Genesis seeing double

[Stu]

I'm on my third Televue Genesis now, and all things being ok, won't sell this one. I love them for their wonderful flat widefield views, up to 5 degrees but have never really considered them good for high power viewing. Whilst described as a fluorite scope, this is a bit disingenuous as the front doublet is basically an f10 ish achro doublet, with the rear petzval having the fluorite element to stop any further CA being generated. The scope is by no means an apo, but this one has well controlled CA. There seems to be some variability between scopes, possibly dependent on collimation accuracy but this one is the best of the three I've had.

At 500mm focal length and f5, it is easy to get nice big exit pupils for bright filtered views of objects such as the Veil or NAN so it seemed the right scope to bring down to Dorset for a couple of nights camping. It was looking promising for a while last night, and I did manage to see both these objects but by no means the best views I've had. Annoyingly the LP seems to have increased over the years and it seems to be the done thing to have lights all over your tent these days which makes dark adaptation harder to achieve.

With plenty of cloud coming through, I though I would test this old Genesis on things it has no right to be good at, some doubles. I had to stick to my old favourites because there was too much cloud around to star hop with much success.

I used the Nag zoom to get me up to x168, then the Vixen HR Planetary 2.4mm to give me x208.

I must say I was pretty impressed. The Double Double was easy, lovely bullseyes with clear splits. Delta Cygni seemed like a good option whilst around Cygnus and this again split very nicely.

Polaris looked beautiful at x40, the secondary really pin sharp, whilst there was a trace of CA around the primary it really wasn't intrusive.

Back to some higher powers and Iota Cass was one I haven't looked at for a long time, I'd forgotten how lovely it is.  A triple with one tightly spaced and one component slightly wider. Colour looked similar in all to me.

Finally, with cloud getting ever heavier I tried for Pi Aquilae. Again, success at x208 which I was chuffed with.

So, whilst it is not up to Tak levels of colour control and contrast, the old Genesis has really impressed me at the higher powers. It's nice to have a scope with some character and history (I first became aware of them after reading Stephen O'Meara's Messier Objects book) which will give excellent performance all the way from a flat 5 degree field up to over x200.

[Merlin66]

I’ve measured up my “box” to make sure the Genesis goes with me!

I split the double double at x49 a few years ago with the Genesis......majic!!!!

 

[John]

Nice report Stu of a classic and versatile refractor

I have similar feelings when I use my Vixen ED102SS F/6.5. I don't use it as much as it deserves but I could not bear to part with it.

I don't mind a little CA actually (my TV Ranger is not an apo by any means) but I do like a well figured objective and TV and Vixen certainly have those.

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Stu that is a nice report to start the morning. I so wish I still had a decent refractor.

[Rob]

Nice report indeed Stu. I've always liked the look of these scopes, but never owned one. I have own 2 x petzval refractors and as you say really nice on wide-field, not so much on high mags.. Again they were no APO, but have their place indeed. They seem to blacken sky nicely.

Enjoy!......... Rob

[Kn4fty]

Nice report Stu! Enjoyed reading it! Thanks for sharing! Doubles are something I've only recently gotten into. You mentioned a couple I haven't seen and they're on the list for tonight! Thanks!

Rob

[ollypenrice]

Good review. I had one as well and loved it. What else can go from a binocular FOV to a decent planetary view like this?

Olly

[NGC 1502]

 

Thanks for the Genesis review, never owned one but could be tempted at the right price and condition.  At a dark site it’s amazing what can be seen. In 2012 the only scope I took to Kelling was my 70mm Pronto and somehow I didn’t feel I’d made a bad call, more liberating actually and I had a great time, so a Genesis would be very nice.  Having spoken to Al Nagler at Astrofest and son David at Kelling I really ‘get’ why these old scopes remain popular for some of us.

Cheers, Ed.

 

[Rob Sellent]

Nice report Stu and good to hear you were able to do a little observing inspite of the clouds. I think TV's scopes in general are some of the prettiest scopes I've ever seen. I love the white pebble finish, the black dew shield, that indestructible, bomber-proof feel about them. In a way, they have an aesthetic a bit like some old classic bike or car. They may not perform quite like the new models in the showroom but they have a class all to their own  

[Stu]

Thanks all. Back home now. Didn't get any observing done last night, it didn't look that great and I was feeling a little jaded! I was disappointed not to be able to see the Milky Way overhead even during the clear spells, I wonder if the LP has got that much worse in the last few years?

Anyway, a picture of my simple setup, Scope, Ercole mount, Gitzo, RDF. Very relaxing to use.

[John]

How does your Ercole handle that scope without a counterweight Stu ?

My Ercole is pretty stable but the motion of the axes are noticably smoother when I use a counterbalance weight on the opposite side, even for the "flyweight" Vixen ED102SS.

 

[Kn4fty]

That's a good looking scope! I wouldn't mind having one of those!

[Stu]

39 minutes ago, John said:

How does your Ercole handle that scope without a counterweight Stu ?

My Ercole is pretty stable but the motion of the axes are noticably smoother when I use a counterbalance weight on the opposite side, even for the "flyweight" Vixen ED102SS.

 

Similar to you John, it handles it ok but is definitely smoother with a counterweight. I didn't expect to be doing any high power viewing so left the counterweight at home! It worked out ok, totally useable still. I did have to rebalance between using the ES 30mm and the Nag Zoom!!

[Rob Sellent]

Looking good. Hope you get some clear skies while away, Stu. I've read that perhaps as much as 99% of European populations live under significant light polluted skies, so I guess apart from a few pockets of darkness even Dorset is affected. It's a shame really. I think most folk these day have lost that sense of stillness and awe that should be clearly visible over our heads every night 

[Captain Scarlet]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

... I was disappointed not to be able to see the Milky Way overhead even during the clear spells, I wonder if the LP has got that much worse in the last few years? ...

The Moon’s been up quite early the last couple of nights, even last night, one night after you, I was able to see the MW for only a few tens of minutes before it very quickly got washed out as the Moon came up. You a day earlier will have had that even closer to twilight, hopefully it’s just that...

(i’m in west cork at the moment)

Edited August 20, 2019 by Captain Magenta

[Stu]

14 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

The Moon’s been up quite early the last couple of nights, even last night, one night after you, I was able to see the MW for only a few tens of minutes before it very quickly got washed out as the Moon came up. You a day earlier will have had that even closer to twilight, hopefully it’s just that...

(i’m in west cork at the moment)

Thanks Magnus, hopefully that's it. I was observing somewhere with an obscured Southern aspect so didn't see the Moon until later on but it will still have been having an effect as you say.