Show us your Frac

[kev]

On 27/07/2020 at 22:24, astro_al said:

Thanks @JeremyS

Top one is the FS-152. 

Errr. Can i drool? 

[astro_al]

27 minutes ago, kev said:

Errr. Can i drool? 

As long as you have the correct adapter 😁

 

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by astro_al

[F15Rules]

Back in May, when we had our summer, I was at a loose end one day and just fancied setting up my Moonraker/Meade 339 80mm F15 achromat on my Takahashi EM2 mount (which usually hosts my FS128).

I thought the pair looked quite fetching, and the EM2 holds the scope beautifully..🌝

The dewshield on this scope is well over a foot long, fully flocked too!

Dave

[RobertI]

20 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I thought the pair looked quite fetching,

‘You’re being modest - ‘stunning’ would be a better description! 🙂

[JeremyS]

9 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Back in May, when we had our summer, I was at a loose end one day and just fancied setting up my Moonraker/Meade 339 80mm F15 achromat on my Takahashi EM2 mount (which usually hosts my FS128).

I thought the pair looked quite fetching, and the EM2 holds the scope beautifully..🌝

The dewshield on this scope is well over a foot long, fully flocked too!

Dave

Looks fantastic, Dave. 

I also like the minimalist look for the EM2 hand controller. Seems to fir the theme of the Moonraker.

The odd thing about the pics is the angle you took them from hides the handle.

🙂

 

[F15Rules]

5 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Seems to fir the theme of the Moonraker.

????😁

I vote that as of now handles are banned (not literally, just from this thread)..and all associated puns etc (and I am as guilty as anyone!😱).

Thanks for the kind comments about the scope..it has some interesting history: it was originally a 1970s vintage Meade 339, and bought by Neil English, who authored the very interesting Springer book "Choosing and Using a Refractor Telescope).

Although branded "Meade", there were various brands of the same scope, in the UK they were often sold as "Towa" or "Topic", all 80mm, all F15, and all seem to be well regarded, performance wise...see here:https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/219109-surprising-1970-towa-80mm-f15/

Made in Japan, with "Circle T logo" on the focuser. I owned a couple of these years ago, (bought on eBay for £50-£80), complete with equatorial mount, wooden tripod and the longest slow motion controls I've ever seen (and remarkably effective too).

The mount and tripod were ok, but not up to holding the scope firmly enough for the high powers that the scope can take: a Vixen GP class mount is much better, and will allow the scope to really shine on double stars at high power for example.

Neil called the scope "Bessy" and at some point got in touch with Mark Turner and it was decided to convert Bessy with the Moonraker treatment.

I don't know many more details about the build, other than that the only remaining original parts of the scope are the lens/cell and the 6x30 finderscope (which is optically, not great, hence the replacement with a Skywatcher 9X50).

The build was effectively a prototype, and as such not perfect, but I believe formed the basis of a whole new class of Moonraker retro refractors.

At some point, Neil English seems to have lost interest in refractors, and has moved his interest to tubes with mirrors..at any rate, he decided to gift the scope to another SGL member about 6 or so years ago. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from the new owner asking if I would be interested I acquiring the scope on a like basis, ie as a gift, only to be passed on in the future on the basis of no cash changing hands (other than shipping costs of course).

And so I became the happy owner of Bessy MKII in early 2015.

This scope is a superb double star splitter and excels on the moon as well. 

It has a 2" dual speed focuser which works quite well..the fine focuser is particularly smooth, even though a scope of this focal length really doesn't need it.

These do come up for sale in their original vintage state, and can often be picked up very cheaply.

Attached is a pic of the Topic version of the original scope, in white and black livery🙂.

Dave

Edited August 3, 2020 by F15Rules

[JeremyS]

21 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I vote that as of now handles are banned (not literally, just from this thread)..and all associated puns etc (and I am as guilty as anyone!😱).

Thanks for the kind comments about the scope..it has some interesting history: it was originally a 1970s vintage Meade 339, and bought by Neil English, who authored the very interesting Springer book "Choosing and Using a Refractor Telescope).

Although branded "Meade", there were various brands of the same scope, in the UK they were often sold as "Towa" or "Topic", all 80mm, all F15

What, no handles? Perhaps we need a new Topic 🤣

[johninderby]

Where do I lodge a formal complaint about this outrageous plot to ban the discusion of handles. 🤬

Edited August 3, 2020 by johninderby

[F15Rules]

Dave

[JeremyS]

32 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Where do I lodge a formal complaint about this outrageous plot to ban the discusion of handles. 🤬

🤣

[Xsubmariner]

Just to get back on topic a picture of my latest  Frac 😍 and yes it came with a handle should you be interested. 😏

 

[F15Rules]

33 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

🤣

Oh, I see... that's funny, that's exactly where I put all your replies to my posts, Jeremy (except for the "likes"...me like the "likes"!!)🤭😁😎

Dave

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Oh, I see... that's funny, that's exactly where I put all your replies to my posts, Jeremy (except for the "likes"...me like the "likes"!!)🤭😁😎

Dave

Actually, for you and @johninderby, maybe this version with two important additions is more appropriate: 🙂

 

[John]

21 minutes ago, Xsubmariner said:

Just to get back on topic a picture of my latest  Frac 😍 and yes it came with a handle should you be interested. 😏

 

Thank goodness for that - a lovely refractor to look at

The mount and the surrounding countryside are very pleasing as well !

[johninderby]

17 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Actually, for you and @johninderby, maybe this version with two important additions is more appropriate: 🙂

 

 

Personally I prefer this. 🙂

[JeremyS]

52 minutes ago, Xsubmariner said:

Just to get back on topic a picture of my latest  Frac 😍 and yes it came with a handle should you be interested. 😏

Now that is a stunning instrument in a beautiful location!!!

[Deadlake]

Is it a Takahashi thing the lack of handles when new? 😀. See handle provided fresh from the box below.

  

Edited August 3, 2020 by Deadlake

[John]

I have one on my Vixen ED102SS which is now around 20 years old. The handle is a little younger though

 

[Deadlake]

1 hour ago, John said:

I have one on my Vixen ED102SS which is now around 20 years old. The handle is a little younger though

 

Apart from the lettering you can hardly tell the difference, inside different glass and baffles (to give imaging circle of 44 mm). Wonder what they would look like side by side?

[John]

3 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Apart from the lettering you can hardly tell the difference, inside different glass and baffles (to give imaging circle of 44 mm). Wonder what they would look like side by side?

Mine is F/6.5. Vixen didn't reveal the glass type used back then but the ED element is widely thought to be FPL-53. The colour correction would suggest that.

The objective cell, tube rings and focuser design have not changed as far as I can tell.

 

 

[Deadlake]

On 03/08/2020 at 20:49, John said:

Mine is F/6.5. Vixen didn't reveal the glass type used back then but the ED element is widely thought to be FPL-53. The colour correction would suggest that.

The objective cell, tube rings and focuser design have not changed as far as I can tell.

 

 

Why do you keep it when you have the Talk 100? Presume it cannot cope with as high magnification?

[John]

5 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Why do you keep it when you have the Talk 100? Presume it cannot cope with as high magnification?

The Tak is F/9 so the Vixen can show a much wider field of view. I've owned the Vixen for over 10 years now - I'm rather attached to it.

But, yes, the Tak does handle very high magnifications (200x plus) better than the Vixen does.

 

 

[jadcx]

Here's my 'portable' setup in the biggest (FS-76Q f12.5) and smallest (FS-60CB f5.9) configurations.  The FS-76Q breaks down easily so really does become portable.

I think a directly fixed clamp on the Scopetech Zero would make this more aesthetically pleasing, but makes balance difficult with the FS-60CB.  It only hold in this picture because the alt is a little stiff at the moment.

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by jadcx
too many pics!

[rrb24]

Some years ago I had posted a picture of my 6" AP refractor in this thread... 

Earlier this year during full lockdown a younger sibling arrived.  It is now mounted alongside its older brother:

Wish it was as sunny now as it was when I took the picture though!

Roberto

Edited August 14, 2020 by rrb24

[space3]

My new grab and go setup,