Tecnosky 125/975 F7.8 FPL-53 Doublet APO - First Look

[johninderby]

 

Tecnosky 125/975 F7.8 FPL-53 ED Doublet APO Refractor

Arrived this morning from Astrograph. 👍🏻

First impressions are it’s a very solid and well made scope. Finish is a WO like pebble finish not gloss white. Focuser is a smooth 2.5” R&P and has a 2” twist lock on it.

Comes with a typical Vixen dovetail bar but have Losmandy plate ready to fit and also a StellaMira carry handle. Scope is bench tested by Tecnosky and then checked again by Astrograph.

Manufacturers blurb.

The Tecnosky 125/975 FPL-53 Doublet is a bargain in the 5" refractor class. With FPL-53 Super ED glass and a quality 2.5" focuser, the 125 FPL-53 Doublet offers excellent colour correction and is suited to to both observing and a wide range of imaging tasks. Its F7.8 focal ratio make it suitable for use as a solar scope when fitted with a suitable ERF and rear mounted etalon. The aluminium tube is fully baffled and fitted with a 2.5" Rack and Pinion focuser with 1:10 fine focusing.

Its compact dimensions make it easy to transport. Its light weight does not place heavy demands on a mount. The 125mm aperture gathers significant light to see all but the faintest of objects. Its excellent colour correction also make it usuable at higher magnifications for planetary observing. It is truly an excellent multi-purpose scope at a very appealing price.

For imaging use we recommend use with either the 2.5" Flat FIeld Corrector or the APM M63 Reducer. The latter turns the scope into 731mm FL, F5.8 Astrograph.

Thanks to its compact size and low weight, the 125 works well with small manual mounts and medium sized EQ mounts.

• Type - FPL-53 Doublet Apochromat
• Aperture - 125mm
• Focal Length - 975mm
• F Ratio - 7.8
• Tube Rings - CNC Alloy
• Case Included - No
• Dovetail - Vixen GP
• Weight - 7.6kg

[parallaxerr]

Very nice indeed John, this was on my wishlist when I had the AZ100. Now that I am downsizing (again), I'll likely be going for it's smaller 100mm brother.

[Carl Au]

3 minutes ago, parallaxerr said:

Very nice indeed John, this was on my wishlist when I had the AZ100. Now that I am downsizing (again), I'll likely be going for it's smaller 100mm brother.

I have one of those, the 102 that is. A very nice scope indeed, the build quality is identical, i.e. properly solid. They feel like a scentific instrument. 

[Robindonne]

On CN there are 100+ threads about this scope. From coating coming of the inside of the lens to rust inside the focuser to powdercoat problems.  
 

 

Oh no just kidding🤩.  

Congrats with this new beauty!

[scotty38]

Very nice that is!

[johninderby]

Fitted the Losmandy plate. 👍🏻

Tried the StellaMira handle but just didn’t work. The scope is front heavy and the handle was no where near the balance point. So took the long handle off Big Red which solved the balance problem completely. Wish that handle was still available to buy in it’s own. 😢

Mounted the scope on my lightweight tripod/mount setup and surprisingly was reasonably steady. Think it might work for grab’n’go. 🤔

Mounted the scope on the AZ100 which didn’t notice the load at all. 🙂

[Deadlake]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Tried the StellaMira handle but just didn’t work. The scope is front heavy and the handle was no where near the balance point. So took the long handle off Big Red which solved the balance problem completely. Wish that handle was still available to buy in it’s own. 😢

Nice scope!. I'm sure your get another handle on another handle to buy... 😀

[mikeDnight]

Your scope looks fantastic John. Really looking forward to your thoughts on its performance. Exciting isn't it! ☺

[Sky-searcher]

Beautiful scope John, I am envious! I was very interested in the TS badged version, but Astro funds never stretched far enough at the time. Very good value for money & binoviewer friendly also with removable focuser section. Sure you’ll enjoy it!

[johninderby]

Tecnosky 125 and friend. 🙂

The 125 and CC8” should make a nice pair. 👍🏻

And the Lacerta wedge for white light solar. 🙂

[JeremyS]

Very nice, John!

[johnturley]

I would imagine that it will perform at least as well as the Explore Scientific 127 mm triplets if not better, and probably better engineered, in particular the focussing mount which appears to have a reasonably decent distance of travel (95 mm ?) as opposed to the totally inadequate 45 mm on ES Refractors, and most important quite a bit cheaper. I would almost certainly purchased one instead had they been around when I purchased my ES 127 scope.

John 

[johninderby]

With the weather looking like it will cooperate on Thurs / Fri hoping that I won’t have to wait very long for a first light. 🙏🏼

Yes the focuser travel is 95mm.

Being able to remove the 60mm focuser extension will suit those that use binoviewers or use a Herschel wedge. No problems with extra infocus if needed. 👍🏻

 

[Carl Au]

If you are looking for a case that is the perfect fit for that scope TS in Germany do a very nice hard case. This is one one I bought for my 102 ED-R  

 

[KP82]

Beautiful scope. Looking forward to your first light report.

[nfotis]

If I am not mistaken, you fitted a 1.25" Lacerta wedge? How much backfocus does it consume?

N.F.

[johninderby]

7 minutes ago, nfotis said:

If I am not mistaken, you fitted a 1.25" Lacerta wedge? How much backfocus does it consume?

N.F.

No it’s a 2” Lacerta wedge. Lack of infocus travel can be a problem with some scopes with a 2” wedge but as the focuser has a 60mm long extension that can be removed if you need more infocus travel. will be no problem with this scope. Intended mainly for use with binoviewers with this scope.

Edited February 24, 2021 by johninderby

[RobertI]

24 minutes ago, johninderby said:

No it’s a 2” Lacerta wedge. Lack of infocus travel can be a problem with some scopes with a 2” wedge but as the focuser has a 60mm long extension that can be removed if you need more infocus travel. will be no problem with this scope. Intended mainly for use with binoviewers with this scope.

That’s a very useful feature for binoviewing. 👍 Lovely scope, I have the 102 ED-R and couldn’t be happier. I reckon the 125 is terrific value for money. 

[johninderby]

First light tonight? 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by johninderby

[alex_stars]

18 hours ago, johninderby said:

 

Very nice pictures of your new scope @johninderby I love the quality stickers of Tecnosky. Do let us know if the collimation is "ok" 😀

Fingers crossed for your first light tonight.

Mine from TS is in the delivery truck right now and should be with me within hours. Guess that makes the two of us tonight starring through such a nice scope!

If you don't mind then I will post some pics of the TS version here as well.

Edited February 25, 2021 by alex_stars

[johninderby]

7 minutes ago, alex_stars said:

Very nice pictures of your new scope @johninderby I love the quality stickers of Tecnosky. Do let us know if the collimation is "ok" 😀

Fingers crossed for your first light tonight.

Mine for TS is in the delivery truck right now and should be with me within hours. Guess that makes the two of us tonight starring through such a nice scope!

If you don't mind then I will post some pics of the TS version here as well.

Yes that’s fine. Want this thread to be about the 125 in particular whatever the brand name. 

The Tecnosky is bench tested by Tecnosky before shipping then Astrograph here in the UK checks it again and makes sure the collimation is perfect.

Edited February 25, 2021 by johninderby

[alex_stars]

So it arrived in a set of nice boxes:

same scope, just from TS and no "collimation OK" sticker 🙁. But I got it from a store where I know the owner and he does check the collimation and adjusts it if needed, so it should be OK as well.

A yes and here it is outside after a daytime test on the next mountain top:

Ready for tonight.

There is some Sahara dust in the air but that should clear out until later.

First impression: I agree with @johninderby very well built, serious stock focuser, similar finish than WO. Mechanically top class! Daytime optic test compares nicely with a WO 110 mm triplet I had for comparison a week ago. Nighttime test comes hopefully tonight.

[johninderby]

First light 🥳🥳🥳

Put in the Lacerta wedge for a bit of solar white light observing. Best white light solar views I’ve ever had. WOW !!!!!!

Can’t believe how sharp  and clear the views were of the sunspot group. And it reached focus without having to remove the focuser extension. The old A&E solar shield did it’s job. Also impressed with how well the Svbony 10 - 30 zoom worked. Surprisingly good. 

Gone a bit cloudy now.😢

Edited February 25, 2021 by johninderby

[paulastro]

Congratulations John, sounds fabulous 🙂. What a great start 💥.

 I didnt know there were some sunspots, hope I havent missed anything too good! 🤔.

I'm sure the Moon will come up trumps as well if you manage to observe it later. 👍

 

 

 

 

[johninderby]

Sunspot group is fairly good today. Here’s an image taken from my Solar Monitor app.

Must say visualy looked better and had a chance to try my Vixen HR 3.4 eyepiece.🙂

Edited February 25, 2021 by johninderby