and single speed R&P.

The black finish is the satin rather than the shinier finish on my 76 but it is quite nice actually. The focuser is still the old shiny chrome and very smooth.

The views were excellent I must say. Looking at Izar, the diffraction seemed less than the 76 making the secondary stand out better, and I'm surprised by the magnification it took, over x200 seems quite possible on a good night.

I can't wait to give it another go, likewise for the Genesis which I sorted the collimation on the other day. Makes a tough decision which one to use. Certainly the 85 has better colour correction, but the wide flat field and extra aperture on the Genesis have their advantages too.

Stu

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Uplooker

Uplooker

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Well done Stu, that does look and sound like a very lovely scope. You are "dyed in the wool" TV aren't you. What do you mean in your sig "Little money left!" you seem to have sold a H8ll of a lot of kit recently :grin:

Hope the scope gives you lots of pleasure.

Ian

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