Tak FC-100 - a few questions :)

[Highburymark]

1 hour ago, BGazing said:

As Piero said, consider also Tak MEF microfocuser. I have installed it and I cannot fault it so far, I think it is a very worthy bit of kit and as precise as I need it to be.

I agree. When I received and fitted the MEF-3 I was surprised at how basic it seemed. But it works very well. For me, the only alternative would be a full FT replacement.

[Pig]

I too have the Tak micro focusser and it works just dandy ? 

Being able to achieve 500 x mag on the lunar surface features can’t be bad !!! 

[Piero]

13 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Is AYOII the Swiss made mount (penknife red)?

  .. although mine is penknife black!  

[AstroPhil]

1 hour ago, John said:

My advice on a suitable FT focuser adaptation for the FC-100DL came from Ed Harrison of Harrison Telescopes. He had a personal FC-100DL at that time so I figured that he should know.

 

In fact this is exactly what happened earlier today; Ed suggested that if the drawtube is 2.7" then the MPA-TAK2.7 is the one to go for, so that's now been duly ordered. I looked at the MEF as well but could not find a supplier whereas the feathertouch seemed more available, as it were (not that I looked particularly hard, I admit). @Piero I certainly agree with you that microfocusing is a personal thing... I just like to have that 10:1 'tuning' available, for some reason, but the standard tak focuser I actually like a lot (basically, I find it just a shade heavy for fine tweaks).

[John]

I'm still in two minds about upgrading my FC-100DL stock focuser. It's doing pretty well tonight on binary stars at 300x !

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, BGazing said:

Great. I think I will try this at some point on AYOII, it is rated 12kgs when using both clamps...yours is 9.25, correct?

Tripod on that photo...not feeling well even though it might be the mighty Gitzo...

It was indeed a mighty Gitzo, GT5542LS to be precise . Rated at 40kg load.

I had been fairly sure it was the C8 Edge but have checked back through photos and you are correct, C925. Bit of a crazy setup  

[Highburymark]

13 minutes ago, Stu said:

It was indeed a mighty Gitzo, GT5542LS to be precise . Rated at 40kg load.

I had been fairly sure it was the C8 Edge but have checked back through photos and you are correct, C925. Bit of a crazy setup  

Gitzos are amazing. Astonishingly light but eat up heavy loads for breakfast. Can't imagine I will ever need another camera tripod for alt-az. Mine's only 25kg payload though. Would be roundly thrashed by yours Stu

[Stu]

They are pretty amazing, got mine for a reasonable price ‘as new’ on the bay.

Focuser? FT all the way for me I’m afraid.

[John]

It does seem slightly odd to be discussing focusser upgrades for £2K-£2.5K 3.9 inch scopes

My TMB/LZOS 130 F/9.2 has a Feathertouch and it is a beautiful piece of kit.

 

[GavStar]

6 hours ago, John said:

It does seem slightly odd to be discussing focusser upgrades for £2K-£2.5K 3.9 inch scopes

My TMB/LZOS 130 F/9.2 has a Feathertouch and it is a beautiful piece of kit.

 

I think if Tak supplied their scopes with a 2 speed focuser as standard there would be a lot less discussion. For me, when viewing at high magnification, I require a fine focuser. Therefore upgraded the focuser on my fc100’s immediately. I initially went for the Tak mef-3 upgrade but found it a bit imprecise. 

I then got a 2 speed feathertouch for my Lunt 60 solar scope and thought it felt so much better than my Tak wth mef-3. So I went the ‘Stu’ route and got a whole new feathertouch focuser and have not looked back since - it’s brilliant! This does seem quite rare though - only seen me, Stu and Marcus z with Taks with full feathertouches.

In addition Tak did sell some tsa-120s with a feathertouch as standard rather than its own focuser - that says something to me.

My TECs came with feathertouches as standard - never crossed my mind to upgrade those ? My astro-physics has an extremely well made 2 speed astro physics focuser - however imo it’s not as good as the feathertouch on my TEC - a little less precise. The latest 92mm astro-physics has a feathertouch 2 speed as standard!!!

[Stu]

There is some strange effect with dual speed focusers in that, even when I use the 1:1 knob, the fact that it is also turning the 10:1 knob stabilises the movement and makes it more accurate. The 10:1 does just allow to to gently tweak focus with minimal disturbance to the scope and to get perfect focus. Really important for everything but solar especially for me.

Some of the single speeds I have used have been pretty darn good still. The Televue focusers are so buttery smooth with no slip at all. For those I just added a micro focuser because the basic R & P was so good. The Vixen 150ED has a very nice AP single speed focuser on it originally. I replaced it mainly so I could get a motor focuser (Steeltrack and Steeldrive) which helped keep vibrations down.

I think my preference is FT, Steeltrack (DiamondTrack now) then Moonlite, but they are all more than up to the job. FTs for larger scopes get fearsomely expensive so I have generally opted for the other two in these circumstances.

[mikeDnight]

I'm quite content with my MEF 3 micro focuser and would happily fit one to any Tak scope, even the longer DL. I find it very precise even at very high powers, so when the undulating atmosphere subtly defocused the image, the lightest touch of the MEF 3 fine tunes the image again with no effort. Although an FT would be a nice addition, I would personally find it hard to justify the expense when the MEF 3 performs the task admirably.

[GavStar]

11 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I'm quite content with my MEF 3 micro focuser and would happily fit one to any Tak scope, even the longer DL. I find it very precise even at very high powers, so when the undulating atmosphere subtly defocused the image, the lightest touch of the MEF 3 fine tunes the image again with no effort. Although an FT would be a nice addition, I would personally find it hard to justify the expense when the MEF 3 performs the task admirably.

I guess we differ on this one then Mike ?

I found that the thin metal plate that attaches the mef-3 to the existing Tak focuser did flex a bit in use. However I was using rather heavy 2 inch eyepieces such as the 21mm ethos so that can’t have helped ?

Also the small screws that fixed the fine focuser to the rack came loose twice in use resulting in the fine focuser knob not working. A pain to sort out in the dark! After this happened a second time I got fed up with it and ordered the full feathertouch. ?

Edited May 1, 2018 by GavStar

[marcus_z]

Recently I acquired a second-hand FC-100DC with MEF-3. I don't think that the MEF-3 is the optimum, because there is some flex in the sheetmetal plate that attaches to the housing. I expect the FTF micro pinon to be more precise due to less backlash. But certainly since Tak focusers vary quite a bit one might be equally satisfied with his/her copy.

[Peter Drew]

It seems to take a lot of aftermarket help to operate one of these Taks satisfactorily.    

[John]

51 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

It seems to take a lot of aftermarket help to operate one of these Taks satisfactorily.    

Thats was sort of the point I was making Peter but maybe individuals vary in this ?

I've really enjoyed my Tak FC-100DL and I don't feel the urge or need to upgrade the focuser from the standard single speed unit but it's an F/9. Maybe the finer touch is more valuable at F/7.4 ?

When we discuss the excellent Skywatcher ED doublet refractors the focuser is usually singled out as needing upgrading by many (although I don't think it is that bad, at least for visual use) and quite a big deal is being made of this in the pre-emptive discussions on forums on the new Skywatcher ED150 Pro but those scopes are around 1/3rd of the cost of a Takahashi equivalent.

Maybe the more you spend on a scope, the fussier you get !

 

 

 

[BGazing]

10 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Gitzos are amazing. Astonishingly light but eat up heavy loads for breakfast. Can't imagine I will ever need another camera tripod for alt-az. Mine's only 25kg payload though. Would be roundly thrashed by yours Stu

Also amazingly expensive.

[John]

2 minutes ago, BGazing said:

Also amazingly expensive.

A lot of stuff that gets discussed in Tak threads is pretty expensive

I use a £25 Skywatcher RACI finder on mine though - I don't think the scope cares and it does the job !

[Stu]

1 hour ago, John said:

A lot of stuff that gets discussed in Tak threads is pretty expensive

I use a £25 Skywatcher RACI finder on mine though - I don't think the scope cares and it does the job !

That’s one blessing, Tak don’t do RACI finders..... (as far as I’m aware!)

[25585]

12 hours ago, AstroPhil said:

In fact this is exactly what happened earlier today; Ed suggested that if the drawtube is 2.7" then the MPA-TAK2.7 is the one to go for, so that's now been duly ordered. I looked at the MEF as well but could not find a supplier whereas the feathertouch seemed more available, as it were (not that I looked particularly hard, I admit). @Piero I certainly agree with you that microfocusing is a personal thing... I just like to have that 10:1 'tuning' available, for some reason, but the standard tak focuser I actually like a lot (basically, I find it just a shade heavy for fine tweaks).

FLO asked Moonlite on my behalf which focuser of theirs would fit, and was told the 2.7 inch model. Those of course have options on colour, speeds, tube length, finder shoes, motor etc.and are rotatable presumably.

[25585]

16 minutes ago, Stu said:

That’s one blessing, Tak don’t do RACI finders..... (as far as I’m aware!)

I would have had one of their 50mm ones if they did a RA finder.

[25585]

1 hour ago, John said:

Thats was sort of the point I was making Peter but maybe individuals vary in this ?

I've really enjoyed my Tak FC-100DL and I don't feel the urge or need to upgrade the focuser from the standard single speed unit but it's an F/9. Maybe the finer touch is more valuable at F/7.4 ?

When we discuss the excellent Skywatcher ED doublet refractors the focuser is usually singled out as needing upgrading by many (although I don't think it is that bad, at least for visual use) and quite a big deal is being made of this in the pre-emptive discussions on forums on the new Skywatcher ED150 Pro but those scopes are around 1/3rd of the cost of a Takahashi equivalent.

Maybe the more you spend on a scope, the fussier you get !

 

 

 

The Equinoxes come with better focusers. 2 speed, rotatable, smooth, scaled.

FT focusers are expensive, there are good cheaper models. I have not used my Tak enough yet to find any issues with the OE.

More you spend absolutely Primaluce! ?

Edited May 1, 2018 by 25585

[Timebandit]

 

My SW equinox came with all the goodies. I lovely two speed focuser , and quality scope rings . And the amazing think is ,all was included in the price ?

And did I mention the retractable dewshield and the lovely big alloy flight type case that it comes in. And the best bit quality optics too. All for a fraction of the cost

Pretty fine scopes these SW ??

 

 

 

[Pig]

I guess focuser options are purely down to an individuals preference... I have used a 21mm Ethos with my TAK micro-focuser without any issues, if I am honest I can still achieve focus using the larger / standard focus wheel without any concerns in excess of 300 X magnification ... the observed view just snaps into focus  preference not necessity is my take. If I had known this prior to my purchase I would not have upgraded.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Pig

[25585]

46 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

My SW equinox came with all the goodies. 1 lovely two speed focuser , and quality scope rings . And the amazing think is ,all was included in the price ?

And did I mention the retractable dewshield and the lovely big alloy flight type case that it comes in. And the best bit quality optics too. All for a fraction of the cost

Pretty fine scopes these SW ??

 

 

 

Totally correct! Both my 120 & 100 are keepers as irreplaceable now. Had SW done the new 150 in Equinox form, I would be going for it, albeit more expensive to buy. 

120s case sadly not so good, it's journey from China protected the scope at expensive of the case which had a cracked end and now it's angle joinings are coming apart. There is a Geoptik case for 150mm fracs which will take over soon. Other cases are fine. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by 25585