Takahashi FC-100 and FC-76 advice

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Nicola Fletcher said:

What a beautiful scope and a great photo!

A good reminder to enjoy the scopes we have - I also tend to get a bit obsessive about chasing them. Meanwhile I have packed the Tak and its lightweight mount onto my quad and taken it to a part of the farm with magnificent 360 degree unimpeded views. Hopefully those clouds will disappear later!

That's a fabulous Photo Nicola, and in that setting your 76mm Tak will have a great chance to strut its stuff. I love the two legged tripod too! 😀 I think you should start a thread about '"showing your scope in a beautiful setting." I bet it would go on for years!

[Nicola Fletcher]

46 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

That's a fabulous Photo Nicola, and in that setting your 76mm Tak will have a great chance to strut its stuff. I love the two legged tripod too! 😀 I think you should start a thread about '"showing your scope in a beautiful setting." I bet it would go on for years!

Good idea. I don’t think I could beat your beautiful observatory to be honest 👍🏻 
And yes, I was intrigued by the lack of the third leg on the tripod too!

[HollyHound]

7 hours ago, Nicola Fletcher said:

Meanwhile I have packed the Tak and its lightweight mount onto my quad and taken it to a part of the farm with magnificent 360 degree unimpeded views. Hopefully those clouds will disappear later!

Love that view... seems we have two things in common... living on a farm with plenty of open fields to enjoy the view and a lightweight Tak FC-76DCU setup to move around on it 😀

[HollyHound]

Removed, duplicate post

Edited April 5, 2021 by HollyHound
Duplicate post

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

Love that view... seems we have two things in common... living on a farm with plenty of open fields to enjoy the view and a lightweight Tak FC-76DCU setup to move around on it 😀

Have you ever read Leslie C. Peltier's Starlight Nights? Born on a farm in Ohio in 1900, Peltier became one of the greatest amateur astronomers of the 20th century. His passion was Variable stars and Comet hunting. If you haven't read his autobiography you're missing a real treat. In his book he states, "blessed is he who is born on a farm." Even though not born on a farm, anyone living on a farm is equally as blessed. Even the picture on the sleeve of his book gets my heart racing. There's just something sexy about a refractor set against a star lit sky, that no other telescope can match.

 

[Nicola Fletcher]

8 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Have you ever read Leslie C. Peltier's Starlight Nights? Born on a farm in Ohio in 1900, Peltier became one of the greatest amateur astronomers of the 20th century. His passion was Variable stars and Comet hunting. If you haven't read his autobiography you're missing a real treat. In his book he states, "blessed is he who is born on a farm." Even though not born on a farm, anyone living on a farm is equally as blessed. Even the picture on the sleeve of his book gets my heart racing. There's just something sexy about a refractor set against a star lit sky, that no other telescope can match.

 

I’ll add it to my reading list straight away! 
I wasn’t born on a farm but moved here when I was 14 - and have counted myself lucky ever since. We also have some exceptional places for mobile astronomy here - perfect for the FC76-DCU although I was thinking yesterday that the FC100 would also be perfect. 

[Commanderfish]

Right, so slight change of plans, the guy selling me the Feathertouch was thinking about listing a few more scopes.  I was offered (inter alia) a nearly new 2020 FC-76DCU, it looks like its been out of the box maybe twice. So a 76 DCU and a Tak clamshell are on its way to me now! Expect heavy cloud in SW London/Surrey tomorrow!

I've ordered nice tube rings, so the Tak 80mm clamshell (in the new Tak light blue) will be up for sale soon, let me know if interested...

Really excited about this, I know it doesn't have the aperture of the FC100 but it's going to be so portable. If anything it's an excuse to keep the 115 triplet, we'll see...

I just need to choose which 2" EP solution to go for; I had ordered the Baader Click lock but Baader are on holiday till next week apparently.

I will have the 1.5" Feathertouch shortly, but I was thinking of putting that on my CC8 as I'll have the correct adapter. I had a good session yesterday with the CC8 and it's stock dual speed focuser; I think I underestimated the cooling time on the scope and last night it wasn't as hard to reach sharp focus after 45mins cooling, although I still feel the main focus wheel is geared a little too low (takes too many turns for my preference).

If I want to use the Feathertouch with the FC76 I'll need to order an adapter. I've been reading good things about the standard FC76 DCU focuser, that it can handle a 2" diagonal and Nagler/ES grenade, but that the travel is limited. Hmm what to do?

Anyone been using the stock 76DCU focuser with multiple 2" EPs? How many could you bring to focus?

My calculations suggest not all will focus with 30mm travel!

Edited April 6, 2021 by Commanderfish

[johnturley]

4 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

 

 

My calculations suggest not all will focus with 30mm travel!

Just 30 mm of travel on a focuser, especially on a refractor, is absolutely ridiculous, even most Newtonian focusers have more travel than that.

John 

[Commanderfish]

My classical cassegrain dual speedp focusers (basically the same as refractors) have 37mm focus travel which is enough for all my 2" EPs without changing extensions.

One of my refractors has 100mm travel but it doesn't get used as all of the eyepieces used are 2-inch. I think the benefit of long travel probably comes when you use a mixture of 1.25 inch, 2 inch and cameras. But I don't do astrophotography and I stick to 2" (including dual fit 1.25"/2").

 

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Commanderfish

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, Commanderfish said:

Right, so slight change of plans, the guy selling me the Feathertouch was thinking about listing a few more scopes.  I was offered (inter alia) a nearly new 2020 FC-76DCU, it looks like its been out of the box maybe twice. So a 76 DCU and a Tak clamshell are on its way to me now! Expect heavy cloud in SW London/Surrey tomorrow!

I've ordered nice tube rings, so the Tak 80mm clamshell (in the new Tak light blue) will be up for sale soon, let me know if interested...

Really excited about this, I know it doesn't have the aperture of the FC100 but it's going to be so portable. If anything it's an excuse to keep the 115 triplet, well see...

I just need to choose which 2" EP solution to go for; I had ordered the Baader Click lock but Baader are on holiday till next week apparently.

I will have the 1.5" Feathertouch shortly, but I was thinking of putting that on my CC8 as I'll have the correct adapter. I had a good session yesterday with the CC8 and it's stock dual speed focuser; I think I underestimated the cooling time on the scope and last night it wasn't as hard to reach sharp focus after 45mins cooling, although I still feel the main focus wheel is geared a little to (takes too many turns for my preference).

If I want to use the Feathertouch be FC76 I'll need to order an adapter. I've been reading good things about the standard FC76 DCU focuser, that it can handle a 2" diagonal and Nagler/ES grenade, but that the travel is limited. Hmm what to do?

Anyone been using the stock 76DCU focuser with multiple 2" EPs? How many could you bring to focus?

My calculations suggest not all will focus with 30mm travel!

Great news Fish! Looking forward to the pics 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

16 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Have you ever read Leslie C. Peltier's Starlight Nights? Born on a farm in Ohio in 1900, Peltier became one of the greatest amateur astronomers of the 20th century. His passion was Variable stars and Comet hunting. If you haven't read his autobiography you're missing a real treat. In his book he states, "blessed is he who is born on a farm." Even though not born on a farm, anyone living on a farm is equally as blessed. Even the picture on the sleeve of his book gets my heart racing. There's just something sexy about a refractor set against a star lit sky, that no other telescope can match.

 

That looks like a lovely book to read and although we’ve only been here for 5 years, I can say that it’s a great place to both live and also for astronomy, as we have large fields separating us from the nearest town (Thornbury) so light pollution is minimised. There are also no bright lights on the farm at night, so ideal 👍

[HollyHound]

4 hours ago, Commanderfish said:

Anyone been using the stock 76DCU focuser with multiple 2" EPs? How many could you bring to focus?

Great news about the FC-76DCU... welcome to the club 😃

I have a Clicklock adaptor screwed directly onto the drawtube and a 2” T2 prism attached to that with a 15mm extension ring. The prism has a 2” Clicklock on top with a 1.25” adaptor. 

With this I can focus all my eyepieces, apart from my Ethos, which I haven’t yet tested. Eyepieces tested are all Pentax XW (3.5 to 30), Panoptic 24 and 15, Morpheus 17.5, Delos 14, Nagler Zoom 3-6 and Celestron Plossls. The XW 30 is 2”. Most are close to each other except the Delos which has to focus inwards 1cm, but still with travel to spare.

I will try the Ethos, which all have 2” adaptor rings on them, but I really only intend to use those in my 10” dob normally.

Look forward to your first light report 👍

[Commanderfish]

Thanks Holly I appreciate your help and I am glad to be joining both the Tak club and the DCU club!  

Whilst extra aperture is hard to turn down (FC100, if there were actually any available), I do currently lack a true grab and go scope, my lightest currently being the CC6 at about 5.5kg without EPs and my shortest FL being the 115mm 800FL Apo triplet. The DCU is only 1.8kg plus EPs, bracket and and finders.

I think the DCU will get a lot of use and as lockdown is being eased I might well take this further afield from time to time.

Yes I'm very interested in whether your Ethos come to focus, my maths suggest that the weighty 21mm would give a great view at x27 and 3.7 degrees, though the 17mm weighs 300g less and would still give 3 degrees field.

I'm fully expecting heavy cloud from tomorrow and expect first light to be some time away...

[John]

The Ethos range have a wide range of focal plane positions. This post by Don Pensack on the CN forum gives the details but they can make your head spin a bit !:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/490673-ethos-line-how-much-backin-focus-required/?p=6437723

 

 

[Commanderfish]

36 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

I have a Clicklock adaptor screwed directly onto the drawtube and a 2” T2 prism attached to that with a 15mm extension ring. The prism has a 2” Clicklock on top with a 1.25” adaptor. 

 

I've noticed people use prisms on these scopes sometimes rather than mirrors, is there any particular reason for this? Low light path distance?

Also how do you rate the Nagler zoom? I'm thinking about getting the 2-4mm for the DCU although I imagine it would only be useful on the moon and planets.

Also, I am tempering my expectations for first light, as I don't live on a farm with dark skies!

[Commanderfish]

3 minutes ago, John said:

The Ethos range have a wide range of focal plane positions. This post by Don Pensack on the CN forum gives the details but they can make your head spin a bit !:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/490673-ethos-line-how-much-backin-focus-required/?p=6437723

 

 

The info about parfocal-ness is very useful!

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

I've noticed people use prisms on these scopes sometimes rather than mirrors, is there any particular reason for this? Low light path distance?

Also how do you rate the Nagler zoom? I'm thinking about getting the 2-4mm for the DCU although I imagine it would only be useful on the moon and planets.

Also, I am tempering my expectations for first light, as I don't live on a farm with dark skies!

The NZ 3-6 is part of my minimal airline travel kit with the FC 76 DCU ( and N 13 and Pan 24 + Tak prism diagonal 

[John]

I use the 2-4mm Nagler zoom very often with my FC100-DL. It is a very effective high power eyepiece IMHO. My diagonal for the Tak is the Baader T2 Zeiss Prism. I went for the latter as a result of reading this review by Bill Paolini:

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/mirror-vs-dielectric-vs-prism-diagonal-comparison-r2877

 

 

[Commanderfish]

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

The NZ 3-6 is part of my minimal airline travel kit with the FC 76 DCU ( and N 13 and Pan 24 + Tak prism diagonal 

Thanks Jeremy. Do you feel like the scope is being pushed at 3mm/x190? I gather they can go very high on the moon. Ever feel like 2mm/x285 would work?

[HollyHound]

45 minutes ago, Commanderfish said:

I've noticed people use prisms on these scopes sometimes rather than mirrors, is there any particular reason for this? Low light path distance?

My apologies, my most was a bit misleading...

I’m actually using a Baader 2” T2 BBHS Mirror diagonal, although I think it has quite a short light path. 
 

I do also have a 1.25” T2 prism, which does have a short light path, but then I need 30/40mm of extension to being the focuser into range, so you may be alright with a longer light path diagonal, as long as not using the supplied Tak adaptors.

The Nagler 3-6 Zoom is lovely and basically lives in the scope for “grab and go”, so yes I would advise getting one. I imagine the 2-4 zoom is great too, but never tried and I think they’re tricky to find now 🤔

[Nicola Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Commanderfish said:

Thanks Holly I appreciate your help and I am glad to be joining both the Tak club and the DCU club! 

Congratulations on the DCU - I am sure you won’t regret it!

I’m only going to use 1.25” EPs on mine as its primary purpose is for travel (although it’s already proven itself to be a great scope for home use as well!). I have the 3-6mm Nagler zoom but haven’t had a chance to use it on planets or the moon yet. It seems to be very popular with these scopes though and it focuses perfectly with the Tak diagonal for me.

Ill be very interested to hear how you get on with setting up the 2” back on yours, and look forward to seeing your setup when it arrives!

[John]

2 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

...I imagine the 2-4 zoom is great too, but never tried and I think they’re tricky to find now 🤔

Yes - out of production, unfortunately.

The most noticeable difference between the 3-6 zoom and the 2-4 (apart from the focal length range) is that the 2-4 has click stops at half mm intervals rather than 1mm. Otherwise they feel and perform the same. I've owned a couple of the 3-6 Nagler zooms in the past.

The Nagler zooms are in the same par-focal group as the 24mm Panoptic and a number of other Tele Vue eyepieces - Tele Vue call it their "B" par-focal group. It is around 8mm further out than things like the Pentax XW.

[HollyHound]

1 hour ago, Commanderfish said:

I think the DCU will get a lot of use and as lockdown is being eased I might well take this further afield from time to time.

Yes I'm very interested in whether your Ethos come to focus, my maths suggest that the weighty 21mm would give a great view at x27 and 3.7 degrees, though the 17mm weighs 300g less and would still give 3 degrees field.

I’ve taken both my Taks out every night there has been some clear sky. What is also great, is that for the first time (apart from a few times with my C5), I’ve been able wander away from the house and setup quickly in a new spot... So light and one handed carry 👍

I will try the Ethos, but doubt very much I will use them much in these scopes. Balancing on  the ScopeTech would be fiddly and I’m used to eyepieces all weighing about the same with no balance issues. In fact it’s likely I will stick with 1.25” eyepieces in the Tak 76. If I do then will drop back to the 1.25” prism.

For wide field, I have the Tak 60, although that now has a 1.04x flattener in (semi) permanently and I may try 2” eyepieces with that for binocular like wide field 😃

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, Commanderfish said:

Thanks Jeremy. Do you feel like the scope is being pushed at 3mm/x190? I gather they can go very high on the moon. Ever feel like 2mm/x285 would work?

3mm on Moon is fine. Also on Mars. Not tried higher mags.

At home I’ve found the Vixen HR 3.4 works well on planers, but for travel I prefer the flexibility that the NZ 3-6 offers in a single eyepiece

[Commanderfish]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

3mm on Moon is fine. Also on Mars. Not tried higher mags.

At home I’ve found the Vixen HR 3.4 works well on planers, but for travel I prefer the flexibility that the NZ 3-6 offers in a single eyepiece

I have a 4.7mm Ethos SX so getting the 2-4mm makes more sense than the 3-6mm provided the exit pupil doesn't get silly, which I suppose isn't a concern on the moon.