Show us your travel kit

[YKSE]

I have travelled with my C8, 120ED, 80ED, 8x40 bino, 15x70 bino, and the eyepiece case, erh, that's all the visual stuff I have

Edited February 27, 2016 by YKSE

[Stu]

1 hour ago, DRT said:

That looks fantastic, Stu.

It is good to see that you are sticking to your new mantra of "minimalist observing" with that lovely little £x,000 case-full   

Sssssshhhhhh! ?

[DRT]

9 minutes ago, Stu said:

Sssssshhhhhh! ?

[VSOP]

[Cjg]

Delighted to have made it to  France flying with Ryan Air, the flight to Limoges was £29 each way, I paid the extra £29 for a seat for my Tamrac bag containing the Tak.  You have to book the seat as Mr.Item Seat.  Here's the pic on the aircraft! 

Last night managed 65 Messiers having started at 11pm when the clouds cleared. Report to follow from the AstroFarm B&B sessions.

Chris

 

[CraigT82]

This is my travel set up... Heritage 130p ota, modified with 2" crayford focuser. On top of a Astropro 187 tripod ball head/ pan plate combo inspired by Fozzie! 

I must say the movement in alt and az is lovely and smooth but with about 4kg hanging off the side the tripod will tip over fairly easily. Saying that the more extended I have the legs the better it gets. Larger base area and all that. I could remove the tube rings and have the dovetail attached straight to the ota to shave a bit of weight off and reduce the lever arm by about an inch.

[RobertI]

Thats an interesting conversion to a crayford focusser. Did you post a thread describing how you did this perchance?

[nicoscy]

Haven't done any travelling with it yet, but here's my nearly complete kit (well, it IS complete but will do a couple of changes):

Borg 71FL, Televue Everbrite 1.25" - Just the scope with rings, dovetail and 2 x findershoes weights less than 1.8 kilos.

Plossl 32, Pan 24, Nagler T6 13 & 7, Nagler 3-6 zoom eyepieces

IDAS Solar, Baader Moon & Skyglow, Baader Solar Continuum, Televue Bandmate, UHC, O III and Hb filters

RDF, Sol searcher, 6 x 30 RACI, dew heater, observing hood

All of the above in a photographer's backpack.

And in another bag measuring about 50cm in length is a DSV-M mount, a Walker Stool and a Berlebach tripod with extension column.

Only changes I expect to make is to swap the diagonal for a Baader BBHS diagonal as I love the Clicklock mechanism and replace the Berlebach and extension column with a Induro CTL304L tripod.

I would not travel with a 2" diagonal and eyepiece as the Pan 24 gives 3.5 degrees TFOV, but at home when under dark skies, well, my Nagler 31mm gives 6.05 degrees TFOV and it's a stunning experience...

Edited October 9, 2016 by nicoscy

[MattJenko]

Just tested my travel kit at Kelling. Works a treat:

 

[Alien 13]

4 minutes ago, MattJenko said:

Just tested my travel kit at Kelling. Works a treat:

 

Thats cute, I must get a SA 

Alan

[CraigT82]

On 07/10/2016 at 19:13, RobertI said:

Thats an interesting conversion to a crayford focusser. Did you post a thread describing how you did this perchance?

Yes I did, I should probably update that thread as I've actually had a chance to test out the mod in anger

[Cjg]

On 09/10/2016 at 05:31, nicoscy said:

Haven't done any travelling with it yet, but here's my nearly complete kit (well, it IS complete but will do a couple of changes):

Borg 71FL, Televue Everbrite 1.25" - Just the scope with rings, dovetail and 2 x findershoes weights less than 1.8 kilos.

Plossl 32, Pan 24, Nagler T6 13 & 7, Nagler 3-6 zoom eyepieces

IDAS Solar, Baader Moon & Skyglow, Baader Solar Continuum, Televue Bandmate, UHC, O III and Hb filters

RDF, Sol searcher, 6 x 30 RACI, dew heater, observing hood

All of the above in a photographer's backpack.

And in another bag measuring about 50cm in length is a DSV-M mount, a Walker Stool and a Berlebach tripod with extension column."

Nicos, you've swapped your Tak for a Borg? Is it much more portable?

Chris

 

[nicoscy]

Chris,

I still have the Tak and yes, it is far superior to the Borg p, but not as portable as the Borg. I am trying to keep as small a kit as possible and the Borg is portable enough to fit in my backpack as you can see.

I also have a Borg 90FL objective so I can swap between 71mm and 90mm - 71 at home for mostly lunar viewing and the 90 under dark skies, but I have a good mind to sell both the Tak and the 90FL as I am drawn to a compact kit.

Everything is a compromise and I think I can accept optics which are pretty decent (vs simply flawless for my Tak) if I manage to get out more often in my back yard and enjoy the views.

While this may sound "shocking", family, work, pets and life in general conspire to keep me away from the eyepiece (dentist this evening!!!) and therefore optimising my gear towards portability is paramount to me.

But the Takahashi - oh my!

[Cjg]

3 hours ago, nicoscy said:

Chris

While this may sound "shocking", family, work, pets and life in general conspire to keep me away from the eyepiece (dentist this evening!!!) and therefore optimising my gear towards portability is paramount to me.

But the Takahashi - oh my!

Totally understand that Nicos; 'dad's taxi' duties tonight, I sold my 10"Dob (hope the dob mob don't read this!) for a scope that was easier to transport and set up. I forget who it was that said "Your best scope is the one you use the most" but that's so true. 

Am fortunate to be able to use the dark skies of Seething whenever life and clouds allow. Good luck, hope you get some quality eyepiece time this season.

Chris

[Helen]

3 hours ago, nicoscy said:

Chris,

I still have the Tak and yes, it is far superior to the Borg p, but not as portable as the Borg. I am trying to keep as small a kit as possible and the Borg is portable enough to fit in my backpack as you can see.

I also have a Borg 90FL objective so I can swap between 71mm and 90mm - 71 at home for mostly lunar viewing and the 90 under dark skies, but I have a good mind to sell both the Tak and the 90FL as I am drawn to a compact kit.

Everything is a compromise and I think I can accept optics which are pretty decent (vs simply flawless for my Tak) if I manage to get out more often in my back yard and enjoy the views.

While this may sound "shocking", family, work, pets and life in general conspire to keep me away from the eyepiece (dentist this evening!!!) and therefore optimising my gear towards portability is paramount to me.

But the Takahashi - oh my!

Ooo that's interesting!  I'm looking to get together a portable set up ready for an eclipse trip to the US next year, but we're going to be away for a month so looking at more than just solar kit.  I've been wondering about the Borg set up you have - ie one tube and the two FL objectives.  In my case 90 primarily for visual and 71 for solar and photography on a star adventurer.  So what does 'pretty decent mean' in comparison to say a william optics 72 Megrez (my current solar and travel scope)?

Lots of other ideas in this thread too... I think the weight limit on the star adventurer is probably more limiting than the luggage allowance! (Although as we are also going on an Alaskan cruise I'll need room for warm clothes ;-)  )

Helen

 

[nicoscy]

6 hours ago, Cjg said:

Totally understand that Nicos; 'dad's taxi' duties tonight, I sold my 10"Dob (hope the dob mob don't read this!) for a scope that was easier to transport and set up. I forget who it was that said "Your best scope is the one you use the most" but that's so true. 

Am fortunate to be able to use the dark skies of Seething whenever life and clouds allow. Good luck, hope you get some quality eyepiece time this season.

Chris

Chris,

I have 4 observing sites within a 50 minute drive with SQM readings between 21.1 and 21.3 which I try to frequent twice a month, so I consider myself blessed.

Paradoxically, I find it more difficult to drag my very tired rear end out the door to observe from my back yard than it is to pack a 12" dobsonian and various accouterments and drive to a dark site 

[nicoscy]

6 hours ago, Helen said:

Ooo that's interesting!  I'm looking to get together a portable set up ready for an eclipse trip to the US next year, but we're going to be away for a month so looking at more than just solar kit.  I've been wondering about the Borg set up you have - ie one tube and the two FL objectives.  In my case 90 primarily for visual and 71 for solar and photography on a star adventurer.  So what does 'pretty decent mean' in comparison to say a william optics 72 Megrez (my current solar and travel scope)?

Lots of other ideas in this thread too... I think the weight limit on the star adventurer is probably more limiting than the luggage allowance! (Although as we are also going on an Alaskan cruise I'll need room for warm clothes ;-)  )

Helen

 

Helen,

These photos are for you. I misaligned the Tak relative to the measuring tape so take off 2 centimeters off its length as measured. There is no size comparison here - the Tak loses big time. The Borg should also ride very well on the Skywatcher Adventurer and I can even reduce its weight further by 100 - 120 grams by removing one of the findershoes and the extra securing screws on the rings.

The Borg 71FL produces images like a very good ED scope of focal ratio of say 7 - 8. Considering that it is f5.6, I consider that most satisfactory. The Borg is mostly geared to the AP folk as when you mate it to its dedicated field flattener, it can become a f3.6 flatfield  5 element scope. In Japan it is also widely used for imaging birds e.t.c.

The intra-focal pattern indicates no serious abberations, however the extra-focal pattern is a different story. I need to sit down one evening with my Suiter book and decide on the optics, as well as use my Ronchi eyepiece to assess the optics, but offhand, there is virtually zero color on the moon (a very slight yellowish tint at the rim of the moon), stars are nice and tight, contrast is excellent and Mars and Saturn are looking good for the aperture. Lacks depth of field due to short focal length and needs very good eyepieces to tame field curvature. I use Naglers and Pans - anything else and the result is not satisfactory.

[nicoscy]

@ both Chris & Helen,

Now for the dilemma!!!

I must admit I am at crossroads. Just to explain, when I received the Tak, I found shortly afterwards a very small blem (like 1x1mm) on the coatings. But despite the guarantee, I did not return the scope. Why one might ask? After going through about 20 refractors with apertures ranging 50mm to 152mm, achro, ED and FPL-53 triplets, it was hands down a win for the Tak.

Nothing I have touched (including the 20 scopes I mentioned as well as other scopes of friends) has come close to the color fidelity, the superb contrast, the super tight stars, the zero chromatic aberration, the lovely intra and exrtra focal pattern of the scope, the lovely depth of field - well, I could go on forever.

BUT (yes, here it comes) it is long. Light, but long. I am considering (and will consider for some time), whether to actually sell it or maybe send the lens assembly to Mark of Moonraker Telescopes and ask him to make me something ultralight with a retractable dew shield and stick a FTF focuser at the back. I could make the Tak binoviewer friendly for example (have Mark make a shorter tube) and use an extension for mono viewing.

I don't know really. All I know is that I have no need to sell the scope but I feel a certain pain at not using it.

Edited October 11, 2016 by nicoscy

[Stu]

22 minutes ago, nicoscy said:

@ both Chris & Helen,

Now for the dilemma!!!

I must admit I am at crossroads. Just to explain, when I received the Tak, I found shortly afterwards a very small blem (like 1x1mm) on the coatings. But despite the guarantee, I did not return the scope. Why one might ask? After going through about 20 refractors with apertures ranging 50mm to 152mm, achro, ED and FPL-53 triplets, it was hands down a win for the Tak.

Nothing I have touched (including the 20 scopes I mentioned as well as other scopes of friends) has come close to the color fidelity, the superb contrast, the super tight stars, the zero chromatic aberration, the lovely intra and exrtra focal pattern of the scope, the lovely depth of field - well, I could go on forever.

BUT (yes, here it comes) it is long. Light, but long. I am considering (and will consider for some time), whether to actually sell it or maybe send the lens assembly to Mark of Moonraker Telescopes and ask him to make me something ultralight with a retractable dew shield and stick a FTF focuser at the back. I could make the Tak binoviewer friendly for example (have Mark make a shorter tube) and use an extension for mono viewing.

I don't know really. All I know is that I have no need to sell the scope but I feel a certain pain at not using it.

I certainly agree with you about the quality of the Tak Nicos, and I have had similar thoughts about modding mine, although I can't quite bring myself to do it. Might have to buy another one for that

Helen, if you look back in this thread, you will see that the Tak actually disassembles into an airline portable package. I fitted a Feathertouch to mine which I think is shorter than the original. If you remove this and the dew shield then you end up at around 19" if I recall correctly.

An alternative is the FS-60 with the 76mm Objective upgrade. The 76 in particular is very sharp, a lovely objective and very portable because the upgrade unscrews from the back part of the OTA giving a very transpotable package.

[nicoscy]

Chris,

You are right about the Tak dissassebly. And also about the Tak 60 + 76 module. Kill two birds with one stone and I have heard great things about the small 60mm Taks...

Not only that, but you can make the Tak a 76mm binofriendly scope in that configuration...

 

Helen ,

The main concern would be to protect the lens assembly though, but one can get a plastic dustcap from eBay or Amazon for that.

A shower cap would protect the back of the OTA from dust getting in, but you still end up with the OTA @ 19", a focuser and a dew shield to pack, so not very portable considering you want to take other accessories with you...

[BGazing]

13 hours ago, nicoscy said:

Chris,

I have 4 observing sites within a 50 minute drive with SQM readings between 21.1 and 21.3 which I try to frequent twice a month, so I consider myself blessed.

wow. 

[nicoscy]

Any time you are in Cyprus...

[Highburymark]

On 27 February 2016 at 18:01, Stu said:

Forgive me a little excitement over this. I've just tried out the FC-100D in my airline portable travel case, and it fits! I have to remove the focuser and dew shield but they will fit in the case too. This gives me the chance for a premium 4" Apo under dark southern skies, excellent!!

 

Stu - this looks amazing. I've been wondering about the FC100 and airline portability, and this is the first evidence that it's actually possible. Does your case meet the cabin restrictions on all airlines - ie the easyjets and ryanairs as well as the more expensive carriers? And where did you get the case from?

Congratulations on a very nice travel set up. Looks like another meeting with my bank manager is in order.

[Stu]

Thanks Mark.

I've yet to have the opportunity to take it abroad unfortunately, but at least I'm prepared

The case is a Peli 1510. It is ok for the main stream airlines but not the budget airlines. The main issue which I'm uncertain about is weight. As I've shown it, the weight is well over 10kg but I guess the option is there to just put the scope and some lightweight accessories in and pack the remainder in checked baggage.

You do have the option of just packing the scope securely in a rucksack or similar in which case it should be fine on EasyJet et al.

https://peliproducts.co.uk/products/cases/1510-protector-case-1030.html

[Helen]

Thanks guys  

In my case I need to be able to also carry my solar filters, so smaller and lighter is good (and not just for airline as we're touring for a month so will be moving stuff around a lot!).  So the Borg set up is still front runner I think...

Helen