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FC100-DL first light (and ES 92 LE 17mm first light)

GavStar

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GavStar

GavStar

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Clear skies this evening which gave me an opportunity to have a (relatively quick) first light. My mum and dad were over and my dad in particular wanted to have a look (he's only had one brief look a few years ago in another of my scopes). No comparison with the DF tonight, that will happen when I have more time.

Quick set up and go and also very quick cool down - I guess it's not that cold outside now but I was surprised that I could crank up the power within 15 minutes. First up was the moon with the 17mm ES. No CA at all and exceptionally sharp. Even my mum was impressed but after 5 mins she went back to watch the Eurovision!

Dad was keen to look at more so a quick move left to Jupiter and its moons. Using Leica zoom at 180x we saw 4 belts and both polar regions very clearly with all 4 moons nicely in a line on one side. Seeing was pretty decent. Then went back to moon for 180x view at Dad's request - again really sharp and plenty of contrast.

I persuaded my dad that we should look at a couple of DSOs. My garden is not exactly a dark site being in SW London, so he wasn't convinced that we would see anything interesting. But back to the ES 17mm and first up was the beehive cluster - lovely pinpoint stars across the whole field of view which was very impressive. My dad was amazed that so many stars could appear apparently from nothing in the sky. We talked about how they were 500 light years away so the light we were seeing was when Columbus had just discovered America.

Finally I had a quick search for M3 which popped up nice and clearly in the eyepiece.  Good clear view of the fuzzy. And further discussion about how these stars are 35000 light years away.

All in all a very pleasant hour or two. Extremely happy with both my new purchases . Both my dad and l found the ES to be very comfortable to view with whole field sharp and easy to see.

Also really nice to be able to show my parents why I find stargazing so much fun.

A picture of the new setup below (the porta 2 with vixen Hal 130 tripod handled the FL better than I expected with minimal vibrations).

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image.jpeg

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t0nedude

t0nedude

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Nice report, thanks! I am always surprised at how light and small they look compared to Tak's FS102 and original FC100, they look like FS78's :icon_biggrin:

And although I'm looking forward to your comparo of that DL with the DF, I have to ask why do you have two 100mm Tak refractors? :dontknow::smiley:

Tony.

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GavStar

GavStar

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A fair question Tony ?

I've had the DF for a couple of years now and have loved the views it has given. However, I enjoy viewing planets and although they are not exactly positioned favourably over the next few years, the DL does seem to be potentially a slightly better scope for this given the longer focal length. I started a thread a few weeks back asking for views of the potential relative benefits of the DL. So my plan is to compare both scopes for a couple of months and then sell one, keeping my preferred scope.

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John

John

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Excellent 1st lights :icon_biggrin:

It's always nice to share the views and familliar objects take on a new interest when you are with someone who is seeing them for the 1st time.

The scope looks similar in proportions to the Skywatcher ED100 on the Porta mount.

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  • 2 months later...
AstroSylv1

AstroSylv1

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Hello Gavster, I see (I think I see) that you've put a micofocuser on the DL, is it a FeatherTouch retrofit one or the MEF-3 ? I found out this morning that the DL has a 2,5" focuser when the DF has a 2,7", can you confirm ? Also, looking forward for your point of view on comparing both, I am curious because my friend with whom I observe has a DF, and hopefully I will get a DL soon.

Clear skies.

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John

John

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5 minutes ago, disciplus55 said:

Indeed, weird... isn't it ? Why would the DL need a smaller focuser than the DF ?

Faster scope more likely to be used for imaging ?

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Stu

Stu

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I can only recommend the full FeatherTouch upgrade, I love mine and it has a wonderful feel to it. There is a simple adaptor which screws onto the OTA and then the focuser is a three grub screw attachment onto the flange. Mine is an FTF-2025BCR, 2.5" travel, the adaptor is an A20-302 if I remember correctly. I do use a short extension tube for standard observing but don't with binoviewers.

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GavStar

GavStar

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I did a bit of googling regarding the mef3 microfocuser vs the feathertouch micro pinion and it seemed to me the preference was for the mef3. So I purchased the mef3 for both the DF and DL and I'm happy with them

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John

John

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On 22/07/2016 at 22:33, Gavster said:

I did a bit of googling regarding the mef3 microfocuser vs the feathertouch micro pinion and it seemed to me the preference was for the mef3. So I purchased the mef3 for both the DF and DL and I'm happy with them

Thats interesting feedback Gavster :icon_biggrin:

I've read that the MEF3 microfocuser is designed to have subtle "click, click, click" as you adjust the focus. Do you find that with yours ?

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GavStar

GavStar

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12 hours ago, John said:

Thats interesting feedback Gavster :icon_biggrin:

I've read that the MEF3 microfocuser is designed to have subtle "click, click, click" as you adjust the focus. Do you find that with yours ?

John, I haven't noticed the click click click, it feels smooth to me. However I would have to say that the feathertouch on my tv85 is better imo. I find a fine focuser absolutely essential and the tak mef3 works fine but there is a bit of flex on it due to the thinnish steel plate attachment which I do notice a bit. I think Stu's full feathertouch will have a slightly better feel but I didn't like the thought of removing the serial number which is on the Tak focuser so didn't go for this approach.

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Stu

Stu

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The 'issue' with the Microfocuser upgrade is that you are still fundamentalally using the Tak focuser tube and bearings etc, which I don't rate very highly, particularly once they've had a bit of use. I've seen a number of used Tak focusers now, and they frequently have image shift to varying degrees. You just don't get that with the full FeatherTouch.

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John

John

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I think I'll keep with the stock focuser for now with my Tak FC-100DL. It's working very well and is very smooth indeed after a little stiffness for the first couple of uses.

If I upgrade in future (maybe if the stock focuser shows signs of weakness) I think it would be to the FT retro-fit one for the Tak focuser. I'd not want to loose the Tak finder mount (which I use with a 6x30 RACI) or the Tak label.

For the best part of a decade I got on just fine with the Vixen single speed R&P and that is an F/6.5 scope.

 

 

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AstroSylv1

AstroSylv1

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How is the "stabilisation" time with the Vixen Porta mount ? I have a SkyTee mount for my 100 mm refractor, and it stabilises VERY quickly when I bump my nose on the eyepiece for example. But it's a bit oversized for a single refractor. I am looking for something small and light like the Porta II mount, or the new Traveler from AOK.

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GavStar

GavStar

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For DF or DL? The porta 2 with the upgraded Hal 130 tripod works fine particularly with the DF - the DL takes it a bit to its limits due to the longer length but it depends if you are using binoviewers , heavy eyepieces etc. I've got a t-Rex mount for it now since I really don't like any vibration if possible

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AstroSylv1

AstroSylv1

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Last night, I could try the difference between my FT upgrade (MPA-TAK2.7) of my TSA 102 and the MEF-3 upgrade on the FC100-DF of a friend of mine... Although the look of the FT upgrade looks a ton better, I felt that the MEF-3 had no backlash at all, no "spring" effect and being just as precise as my FT upgrade... I always thought my FT upgrade was the best invention since Ice Cream, but indeed, I have a bit of "spring effect"... and if I get rid of that "spring effect" by doing some fine adjustment, then I have some backlash... never managed to get rid of both problems. Am I doing something wrong or is it the weak point in the FT upgrade compare to the MEF-3 ?

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