Tal 100R alignment

[Dave_D]

So a while back i finally got myself a Tal 100R after years of trying to find one locally. The times i've used it, and after reading various reports from other owners, i always got the impression that the scope wasn't giving me the image quality i was expecting. I built an adaptor to hold my Glatter laser and, well, this sure doesnt look right. As the only point of adjustment is the alignment of the 90 degree mirror, do any of the more knowledgeable  refractor users think that adjusting this mirror will give me a marked improvement?

 

[dweller25]

Nice scope

Adjusting the diagonal is not ideal - It would be better to shim the focuser

[Dave_D]

8 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Nice scope

Adjusting the diagonal is not ideal - It would be better to shim the focuser

i noticed the diagonal had been opened at some point in the past for some reason as there were burrs on the back plate. i'm wondering if a previous owner bodged it?

[DaveL59]

is that with the laser in the diaganol? Do you get the same with the diaganol removed, that'd confirm the focuser and lenses are or are not the issue.

 

[Dave_D]

5 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

is that with the laser in the diaganol? Do you get the same with the diaganol removed, that'd confirm the focuser and lenses are or are not the issue.

 

good point. this is without the diagonal

[dweller25]

Aah its the diagonal thats needs adjusting - should be easy

[sloz1664]

If it is the Tal diagonal, then yes, the bottom plate can be removed and four adjustment screws are accessible for fine tuning the diagonal.

Steve

[Rick_It]

I had the scope and the diagonal. I confirm the diagonal can be aligned.

[Dave_D]

i was right... the diagonal had been taken apart in the past... one of the springs was completely off its screw and the bearing pivot was jammed at the side...

i drew up a centering drawing an wow, i didn't realise it was so far off centre but a rebuild of the diagonal and a spot of superglue to lock the bolts and VOILA!!!

can't wait to get back out in the field to see what this scope can really do now

 

bodge bodge bodge... and fixed

holy moly

all's good in the world now

Edited October 24, 2019 by Dave_D

[DaveL59]

yikes I'd not have used superglue, it outgasses and can leave a nasty residue on optics, hope you left it open a good while before you sealed it all back up 😮 

Well done on getting it all back aligned tho 🙂 

[John]

Amazing that TAL even provided a collimatable 1.25 inch diagonal. I've occasionally seen them in the 2 inch fitting but not from any other manufacturer in the 1.25 inch fitting.

Hope your TAL 100 gives you closer to 100% now Dave. They are really good objective lenses.

[Dave_D]

4 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

yikes I'd not have used superglue, it outgasses and can leave a nasty residue on optics, hope you left it open a good while before you sealed it all back up 😮 

Well done on getting it all back aligned tho 🙂 

well, gorilla glue to be exact. i'm leaving it 24 hours before i put the backplate on

[Dave_D]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Amazing that TAL even provided a collimatable 1.25 inch diagonal. I've occasionally seen them in the 2 inch fitting but not from any other manufacturer in the 1.25 inch fitting.

Hope your TAL 100 gives you closer to 100% now Dave. They are really good objective lenses.

i hope so  i'd been looking for a Tal 100R since the turn of the century lol but never found one locally till last year.

[DaveL59]

hopefully it'll be fine then 🙂 I know some have used hot-glue to secure prisms in binoculars so I'd go that route rather than general purpose/cyano-acrylate stuff for any optics having seen the effect it had on a torch reflector one time.

Enjoy the Tal, I travelled from Kent to Coventry to collect the 100RS I have, love how well made they are and the views it gives are fabulous to my eyes, not that we've had the skies to do much of late...