Show us your Frac

[oymd]

37 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

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.

That night was first light with the Ioptron CEM25P. The tripod comes shipped with thick tight cling film on the steel legs, and I did not bother removing it...

[JeremyS]

On 19/03/2020 at 16:43, mikeDnight said:

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

Well, the glass in your avatar looks pretty clean Mike 🙂

 

[Nakedgun]

 Vic Maris started Stellarvue sometime in the 90s, and I first met him at RTMC, a nearby astro-expo/starparty in (I think) '99 when he was there showing his first 80mm f/6 refractor, which may have had the item #1006 attached to it, but I'm not sure of this. I bought one, and a lapsing memory also prevents me from bringing up the price I paid, but since this was a relatively new hobby for me I just used it for what it was worth. It was an OK performer, but nothing special. 

When I saw him there again in '07 he mentioned that he was gathering up this first scope from owners, said he was donating them to schools, and if I would send it to him he would swap it out for an 80ED f/7. So I did, and in January '08 I received the scope pictured here, with rings, at no charge. 

Who else in this hobby would have done such a thing?

 

 

 

I keep it in my Toyota Tundra pickup truck, ready to go, day or night.

[F15Rules]

5 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

When I saw him there again in '07 he mentioned that he was gathering up this first scope from owners, said he was donating them to schools, and if I would send it to him he would swap it out for an 80ED f/7. So I did, and in January '08 I received the scope pictured here, with rings, at no charge. 

Who else in this hobby would have done such a thing?

Very few, I imagine. What a great gesture! Full respect to the man

Dave

[mikeDnight]

What a wonderful story David. It's things like this that boost faith in humanity, proving there are still some decent people in this world. Thanks for posting. 

[Guest]

Setup my Williams Optics 110 mm Megrez earlier this evening. A bit of outreach to my son and his friend. Nice views of Venus, Orion Nebula and  Plieades. Using a 22 mm Nagler.

They were impressed, as was I. 

At F 5.95, a nice rich field refractor. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Guest
Spelling mistake.

[garryblueboy]

Tried out both these last night and very pleased with the results 

[ShrewView]

Waiting for a first light with this little fella. TS 80mm. Hazy cloud at the mo but due to clear.... I hope. Venus is showing through.

[AdeKing]

My LS60 outside catching rays today.

Left it tracking on the GP mount and popped out for a few minutes when work allowed.

Nothing much to see, but this is the first time I've used BVs with it. The view was much better than monoviewing with the surface detail seeming to be more easily visible so I clearly need to make the effort to BV more often.

Edited March 25, 2020 by AdeKing

[Martthebass]

Not had first light with this yet, still awaiting goodies from the Far East......

The lockdown may increase the speed of deployment though.

[parallaxerr]

Nothing special by this threads, nor my previous scopes standards, but a frac none the less!

Vixen A80MF, impressed so far with the very flat field and good colour control. Looking forward to some high power lunar work in the coming weeks to see what it's capable of.

[F15Rules]

21 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

Nothing special by this threads, nor my previous scopes standards, but a frac none the less!

That's a cracking looking setup..it just...works!😊👍

Dave

[parallaxerr]

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

That's a cracking looking setup..it just...works!😊👍

Dave

To be fair Dave, it does just that. It's very easy to get on with, the tube is light and it balances well with no clutches engaged. Best of all, no back bending 🙂

[Tyson M]

On 24/03/2020 at 10:07, garryblueboy said:

Tried out both these last night and very pleased with the results 

Which model AP130EDT is that? The first run or the second run?   Primarily, is the focal length f8.35 or F8 on the lens cell?

[Stu]

35 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

To be fair Dave, it does just that. It's very easy to get on with, the tube is light and it balances well with no clutches engaged. Best of all, no back bending 🙂

It does looks great, I liked your previous scope on that mount and this one looks good too. Nice scopes, I’ve had a couple and enjoyed them. I like the matching red diagonal 👍👍

Question. What is the strap down to the ground for, helping to reduce vibrations?

[Stu]

A few from me. Fluorite twins side by side on the AZ100. Tak FC100 and Vixen FL102S f8.8. Didn’t have much time comparing them but will do soon I hope.

Quick one of the Tak in Solar WL mode with Herschel Wedge and Binoviewers.

Last one is the solo Tak on Vixen GP mount, tracking Venus this evening. Very nice views at x246 with the Nag Zoom at 3mm. Looking pretty sharp, some vague detail on the terminator.

I’m very pleased with my latest attempt at polar aligning. I left the scope tracking Venus for about an hour this evening at x246 and it was still in the field of view when I came back! Keeps the sun nicely centred too of course.

[F15Rules]

I just think Vixen fracs look great.

Even though I now have a wonderful FS128, I still miss my Vixen ED103s..shown here in a Tak FS102 clamshell on a CG4 mount I used when visiting family in a rural darkish site in South Norfolk.

Dave

Edited March 26, 2020 by F15Rules
Photo added

[Dave1]

On 25/03/2020 at 17:38, AdeKing said:

My LS60 outside catching rays today.

Left it tracking on the GP mount and popped out for a few minutes when work allowed.

Nothing much to see, but this is the first time I've used BVs with it. The view was much better than monoviewing with the surface detail seeming to be more easily visible so I clearly need to make the effort to BV more often.

Ade, 

nice set up! When you talked about seeing more service detail with bino viewing was that in reference to viewing Venus?

David

[garryblueboy]

42 minutes ago, Tyson M said:

Which model AP130EDT is that? The first run or the second run?   Primarily, is the focal length f8.35 or F8 on the lens cell?

It’s from the first run it’s an air spaced as well as far as I can tell it’s F8 but it’s possible it was one of the F8.3 marked as F8 

[Doc]

12 minutes ago, Stu said:

A few from me. Fluorite twins side by side on the AZ100. Tak FC100 and Vixen FL102S f8.8. Didn’t have much time comparing them but will do soon I hope.

Quick one of the Tak in Solar WL mode with Herschel Wedge and Binoviewers.

Last one is the solo Tak on Vixen GP mount, tracking Venus this evening. Very nice views at x246 with the Nag Zoom at 3mm. Looking pretty sharp, some vague detail on the terminator.

I’m very pleased with my latest attempt at polar aligning. I left the scope tracking Venus for about an hour this evening at x246 and it was still in the field of view when I came back! Keeps the sun nicely centred too of course.

Stu can I ask you where you got your slow motion control cables from?

Thanks

[parallaxerr]

30 minutes ago, Stu said:

Question. What is the strap down to the ground for, helping to reduce vibrations?

Yes, stability and vibration damping. I originally came up with the idea when I was imaging and had an HEQ5 atop the pier extension with a 120mm imaging scope plus guide scope & cameras etc, it was quite top heavy. I was also leaving the mount out in reasonable weather (covered) to prevent the requirement for polar aligning each session. Basically a semi-permanent setup being the next best thing to a pier.

I've just got in the habit of using it now as the ground anchor marks out the best observing spot in the garden. It's ultra stable with the Vixen and my previous 4" frac. Tempted to try an Evostar 120 on it, I think it would be fine! An SD115 would be nicer £££

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by parallaxerr

[AdeKing]

1 minute ago, Dave1 said:

Ade, 

nice set up! When you talked about seeing more service detail with bino viewing was that in reference to viewing Venus?

David

Hi David,

No I was referring to the H-alpha solar views. Sometimes I have to work at getting focus to see the surface details when there isn't anything "interesting" to look at. 

But, with the binoviewers everything just seemed more easily accessible, if that makes sense.

I haven't tried BVs on Venus yet.

The BVs definitely allow me to resolve more if the subtle details in WL when sunspots are on view.

Ade

[F15Rules]

58 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

An SD115 would be nicer £££

Have you seen the very rare ED130SS for sale on UKABS?

Here is a thread on the ED130SS from the USA..https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/531826-vixen-130ss-refractor/page-2

Dave ..😈😇😁

[Stu]

7 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Have you seen the very rare ED130SS for sale on UKABS?

Here is a thread on the ED130SS from the USA..https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/531826-vixen-130ss-refractor/page-2

Dave ..😈😇😁

I’ve seen that Dave! Fortunately I can’t afford it, but have wondered what these are like compared with other premium 130mm scopes. Perhaps a bit on the fast side at that aperture for the best correction but nice for wider fields? Would love to look through one.

[parallaxerr]

7 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Have you seen the very rare ED130SS for sale on UKABS?

Yes I've seen it. Stop it, stop it now Stu 🤑