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Tak FC-100 - a few questions :)


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4 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I recently acquired the TS ED 40mm version (says Paracor on it).

I really like it. No, it's not an XW 40mm (and who DID snag that mint beauty of Roger Vines' for £399 on UKABS last week??!!), but it's sharp to about 85% out on my FS128. I use a driven eq mount so a little edge distortion doesn't bother me for the objects I use it on. A lovely 69 Deg field at 40mm showed me a wonderful view of the double cluster at the weekend, real 'diamonds on velvet' style.

Mine is also light for its' size and quite nicely made. The rotating eyecup is a useful comfort feature..Recommended.?

Dave

I used it in my C8 for widest field, Double Cluster included. I guess the strong field curvature of the non-Edge SCT makes it worse than in your 1000mm frac, hence your edges might be better. It does have some astigmatism in the EP, as my astigmatism level of the eyes is not sufficient to truly kick in at 3.7 exit pupil. That said, it really does what it has to on extended objects and the eyecup is comfortable. But then I go to my Delos and take my eyes to a spa...

1 hour ago, disciplus55 said:

Here is a DL on SW AZ GTi + EQ5 extension column and UNI 18, very stable and super heavy...

 

13802BFF-E455-42F1-883B-569B04492B2E.jpeg

Just wow, that little mount is truly a mighty midget. If it tracks with all that weight, it's a must, especially for sharing. I guess a less substantial tripod would expose the light weight of the mount more. UNI 18 looks awesome.

Edited by BGazing
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9 minutes ago, disciplus55 said:

Good idea Piero, I will have a look at that too...

settling time is good, but I still haven’t pushed magnification since mid October due to the horrible weather conditions... :-( but it is anyway less than a second.

 

Here are the safety bolts I use. They are M8-30 with Allen key head. I bought them long enough so that I can hang a weight on each side of the bolt. 

 

1516734622053-839734365.jpg

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13 hours ago, GavStar said:

That is some tripod and pier to set the az gti on ? 

Imo the worst thing about the az gti is the small single bolt to hold the dovetail bar - a safety screw is definitely needed! 

 

I did post this on another thread, but I reckon this may be an alternative clamp that could fit the Gti. I think you would need washers and M4 bolts, but the spacing between seems to fit with Dereks (DRT) measurements. Dont know for sure but thought I would post in case anyone was interested :)

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18 hours ago, disciplus55 said:

Here is a DL on SW AZ GTi + EQ5 extension column and UNI 18, very stable and super heavy...

 

13802BFF-E455-42F1-883B-569B04492B2E.jpeg

Very nice looking setup, I bet it is pretty stable with all that weight underneath :) 

For me, the reason to have the AZGTi is for simple and lightweight portability at which it does very well with a good photo tripod.

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2 hours ago, Stu said:

Very nice looking setup, I bet it is pretty stable with all that weight underneath :) 

For me, the reason to have the AZGTi is for simple and lightweight portability at which it does very well with a good photo tripod.

Impressive the DL is light enough for that mount. Would that still be the case with a 2 inch diagonal and (say) 2lb eye piece?

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20 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I recently acquired the TS ED 40mm version (says Paracor on it).

I really like it. No, it's not an XW 40mm (and who DID snag that mint beauty of Roger Vines' for £399 on UKABS last week??!!), but it's sharp to about 85% out on my FS128. I use a driven eq mount so a little edge distortion doesn't bother me for the objects I use it on. A lovely 69 Deg field at 40mm showed me a wonderful view of the double cluster at the weekend, real 'diamonds on velvet' style.

Mine is also light for its' size and quite nicely made. The rotating eyecup is a useful comfort feature..Recommended.?

Dave

There is a Vixen LVW 42mm on Amazon or ebay. They are lighter than Panoptic, no big balance issues, but 65 deg AFOV. Good but not too excessive eye relief.

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I think the DL with a 2” diagonal and a heavy eyepiece will be too much for the AZ GTi, unless you replace the Tak cradle with a lighter combination of rings made of aluminum. Primalucelab rings would make me gain almost 1kg...

according to Marion at Berlebach, it costs almost 30euro incl. shipping to buy the base plate with column from the UNI 19 in order to transform a UNI 18. I need to sell some stuffs first.

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21 minutes ago, 25585 said:

There is a Vixen LVW 42mm on Amazon or ebay. They are lighter than Panoptic, no big balance issues, but 65 deg AFOV. Good but not too excessive eye relief.

I'd love the 42mm LVW. My 22mm is one of my favourite EPs. 

Sadly I'm all spent out at the moment, am selling rather than buying ?. But the 40mm FL is one of my least used mags, so I'm content with the TS 40mm for now ☺.

Dave

 

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1 hour ago, disciplus55 said:

according to Marion at Berlebach, it costs almost 30euro incl. shipping to buy the base plate with column from the UNI 19 in order to transform a UNI 18. I need to sell some stuffs first.

No love for columnless 18 anymore?

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The Tak FC 100 DL being that long, I can not have "no column" or "no extension", but if I could replace the EQ5 extension column, with a tripod integrated Berlebach column, I would gain in set up time, in portability, in weight, and in ease of use. BUT the only two compromises I don't want to do are stability and vibration damping time... so, there is still a big question mark... Piero opened a potential new opportunity with his FC 100 DF on his photos... it is worse the thoughts...

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To be honest, I enjoy doing straight through viewing on my Telemator, with the tripod fully up and standing, but in my configuration for the Tak DL, it's more about me being scared, that if for a reason or another, the optical tube would swing completely loose, and hit the tripod.. this is why I am in favour of that column or extension... am I paranoid ? :)

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42 minutes ago, BGazing said:

I am 190 cm tall, observing standing would require a very tall column and a very tall tripod. Its sitting for me, period. :)

The UNI 29 that Mike ( @iPeace ) has should allow you to observe standing. Same CC as in the UNI 19, but longer legs. 

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1 hour ago, BGazing said:

I am 190 cm tall, observing standing would require a very tall column and a very tall tripod. Its sitting for me, period. :)

So am I, at least that - but I wouldn't be surprised if I turn out to be shrinking.

42 minutes ago, Piero said:

The UNI 29 that Mike ( @iPeace ) has should allow you to observe standing. Same CC as in the UNI 19, but longer legs.

Yes. This is what I got it for. The maximum specified height, fully extended is 210 cm - and that's without the mount head. I haven't done any measurements, but it's tall enough for observing standing upright, even at the zenith.

:happy11:

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37 minutes ago, jetstream said:

I wonder how much weight and scope length the central column can support? I sure looks handy- does the Planet offer one?

The payload of the UNI CC is 20 kg and it can extend for 39cm.  I don't think the planet offers one :dontknow:

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36 minutes ago, jetstream said:

I wonder how much weight and scope length the central column can support?

Weight is specified as 20kg. That's probably what the gearing mechanism can safely raise and lower. In practice, it might be a bit more, but not a good idea to overcook things... :rolleyes2:

38 minutes ago, jetstream said:

sure looks handy- does the Planet offer one?

Not currently, according to the Berlebach web site. It might not make sense, either: any load up to 20kg can be easily supported by the UNI.

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My Berlebach Uni 28 goes to 163cm. Add the mount height to that and the DT clamp is at around 182 cm which is plenty tall enough for me (180 cm tall) to use the Tak FC-100DL without having to stoop. 

 

 

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Observe as much as you can with your scope...well i took that advice, braved the cold and 'enjoyed' half Moon obliterating most of the targets. More importantly, helped me rationalize my resolve to get that Tak, setting up Evolution is great for all-nighters, but such a pain for relatively short observations, especially in bitter cold. Wires everywhere...

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6 minutes ago, BGazing said:

Observe as much as you can with your scope...well i took that advice, braved the cold and 'enjoyed' half Moon obliterating most of the targets. More importantly, helped me rationalize my resolve to get that Tak, setting up Evolution is great for all-nighters, but such a pain for relatively short observations, especially in bitter cold. Wires everywhere...

Just drop the Borg out there and enjoy! :happy11:

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11 hours ago, BGazing said:

Well, I wanted 'something bigger' on M42. :)

I don't disagree with you (how could I ?! ), but just want to add that a lot depends on sky conditions. My Tak 100 here in Cambridge roughly reveals the same amount of nebula detail as my 8" dobson in Venice Area (Italy). Of course, the dob bests the Tak on E and F trapezium quite easily. :) 

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