ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm F15 - First Look

[AdeKing]

On 08/06/2020 at 15:24, johninderby said:

One of the mods that this scope really needs is to replace the rubbish single screw clamp on the drawtube. Found it was hard to keep tightened up and just let the rest of the scope down.

Fortunately the drawtube has a standard Vixen thread on the end. So ordered a  Baader 36.4mm to T2 Vixen adapter to fit the drawtube which gives a standard T2 fitting. I added a Baader Ultrashort 1¼" / T-2 Eyepiece Clamp which now means there is a proper compression type clamp. You could also fit one of the Baader micro focusing clamps if you wanted to.

Nice, that Baader clamp is a nice finishing touch, as you say that single screw clamp fitting let the scope down somewhat, but glad to see that its easy enough to mod.

Nice upgrade to the focuser knobs as well.

Ade

[Stu1smartcookie]

wow .. i really like this ... im really in two( Make that 4) minds now ... i want a nice refractor but i was going for something with a bit more aperture .. now , having read your comments John its "clouded" my mind a bit . What targets would you be realistically looking at through this scope ?. obviously the moon is a given , glad to see there is no noticeable CA . 

[johninderby]

Think it’s best at lunar / planetary and splitting double stars. Bought it as I was curious about how good it would be but it’s definately a keeper. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Looking forward to seeing how good it is at white light solar with the Lunt wedge. 🤔

[Stu1smartcookie]

My basket in FLO is overflowing with various stuff lol .. this scope is in there now !!! I just think its so "different" and interesting. 

[johninderby]

The one essential extra I would recommend is the M36.4 to T2 adaptor. unfortunately FLO doesn’t seem to stock it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SYF7FO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then the Baader ultra short T2 to 1.25” adaptor

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-ultrashort-1-t-2-eyepiece-clamp.html

That’s the one thing I really didn’t like about the scope is the screw type clamp.

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

The one essential extra I would recommend is the M36.4 to T2 adaptor. unfortunately FLO doesn’t seem to stock it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SYF7FO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then the Baader ultra short T2 to 1.25” adaptor

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-ultrashort-1-t-2-eyepiece-clamp.html

That’s the one thing I really didn’t like about the scope is the screw type clamp.

 

yes ,  .. i am finding nothing is perfect in our hobby  but  at least you found a way round . More money eh? .. when will it ever end ? The build quality looks great ..i saw the japanese instruction manual ...lol... actually clearer than the bresser ones

Cant wait to see more pics !

[johninderby]

Pity that Orion USA discontinued the replacement focus knobs a few years ago. They did several types including the brass ones. I just had some I bought years ago at the back of a drawer. 😎

[Stu1smartcookie]

What Magnification did you have on those Moon pics ? Really impressed with those especially through a phone camera

[johninderby]

Just using a 15mm eyepiece which gives 80x. Pics aren’t very good really but clouds moved in before I was able to get things adjusted properly.

Here’s a smartphone pic I took with the StellaMira 80ED f10 which is a decent pic.

[Stu1smartcookie]

Just now, johninderby said:

Just using a 15mm eyepiece which gives 80x. Pics aren’t very good really but clouds moved in before I was able to get things adjusted properly.

Here’s a smartphone pic I took with the StellaMira 80ED f10 which is a decent pic.

yep , Can't argue with that ...a really nice shot ! .. hopefully the weather will pick up next week ... its been appalling today ! Im ready to buy (again) but i'm just weighing up whether this scope will be a luxury item for me . I was either going for a 127/1200 or 600 or the 152/1200 or 600 (bresser)... then this came into my view. And you have not made the choice any easier John lol  

An evening of planned expense ... nice 

[John]

Just now, Stu1smartcookie said:

.... I was either going for a 127/1200 or 600 or the 152/1200 or 600 (bresser)... then this came into my view.....

 

That's a pretty broad range of options when you include the 80mm F/15 in with them !

Is the desire simply to try a refractor or do you have a specific aim in mind ?

 

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

4 minutes ago, John said:

That's a pretty broad range of options when you include the 80mm F/15 in with them !

Is the desire simply to try a refractor or do you have a specific aim in mind ?

 

 

To be honest i really wanted a long refractor , so the 127 or 152 long tube would be excellent ( the skywatcher ones come with better accesories but i like the focusser on the bressers) , but the reason i listed the short tube versions was because they are a bit "wider "... ive never owned a long tube refractor so i am going on reviews . I would like to put a dslr on the end to take a few pics , so the short tube may be the way to go , but i really am impressed with the longer 127 & 152... any thoughts?

i am not  great at imaging ... i havent the patience to sit for hours in front of a screen teasing a galaxy out of a photo that i took where i could actually see nothing . Dont get me wrong , im really impressed with the photos i see on this site , but for me its mainly about observing . 

[John]

I don't image either - apart from the odd phone at the eyepiece shot.

The shorter refractors will show some false colour (CA) and the longer ones less, or practically none in the case of the 80mm F/15.

The shorter refractors are good for low to medium power deep sky type observing but not so good and lunar and planetary observing.

I've owned the 127mm F/9.3 and the 152mm F/8 achromats (by Meade and Bresser now) and, personally, I prefer those to the shorter ones. The longer ones are harder to mount steadily though.

If you are considering as wide a range of specifications as you seem to be, it might be worth starting a new thread to kick around the options. This one is about the ScopeTech 80mm F/15 of course

[Stu1smartcookie]

1 hour ago, John said:

I don't image either - apart from the odd phone at the eyepiece shot.

The shorter refractors will show some false colour (CA) and the longer ones less, or practically none in the case of the 80mm F/15.

The shorter refractors are good for low to medium power deep sky type observing but not so good and lunar and planetary observing.

I've owned the 127mm F/9.3 and the 152mm F/8 achromats (by Meade and Bresser now) and, personally, I prefer those to the shorter ones. The longer ones are harder to mount steadily though.

If you are considering as wide a range of specifications as you seem to be, it might be worth starting a new thread to kick around the options. This one is about the ScopeTech 80mm F/15 of course

yes ,sorry , got off track there ...but thanks for the advice . 

[johninderby]

The sun came out for ten minutes this aft so was able to see how the Scopetech 80mm f/15 and Lunt wedge would perform. All I can say is WOW. The view of the one little sunspot was razor sharp with incredible detail. Never seen such a good image from an 80mm scope before. For that matter was better than my old 120mm  f/5 frac with a Lacerta wedge. 

Infocus was very tight with the wedge though so some eyepieces might not focus. Might take a few mm off the tube. 🤔

Edited June 11, 2020 by johninderby

[Chris]

Excellent John, my Skylight 60 f17 was superb for white light I noticed. Do you have any binoviewers? The best WL I ever saw was using BV's with the Skylight.

[johninderby]

Unfortunately I don’t get along with bins or binoviewers. I have one eye with better vision than the other and find it unconfortable to use them. 

[johninderby]

The patient is out of surgery and the operation was a success. 👍🏻

20mm removed from the tube and will give plenty of infocus with the wedge. Shortening the tube was straight forward but spent quite a bit of time afterwards squaring up the cut end of the tube before refitting the focuser.

Edited June 11, 2020 by johninderby

[John]

Are there any baffles that will need re-positioning John ?

Actually, thinking of it, what are the baffling arrangements of the scope ?

 

[johninderby]

Don’t think the baffles need touching.

The lens cell is a very solid metal affair but seems to be none collimable.The dew shield unscrews.

Edited June 11, 2020 by johninderby

[Stu]

Definitely keeping this one then John! 😱😉

[johninderby]

32 minutes ago, Stu said:

Definitely keeping this one then John! 😱😉

Based on it’s white light performance, definately. As the Japanese like looking straight through and not using a diagonal they sometimes don’t seem to allow for enough infocus when using a diagonal. Not a problem in ordinary observing but when you add a wedge it does become a problem. Found there wasn’t enough infocus when adding a filter with the eyepieces I was using.

So without the mod yes you can use a wedge but you will have to be selective with the eyepieces you use. You will need eyepieces that don’t require too much infocus and have shortish barrels so you can add a filter.

Edited June 12, 2020 by johninderby

[paulastro]

On 10/06/2020 at 19:38, johninderby said:

Just using a 15mm eyepiece which gives 80x. Pics aren’t very good really but clouds moved in before I was able to get things adjusted properly.

Here’s a smartphone pic I took with the StellaMira 80ED f10 which is a decent pic.

John. that's an excellent pic with the StellaMira.  Has it been processed in any way?

[johninderby]

1 hour ago, paulastro said:

John. that's an excellent pic with the StellaMira.  Has it been processed in any way?

Just a single frame and no processing other than playing with the contrast and sharpness.

[paulastro]

Many thanks John, that is impressive. It will  be interesting to hear how the 80A compares with the StellaMira 80.  I like the look of both of them. It would be good to have both of them here to compare with my SW 80ED.  Out of the 80A and the StellaMira I must admit I'd prefer the latter - I cant imagine it being outperformed by the 80A.  It  will be interesting to hear your findings in this regard.