Russian Tal telescope

[Tabby]

Can anyone inform me how the motor drive transformer does the job on my Tal telescope - I just acquired this, the items are are in great condition but I cannot understand how the motor drive works - it's just a transformer that plugs into mains and the other end plugs into a box mounted below the equatorial mount - that's it- no handset or controls! - any knowledge about this would be greatly appreciated 

[DaveL59]

hi

the TAL motorised mount just has a motor that runs at sidereal rate so when switched on the RA will rotate to track the target you've manually found to view. I don't believe it had any speed selections unless that is on the motor case on the mount. You will want to get the mount pointing roughly toward Polaris (North) so the tracking will work correctly.

Do you know it it is the original TAL transformer or a replacement? From past reading the TAL one can be a bit uneven but a replacement transformer mod does work better. Can't recall the make now and likely no longer available but a search on here may find it.

Oh, I'm assuming here that this is the TAL-1 or 2 reflector you have?

Edited July 17, 2020 by DaveL59

[Tabby]

Your input is greatly appreciated - I'm new to this and have just acquired this scope and want to learn more - not as easy at 73 but I'm enthusiastic and have lots of time - is it possible to post a picture of so maybe you could comment - Kind Regards John

[DaveL59]

Welcome aboard to the madhouse  

Sure, posting pics is always useful so we're sure what we are advising on and to help understand the issue. I've not had a TAL motorised mount, only the manual ones but had looked out for those in the past. The motorised unit I have is an EQ5 mount with a TAL refractor sat on it which doesn't help you at all.

 

[Tabby]

How do I post a picture on here?

[DaveL59]

create a jpeg and drag it into the area below the text box, or you could use the snippy tool to select it and then just paste it into the text box, assuming winwoes OS that is.

[Tabby]

[DaveL59]

looks like the original, do you know it your scope is a tal-1 or tal-2? Not that I think it matters. 

You'll need to set the angle of the axis to match your location and then point that toward north so that tracking should follow the object you want to view. There's a few steps you may need to do before you go out and use it in the dark and often best to get familiar in daylight so it's a less frustrating experience when trying to find targets. The videos below may help to understand the basics of the mount and scope tho they don't cover the motor. That you'd just plug in and turn on once you have your target in view.

 

[Tabby]

[Tabby]

Yes, I've already viewed those - but there's no mention of any motor drive and I want sure if I'd got everything - so didnt know if to pursue it or not - many thanks for your input. At least I know there's nothing missing - Kind Regards John

[Ruud]

      Hi John,

(just want to say hello)

[DaveL59]

no worries John, there's a helpful bunch of folks here and its very friendly so if we are able to help we will try  

Good luck with the new scope and hobby, for sure things can be frustrating at the start but you've a very solid bit of kit there and once you are familiar with it I'd expect it'll reward you with some nice viewing.

Out of interest, did it come with a selection of eyepieces?
What year is it too? (should be on an info plate on the mirror end of the scope or the box if it still had the wood cases).

When you start out use the larger numbered eyepiece first and then work down to the lower numbered ones, which is low to higher magnification. Also do try to get the finder scope aligned with the scope during the day on a distant target or it'll be difficult to get on target at night in the dark.

[sloz1664]

Hi and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

The Tal motor drive is commonly known as a clock drive and has previously mentioned runs at sidereal time only. Manually point at your chosen object and switch on the drive, it will keep your object in the centre of your scope ONLY if you have aligned your mount correctly.

Steve

 

[DaveL59]

just read a post of yours from way back re the motors and gearbox on these, so I thought it worth repeating the comment you made then too...

"Only manually control the mount when the motor is turned off so you don't damage the gearbox"

[John]

Hi and welcome to the forum

One thing I've noticed from the photo you posted is that the latitude scale on the mount is set to around 25 degrees.

I don't know where you are located but this scale needs to be set to your latitude for the mount to track accurately. I've marked the scale in this crop of your photo. Apologies if you already know this !

 

[markse68]

46 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

just read a post of yours from way back re the motors and gearbox on these, so I thought it worth repeating the comment you made then too...

"Only manually control the mount when the motor is turned off so you don't damage the gearbox"

That shouldn’t be necessary Dave- there’s a clutch on the output worm gear and another between the clock drive and the worm but the clock drives are quite delicates do the clutches might be stiff with old grease and/or need adjusting.

Looks like a nice early one from the blue colour scheme and 2-part column. The really early ones had metal end caps but I’ve only seen one in a museum.

Be careful with the mains transformer and dew/dampness obviously! 

Welcome @Tabby !

Mark

Edited July 17, 2020 by markse68

[gurneyfan67]

Hello and welcome as an owner of one of these Tal 1Ms although a much later model than yours I can say that you have a fine scope there. I bought mine new in 2003 and am still using it. These are built like tanks and the mount is dead solid. Be careful using it in the dark if you trip over it YOU will fall NOT the mount. If you Google telescopes.ru you can download the user manual for your scope. Does your model have the rack and pinion focuser or the helical? The older ones use  eyepieces which are Tal only in size rather than the 1.25 inch which is now standard. My avatar is my telescope.

[DaveL59]

I'd note here that the older TAL-1 used a rack and pinion focuser but with push-fit eyepieces that were 32mm rather than the 1.25-inch (31.7mm) standard ones in more modern times. You can use a modern 1.25-inch but would have to use the barlow to reach focus.

The helicals were on the TAL-M and Alcor and again a russian size 32mm eyepiece fitting.