Show us your Frac

[Dave1]

On 24/02/2020 at 22:12, Vicky050373 said:

I looked up the "Circle K" when I first acquired the scope as it took me a while to pin down exactly which scope it was as there seems to have been a few very similar looking scopes with various branding. The optics aren't quite in the same league as my WO FLT-110, BUT... I have to say that the Prinz 660 does get dragged out into the garden more often for an enjoyable viewing session. Plus I am up and running in quite literally two minutes! 

As a quick update to my previous post, I have now re-attached the original finder scope, and also fitted the lovely long slow motion control knobs which I removed from the original mount which was unfortunately unsalvagable. I believe these may possibly be made from Bakelite, as they have that look and feel. I have fitted these controls to the Vixen Porta II mount and very smart they look too 

Hi, as someone that has been following and using classic telescopes for awhile now. I can tell you circle K was made by Kenko. in Japan. Congratulation on a fine telescope. Very nice indeed. 

Dave

[Sunshine]

My new (to me) Orion Eon 115mm triplet and, my first refractpr at that. Having loads of fun discovering refractors, glad I qualify for this thread instead of just looking at others refractors. There once was a time when, I just couldn’t understand the love affair with fracs but, after seeing what stars actually look like, I understand the infatuation.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Sunshine

[Nakedgun]

Better late...

Welcome!

[Roy Challen]

On 24/02/2020 at 22:12, Vicky050373 said:

 

As a quick update to my previous post, I have now re-attached the original finder scope, and also fitted the lovely long slow motion control knobs which I removed from the original mount which was unfortunately unsalvagable. I believe these may possibly be made from Bakelite, as they have that look and feel. I have fitted these controls to the Vixen Porta II mount and very smart they look too 

 

 

The slo-mo controls really are nice, aren't they? Happen to fit perfectly on my Tak mount too.

[John]

2 hours ago, Roy Challen said:

The slo-mo controls really are nice, aren't they?...

I love these on my T-Rex - you need long ones with a long refractor on board

 

 

[Stu]

2 hours ago, John said:

I love these on my T-Rex - you need long ones with a long refractor on board

 

 

They are particularly good ones on the T-Rex aren't they John? I recall enjoying them when I used that mount once with Gavin at a club meet. Wish someone would sell similar ones to add to other mounts.

[mikeDnight]

 

On 12/03/2020 at 11:45, Stu said:

They are particularly good ones on the T-Rex aren't they John? I recall enjoying them when I used that mount once with Gavin at a club meet. Wish someone would sell similar ones to add to other mounts.

One option would be to adapt an old floppy control into a significantly longer dangley control. I adapted this one several years ago for a longer frac' I had and its dangled on a hook in my observatory ever since, waiting for the day when some kind visitor will bring his/her long focus refractor to play.  I cut the spring with a metal cutting wheel about 3" from the hand control. Then using some aluminium tubing I bought from B&Q, I filled both ends with chemical metal, or plastic padding, also from B&Q, and inserted the springs into the tube by 3" either side and waited for it to set. I then polished the aluminium with duraglit and lacquered the tube. 

All those years watching Blue Peter finally paid off!

Edited March 15, 2020 by mikeDnight

[MarkAR]

Not the biggest or the best but it's all mine.

[Nakedgun]

8 hours ago, MarkAR said:

Not the biggest or the best but it's all mine.

 

Nice shop, too.

[Sunshine]

14 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

Not the biggest or the best but it's all mine.

Thats a fine specimen you have there.

[MarkAR]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Thats a fine specimen you have there.

Thankyou, yet to really get a chance to use it in anger.  Did a little star hopping last night and was really amazed at how many little speckles of light show up. Brighter stars also start showing up my astigmatism.

[Doc]

23 hours ago, MarkAR said:

Not the biggest or the best but it's all mine.

Love all those machines as well. Is that a Colchester Student lathe?

[MarkAR]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

Love all those machines as well. Is that a Colchester Student lathe?

Cheers mate, yes its the 1800. Came s/h with loads of tooling and a hydraulic copy attachment. 

[rkelley8493]

Here's my grab & go setup: Tak-100DF with Feather Touch MPA-2.5, Stellarvue M2C with MEC012 Column, Berlebach Uni 18 with CGEM Base

Edited March 18, 2020 by rkelley8493

[rkelley8493]

And here's my not so grab & go setup:  Stellarvue SVA130T with 3" Feather Touch & Orion Atlas Pro AZ/EQ-G with Pier Ext. Column

[John]

Rainy night so I've been playing with my Tak FC100-DL and thinking about the Mars opposition later this year to cheer myself up

I do think it suits the Ercole mount and my Oberwerk hardwood tripod rather well

 

[Stu]

Looks great John. Looking forward to October too!

[Rob]

31 minutes ago, Stu said:

Looks great John. Looking forward to October too!

Ditto Guys!... Both my 127L & ED80 will be homed in

[mikeDnight]

A "show us your glass" thread on CN prompted a spring clean of my objective.

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by mikeDnight

[rkelley8493]

30 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

A "show us your glass" thread on CN prompted a spring clean of my objective.

 

How do you remove the dew shield? Does it just unthread, is it coupled together by the silver band, or what?

[John]

28 minutes ago, rkelley8493 said:

How do you remove the dew shield? Does it just unthread, is it coupled together by the silver band, or what?

It unthreads from the silver connecting flange. You need the tube clamped firmly so that you can get your hands around the dew shield and apply gentle pressure.

[rkelley8493]

5 minutes ago, John said:

It unthreads from the silver connecting flange. You need the tube clamped firmly so that you can get your hands around the dew shield and apply gentle pressure.

Thanks! I haven't touched the objective lens yet, but I'm starting to notice specs of pollen that can't be removed with a blower tool. However, I've learned that cleaning should only be done absolutely necessary. "Touch ups" usually turn into smudges, and smudges have a bigger effect on the views than dust particles. 

[mikeDnight]

15 hours ago, rkelley8493 said:

How do you remove the dew shield? Does it just unthread, is it coupled together by the silver band, or what?

It might feel tight to start with as I think they have Shrek on the assembly line at Tak, but I've attached a pic. Hope this helps!

Incidentally, I've only cleaned the lens three times in five years. I usually just blow off any potential dust after each observation, before capping.

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by mikeDnight

[oymd]

My modest ubiquitous Sky-Watcher ED80 on the AZ-EQ6 Pro

 

And on the Ioptron CEM25P in the garden...

[mikeDnight]

10 hours ago, oymd said:

My modest ubiquitous Sky-Watcher ED80 on the AZ-EQ6 Pro

 

And on the Ioptron CEM25P in the garden...

Is your tripod wearing clingfilm or foil leggings?  It's looking a bit raunchy!  Here up north we use coarse itchy wool, due to the abundance of coarse itchy sheep.