Show us your Frac

[nightfisher]

I had to think about that one Stu, in some ways its a bit wasted on me but i can deal with that okay 

[garryblueboy]

Well done Jules a nice ED I'm sure you will be pleased I was when I owned the 120 Equinox .

 

[Stu]

15 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

I had to think about that one Stu, in some ways its a bit wasted on me but i can deal with that okay 

My apologies Jules, couldn't resist. It is Christmas after all  

[nightfisher]

Not to worry Stu, i am really liking the scope, i could have managed with a smaller scope like a 100ED but the 120 looks good, is a sort of future proof tube and should serve really well, may upgrade the stock focuser later in the year and need to do something with the 9x50 finder maybe get a right angled jobbie

[Stu]

1 minute ago, nightfisher said:

Not to worry Stu, i am really liking the scope, i could have managed with a smaller scope like a 100ED but the 120 looks good, is a sort of future proof tube and should serve really well, may upgrade the stock focuser later in the year and need to do something with the 9x50 finder maybe get a right angled jobbie

Very pleased Jules. I'm sure you will enjoy the extra resolution of the 120 over the 100. Well worth upgrading the focuser, perhaps to one of the TS ones depending upon budget.

[GavStar]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Awesome scope Gavster! It does actually look quite compact, despite the aperture. Sky looking good here tonight, hope you get a chance with it soon (or have already?)

Cheers Stu. That's two scopes I need to bring down to Walton now. Annoying I can't  use it yet since my losmandy mount clamp hasn't arrived yet. However the 3.5 inch feather touch focuser is a thing of beauty -first time I've used a feather touch and I'm very impressed. In general the build quality of the tec is excellent as I hoped it would be!

Edited December 29, 2016 by Gavster

[Stu]

17 minutes ago, Gavster said:

Cheers Stu. That's two scopes I need to bring down to Walton now. Annoying I can't  use it yet since my losmandy mount clamp hasn't arrived yet. However the 3.5 inch feather touch focuser is a thing of beauty -first time I've used a feather touch and I'm very impressed. In general the build quality of the tec is excellent as I hoped it would be!

Feathertouches are wonderful things! Once you've used them it's hard to go back. Need one on the Tak now

[Chris]

7 hours ago, Gavster said:

My TEC 140 has just arrived. Im pleased to see that it's relatively compact but it still makes my 4 inch Tak look a bit puny. Looking forward to first light soon.

Wow! very nice Gavster, I know Olly really rates his  I don't know about anyone else? but if you get the chance I'd love a pic of the big bit of glass at the front

[Chris]

@nightfisher The ED120 looks very nicely proportioned on the EQ5, and it's probably the right scope to rekindle your astro mojo. I'm sure I speak for all in saying I hope it does as long as the mist and fog are kind and clear off  

[John]

10 minutes ago, Chris Lock said:

Wow! very nice Gavster, I know Olly really rates his  I don't know about anyone else? but if you get the chance I'd love a pic of the big bit of glass at the front

With some of these ED glasses and the excellent coatings that can be tricky - the glass can do a sort of dissapearing act from some angles !

Lovely scope Gavster

@Nightfisher / Jules: Thats a great looking ED120 setup. The EQ5 on what looks like the 2" steel tripod should be well up to the task

 

 

[Chris]

6 minutes ago, John said:

With some of these ED glasses and the excellent coatings that can be tricky - the glass can do a sort of dissapearing act from some angles !

 

That's a point, I noticed it wasn't that easy when taking pics of my ED100.

[GavStar]

1 hour ago, Chris Lock said:

Wow! very nice Gavster, I know Olly really rates his  I don't know about anyone else? but if you get the chance I'd love a pic of the big bit of glass at the front

Here you go Chris. Number 709.

 

[John]

Looks wonderful

700+ units seems quite a lot for a high end scope like that. How long has it been in production ?

[GavStar]

Since 2002 so quite a long time but it's also a very popular scope in the States, hence the high number.

[timwetherell]

TEC now have a 10" Triplet Apo on offer! - It would be a fabulous instrument but at fifty grand a pop, I doubt there'll be 700+ made  

[John]

Markus at APM has told me that since they were launched in 2005 there have been 109 130mm F/9.2 LZOS triplets made. 5 more will be made before production of the objectives ceases in 2017. Mine is #20

Mind you there have been a lot more of the F/6 version made - they are more useful for imagers.

I'm looking forward to your 1st light report Gavster

Edited December 30, 2016 by John

[spaceboy]

£50k on the scope and how many tens of thousands on a mount. Must be awesome to have money 

[timwetherell]

4 minutes ago, spaceboy said:

£50k on the scope and how many tens of thousands on a mount. Must be awesome to have money 

And you'd also have to have an observatory built to accommodate such a beast, and some dark site land to put it on. Certainly well beyond my means, but it's nice to see such beautiful instruments being created and for those with deep pockets, enjoy!  

[nightfisher]

22 minutes ago, timwetherell said:

And you'd also have to have an observatory built to accommodate such a beast, and some dark site land to put it on. Certainly well beyond my means, but it's nice to see such beautiful instruments being created and for those with deep pockets, enjoy!  

I guess it would be the ultimate obscene lotto win dream, to buy the big house and get the stunning obsy built to then put a beast like that in it

[Chris]

12 hours ago, Gavster said:

Here you go Chris. Number 709.

 

Thanks Gav  It's proper dark in that tube, I bet the contrast is ace! That reminds me, I really need to flock the inside of my ED100 dew shield which looks grey by comparison!

I'll be really very interested to hear more about this scope, what a realistic dream scope to have for us mere mortals, awesome Gav!

Edited December 30, 2016 by Chris Lock

[Highburymark]

Have been building a lightweight but hopefully sturdy set up for new Takahashi FC-100.

Ercole mini mount - a big step up in controllability over the mini giro. Subtle adjustments of the clutches provide precise levels of grip, and operation becomes intuitive the more you use it.

Got idea for non-Tak finder and shoe from Gavster on this forum - thanks to him - Baader red dot finder is that rare thing, an astro bargain at around £30 and very decent quality.

Baader Zeiss prism with quick changer system - found I need a T2 spacer to reach focus with certain eyepieces. The excellence of the diagonal is well known. What's less appreciated is the vulnerability of the prism to damage when using EPs with long barrels. Even with a 1.25" clicklock EP holder, EPs like the 3-6 Nagler zoom will hit the prism surface. One solution is to add the T2 spacer between the diagonal and EP holder.

I've got a Gitzo tripod on the way. Some big savings to be had if shop around for clearance stock at the moment. 

Final additions will be a couple of light, widefield EPs for planetary. ES 4.7 and 6.7mm look best bets, though wondering if SW Nirvanas 4 and 7 are worth considering?

Sweeping the zenith with this telescope is an absolute pleasure - have been addicted to tight stars since my first look through an 80ED. Now a confirmed fracaholic.

[Highburymark]

PS - here's a pic

[John]

Very nice

I too use T2 spacers with my Baader Zeiss prism. I find the 7.5mm and 15mm useful in different ways. I have the 7.5mm on the bottom of the Baader 1.25" twist lock adapter to ensure that eyepiece barrels (especially the 2-4mm Nagler zoom ) don't contact the prism and also use the 15mm on the 2" barrel when I have a 2" eyepiece adapter on the prism to ensure that the edge of the 2" adapter clears the drawtube of the scope.

The Nirvanas / UWANs are pretty good - about on par with the ES 82's I'd say. I used the 4mm Nirvana for quite some time as a high power eyepiece and it did very well in that role.

Your mini-Ercole looks great. My Tak FC100DL rides on a Giro II head on a hardwood tripod. Steady yet very portable

 

 

[Highburymark]

Thanks John, and good to know about the Nirvanas - they seem like great value against the WOs.

[GavStar]

2 hours ago, Highburymark said:

PS - here's a pic

Very nice looking setup. I find that for planetary the Leica zoom plus 1.8x Leica extender works really well.