Show us your Frac

[alacant]

4 minutes ago, jabeoo1 said:

Well he has grabbed it, and it looks like he is having a long think about the going bit  

Nah. He's got it all worked out. He grabs his eq8 (steel tripod model) with the other hand and away he goes. Sorted.

[Paul73]

These pictures of big fracs are amazing, but they come at a cost.......

The guy with the 10" TEC can't afford socks any more and his shoes a full of holes. And, by the time you have amassed a collection like the seconds chap, even a basic shirt be beyond your means....

Thank goodness this affliction is confined to big frac owners (trying hard not to think of the massed ranks of the Dob Mob).

Paul

[Knighty2112]

All these large 'facs  make my smaller f11 & f8.3 'fracs on my Skytee II look positively dwarflike!  

Edited April 6, 2017 by Knighty2112

[jabeoo1]

58 minutes ago, alacant said:

Nah. He's got it all worked out. He grabs his eq8 (steel tripod model) with the other hand and away he goes. Sorted.

Ha fair enough, I suppose the EP's, 4" 'finder scope' & dovetail plate just goes in a rucksack & the red torch in the trouser pockets then?  A star chart would be pushing it a bit far really. 

[Highburymark]

Here's my Lunt 50, recently returned from a painful operation at the scope doctor to have its old focuser removed, smartly kitted out with new Moonlite - with big thanks to previous owner Jabeoo 

[DRT]

That looks great, Mark. Did they tell you what the problem was?

Loving the red Moonlite! First time I've seen one fitted to the scope. Do you feel the upgrade is worth it?

[jabeoo1]

1 hour ago, Highburymark said:

Here's my Lunt 50, recently returned from a painful operation at the scope doctor to have its old focuser removed, smartly kitted out with new Moonlite - with big thanks to previous owner Jabeoo 

Pleasure Mark !  Glad its gone to a lovely new home

Rare version with lettering on it that focuser....... its a one off. 

 

 

[Highburymark]

1 hour ago, DRT said:

That looks great, Mark. Did they tell you what the problem was?

Loving the red Moonlite! First time I've seen one fitted to the scope. Do you feel the upgrade is worth it?

Thanks Derek. The problem was just  that the threads linking the helical focuser to the scope had seized. Not sure how they separated them - it was beyond the combined efforts of the builders and plumbers who are working here at the moment. I have read of similar problems from other owners. I would definitely recommend the upgrade to those having problems with their focuser - though prices differ for the Moonlite and the feather-touch so worth shopping around. FLO price for the FT for example is cheaper than some other retailers

[Highburymark]

1 hour ago, jabeoo1 said:

Pleasure Mark !  Glad its gone to a lovely new home

Rare version with lettering on it that focuser....... its a one off. 

 

 

Didn't realise that James! Always a sucker for that type of thing. 

[Davey-T]

Only £50,000

Dave

[Nova2000]

Looks like Dave is in a good mood

IT looks like a bazooka 

[DaveS]

On 09/04/2017 at 16:06, Davey-T said:

Only £50,000

Dave

You know you're looking at a BIG scope when it has a grab ring .

I think I'll have two. Would make a fun little bino-scope.

[Alien_Photons]

 Takahashi FC 100 DF, 6x30 finder, Parallax 95mm scope rings, William Optics 2 inch dielectric diagonal. Clear skies not included.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Alien_Photons

[DaveS]

Looks like you've got something rarer than a FC 100 DF.

A blue sky !

[mikeDnight]

Here's a rare pic of my FS152 with its CNC rings from 2007/2008.

After trying it out on two brand new EQ6 mounts, which were both returned due to being faulty, it ended up on a Losmandy G11. (Photo courtesy of paulastro).

Mike

[Chris]

That's a blissful look on your face there, Mike  

[spaceboy]

On ‎04‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 16:05, John said:

A few snaps of my TMB / LZOS 130mm F/9.2 triplet on the HEQ5 mount (thanks Chris ).

Certainly looks and feels right. Hope the clouds shove off later !

 

Blimey John I can now see why you've been through a few mounts with the TMB. I assume they are x2 5.3KG CW's ? Some way down the CW bar as well. I assume they are like the AR127L fraks with a thick wall aluminium tube making them heavier than you'd think ???

 Looks a great set up John and like how you went with the black HEQ5 to match the Berlebach. I find  it's possible to use high mag ortho with an AZ mount but there are times I can't be with out an EQ mount. The 130mm on sturdy HEQ5 will sure will make splitting those super tight doubles on nights of good seeing a pleasure.

[John]

2 hours ago, spaceboy said:

Blimey John I can now see why you've been through a few mounts with the TMB. I assume they are x2 5.3KG CW's ? Some way down the CW bar as well. I assume they are like the AR127L fraks with a thick wall aluminium tube making them heavier than you'd think ???

 Looks a great set up John and like how you went with the black HEQ5 to match the Berlebach. I find  it's possible to use high mag ortho with an AZ mount but there are times I can't be with out an EQ mount. The 130mm on sturdy HEQ5 will sure will make splitting those super tight doubles on nights of good seeing a pleasure.

Thanks

The optical tube weighs around 9kg all up. The tube used is made of a material called Kruppax 50 which is light, strong and interestingly has proved totally resistant to dewing

A lot of the weight is at the objective / lens cell end of course - it's a triplet after all.

It seems to need both the CW's to balance soundly.

Here are some more details of the OTA if anyone is interested:

http://www.apm-telescopes.de/en/telescopes/refracting-telescopes-ota/apochromates/apm-lzos-telescope-apo-refractor-130-1170-lw-photo.html

The scope is going out of production very soon - 114 units made in total since it's introduction in 2006.

 

Edited April 26, 2017 by John

[Stu]

Certainly a scope I would love to own at some point John, very nice.

I reckon it would sit very nicely on an AZEQ6 in Alt-Az mode. I used one very successfully with my Vixen Atlux which weighed nearly 20kg, so 9kg would be a breeze!

[paulastro]

15 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Here's a rare pic of my FS152 with its CNC rings from 2007/2008.

After trying it out on two brand new EQ6 mounts, which were both returned due to being faulty, it ended up on a Losmandy G11. (Photo courtesy of paulastro).

Mike

Fabulous photo, who took it? 

[mikeDnight]

12 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Fabulous photo, who took it? 

Some crazy person with a Midlands accent, who forgot to turn his FLASH off. 

Mike

[paulastro]

 

 

This is the Takahashi FC 100 DL on my GP mount, the ex-demo version, with 'DEMO' on the label where the serial number usually is.  (I think Mike previously posted a pic of this)Interestingly, it also has the wrong writing on the ring around the lens - it's the ring with the focal length and focal ratio of the f7.4 version rather than the f9 version.  Perhaps when this one was turned out they hadn't yet produced the ring for the f9 version - or someone put on the wrong one!  .

The diagonal is the WO 2inch right-way-round 90 degree version which I like to sweep with at low power.

[mikeDnight]

29 minutes ago, paulastro said:

 

 

This is the Takahashi FC 100 DL on my GP mount, the ex-demo version, with 'DEMO' on the label where the serial number usually is.  (I think Mike previously posted a pic of this)Interestingly, it also has the wrong writing on the ring around the lens - it's the ring with the focal length and focal ratio of the f7.4 version rather than the f9 version.  Perhaps when this one was turned out they hadn't yet produced the ring for the f9 version - or someone put on the wrong one!  .

The diagonal is the WO 2inch right-way-round 90 degree version which I like to sweep with at low power.

So it's a DL that wishes it was a DC? 

Mike 

[mikeDnight]

Another pic of my FS152. Again courtesy of paulastro, who for some reason hides in the bushes of my garden photographing my scopes.

Mike

[John]

6 hours ago, paulastro said:

 

 

This is the Takahashi FC 100 DL on my GP mount, the ex-demo version, with 'DEMO' on the label where the serial number usually is.  (I think Mike previously posted a pic of this)Interestingly, it also has the wrong writing on the ring around the lens - it's the ring with the focal length and focal ratio of the f7.4 version rather than the f9 version.  Perhaps when this one was turned out they hadn't yet produced the ring for the f9 version - or someone put on the wrong one!  .

The diagonal is the WO 2inch right-way-round 90 degree version which I like to sweep with at low power.

An even more limited edition version then ? - limited to one of a kind !