Takahashi FC-100 and FC-76 advice

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, dweller25 said:

Nice setup @Commanderfish 👍

Here is my FC100DZ with it’s More Blue rings and dovetail setup and Amazon no name handle.....

 

Looks absolutely fantastic David! ☺

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Nice setup @Commanderfish 👍

Here is my FC100DZ with it’s More Blue rings and dovetail setup and Amazon no name handle.....

 

I’m not even going to mention the handle, David 🤣

Seriously lovely set-up 👍🏻

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, Commanderfish said:

So here it is - the FC100DC!

I've fitted the 95mm Hercules rings (and a black 160mm dovetail whilst I wait for a new silver 228mm).

I've already removed the light blue tube section from in front of the focuser and installed a Baader clicklock.  With a 2" diagonal and a 50mm 2" extension tube after the diagonal, all my EPs come to focus just like on the FC-76, so 1.25" EPs just need the 2"-1.25" adapter, and the Ethos 6 and 8mm need to be used with the adapter rather than in 2" mode.

The brilliant thing is that if I place a standard Celestron 1.25" diagonal and a binoviewer straight into the Clicklock (using a 2" to 1.25" adapter at the Clicklock) then my binoviewers and Pan 24s come to focus on my farthest terrestrial objects, around 400m away with no OCS/barlow!!! 

The trouble is that that is with the focuser racked all the way in.  Experience tells me that I will need another 5-10mm forward travel to reach infinity.  So, could any of you advise me of a decent 1.25" diagonal with a shorter lightpath than a standard Celestron 1.25", but preferrably one that is inexpensive?  There must be some available because the Celestron has quite a long tube coming out of the back end...  also my wallet is in severe pain as it is.

EDIT:  done some research and it looks like I need to change from a 1.25" mirror diagonal to a 1.25" prism diagonal, preferrably with a twist lock.  Looks like a Tak prism may, perversely, be the cheapest?  I don't particularly want a correct image one (where left and right are the right way round) as that would be the opposite of all my other scopes, and this scope is likely to be used side by side with another on a Giro mount...

Now THAT is lovely, Fish 👍🏻

[Commanderfish]

Eeeep, the dream team!!

Edited April 20, 2021 by Commanderfish

[JeremyS]

4 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

Eeeep, the dream team!!

Well done for making them feel at home by providing pots of 🎌 bamboo 👍🏻
 

You could even make some Tak sand castings in them

 

[JeremyS]

I see FLO have an FC 100 DC and FC 76 DCU in stock right now 

[laudropb]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

I see FLO have an FC 100 DC and FC 76 DCU in stock right now 

I did not want to know that Jeremy. The temptation is just too much

[HollyHound]

7 minutes ago, laudropb said:

I did not want to know that Jeremy. The temptation is just too much

It won’t help if I say that since getting the FC-76DCU, I can’t stop just taking it (or it’s little brother FS-60CB) out almost every night when it’s been clear and have just been enjoying the simplicity and superb views. The moon in particular has been fantastic in both 😀

Edited April 20, 2021 by HollyHound

[John]

10 minutes ago, laudropb said:

I did not want to know that Jeremy. The temptation is just too much

Luckily, you already have an excellent refractor - your Skywatcher ED120

 

[HollyHound]

31 minutes ago, laudropb said:

I did not want to know that Jeremy. The temptation is just too much

 

18 minutes ago, John said:

Luckily, you already have an excellent refractor - your Skywatcher ED120

An ED120 is a lovely scope, lots of aperture and likely won’t gain much going smaller 🤔

I have found that for grab and go though, the FC-76DCU really does work well, really lightweight but still very capable and has allowed me to roam around on the farm a lot more than I’ve ever done before, to reach parts of the sky just obscured by the roof sometimes 👍

Edited April 20, 2021 by HollyHound

[John]

100mm is the smallest aperture for me. I have owned a number of decent 70, 80 and 90mm refractors but didn't hang onto them for too long.

 

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by John

[HollyHound]

2 minutes ago, John said:

100mm is the smallest aperture for me. I have owned a number of decent 70, 80 and 90mm refractors but didn't hang onto them for too long.

I agree, the consensus does seem to be that 100mm is an ideal aperture for detail vs size, but I’m tending to have two types of sessions these days... shorter ones where I just want simple and the ability to roam around a bit, for this the small Taks are perfect, and the other where I’ll either get the 10” dob or the CC6” for a longer, more detailed looks (especially for the faint stuff) 😀

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, HollyHound said:

I’ll either get the 10” dob

👍

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, HollyHound said:

An ED120 is a lovely scope, lots of aperture and likely won’t gain much going smaller

Even the much lauded Tak 100 might not want to try competing against a good SW120ED... IMHO

[mikeDnight]

I sold my Equinox 120 ED after several side by side sessions observing Jupiter back in 2015. The DC lost nothing to the 120, and the colours in Jupiter's belts appeared much more vibrant, which gave an almost 3D effect to them. Jupiter of course was much higher in the sky back then, so detail was easy to see in both scopes, but festoons, garlands, white ovals and barges were so well defined in the DC that I simply wouldn't use the 120ED much after that. Plus the DC was such an effortless telescope to use that I observed with it at every opportunity. It was an absolout joy to use and always gave me more than I ever expected of it.  

 

[laudropb]

11 hours ago, John said:

Luckily, you already have an excellent refractor - your Skywatcher ED120

 

Yes John I really like my ED 120. It has a nice Baader diamond track focuser and on the AZ 100 it really is a joy to use. I was just thinking that a lighter scope would be of use because at times I have to move about my garden to get views of different areas of the heavens. I have an ED 72 but I am not totally impressed with that especially on doubles, which in the summer months are my main interest because it never gets totally dark here.

[John]

4 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

I sold my Equinox 120 ED after several side by side sessions observing Jupiter back in 2015. The DC lost nothing to the 120, and the colours in Jupiter's belts appeared much more vibrant, which gave an almost 3D effect to them. Jupiter of course was much higher in the sky back then, so detail was easy to see in both scopes, but festoons, garlands, white ovals and barges were so well defined in the DC that I simply wouldn't use the 120ED much after that. Plus the DC was such an effortless telescope to use that I observed with it at every opportunity. It was an absolout joy to use and always gave me more than I ever expected of it.  

 

I've not found such a difference between my ED120 and my FC100 DL. There have been a number of occasions when the additional aperture has delivered something that the 100mm could not. That's why I still have the ED120

 

[Commanderfish]

Hmm looks like that last FC100 is still on the FLO website. Maybe someone put it in their cart at the weekend and didn't complete the purchase. But it does seem to be the last one until RVO  get a shipment in June/July....

[HollyHound]

4 hours ago, Commanderfish said:

Hmm looks like that last FC100 is still on the FLO website. Maybe someone put it in their cart at the weekend and didn't complete the purchase. But it does seem to be the last one until RVO  get a shipment in June/July....

FLO shopping cart doesn’t work that way, you can put stuff in their all day long and won’t affect stock levels... Only when you purchase... I’ve done it enough times 😮

I’m also not totally convinced there are stock shortages of FC100 and FC76... both these have show as “special order 7-10 days” recently, and there have been people buying both models over the last few weeks/months.

However, some others (e.g. FC-100DZ and FS-60CB) show as “out of stock” 30-60 days. So I think those are genuinely just not available from Takahashi, whereas some others models are... pure speculation of course and hopefully the stock situation will improve again once the world (slowly) opens up.

Of course all of this is very much a first world problem 😬

[HollyHound]

7 hours ago, laudropb said:

I have an ED 72 but I am not totally impressed with that especially on doubles, which in the summer months are my main interest because it never gets totally dark here.

I can attest that the FC-76DCU is superb on doubles. Previously that job was reserved for the StellaMira 80mm f/10, but the Tak does it as well, and importantly, it’s just so lightweight by comparison. 

I’m now able to move around on the farm and get some observing positions I wouldn’t normally get to, which has been great 😃

Plus the FC-76DCU can be upgraded with the 1.7x extender and that would make a superb double/ lunar scope at 970mm f/12.75 🤔

Edited April 21, 2021 by HollyHound

[Stephenstargazer]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

Plus the FC-76DCU can be upgraded with the 1.7x extender and that would make a superb double/ lunar scope at 970mm f/12.75 🤔

I went through a phase of looking at the 60 or 76 for travel and found the Q versions very tempting. After reflection ( or was it refraction?? 🤔) I decided to get a Q extender for the FC100DF instead and have been very impressed by the two Taks I now have. Slightly different to 60/76Q of course but razor sharp at f11.8 and not at all cumbersome.

And you can run a binoviewer straight off the extender 😁 and the Denk power switch works with it!

Edited April 21, 2021 by Stephenstargazer
back to PC to add photos, tablet too slow.

[Commanderfish]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

 

I’m also not totally convinced there are stock shortages of FC100 and FC76... both these have show as “special order 7-10 days” recently, and there have been people buying both models over the last few weeks/months.

RVO have consistently been out of stock of all FC100s (I've been emailing them), I don't know what's going on with FLOs stock level...

[Stephenstargazer]

When FLO say in stock they mean In Exeter, when I bought from RVO (nearer to collect) they needed to confirm stock at Takahashi EU. Whereas FLO said the Extender was 7-10days eg in stock at Tak EU and delivered on time.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Stephenstargazer

[Commanderfish]

So if you own more than one size Tak, I guess the Q extender 1.6x (black tube) is more versatile than the 1.7x (white tube) since the 1.6x will fit multiple Taks?

Does it change the focal distance? 

What are the benefits, more mag, less CA? I don't actually see any CA...

[Stephenstargazer]

First off there is no White tube x1.7 for an FC100.....yet?...so that option only arises for an FC60 or 76DCU which use the same Extender. Check out the System Charts to see how each type fits. In all cases you get a longer focal length scope and higher magnification for a given eyepiece

The Q extenders are a multielement designs with an overall negative focal length like a Barlow has. But by placing them nearer to the objective and further from the eyepiece, Q benefit from a less powerful -ve focal length  than an eqivalent Barlow . They are also designed to act with the fluorite doublet to give a flatter field and reduce CA . The focal point is further back than the stock telescope and again the System Charts show what extensions are needed to come to focus. You end up with shorter scopes overall than a f12 doublet would be but most of the benefits.

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Stephenstargazer
Corrections!