FC-100DC - My first light

[UKDiver]

I'm not quite sure where such posts should go, so Mods, please move if appropriate.

So after finally finishing work, I just thought I'd risk a gander at the moon out of our loft velux. Happy to compromise on the haze just for a few minutes before food.

Even with the haze, lovely and clear - my wife was certainly impressed, so money well spent! We had a trip up to Jupiter which just about resolved as a disc (maybe), but I was not expecting much. Just using Celestron plossls as that's all I have for now. So not a stunning report, I hope the clouds naff off a little (or a lot) this w/e.

Adrian

Edited November 11, 2021 by UKDiver
fat figgers and use of a word my gran used ;)

[Franklin]

Your scope deserves better eyepieces.

[mikeDnight]

Hi Adrian,

 Observing through a Velux loft window may not be the best place to judge your Tak from, or your eyepieces for that matter. I'm pretty certain you're going to have many wow moments with your DC, especially when the scope is working at optimum. Just wait until you catch a glimps of the high spring Moon. You'll probably need your jaw wiring shut! 😲

Edited November 11, 2021 by mikeDnight

[UKDiver]

39 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

Hi Adrian,

 Observing through a Velux loft window may not be the best place to judge your Tak from, or your eyepieces for that matter. I'm pretty certain you're going to have many wow moments with your DC, especially when the scope is working at optimum. Just wait until you catch a glimps of the high spring Moon. You'll probably need your jaw wiring shut! 😲

Hi Mike,

Yes, I know the Velux was not optimum, but it was reasoned for the few minutes I had. I would not have been able to see much from ground level through the house opposite and cloud was turning up. Yes, looking forwards to a better location and higher subjects. Normally I don't like springs - big tides.

Yes, eyepieces will have to be selected, but that's a confusing subject on its own. And I need to understand why the ones I have wobble in the Tak prism. Undercuts?

Adrian

[Franklin]

The excellent Tak Prism grips the eyepiece barrel but some eyepieces have a smooth barrel whilst others have undercuts. The ring that grips the eyepiece in the Tak Prism is lined up with the undercut and so does not grip correctly. Nothing wrong, bit of a design clash. Just hold your Plossls back a bit when you tighten the Prism so it grips on the end of the nosepiece or fill the undercuts with tape.

Get a Baader MkIV zoom while you decide what eyepieces you need to compliment your superb telescope.

[UKDiver]

11 hours ago, Franklin said:

The excellent Tak Prism grips the eyepiece barrel but some eyepieces have a smooth barrel whilst others have undercuts. The ring that grips the eyepiece in the Tak Prism is lined up with the undercut and so does not grip correctly. Nothing wrong, bit of a design clash. Just hold your Plossls back a bit when you tighten the Prism so it grips on the end of the nosepiece or fill the undercuts with tape.

Get a Baader MkIV zoom while you decide what eyepieces you need to compliment your superb telescope.

Thank you Franklin for the holding back advice, worked a treat.

The zooms appear to rarer than rocking horse do-do at the moment. No wonder yours sold quickly.

Adrian

[Sunshine]

Congratulations a fine scope! you will have so much fun with it. 

Not through windows! that part was cringe inducing to read 🤣

Edited November 12, 2021 by Sunshine

[UKDiver]

5 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Congratulations a fine scope! you will have so much fun with it. 

Not through windows! that part was cringe inducing to read 🤣

I knew it was bad decision, but it was a function of desperation. Sorry about the cringe. Maybe proper views this w/e, although I'm not hopeful for the weather.

[Franklin]

6 hours ago, UKDiver said:

The zooms appear to rarer than rocking horse do-do at the moment. No wonder yours sold quickly.

Thanks Adrian. There's a couple on Fleabay which I noticed the other day.

[Sunshine]

2 hours ago, UKDiver said:

I knew it was bad decision, but it was a function of desperation. Sorry about the cringe. Maybe proper views this w/e, although I'm not hopeful for the weather.

We’ve all done it, my friend, I am guilty of the same on one occasion.

[UKDiver]

17 hours ago, Franklin said:

Thanks Adrian. There's a couple on Fleabay which I noticed the other day.

Watching... Sadly the one on ABS had already gone. They often seem to be paired with a Barlow lens. Is this a useful addition or marketing?

[Franklin]

The Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlow x2.25 has been made by Baader especially for use with the Baader Zoom and it works great. It can also be used with other eyepieces and has a dedicated T2 adaptor. Having said that you can use the Zoom with any other barlow lens you may have. Using the x2.25 barlow with the zoom covers a range from 24mm-3.5mm, I use mine all the time and apart from a really low power wide field, it has made a lot of my eyepiece redundant.

[UKDiver]

Much better tonight. 😊 Proper first views.

Clear sky, four moons three moons with Jupiter were obvious and 45 Cap (not what I though was a moon ). Maybe the odd orange stripy smear (wishful thinking?) but mainly fuzzy.

Moon an absolute pleasure.

So I wonder what better eyepieces will do for me.

Definitely need a seat too!

Edited November 15, 2021 by UKDiver
There are four moons!

[John]

28 minutes ago, UKDiver said:

Much better tonight. 😊 Proper first views.

Clear sky, four moons for Jupiter were obvious. Maybe the odd orange stripey smear (wishful thinking?) but mainly fuzzy.

Moon an absolute pleasure.

So I wonder what better eyepieces will do for me.

Definitely need a seat too!

Excellent !

The Takahashi FC100's are really superb performers - they seem to be capable of providing just about as much as any 100mm scope can.

When the conditions are good you should be able to get 6-7 cloud belts on Jupiter plus the Great Red Spot (when on view) and other features too. I find 180x is a very useful magnification for observing Jupiter with my FC100.

 

[UKDiver]

18 minutes ago, John said:

Excellent !

The Takahashi FC100's are really superb performers - they seem to be capable of providing just about as much as any 100mm scope can.

When the conditions are good you should be able to get 6-7 cloud belts on Jupiter plus the Great Red Spot (when on view) and other features too. I find 180x is a very useful magnification for observing Jupiter with my FC100.

 

Thank you John. What EP are you using to get 180x?

Adrian

[John]

9 minutes ago, UKDiver said:

Thank you John. What EP are you using to get 180x?

Adrian

A 5mm Pentax XW. My FC100 is the DL version so has a focal length of 900mm.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by John

[John]

In case you don't want to splurge on a Pentax XW or similar, there are eyepieces around such as the Vixen SLV's that provide similar levels of optical performance at much lower prices

[UKDiver]

3 hours ago, John said:

In case you don't want to splurge on a Pentax XW or similar, there are eyepieces around such as the Vixen SLV's that provide similar levels of optical performance at much lower prices

I'm slowly picking up on the models, nomenclature and jargon for eyepieces. And that before we get into abbreviations that look a bit like brands.  Procrastination and research led to me missing out on a couple of Vixens earlier - Franklin knew what he wanted and I don't yet. Not being able to try before you buy is a little frustrating. It seems we don't really buy astronomy gear, just rent it long term. 😄

[John]

2 minutes ago, UKDiver said:

... It seems we don't really buy astronomy gear, just rent it long term. 😄

That's often very true !

Most of my equipment was bought 2nd hand. If something has not suited me, I've usually been able to re-sell for more or less what I paid for the item.

After a relatively short while you will notice that certain brands / ranges get favorably mentioned on forums like this quite frequently and for good reason.

Your choice of scope has been excellent so I'm sure you will find your way through the "eyepiece jungle" with similarly excellent results in due course

[jetstream]

Excellent scope.

And while your wading through the murky world of eyepiece selection maybe a 10mm BCO and Q barlow might suffice for a bit? This eyepiece will be great down the road as well.

[UKDiver]

9 hours ago, jetstream said:

Excellent scope.

And while your wading through the murky world of eyepiece selection maybe a 10mm BCO and Q barlow might suffice for a bit? This eyepiece will be great down the road as well.

Thank you. I currently have Celestron 6, 8, 13, 17 and 32mm (no model name) Plossls with 2x Barlow.  Also a 3x X-Cel Barlow. All came as job lot with a previous second hand scope.

Given that, does your recommendation still stand? If yes, why? Apart from the size, they seem to have pretty much the same FoV.

 

[jetstream]

2 hours ago, UKDiver said:

Given that, does your recommendation still stand? If yes, why? Apart from the size, they seem to have pretty much the same FoV.

The 10mm BCO can give views that rival much more expensive eyepieces- such as my Delos to name a few.Actually it has higher transmission than the super high transmission Delos... and is used when I'm trying to nail down true threshold objects in my scopes. The 10BCO also has a unique characteristic- its sharpness.

It rivals and beats many many vg eyepieces in the sharpness dept. I say this is unique because its the combination of sharpness, transmission and contrast that sets it on the top shelf along with a very few others.

Downside- its not a "true" orthos in the sense that Zeiss opened up the deisign to provide a 50 deg TFOV, yes this is a Zeiss design. It also has shortish eye relief -8mm- but more than true or symmetric "plossls". There may be sample to sample variation but Ive only heard of one here from a reputed member out of many.

The 10 BCO will always sit on my top shelf, along with the Docter 12.5mm UWA. Of course this is just my opinion.

Edited November 15, 2021 by jetstream

[jetstream]

Forgot to add- if you want one planetary/lunar eyepiece, find a Televue Nagler zoom 3-6mm.

[John]

8 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Forgot to add- if you want one planetary/lunar eyepiece, find a Televue Nagler zoom 3-6mm.

+1

 

[UKDiver]

20 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Forgot to add- if you want one planetary/lunar eyepiece, find a Televue Nagler zoom 3-6mm.

Thank you for the recommendation and reasoning, not that understood all the technical elements. That will come.

I've also been recommended the Baader 8-24 Zoom, I assume for wider views. If such tools are so useful, what are the tradeoffs with respect to fixed FL eyepieces?

Adrian