Takahshi FC100DF

[jock1958]

5 hours ago, JeremyS said:

 

I have used my FC100 DZ on a ScopeTech Zero mount with BB Report 312 and it’s borderline. I think the DC might be slightly lighter which would help.

I prefer my BB Uni with a beefier head with the DZ

Merry Christmas Jeremy, sounds like the BB uni would be a suitable replacement for my AZ4 🤔 would good if there was a place you could test drive tripods before buying? don’t know anyone in my local astro club that has one?

I use my scopetech zero with my Tak FS60Q & manfrotto 190 tripod which isn’t really up to the job, I think the 055 would be a much better bet 🤔

 

Edited December 25, 2022 by jock1958

[ukskies]

5 hours ago, JeremyS said:

 

I have used my FC100 DZ on a ScopeTech Zero mount with BB Report 312 and it’s borderline. I think the DC might be slightly lighter which would help.

I prefer my BB Uni with a beefier head with the DZ

Thanks Jeremy that's very helpful. I've been looking at the UNI 18 at FLO this morning thinking that might be the solution. Out of stock at the moment though.

[ukskies]

5 hours ago, jock1958 said:

Hi Gary and a Merry Christmas to you

The idea of getting a Berlebach was mainly for aesthetic reasons and hope that it would save some weight, the AZ4 does the job very well but I do like the look of those wooden tripods.

Cheers Iain

 

Merry Christmas to you too Iain, yes my reason is aesthetic too, they just look right on a Berlebach. 

The one I've been eyeing is here. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/berlebach-tripods/berlebach-uni-18-tripod-heq5-eq6.html

It's a UNI as confirmed by Jeremy.

[Stu]

31 minutes ago, ukskies said:

Merry Christmas to you too Iain, yes my reason is aesthetic too, they just look right on a Berlebach. 

The one I've been eyeing is here. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/berlebach-tripods/berlebach-uni-18-tripod-heq5-eq6.html

It's a UNI as confirmed by Jeremy.

The UNI 18 and 28 are really good options; not too heavy but very stable. I have the 28 which has a bit of extra height which can be handy, although to be honest I rarely if ever use it at full height.

[F15Rules]

Interesting discussion re tripods..

These are SUCH a vital part of the overall setup, aren't they? I personally don't think you can beat a good wooden tripod, but even wooden tripods have their load limits, and I would agree with @Nakedgun that ukskies' beautiful setup does look a bit "under supported on that tripod"... - the SP is a great mount (and so versatile, being able to operate  in altaz as well as equatorial modes), and perfectly able to support the scope, it just needs a beefier tripod👍. 

The Berlebach bigger tripods are great, of course, - and a nice Tak one would be good  too😉..like the one in the photos below.. this one currently hosts my Vixen SP102m F10 achromat, also on a Vixen SP mount really well.  Note that the Vixen tube is much larger and longer than the Tak DF/DZ etc.

When spending a lot of cash to get a superb scope, it doesn't make much sense not to have a tripod that's up to the job..

Dave

Edited December 25, 2022 by F15Rules
Photos added

[mikeDnight]

It's possible you may be able to pick up a second-hand Vixen aluminium tripod. The one in the pic carrying my GP and FC100DZ, is tall and surprisingly steady, but light weight. Another alternative could be a SW tubular steel tripod,  in the second pic carrying my Equinox 120. Very solid, though heavier, yet still easily manageable, and relatively cheap. Also easily sourced second hand.

[MalcolmM]

I have a UNI 8. It is rock solid. Not very high but if I want a bit of extra height I have a pillar I attach to it. What I really like about it is the ease with which I can carry it outside. When the legs are retracted (with the tray in place), it fits easily through doors. When outside, extending the legs is an easy 10 second job!

If I were to buy again though I think I would be very tempted to get the taller version and do away with the pillar - assuming it retracted down to a similar small size 

Malcolm 

Edited December 25, 2022 by MalcolmM

[ukskies]

5 hours ago, Stu said:

The UNI 18 and 28 are really good options; not too heavy but very stable. I have the 28 which has a bit of extra height which can be handy, although to be honest I rarely if ever use it at full height.

Hi Stu, thank you I'm pretty much sold on a UNI 18 I think.

[ukskies]

Thanks Dave, nice pics of your lovely setup too.

[ukskies]

Thanks Mike for your suggestions and the pics. Your DZ looks lovely on that Vixen GP.

I did consider a Skywatcher steel EQ5 tripod and if one came up 2nd hand I'd grab it and upgrade to a Berlbach later on but a look thro the classifieds wasn't fruitful unfortunately.

I also have a Vixen pier mount which i could use but only short term as height is an issue with that one, it's really for a Newtonian

[JeremyS]

9 minutes ago, ukskies said:

Hi Stu, thank you I'm pretty much sold on a UNI 18 I think.

Might want to consider the Uni 28 before pressing the button 

[ukskies]

Thanks again Malcolm, Your scope looks lovely on the Vixen AP mount with that UNI tripod.

Edited December 25, 2022 by ukskies

[ukskies]

2 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Might want to consider the Uni 28 before pressing the button 

Thanks Jeremy, I'm not sure I need the extra height but I will consider it. Is there any other reason other than the extra height?

[ukskies]

I was hoping to get out with the scope again this evening and just after tea I went out for a look and clear skies all around. By the time I'd got my mount and tripod out it started to cloud over and 5 mins later it was raining, good job I didn't have time to set the scope up.

[JeremyS]

19 minutes ago, ukskies said:

Thanks Jeremy, I'm not sure I need the extra height but I will consider it. Is there any other reason other than the extra height?

Flexibility (on how you like to observe) and future proofing (other scopes or set ups that might come along)

Edited December 25, 2022 by JeremyS

[MalcolmM]

10 hours ago, ukskies said:

Hi Stu, thank you I'm pretty much sold on a UNI 18 I think.

I think if I were going again that's the one I would get.

Malcolm 

[ukskies]

9 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Flexibility (on how you like to observe) and future proofing (other scopes or set ups that might come along)

Just been looking at these this morning on FLO and the Berlebach website and you're right Jeremy, the UNI 28 is a much better choice than the 18 and as there's very little difference in price I will go for the 28.

Out of stock atm with FLO and I don't have the readies either so quite prepared to wait. I can carry on with the report and I also have a Vixen 3 leg pier mount if I need something rigid, it isn't ideal as I'd have to sit lower but between the two I can manage for a month or two.

[jock1958]

10 hours ago, ukskies said:

Thanks Mike for your suggestions and the pics. Your DZ looks lovely on that Vixen GP.

I did consider a Skywatcher steel EQ5 tripod and if one came up 2nd hand I'd grab it and upgrade to a Berlbach later on but a look thro the classifieds wasn't fruitful unfortunately.

I also have a Vixen pier mount which i could use but only short term as height is an issue with that one, it's really for a Newtonian

There’s an EQ5 tripod plus extras including a Skytee 2 mount on UK ABS, it’s up for £400. Might be worth a punt and ask if they will split? 

[ukskies]

Thanks , yes I did see that but didn't think to ask about a split. It's only Worcester so that's quite local, well as astronomy ads go!

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, ukskies said:

Just been looking at these this morning on FLO and the Berlebach website and you're right Jeremy, the UNI 28 is a much better choice than the 18 and as there's very little difference in price I will go for the 28.

Out of stock atm with FLO and I don't have the readies either so quite prepared to wait. I can carry on with the report and I also have a Vixen 3 leg pier mount if I need something rigid, it isn't ideal as I'd have to sit lower but between the two I can manage for a month or two.

Whichever you go for Gary, make sure it has double clamps. FLO supply them as standard, but perhaps not all vendors (I think the basic model supplied by BB only has double as optional extra)

[ukskies]

36 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Whichever you go for Gary, make sure it has double clamps. FLO supply them as standard, but perhaps not all vendors (I think the basic model supplied by BB only has double as optional extra)

Thanks Jeremy, yes I will almost certainly buy it from FLO but I do want the double clamps.

[jock1958]

9 hours ago, ukskies said:

Just been looking at these this morning on FLO and the Berlebach website and you're right Jeremy, the UNI 28 is a much better choice than the 18 and as there's very little difference in price I will go for the 28.

Out of stock atm with FLO and I don't have the readies either so quite prepared to wait. I can carry on with the report and I also have a Vixen 3 leg pier mount if I need something rigid, it isn't ideal as I'd have to sit lower but between the two I can manage for a month or two.

Great thread this, started off all about the FC-100DF and now deviated slightly into some rather nice looking wooden tripods 🤣

Just as a matter of interest I did some comparisons between my Skywatcher AZ4 tripod & the BB Uni 18.
Both are 33” high with legs retracted..great I thought same dimensions as mine 😄

However the Uni is 1kg heavier than my AZ4 which weighs in at 8kg, bit surprised by this as I thought it would be lighter and rules out one of the reasons to buy one, looks like I’ll stick with what I’ve got for the time being unless I can convince myself otherwise 🤔

Edited December 26, 2022 by jock1958

[ukskies]

Second light (finally) plus an update.

I had trouble with the mount power and stability first time out but the clouds have given me chance to take a good look what the issues were and to get a Talentcell 72 Watt battery with 9V and 12V outputs. As i have the DD1 paddle with the SP and as they are sensitive to over Voltage I decided this would be ideal and I would use the 9 Volt output. I also decided to reverse the negative centre pin polarity on the paddle as most power supplies these days are positive centre pin. I connected the cell and the mount powered up beautifully.😀

This completed I next turned my attention to the stability of the tripod. I was quite surprised how long the vibrations took to damp out and though I suspected the tripod might be a bit light I didn't think it was going to be this bad. On investigating more closely I noticed that there was play between the Vixen mount base and the EQ5 top of the tripod. It seemed as if it wasn't fully seating even when the screw was tight it was bottoming out on the inner guide of the Vixen mount base. I had some heavy duty non slip flooring in the garage and made a gasket out of this to "pack" the base in order to clear the inner guide. Well it worked a treat, rock solid, no movement. Only a Tak on high power would tell me if this had improved matters.

On to observing.

TBH FLO had put a sticker on the box saying "May contain snow". Well happily I think it must have melted in the post. 😉

Unfortunately the Tak didn't come from FLO but RVO who must have filled it with clouds, it's been a terrible nuisance but finally they cleared today so tonight would be the night. I unfortunately found out today that I've got to work tomorrow so it couldn't be a late affair.

I was out before dark and set up. As soon as I'd done I turned and noticed Jupiter was just visible in the daylight. I quickly located the gas giant on low power 30X and quickly went to 92X. Jupiter looked very bright,still and razor sharp showing the two equatorial belts with some detail in them. I slipped in the Barlow and teased the power up to 150x and the planet looked awesome with hints of more belts as the seeing came and went. I went to full mag of 208X and the detail was easier to see, It still appeared and disappeared but in the brief moments of good seeing I could make out lots of detail, 3 belts North and South of the darker equatorial belts and shape and some structure glimpsed to the eq belts too. The planet also looked razor sharp and simply beautiful. Jupiter had a purple halo but it wasn't really noticeable when observing the details. 3 moons only on show as Ganymede was occulted by the planet. The moons in focus were clearly discs and each had one perfect diffraction ring. I spent a good hour on Jupiter and I cannot describe how utterly beautiful the view was but I was completely blown away. The seeing worsened as time went by so a new target was needed.

The Moon was up next and i started at 30X turned the focus wheel and WOW!!! The moon looked amazing, more so than I've ever seen before. Don't get me wrong it wasn't more detailed, I have a 12" Dob that shows a lot more detail but the Tak view was simply more beautiful. Up the power to 92X and the focus just snapped in, I gasped out loud. The Moon was almost filling the view to the field stop with just a black ring of space to frame it and it was super sharp. Up to max 208X and again the Moon was super sharp and stunning in colour and contrast. I felt the scope was just idling at this power and could easily take more. I went back to the 92X just to appreciate the view of the entire Moon and swung the scope to observe the limb. There was a faint greenish yellow outline to the limb but as I moved my eye around the view it came and went, almost certainly the eyepiece, The sky was absolutely jet black. I'm still stunned by what this little Tak was serving up.

Mars showed a lovely view with awesome colour and occasionally dark surface markings which came and went as the seeing worsened. I could not make out any polar caps.

Finally I decided to try another star test on a brighter star than Polaris and Capella was high and not far from Mars so I swung the DF over to it. In focus at 208X the airy disc was bright with glare spikes and the diffraction ring was broken and unstable. Obviously the seeing wasn't good enough but I racked the focuser 4 waves either side of focus and the patterns were again identical, the outer ring was flaring in the unstable air but the rings were perfectly round, evenly spaced and identical in brightness.

I decided to call it a night but in conclusion the mount was a lot more stable, not perfect but useable. It's clear the little Tak is an utter star and much better than any scope I've ever owned. It's obviously capable of showing so much more detail and if I ever get it on the solar system in some excellent seeing I believe I will be even more blown away. I also need to get out to a dark sky and get some widefield views in the near future.

Well time to wind up this lengthy post as I've gone on long enough. 😆