ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm F15 - Unboxing

[Stu]

FLO have kindly sent me their demo unit of the ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm F15 to have a play with, so here are some unboxing shots to give you a flavour of how it arrives. There is some potential for clear patches tonight, so I have popped the scope out alongside the Zeiss Telementor to give it a quick spin.

The scope is very light and easy to manage; the Ercole Mount handles it without problem. Everything seems to be metal, even if it is very lightweight; the rings for instance, but seem solid enough and actually overall I would prefer the lighter weight than it be over engineered and the scope seems very much grab and go despite the length.

The focuser seems perfectly serviceable, and again is appropriate for the overall feel of the scope. I have used my Tak Prism in it first off, again it seems to match the setup, lightweight but high quality. The finder is a straight through 6x30 unit, the holder fits nicely onto the focuser body. My only concern was the pointed holding screws which seemed like they would potentially mark the paint in the finder if turned too tightly; I’ve been gentle!

The optics look gorgeous I must say, looking down into the dew shield looks very dark indeed, but when you do get a proper look the coatings look a beautiful bluish colour. Very much looking forward to having a first look through it.

[happy-kat]

Hopefully you'll get great views of the strawberry Moon later

[Chris]

How wonderful, Stu! I'm enjoying this thread so far and looking forward to more  The coatings remind me of a scope I've owned, maybe the Skylight 60mm f/16.7 with Carton lens maybe? 

[F15Rules]

Two examples in one week of this lovely looking new old style frac!!!

Stu, is there any chance of you and John getting the two scopes together and bolting them together to make a super-mega-F15 binoscope??😁😜

Dave

[Alkaid]

That....looks...awesome. I ‘bumped’ into this on Flo’s site earlier today and was quite taken by it. Can’t wait to hear more! Thanks Stu (and Flo).

[johninderby]

So far everthing seems positive about this scope. Hoping for first light tonight although the howling gale outside means observing from the shelter of the conservatory tonight.

BTW just ordered a second saddle for the AZ100. Big Red and the ScopeTech should look good on the AZ100. 👍🏻

[Stu]

Good stuff John.

Just managed a first view of Polaris through the Scopetech. All looking promising so far. Using a 24mm Panoptic giving x50 the secondary showed very clearly, both beautiful pinpoint stars. Hoping for the Moon soon as the cloud appears to be clearing ok.

[Stu]

First views of the full Moon too. Colour correction looking very good, nice clean white views. Some small CA around Vega but well controlled, diffraction rings essentially identical either side of focus and collimation perfect. All good!

[johninderby]

Just looked at the moon although clouds have moved in but looks like clearing again soon.

With the 16mm Nirvana the moon fitted in nicely to the fov. Good sharp image although noticed a small amount of yellow fringing around the moons.disc when it wasn’t quite in focus. Disapeared though when in focus and you would really have to look for the tiniest amount of CA. Not going to be a problem. 👍🏻

Overall impressions are yes it’s very, very good although not quite as sharp and contrasty as the StellaMira..

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by johninderby

[Stu]

30 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Just looked at the moon although clouds have moved in but looks like clearing again soon.

With the 16mm Nirvana the moon fitted in nicely to the fov. Good sharp image although noticed a small amount of yellow fringing around the moons.disc when it wasn’t quite in focus. Disapeared though when in focus and you would really have to look for the tiniest amount of CA. Not going to be a problem. 👍🏻

Overall impressions are yes it’s very, very good although not quite as sharp and contrasty as the StellaMira..

 

Be good to get them side by side on the AZ100 at the same power to compare under the same conditions. Would expect the StellarMira to be a little better anyway I guess, given the glass used.

[johninderby]

Just put the scope away. Too much cloud now with showers on their way as well.

Happy with the scope so far. Looks like being a good budget alternative to the StellaMira. So sacrifice a bit in performance for a big difference in price. Seems great value for money. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[Stu]

Very good first impressions from me too. Quite a few similarities with the Telementor really, it shows similar views, which are brighter and with more detail as you would expect from the additional resolution available. CA seemed to be better controlled in the Scopetech, it is still there but pretty unobtrusive.

The Double Double was showing strong signs of splitting at x50, and was great at x100. Izar was easy, and I had a bash at Zeta Herc at crazy power, x400 with the nag zoom. There was something there, I need to ask @chiltonstar to do a simulation so I can see what is possible.

A fun scope with lots of character, surprisingly easy to manage given its length. I think I will try it on the Vixen GP for a longer Moon session for the tracking.

A quick phone shot just for the record.

[johninderby]

Yes it’s a very likeable scope with it’s own character. Just need better weather and seeing to see what it is capable of.

Now to try it on the AZ-GTi. 🙂

[John]

Good to hear that the Japanese have produced a competent 3.1 inch F/15 achromat

 

[chiltonstar]

7 hours ago, Stu said:

Very good first impressions from me too. Quite a few similarities with the Telementor really, it shows similar views, which are brighter and with more detail as you would expect from the additional resolution available. CA seemed to be better controlled in the Scopetech, it is still there but pretty unobtrusive.

The Double Double was showing strong signs of splitting at x50, and was great at x100. Izar was easy, and I had a bash at Zeta Herc at crazy power, x400 with the nag zoom. There was something there, I need to ask @chiltonstar to do a simulation so I can see what is possible.

A fun scope with lots of character, surprisingly easy to manage given its length. I think I will try it on the Vixen GP for a longer Moon session for the tracking.

A quick phone shot just for the record.

Interesting scope Stu! Funnily enough, I had my 102mm f13 out last night looking at a "Sissy Haas double" - 84 Vir.

Zeta Herculis might look something like this with the 80mm/f15 according to Aberrator:-

Chris

[Stu]

10 hours ago, chiltonstar said:

Interesting scope Stu! Funnily enough, I had my 102mm f13 out last night looking at a "Sissy Haas double" - 84 Vir.

Zeta Herculis might look something like this with the 80mm/f15 according to Aberrator:-

Chris

That’s interesting Chris. The Moon was making life a little harder but I don’t think I was a million miles away from that at times. Need to check again, on an EQ Mount for a steadier view I think, or at least the AZ100.

[John]

The separation of Zeta Herc is around 1.36 arc seconds isn't it ?

I guess the limit for an 80mm aperture is around 1.5 arc seconds ?

I reckon getting a "touching pair" would be a good result for an equal brightness pair.

Zeta Herc is not an equal brightness pair so that adds to the challenge.

 

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, John said:

The separation of Zeta Herc is around 1.36 arc seconds isn't it ?

I guess the limit for an 80mm aperture is around 1.5 arc seconds ?

I reckon getting a "touching pair" would be a good result for an equal brightness pair.

Zeta Herc is not an equal brightness pair so that adds to the challenge.

 

 

It certainly wasn’t like I’ve seen in the 102fl John, I would more class it as ‘there’s something there in the right place’ but not a split as I’ve seen with larger scopes. As said, will try this again, and a few more too. Any suggestions?

[John]

Lambda Cygni is 1.5 arc seconds. Magnitudes of 4.7 and 6.2.

Delta Cygni is wider at 2.8 arc seconds but the magnitudes are 2.9 and 6.2 so that can make it a bit tricky.

 

[DirkSteele]

I love the look of this scope. An elegant charm of a bygone era of astronomy. That the optics are good only adds to the allure.