Welcome to Gemma, the Takahashi FOA 60Q

[JeremyS]

Like many on SGL, I started astronomy with a Tasco 60 mm refractor . My mother and father gave it to me for Christmas when I was eleven. It got much use and is a stunning performer. Keen to encourage my hobby, and having heard Patrick Moore talking at 6-inch reflectors, I soon moved onto a 6-inch Fullerscope. And aperture fever continued over the years.

However, in recent years, I have become enamoured of small, high quality refractors for visual observing. And I now own a family (herd?) of Taks.

Well, I’ve finally gone full circle and taken delivery of a Takahashi FOA 60Q, which Tak claims is their optically finest and best corrected refractor. At f/15, it has a 900 mm focal length. But it can also be operated at f/8.8 by removing the section of the OTA with a tele-extender. Did I hear someone say F15 rules? Right on! I’d been very happy with my tak FS 60Q, but wanted to try a step up towards optical perfection.

Everything about this tiny gem (perhaps, you were wondering where her name came from) exudes quality, all the way down to the red nameplate which all Tak quadruplets have (as opposed to triplets which are green and doublets which are blue).

Am I crazy to go for such a tiny scope? Who knows? We shall find out soon enough 😊

Gemma has been a while in arriving, due to the well known supply issues. Many thanks to FLO and Tak guru, Ian King!

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Jeremy, as someone who wouldn't know optical perfection if it punched me in the eyes I congratulate you on your purchase. You will undoubtedly find something to look at... Galileo managed quite a bit with his 38mm... 😉

[Highburymark]

Congrats Jeremy! Very interested to hear how you get on. An F15 fluorite - suspect false colour won’t be a problem.

[RobertI]

Congratulations Jeremy, I’m sure it will show some amazing sights, look forward to hearing your reports. I didn’t know about the different label colours for Taks. By the way I think the collective noun for Taks is “host”, as in a host of heavenly Taks. 🙂

[UKDiver]

I'm a little confused

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Like many on SGL, I started astronomy with a Tasco 60 mm refractor . My mother and father gave it to me for Christmas when I was eleven. It got much use and is a stunning performer. Keen to encourage my hobby, and having heard Patrick Moore talking at 6-inch reflectors, I soon moved onto a 6-inch Fullerscope. And aperture fever continued over the years.

However, in recent years, I have become enamoured of small, high quality refractors for visual observing. And I now own a family (herd?) of Taks.

Well, I’ve finally gone full circle and taken delivery of a Takahashi FOA 60Q, which Tak claims is their optically finest and best corrected refractor. At f/15, it has a 900 mm focal length. But it can also be operated at f/8.8 by removing the section of the OTA with a tele-extender. Did I hear someone say F15 rules? Right on! I’d been very happy with my tak FS 60Q, but wanted to try a step up towards optical perfection.

Everything about this tiny gem (perhaps, you were wondering where her name came from) exudes quality, all the way down to the red nameplate which all Tak quadruplets have (as opposed to triplets which are green and doublets which are blue).

Am I crazy to go for such a tiny scope? Who knows? We shall find out soon enough 😊

Gemma has been a while in arriving, due to the well known supply issues. Many thanks to FLO and Tak guru, Ian King!

 

 

Hi Jeremy,

I'm a little confused, you infer that this is a quadruplet, yet FLO and others including Takahashi describe this model as a doublet. Is this something to do with the removable section?

Adrian

 

[F15Rules]

Congratulations Jeremy, lovely perfection in miniature!!

And great to see you've had the tube clamshell drilled out with plenty of holes for a plethora of handles!!

Dave

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, UKDiver said:

I'm a little confused

Hi Jeremy,

I'm a little confused, you infer that this is a quadruplet, yet FLO and others including Takahashi describe this model as a doublet. Is this something to do with the removable section?

Adrian

 

Yes the Q is for quadruplet. The OG is a spaced doublet, one element of which is fluorite. This makes the FOA 60 at f/8.8. Then there are two further lens groups in the extender tube taking it to f/15, the FOA 60 Q.

Actually the two further lens groups are each doublets, so you could call it a sextuplet 

 

[JeremyS]

Here she is on the ScopeTech Zero and Berlebach Report

 

[A McEwan]

Congratulations! I have read reports of this scope, and it is touted as being the most perfect optic that Takahashi produce. Given the small aperture and number of elements, I can believe that! I'm not at all envious. Nope. Not one Tiny. Little. Bit.

I like the look of that Zero mount too!

<Scurries off to Google-Land....>

 

[JeremyS]

3 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Congratulations Jeremy, lovely perfection in miniature!!

And great to see you've had the tube clamshell drilled out with plenty of holes for a plethora of handles!!

Dave

Well, she’s so svelte I was thinking if I mounted her say, on my C11, she could actually be the handle, Dave. 🤔

[HollyHound]

4 hours ago, RobertI said:

Congratulations Jeremy, I’m sure it will show some amazing sights, look forward to hearing your reports. I didn’t know about the different label colours for Taks. By the way I think the collective noun for Taks is “host”, as in a host of heavenly Taks. 🙂

Actually I think the collective noun should be a “bankruptcy” of Taks 🤣

[HollyHound]

8 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Everything about this tiny gem (perhaps, you were wondering where her name came from) exudes quality, all the way down to the red nameplate which all Tak quadruplets have (as opposed to triplets which are green and doublets which are blue).

Am I crazy to go for such a tiny scope? Who knows? We shall find out soon enough 😊

Absolutely fantastic Jeremy… so happy for you, such a beautiful and optically superb scope 😀

You will not be disappointed 👍

If you’re crazy then so am I… let’s be crazy together in Tak nirvana 🤣

[JeremyS]

13 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Absolutely fantastic Jeremy… so happy for you, such a beautiful and optically superb scope 😀

You will not be disappointed 👍

If you’re crazy then so am I… let’s be crazy together in Tak nirvana 🤣

With the views I’ve just had, I fear that if I wrote them down, the men in white coats would be after me. The views are amazing!

More tomorrow. There’s observing to be done……. 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

With the views I’ve just had, I fear that if I wrote them down, the men in white coats would be after me. The views are amazing!

More tomorrow. There’s observing to be done……. 👍🏻

The red nameplate is a nice touch too 👍
 

Tiny, perfect, droplets of colour…. Am I close… enjoy 😀

Edited August 25, 2021 by HollyHound

[mtminnesota]

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Here she is on the ScopeTech Zero and Berlebach Report

 

That is 60mm heaven, Jeremy.

[Chris]

Nice one Jeremy, Gemma is a beaut!  

[UKDiver]

12 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Yes the Q is for quadruplet. The OG is a spaced doublet, one element of which is fluorite. This makes the FOA 60 at f/8.8. Then there are two further lens groups in the extender tube taking it to f/15, the FOA 60 Q.

Actually the two further lens groups are each doublets, so you could call it a sextuplet

Thank you for clearing up my confusion Jeremy.

Does not help my jealousy mind.

[JeremyS]

So, I achieved first light with Gemma, the Tak FOA 60Q last night. I think this is the first time a new telescope has been deployed in delivery day. Conditions were not great as the sky was pretty murky, only down to about mag 4 NE, with a thin layer of haze. However, the atmosphere was very steady indeed.

I spent most of the time checking that the scope performed optically as it should. At it did 😊

Text book diffraction patterns, lovely splits of the double double, eps Lyr (x100), beautiful colours in Albireo. I trued a few DS objects, like the Ring Nebula and M13 – good, but need a clearer night. 
Then I turned to Saturn. This I where I nearly fell off my chair. It looked like an etching: steady as you like! Some shading/banding. Mainly using x130 (N T6 7 mm), occasionally x 180.
Then I turned to Jupiter and I thought I was dreaming. Not only were there multiple cloud belts, but I could see detail in them, such as barges and festoons.

I also had a quick look at the Moon. I wanted to test out my new APM UFF 24. I started with the TV Pan 24, which showed the annoying RD it is known for. This means that the Moon becomes egg shaped when you move to the edge of the field. I find this annoying, also in rich star fields. By contrast, the UFF was MUCH better. RD was still there, but much improved. However, the UFF if a big and bulky beast. Not sure where I will land on this.

Another thing I tried was to put parfocalising rings on my TV Nag’s. As you know I hate their undercuts, especially when used with the Tak prism (which by the way is superb, optically), can be a problem. The rings allowed confident placement of each eyepiece, tightening of the compression ring, and release. This looks like a good way forward.

There was a further benefit that the FOA + ScopeTech Zero + Berlebach Report combo gave me, compared with my larger fracs. The whole lot could be lifted with one hand and moved about the garden.

So I’m really pleased with Gemma and look forward to many more happy times to come.
 

[Alan White]

Very nice Jeremy, so how large is the herd now?

And glad you have found a way to make the TV undercuts work for you.

[Deadlake]

42 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I also had a quick look at the Moon. I wanted to test out my new APM UFF 24. I started with the TV Pan 24, which showed the annoying RD it is known for. This means that the Moon becomes egg shaped when you move to the edge of the field. I find this annoying, also in rich star fields. By contrast, the UFF was MUCH better. RD was still there, but much improved. However, the UFF if a big and bulky beast

The UFF is a bulky beast, however relative to a 2" EP it's skinny and does not need so much infocus, which was the reason I bought one back in July.
The other advantage is it's possible to use in a BV as well, so no need to splurge on two Tele Vue's EP's.

Edited August 26, 2021 by Deadlake

[JeremyS]

9 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Very nice Jeremy, so how large is the herd now?

And glad you have found a way to make the TV undercuts work for you.

Errm….let me see.
 

Tak FS 60, FS 60Q, FOA 60 Q, FC 76 DCU, FC 100 DZ, FS 102, TSA 120

i make that 7 🤔

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

The UFF is a bulky beast, however relative to a 2" EP it's skinny and does not need so much infocus, which was the reason I bought one back in July.
The other advantage is it's possible to use in a BV as well, so no need to splurge on two Tele Vue's EP's.

Yes, that true re 2-inch EPs. The issue is I want a set of 1.25 inch for air travel, so non bulky and light works for me.

Might try the Tak Erfle 28. Anyone want to offload one?

[jock1958]

37 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

There was a further benefit that the FOA + ScopeTech Zero + Berlebach Report combo gave me, compared with my larger fracs. The whole lot could be lifted with one hand and moved about the garden.

Your new set up looks brilliant Jeremy. These small Taks punch well above their weight as I found out with my FS-60Q,  with a mix of great looks, portability and sublime optics, what's not to like!

How you getting on with your Scopetech Zero? mines still a bit stiff on both axis even after adjustments, wonder if they pre-lube them with same sticky stuff they use in the Skytee 2 🤔

[JeremyS]

41 minutes ago, jock1958 said:

Your new set up looks brilliant Jeremy. These small Taks punch well above their weight as I found out with my FS-60Q,  with a mix of great looks, portability and sublime optics, what's not to like!

How you getting on with your Scopetech Zero? mines still a bit stiff on both axis even after adjustments, wonder if they pre-lube them with same sticky stuff they use in the Skytee 2 🤔

My ScopeTech Zero works well. The altaz slow motions were a bit stiff to start with but I adjusted the tension on the worm shafts.

I have seen reports that people having trouble moving the axes when moving the scope around the sky. I’ve not had problems with that.

[IB20]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

Errm….let me see.
 

Tak FS 60, FS 60Q, FOA 60 Q, FC 76 DCU, FC 100 DZ, FS 102, TSA 120

i make that 7 🤔

Not jealous at all!

Out of interest, if at hypothetical gunpoint and you could only keep one, which would it be?