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1 hour ago, timwetherell said:

Beautiful setup! That's the ideal mounting for a big refractor :)

Thanks Tim,

I just need to crack on and finish the groundwork, as in some positions I have to perch on the soil ledge at the back, and I  have slipped off a couple of times in the darkness. The other problem that I discovered at 2am this morning is lifting down the tube when it is  absolutely saturated, not easy, but all problems have a solution. The joy of using it far outweighs any short term difficulties. :happy11:

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3 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Thanks Tim,

I just need to crack on and finish the groundwork, as in some positions I have to perch on the soil ledge at the back, and I  have slipped off a couple of times in the darkness. The other problem that I discovered at 2am this morning is lifting down the tube when it is  absolutely saturated, not easy, but all problems have a solution. The joy of using it far outweighs any short term difficulties. :happy11:

I built this for my OTA. It clamps round the end and provides a solid handle for gripping it and because the handles are hollow, it doubles up as a zero power finder. There's probably commercial versions of the same thing available. Saves a lot of stress  in mounting and unmounting :)

tube holder ring for TEC 180.jpg

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16 minutes ago, timwetherell said:

I built this for my OTA. It clamps round the end and provides a solid handle for gripping it and because the handles are hollow, it doubles up as a zero power finder. There's probably commercial versions of the same thing available. Saves a lot of stress  in mounting and unmounting :)

tube holder ring for TEC 180.jpg

Very nice Tim, I will give it some thought.

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Having looked through this thread a few times I have come to realise two things.

The number of people using altz is far more than I realised.

From an asthetic point of view. Refractors and rings are like cars and wheels. The right wheels can make a car in the same way the right rings can make a scope. My WO is eleven years old and I have been using a SW plate and green Vixen rings which have worked.  Its been a good scope and looking here at some of the beautiful scopes I realised  deserves better. 

So I have bought WO rings yesterday from APM  and a WO plate from FLO both half price (ish) in their sales. I have also done a bit of house keeping and maintenance.

Photos? you think. Well I also realise that refractors are or can be quite photogenic and I don't think that store room, garage or living room photos do them any favours or at least show them at their best. So a I will wait for a sunny day wipe the smudges off with a cloth and take a couple for the family album. Until then thanks you've been an inspiration.

I will post this one my old 80f5 from twelve years ago. 

 

80f5-AP1200.jpg

Edited by StarryEyed
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39 minutes ago, StarryEyed said:

Having looked through this thread a few times I have come to realise two things.

The number of people using altz is far more than I realised.

From an asthetic point of view. Refractors and rings are like cars and wheels. The right wheels can make a car in the same way the right rings can make a scope. My WO is eleven years old and I have been using a SW plate and green Vixen rings which have worked.  Its been a good scope and looking here at some of the beautiful scopes I realised  deserves better. 

So I have bought WO rings yesterday from APM  and a WO plate from FLO both half price (ish) in their sales. I have also done a bit of house keeping and maintenance.

Photos? you think. Well I also realise that refractors are or can be quite photogenic and I don't think that store room, garage or living room photos do them any favours or at least show them at their best. So a I will wait for a sunny day wipe the smudges off with a cloth and take a couple for the family album. Until then thanks you've been an inspiration.

I will post this one my old 80f5 from twelve years ago. 

 

80f5-AP1200.jpg

You don't worry that you may be overloading the mount?

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My lovely Foxy the Vixen ED103s has made way for Lady Diamond, aka Skywatcher Black Diamond ED120 DS Pro..

Awaiting first light (maybe later tonight?:-)), and Lady D has a hard optical act to follow!

I've upgraded her with a lovely gold Moonlite dual crayford and Altair 60mm RACI finder.

Seen here on my trusty Vixen GP and heavy duty wooden tripod?

Dave

IMG_20161125_113450904.jpg

IMG_20161125_113337469_1.jpg

IMG_20161125_113346883.jpg

IMG_20161125_113331383.jpg

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Rather exciting delivery early this morning - frustratingly had to be left unopened until we'd returned from a lunch date this afternoon. But it was worth the wait. A beautiful Tak FC-100DC. Thanks to other owners on the forum who helped me make the decision - Stu, Mike and James in particular. Now for a slightly more robust tripod and mount.....

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11 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Rather exciting delivery early this morning - frustratingly had to be left unopened until we'd returned from a lunch date this afternoon. But it was worth the wait. A beautiful Tak FC-100DC. Thanks to other owners on the forum who helped me make the decision - Stu, Mike and James in particular. Now for a slightly more robust tripod and mount.....

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Lovely job Mark!! :) 

We are gradually spreading the word that the FC100 is an essential piece of kit. Once you've looked through it you will realise what all the fuss is about. I've had about fifty scopes I reckon, and this the 'the one' as far as I am concerned.

I have Mike to thank for putting the idea in my head with his amazing reports and sketches. The views I've had certainly exceeded my expectations.

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Very Nice Mark ! :icon_biggrin:

I expect some folks will wonder why others are parting with £1.5-£2 K for a 3.9" scope. I guess we need to take a leaf out of Mike's book and report what we see through them as often as we can to explain :icon_biggrin:

 

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25 minutes ago, Stu said:

Lovely job Mark!! :) 

We are gradually spreading the word that the FC100 is an essential piece of kit. Once you've looked through it you will realise what all the fuss is about. I've had about fifty scopes I reckon, and this the 'the one' as far as I am concerned.

I have Mike to thank for putting the idea in my head with his amazing reports and sketches. The views I've had certainly exceeded my expectations.

I'm glad you chose to use the word "thank" rather than the word "blame" there Stu. So far, I don't think anyone's been disappointed!

Mike ?

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On 11/28/2016 at 20:19, F15Rules said:

My lovely Foxy the Vixen ED103s has made way for Lady Diamond, aka Skywatcher Black Diamond ED120 DS Pro..

Awaiting first light (maybe later tonight?:-)), and Lady D has a hard optical act to follow!

I've upgraded her with a lovely gold Moonlite dual crayford and Altair 60mm RACI finder.

Seen here on my trusty Vixen GP and heavy duty wooden tripod?

Dave

IMG_20161125_113450904.jpg

IMG_20161125_113337469_1.jpg

IMG_20161125_113346883.jpg

IMG_20161125_113331383.jpg

She's a beauty, and will not let you down. She is my workhorse and always gets it done.  :happy11:

tmp_30765-DSC_0154661294488.JPG

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17 minutes ago, John said:

Very Nice Mark ! :icon_biggrin:

I expect some folks will wonder why others are parting with £1.5-£2 K for a 3.9" scope. I guess we need to take a leaf out of Mike's book and report what we see through them as often as we can to explain :icon_biggrin:

 

That would be wonderful John! There's quite an impressive Tak following on SGL now and to hear about the astro adventures of their owners would be an inspiration to many. Not just to Tak owners or prospective Tak owners, but to anyone using a small aperture scope of good quality.

I think its time Takahashi recognise our loyal service and pay us a commission! £££.

Mike.

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1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I'm glad you chose to use the word "thank" rather than the word "blame" there Stu. So far, I don't think anyone's been disappointed!

Mike ?

Absolutely Mike, I am extremely grateful to you for bringing this wonderful scope to my  attention, the views are amazing for the size of scope. It gives such clarity, and cuts through seeing very capably, the images are more often than not stable and with lovely contrast.

I made a report a while back about the views I was getting of Jupiter, and which details I could see. I'm sure some disbelieved me, but equally I'm sure those that have purchased this wonderful scope will know what the reality is.

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12 minutes ago, John said:

Very Nice Mark ! :icon_biggrin:

I expect some folks will wonder why others are parting with £1.5-£2 K for a 3.9" scope. I guess we need to take a leaf out of Mike's book and report what we see through them as often as we can to explain :icon_biggrin:

 

Thanks for all your comments - I certainly will post my thoughts once I've got the package together. Though I must say John if I'd known my new 4" scope was only 3.9" I'd have asked for a discount..... (great service by Lee at Green Witch by the way).

It isn't cheap, but it's also not as pricey as some other premium scopes. Following the recent increases, the TV 85 is £2500. By comparison the FC-100 is only £500 more than an Equinox 120 , but at under 3kg, far lighter, and the only scope in its class to offer the sort of portability I was looking for. 

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17 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

That would be wonderful John! There's quite an impressive Tak following on SGL now and to hear about the astro adventures of their owners would be an inspiration to many. Not just to Tak owners or prospective Tak owners, but to anyone using a small aperture scope of good quality.

I think its time Takahashi recognise our loyal service and pay us a commission! £££.

Mike.

Maybe Takahashi would like to gift me one so i can long term review it.........................over a 25 year period should make for a good review

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