Takahashi Epsilon 160ed First Light

[Whirlwind]

1 hour ago, Davey-T said:

With Jan' first looming and no telling what will happen to import taxes or exchange rates I'm pondering on just ordering one from Mr Nawratil if he has one in stock.

Dave

One of the few trade agreements that has been rolled over is that with Japan (with a few extra benefits for Japan) so in theory it should have less impact (assuming that it isn't an EU distributer that we get all our Taks from?)

[smr]

Superb images. That scope is a dream, blisteringly fast and a lovely focal length with Tak's excellent build quality. Very good that it was collimated out of the box too.

[Allinthehead]

6 hours ago, smr said:

Superb images. That scope is a dream, blisteringly fast and a lovely focal length with Tak's excellent build quality. Very good that it was collimated out of the box too.

Thanks, yes definitely a bonus that it was collimated, nice to just stick a camera on and start imaging.

[mftoet]

That are excellent looking images! Nice to see Takahashi filled the gap between the 130 and 180 with this new edition of the Epsilon 160. The dedicated extender that’s in development also makes the 160 more versatile than its brothers. 
 

I noticed there are now lock nuts on the collimation bolts of the secondary. The adjustment/suspension of the primary mirror also differs from that of the 180.
 

Good to see there’s an aperture mask on the (oversized) primary mirror. The 130 lacks one and therefore artefacts around bright stars (caused by the mirror clips) can occur. 

[Allinthehead]

5 hours ago, mftoet said:

That are excellent looking images! Nice to see Takahashi filled the gap between the 130 and 180 with this new edition of the Epsilon 160. The dedicated extender that’s in development also makes the 160 more versatile than its brothers. 

Thanks Maurice, the extender is what convinced me to go with this over the 180.

5 hours ago, mftoet said:

Good to see there’s an aperture mask on the (oversized) primary mirror. The 130 lacks one and therefore artefacts around bright stars (caused by the mirror clips) can occur. 

Agreed, it's something that put me off the stars of the 130.

[Stardust1]

Beautiful images, love the color.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Stardust1

[Allinthehead]

On 16/12/2020 at 09:55, Stardust1 said:

Beautiful images, love the color.

Thanks. Were you looking for details on the bracket I used or did I dream that😁

[Stardust1]

Hi Richard, thank you! I didn't want to hijack your first light with all the questions, no you were not dreaming 😀

I was wondering about your imaging train, distance and the adapters that you used with the ASI2600. Your stars look to me nice round all the way to the corners, you have dialed it well...

[Allinthehead]

On 18/12/2020 at 15:12, Stardust1 said:

Hi Richard, thank you! I didn't want to hijack your first light with all the questions, no you were not dreaming 😀

I was wondering about your imaging train, distance and the adapters that you used with the ASI2600. Your stars look to me nice round all the way to the corners, you have dialed it well...

No worries, questions always welcome here👍

I have the m54 to m48 adapter from telescope Austria 2mm, Zwo oag 16mm, Zwo filter drawer 21mm and back focus of the 2600 is 17.5. Total is 56.7 including a .2mm spacer. Quoted back focus is 56mm from corrector. I use a badder ir filter which is 2mm thick giving me an effective spacing of 56mm.

Hope that helps.

[Stardust1]

Thank you Richard for your help! Much appreciate it. I have almost figured out the adapters. Are these the filter drawer and the filter that you are using?  

ZWO 2" Filter Drawer:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo_fd_m42.html

Baader ir filter (2" mounted):
https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/filters/planetary/visual-photographic/baader-ir-pass-filter-(685-nm).html

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Stardust1

[Allinthehead]

46 minutes ago, Stardust1 said:

Thank you Richard for your help! Much appreciate it. I have almost figured out the adapters. Are these the filter drawer and the filter that you are using?  

ZWO 2" Filter Drawer:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo_fd_m42.html

Baader ir filter (2" mounted):
https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/filters/planetary/visual-photographic/baader-ir-pass-filter-(685-nm).html

 

No problem, yes they're the ones. Just in case you don't know already the Asi2600 comes with an ir filter built in to the camera window. The only reason I use the Baader is to keep the backfocus the same if I'm imaging in broadband or narrowband. A clear filter with a 2mm light path would do the same trick for me.

[Stardust1]

Thanks Richard! That makes sense. I was aware of the ir filter built in the ASI2600 camera. The QHY268C doesn't come with the built in ir filter. I went for the ASI2600 among other because of the additional usb ports. I will probably get the Baader IR filter as well, I could use it for planetary imaging/visual as well. I'm planning to get the Optolong Dual-Band L-eXtreme Filter  for narrowband. I noticed your images don't have bloated stars, that's good news.  Looking forward to your images...

[Highburymark]

Wow. Congratulations Richard - stunning images and what an impressive scope.

[Allinthehead]

16 hours ago, Stardust1 said:

I went for the ASI2600 among other because of the additional usb ports

Very handy to have.

15 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Wow. Congratulations Richard - stunning images and what an impressive scope.

Thanks Mark, so far so good with the 160. I'm really impressed by how much sharper and more detailed the images are when compared to the 130. The corner stars are also much better.

[Amestryyz]

Great to see it. it is awesome hope it working also good as describe , you can enjoy now by seen in space and upload some fantastic picture here so that many people get space view.

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Impression of Planet Proxima Centauri with New the stars, Centauri a and Centauri B - Information about  Proxima Centauri .

Edited December 31, 2020 by Amestryyz
information

[Allinthehead]

On 22/12/2020 at 16:04, Amestryyz said:

Great to see it. it is awesome hope it working also good as describe , you can enjoy now by seen in space and upload some fantastic picture here so that many people get space view.

Thanks, glad you like it.

[Astropia NL]

Very good results (as expected  ).

I ordered last week an Epsilon 160ED and delivery will take place somewere in march. Got the Parallax rings in the States and are on the way now.... 

Looking forward for more lights!

All the best for 2021 as we only have 3 hours to go here in the NLDs

[Allinthehead]

On 31/12/2020 at 20:05, Astropia NL said:

Very good results (as expected  ).

I ordered last week an Epsilon 160ED and delivery will take place somewere in march. Got the Parallax rings in the States and are on the way now.... 

Looking forward for more lights!

All the best for 2021 as we only have 3 hours to go here in the NLDs

Thanks, i'm sure you'll enjoy yours when it arrives. The parralax rings should work well and are much cheaper than the Tak ones.

[harrythewho]

Superb first images! Very comforting just to know it is possible that the scope arrives with good collimation. I have the QHY version of your camera, the QHY268.

I ordered the 160ED a couple of days ago from Takahashi America. Was told ETA is September. Given the report above that ordering in December results in March delivery, I guess that's about right.

[Allinthehead]

On 08/05/2021 at 18:28, harrythewho said:

Superb first images! Very comforting just to know it is possible that the scope arrives with good collimation. I have the QHY version of your camera, the QHY268.

I ordered the 160ED a couple of days ago from Takahashi America. Was told ETA is September. Given the report above that ordering in December results in March delivery, I guess that's about right.

Thanks, and good luck with your scope when it arrives.

[harrythewho]

@allinthehead What is the plate that you use (in one of the pictures in your original post) with the Takahashi ring? Thanks!

[Xiga]

Richard, I didn't know you used a pier. So do you leave your mount outside permanently? I see you don't have a Dome or RoR, so how do you protect the mount from the elements, in particular moisture? 

Also, do you need to use any other form of dew control other than the dew shield?

[peter shah]

Wow, what a combo....stunning bit of kit....gorgeous stars, I will be looking out for more results from this....great images beautiful processing

[Allinthehead]

17 hours ago, harrythewho said:

@allinthehead What is the plate that you use (in one of the pictures in your original post) with the Takahashi ring? Thanks!

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetails-saddles-clamps/stellamira-universal-losmandy-style-dovetail-bar.html

I had an aluminium plate made to fit the Tak rings then bolted that to the losmandy bar linked above.

[Allinthehead]

9 hours ago, Xiga said:

Richard, I didn't know you used a pier. So do you leave your mount outside permanently? I see you don't have a Dome or RoR, so how do you protect the mount from the elements, in particular moisture? 

Also, do you need to use any other form of dew control other than the dew shield?

Yes the mount is outside all year round and is protected by one of these.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telegizmos-telescope-covers/telegizmos-365-scope-cover-for-8-9-fork-mounted-scts.html

It's a great cover but there can be a little moisture on the mount at times. No worse than what you might expect on a humid night.

Dew shield works very well, no need for anything else.