Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Show us your Frac


Recommended Posts

42 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Love those tripods love one of those for my EQ5. 

Hi Paul,

It's actually an old Unitron tripod which I sanded back and treated with Danish Oil. It originally came with a Unitron 114 60mm F15 frac like the one shown below..

Dave

image021.jpg

Edited by F15Rules
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Paul,

It's actually an old Unitron tripod which I sanded back and treated with Danish Oil. It originally came with a Unitron 114 60mm F15 frac like the one shown below..

Dave

image021.jpg

Hi Dave, 

  Well it looks really good I know you can get those Berlebach ones and I would need a more substantial tripod to carry the EQ5 and the Meade 127mm but it would be lighter than the EQ6 Tripod I have now. 

Paul 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Hi Dave, 

  Well it looks really good I know you can get those Berlebach ones and I would need a more substantial tripod to carry the EQ5 and the Meade 127mm but it would be lighter than the EQ6 Tripod I have now. 

Paul 

Paul,

If I were you I'd put up a wanted ad for an old Vixen or Tal wooden tripod..a tatty one might be offered quite cheaply and can soon be restored with a few hours TLC..👍

Dave

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Paul,

If I were you I'd put up a wanted ad for an old Vixen or Tal wooden tripod..a tatty one might be offered quite cheaply and can soon be restored with a few hours TLC..👍

Dave

Definitely worth doing.  Tal tripods are very  good and really quite inexpensive.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The TAL tripods are pretty stable and look lovely as well.

Not sure they are quite as stable as an EQ6 steel tubed tripod though, if wookie1965 is thinking of putting a 127mm F/9.3 refractor on the mount :icon_scratch:

The TAL wooden tripod would be a bit lighter than the EQ6 steel tripod though.

 

 

Edited by John
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Paul,

It's actually an old Unitron tripod which I sanded back and treated with Danish Oil. It originally came with a Unitron 114 60mm F15 frac like the one shown below..

Dave

image021.jpg

Vey nice Dave. I’ve got one of the Unitron 114 mounts and use it with my Telementor. It works really well, although the weight of the Telementor is a bit much for it when pointing up towards the zenith. I have been wondering whether to get a Unitron or Polarex scope to go on it, but just seen one on eBay for £200 which is a bit steep really!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Stu..

Yes, the Unitron mounts were excellent, super engineering, with excellent wooden tripods too..actually over engineered for the otas if anything?

I sold the Altaz head to an SGL member a good while back, but kept the tripod as I like them so much, and it was going to be used/is used with my 80mm F6 widefield achromat, which it suits well.

I've really put the SP102M on it temporarily, as I think the weight and length of the Vixen is a little too much for optimum stability.

I might look to swap/part ex for a beefier tripod for the SP102  at some point..

Regarding your Telementor (wonderful scope), I do hope you don't sell that and buy a Unitron..IMHO most Unitron otas weren't as good as their mounts (I know I'd get lynched over the pond for saying that!!😟🤣).

I speak from experience though. I've owned 3 114s (60mm) and my Carton 60mm F12 comfortably bests all of them. I also owned a 4" F15 in the 1980s which had a truly fantastic equatorial mount with it: I had the objective tested and I think the tester's description of it was "unremarkable"!🤔😟..apart from control of CA (being F15), it certainly wasn't as good an objective as a good modern achromatic lens such as TAL, SP102, or Lyra Optics.

I honestly think the Telementor delivers more pleasing views than practically any other 60mm class achromats I've looked through..with the possible exception of the old Pentax J60, another beauty.😊..and of course the Tak FC60, but that's not an achro...😊

Dave

Edited by F15Rules
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Thanks Stu..

Yes, the Unitron mounts were excellent, super engineering, with excellent wooden tripods too..actually over engineered for the otas if anything?

I sold the Altaz head to an SGL member a good while back, but kept the tripod as I like them so much, and it was going to be used/is used with my 80mm F6 widefield achromat, which it suits well.

I've really put the SP102M on it temporarily, as I think the weight and length of the Vixen is a little too much for optimum stability.

I might look to swap/part ex for a beefier tripod for the SP102  at some point..

Regarding your Telementor (wonderful scope), I do hope you don't sell that and buy a Unitron..IMHO most Unitron otas weren't as good as their mounts (I know I'd get lynched over the pond for saying that!!😟🤣).

I speak from experience though. I've owned 3 114s (60mm) and my Carton 60mm F12 comfortably bests all of them. I also owned a 4" F15 in the 1980s which had a truly fantastic equatorial mount with it: I had the objective tested and I think the tester's description of it was "unremarkable"!🤔😟..apart from control of CA (being F15), it certainly wasn't as good an objective as a good modern achromatic lens such as TAL, SP102, or Lyra Optics.

I honestly think the Telementor delivers more pleasing views than practically any other 60mm class achromats I've looked through..with the possible exception of the old Pentax J60, another beauty.😊..and of course the Tak FC60, but that's not an achro...😊

Dave

Thanks Dave.

Don’t fret, I’ve no intention of selling the Telementor, that’s a keeper I’m sure. The reviews I’ve read of the Unitron 60mm scopes are not great, apart from the looks, so I don’t think I’ll bother. I might just pick up something like a Carton 60mm f16.7 which would be lighter than the Telementor and would fit in the clamp. Just for some fun.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/06/2021 at 22:58, Stu said:

Thanks Dave.

Don’t fret, I’ve no intention of selling the Telementor, that’s a keeper I’m sure. The reviews I’ve read of the Unitron 60mm scopes are not great, apart from the looks, so I don’t think I’ll bother. I might just pick up something like a Carton 60mm f16.7 which would be lighter than the Telementor and would fit in the clamp. Just for some fun.

@F15Rules  this is it last night checking out the Moon.

D2316312-63D4-4EAC-9C26-71FB564AF7B6.jpeg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, rkelley8493 said:

sva-bach-binov.thumb.jpeg.a214de7b089f2392568e6c5948c1d5cb.jpeg

It's a great setup. I like the idea of the mat/blanket too. Does it stay nice and flat or do you ever worry about tripping up? Are you in a public space there? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, badhex said:

It's a great setup. I like the idea of the mat/blanket too. Does it stay nice and flat or do you ever worry about tripping up? Are you in a public space there? 

Thanks! It's a waterproof 'picnic' blanket that's pretty dense, so it stays where it lays. I live in a very humid region, so having a barrier in between the ground and the scope helps keep moisture from collecting on the equipment. 

It's my back yard, but I share the lake/pond with a few neighbors. They're all pretty friendly and respectful and leave their back porch lights off for me.

Edited by rkelley8493
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Skywatcher evostar 72ed ds pro az gti in EQ mode. Zwo asi120mc-s for guiding on zwo mini guidescope and Canon 600D for imaging. My astrophotography set up now, all balanced thanks to an extra sa weight, still haven't pa in sharcap yet or got the guiding going in pdh2 in anger but got it all worked out when the skies clear I hope. Its looking clear ish ish tonight but I'm on overtime all week so up early and need sleep, hoping it's still looking clear on Saturday to try it out with pa and guiding, even though just past full moon, this is going to be my one and only scope now. Hoping to hone in on Widefield deep sky astrophotography 🤞🙏

IMG_20210622_184812.jpg

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/06/2021 at 19:28, rkelley8493 said:

Thanks! It's a waterproof 'picnic' blanket that's pretty dense, so it stays where it lays. I live in a very humid region, so having a barrier in between the ground and the scope helps keep moisture from collecting on the equipment. 

It's my back yard, but I share the lake/pond with a few neighbors. They're all pretty friendly and respectful and leave their back porch lights off for me.

Nice, great idea and nice back yard! 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/06/2021 at 20:04, AstroNebulee said:

Skywatcher evostar 72ed ds pro az gti in EQ mode. Zwo asi120mc-s for guiding on zwo mini guidescope and Canon 600D for imaging. My astrophotography set up now, all balanced thanks to an extra sa weight, still haven't pa in sharcap yet or got the guiding going in pdh2 in anger but got it all worked out when the skies clear I hope. Its looking clear ish ish tonight but I'm on overtime all week so up early and need sleep, hoping it's still looking clear on Saturday to try it out with pa and guiding, even though just past full moon, this is going to be my one and only scope now. Hoping to hone in on Widefield deep sky astrophotography 🤞🙏

IMG_20210622_184812.jpg

Love to hear about how autoguiding with the AZ-GTi works out once you've had a chance to test everything. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, badhex said:

Love to hear about how autoguiding with the AZ-GTi works out once you've had a chance to test everything. 

Will do, though when I will ever get a clear sky at night is beyond me been waiting for weeks at the moment, I'd be happy to get 5 min subs or longer if possible but 5 mins I'd be delighted. I've tested as much as I can indoors with the software but need to get out there now. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Will do, though when I will ever get a clear sky at night is beyond me been waiting for weeks at the moment, I'd be happy to get 5 min subs or longer if possible but 5 mins I'd be delighted. I've tested as much as I can indoors with the software but need to get out there now. 

Fingers crossed for clear skies! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was having a "me" day today after some busy days lately, so I decided to partially strip down my Carton Japan 60mm Comet Seeker achromat mount..

It's about 35 years old and there was a bit of "stickshun" in the mounts' movement, due I suspected to hardening of the original grease used for lubrication.

I'm not a very handy person to be honest, but the mount seemed simple enough in its build, and so it proved. I did take a few pictures of each step though, just in case I couldn't recall which bit went where!

As I thought, the original grease was very sticky, so I soaked the parts in white spirit to remove the old stuff, and then dried each component carefully with a clean cloth. I then applied some Lithium grease, which I've always found to be really effective as a light form of lubrication, and put everything back together carefully.

There is still a little play in the RA axis, but I'm not fussed enough to get into disassembly territory that I'm not confident I could sort myself. The main thing is that the motions on both axes are very smooth and light, and the mount really suits this little scope.

The mount is unusual in that it can operate in both equatorial and altazimuth modes - a feature that used to be found on other vintage mounts such as the Vixen Super Polaris. It's a shame you don't often see this design these days, as I feel sure that an altaz facility could easily be added to modern eq mounts for relatively little additional cost?

The scope itself is a simple achromatic doublet with single Mfg coatings typical of the 1980s. With a focal length of 710mm and 60mm aperture it operates at just under F12: as such, CA is well controlled, and the scope happily takes 100x on most targets, and up to 150-160x on the Moon. It was marketed at the time of Halley's Comet in the mid 1980s as a "Comet Seeker", and as such would have given nice views of the comet to astro newbies.

The scope came with a very useful camera counterweight which you can see just behind the objective end of the tube. It was originally meant to provide a balance to the included camera mount to allow the tube to stay in balance..as I've adapted the scope to take modern, heavier 1.25" eyepieces such as Morpheus, and this balancing ring really helps with the balance of the OTA.

I've had this scope for around 7 months now, but have yet to have a really good, dark session with it, although the double star views I have seen are very nice.

Optically I'd rate this scope as good to very good, definitely better than a Unitron Polarex 114, but definitely not quite as good as a Zeiss Telementor, mainly due to the Zeiss's better coatings and polish I suspect.

All in all a lovely, nicely made vintage refractor which many oldies like myself cut our teeth on in our younger days!😊

The pics show the scope after reassembly this afternoon, in both EQ and Altaz modes.

Dave

 

IMG_20210626_154155227_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_154003901_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_154152419_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_153956499_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161849667_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161653573_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161526107_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161517364_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161346167_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

Edited by F15Rules
  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I was having a "me" day today after some busy days lately, so I decided to partially strip down my Carton Japan 60mm Comet Seeker achromat mount..

It's about 35 years old and there was a bit of "stickshun" in the mounts' movement, due I suspected to hardening of the original grease used for lubrication.

I'm not a very handy person to be honest, but the mount seemed simple enough in its build, and so it proved. I did take a few pictures of each step though, just in case I couldn't recall which bit went where!

As I thought, the original grease was very sticky, so I soaked the parts in white spirit to remove the old stuff, and then dried each component carefully with a clean cloth. I then applied some Lithium grease, which I've always found to be really effective as a light form of lubrication, and put everything back together carefully.

There is still a little play in the RA axis, but I'm not fussed enough to get into disassembly territory that I'm not confident I could sort myself. The main thing is that the motions on both axes are very smooth and light, and the mount really suits this little scope.

The mount is unusual in that it can operate in both equatorial and altazimuth modes - a feature that used to be found on other vintage mounts such as the Vixen Super Polaris. It's a shame you don't often see this design these days, as I feel sure that an altaz facility could easily be added to modern eq mounts for relatively little additional cost?

The scope itself is a simple achromatic doublet with single Mfg coatings typical of the 1980s. With a focal length of 710mm and 60mm aperture it operates at just under F12: as such, CA is well controlled, and the scope happily takes 100x on most targets, and up to 150-160x on the Moon. It was marketed at the time of Halley's Comet in the mid 1980s as a "Comet Seeker", and as such would have given nice views of the comet to astro newbies.

The scope came with a very useful camera counterweight which you can see just behind the objective end of the tube. It was originally meant to provide a balance to the included camera mount to allow the tube to stay in balance..as I've adapted the scope to take modern, heavier 1.25" eyepieces such as Morpheus, and this balancing ring really helps with the balance of the OTA.

I've had this scope for around 7 months now, but have yet to have a really good, dark session with it, although the double star views I have seen are very nice.

Optically I'd rate this scope as good to very good, definitely better than a Unitron Polarex 114, but definitely not quite as good as a Zeiss Telementor, mainly due to the Zeiss's better coatings and polish I suspect.

All in all a lovely, nicely made vintage refractor which many oldies like myself cut our teeth on in our younger days!😊

The pics show the scope after reassembly this afternoon, in both EQ and Altaz modes.

Dave

 

IMG_20210626_154155227_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_154003901_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_154152419_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_153956499_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161849667_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161653573_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161526107_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161517364_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210626_161346167_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

Very nice... My eyes keep being drawn to the massive focus wheels. Original or an upgrade?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Very nice... My eyes keep being drawn to the massive focus wheels. Original or an upgrade?

Well spotted!..

Yes, the larger wheels were originally from a Tak FS series..they're the same as the ones on my FS128, although I think all the FS Taks with the original 2.7" Tak focuser came with these wheels.

The original Carton wheels were black plastic.. perfectly good and work fine ( I still have them), but as the Cartons' focuser is so smooth the bigger wheels make fine focusing even easier.. the screw thread happens to be the same as the Tak wheels thread👍.

Dave

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Actually, Dave, I’ve always considered you to be a very handly person 🤣

Have to say, Jeremy, your posts always give me a lift.. the technicalities are sometimes hard to grasp (as is your sense of humour). 

Better get a grip!!

Dave

Edited by F15Rules
  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.