Takahashi TOA-130NS [visual]

[josefk]

2 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Wonderful pic. With your 4x4 it really looks like you were on a “Sky Safari”! 

My "Grab 'n' Go" wheel barrow. But i'm with you older Land Rovers are pretty photogenic/evocative - i can (and do) get carried away taking pics of it in cool locations. 🤣

[Alan White]

Sorry to divert the thread further, but I used to love my Series 2A SWB that I had in my late teens and early 20's,
Sadly had to go to finance the first home, still miss the Landy all these 35 years later.

 

[Split Zygote2]

Hello,

I have a TOA 130 and find that for mono viewing wrapping divers' lead weights (these are soft plastic coated) on a cut down waist belt around the tube near the focuser to be very helpful and unusually cost effective way of minimising the length of the arc through which the eyepiece travels on this heroically front heavy scope when moving from the horizon to zenith (and I have the heavier NFB focuser). Typically I will add 3 kilos to the back end. Moreover by placing the weights asymmetrically around the tube it is possible to balance the scope in 3 axes i.e. to allow for the imbalance caused by bino-viewers for example where the scope is balanced when horizontal but not when vertical or at say 45 degrees.

Additionally when using the scope in mono I find the 1.5 ED extender pretty much lives on the back end. I find this to be invisible in use and it helps with the fore aft balance by moving the prism and and eyepiece further away from the objective. I find it to be more convenient that say a powermate as it goes between the scope and the diagonal and not the diagonal and the eyepiece so causing less problems in 3 axis balance. Of course it does tend to put the eyepiece nearer  the ground  when viewing vertically.

I second the comment above about a quick release for the finder scope and as you have fitted, a handle is pretty much essential although in my case I have tube rings and the handle is a Baader affair attached to a extra dovetail the other side of the OTA by two V70 clamps.

I mostly use the scope with binoviewers which largely dispenses with the need for the divers' weights as described above. Note: as you use the scope on the AZ100 you might find my comments as linked below at the bottom of page 43 and over onto the next page(44) of interest. My TOA usually mounts on a AZ-EQ6 attached to a permanent pier outside.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/345938-rowan-az100-mount-owners-thread/page/43/ but note that a stop to prevent the dovetails sliding out of the clamps is essential 

I would also suggest if you haven't got something already getting a raincoat of sorts that will quickly throw over the scope. I have certainly had rain (not much admittedly) fall on me out of a clear sky. Additionally it will provide more peace of mind while the scope is cooling to ambient. Note I am not talking about a full on scope cover. 

If you root around on the internet you may be able to find Roland Christen's comments on how to best look after your scope and prevent condensation after the viewing session. During the session although the dew shield on the TOA is not minimal I still fit an extension in the form of an astrozap affair and it hasn't dewed up as yet.

Performance, well faultless to my eyes. It outperforms my 10 inch dobsonian on the moon on all but the most exceptional of nights when the dobsonian wins comfortably. Compared to the 120 Equinox, hard to say that it will reveal any extra detail but the contrast is greater,  the colour correction better and it is more a question of a better aesthetic, less scatter, pinpoint stars, more saturated colour etc. I got it up to 700x plus magnification on one clear, transparent and still  night before I ran out of eyepieces. The image was dim certainly but had not broken down into a mush - the Equinox alongside threw up its hands and surrendered at around 470x. (still a very creditable effort). To put it into photographic terms and you may not have had experience of this as it references technology from the Dark Ages the ED120 approximate the result of a medium format 6x4.5cm  negative, the TAK a 6x7cm negative, the Dob a 4x5 inch negative. (I spent a lot of time in the darkroom in times past) 

Enjoy your scope, they are waaay better than our skies!

Michael

 

 

[josefk]

Thank you Michael @Split Zygote2 - that's all a load of great info that i will digest properly later - especially your link on balancing and on after care re. condensation because that does bother me.

I find the scope easy to balance but also very sensitive to balance (due to length of the levers) so needs rebalancing often on EP changes and even sometimes on EP changes if the focus point changes a lot and it moves the EP way out on the draw tube. I do weight the scope up at the back with soft velcro ankle weights 1.1...2.2kg's worth and use these on the handle under the OTA using the handle like a hook and putting them on/taking them off to counter EP changes and/or mono to BV changes - i think there is an advantage of getting the counterweight below the OTA. 

Cheers

Joe

[HollyHound]

1 hour ago, josefk said:

The good news is my refractor is pretty much directly connected to the mount via the Takahashi cradle (no dovetails or rails involved). It can't slip out of its own clamp due to OTA lumps and bumps.

I do the same with my FC-100DZ... I have a second cradle bolted directly to one side of my AZ75 and it works really well 👍

Beautiful scope that TOA-130 😀

[josefk]

Hi Michael @Split Zygote2 - i've read the info on the AZ100 mount owners thread just now (in fact re-read it) and did think long and hard about your set-ups moving weight below the altitude pivot point when i read them before. if i weren't using both sides i would definitely do as you have done and set the sides up 90 degrees apart to facilitate dropping weight down vertically on a losmandy plate on the offside.  i have also thought about using a tak balance plate (offsetting plate) or similar to drop the tak clamshell mounting below the pivot point of the mount a couple of inches. Unfortunately even if all the mounting holes would be cooperative I think it will act as a spring or resonant cantilever. i like the track the stars arrangement with an upside down "U" bracket over the head of the mount that facilitates getting weight down below the OTA on both sides while still fixing the OTAs at the pivot. 

In any event i haven't struggled with balance so far - i just have to be prepared to rebalance often but that's no great hardship - more an irritant in theory than an irritant in practise. I've also found in my limited experience so far that having circa 9kg of OTA on the other side is a good thing for how the whole system behaves.

Cheers

[Split Zygote2]

Hopefully below you may or may not see a scope with a Baader sliding counterweight on the far side.; the clamp is a V70 and  it  slides along a vixen rail parallel and opposite to the primary dovetail. The 1 kilo weights attach both to the V70 clamp and also screw to each other. Typically I use one to three  stacked to slide backwards and forwards at need to balance the scope fore and aft when changing  from mono to bino viewing  or indeed from heavy wide angle 2 inch eyepieces to high power eyepieces. 

In my view it's a  matter of personal choice. I much prefer the look of the Tak mounting cradle that you use and indeed have one but I also prefer the convenience of counterbalancing different set ups  fore and aft with a sliding weight rather than moving the whole OTA backwards and forwards. "You pays your money and......"

[josefk]

DIY dew shield mark III (mk I for this scope) with secret weapon dew band under it - the combo worked a treat even with the dew band on its lowest setting in a night that turned from "damp" to "sea fog" very quickly around 22:00. Jupiter and Venus in the background.

[josefk]

...and if you ever wondered at the difference between 95mm refractor and 130mm refractor here's one big difference:

95mm ready to go...

 

130mm ready to unpack...

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by josefk

[JeremyS]

5 hours ago, josefk said:

DIY dew shield mark III (mk I for this scope) with secret weapon dew band under it - the combo worked a treat even with the dew band on its lowest setting in a night that turned from "damp" to "sea fog" very quickly around 22:00. Jupiter and Venus in the background.

Maybe you could license the design to Tak 🤔

All you’d need is a bit of Tak paint and you’re away.

[josefk]

worked a treat @JeremyS - the camping mat insulated the USB dew band really nicely. Running it on its lowest setting meant consuming only ~25% of a nominally 13,600mAh battery capacity in 3hrs so i would be good to go for an all-nighter with that battery pack and this battery pack is pretty small so it mounts on the moving part of the mount. Lightweight out at the front as well! ...and a very un-Tak like £0.00 being an offcut from mark II.

win win win.

[jetstream]

Late to this but a huge congrats!!

"They" say that this telescope has what is most likely the best optics out there...they being some frac people that have owned many of the best.

Eagerly waiting reports!

Gerry

[josefk]

… and I’m eagerly awaiting opportunities to get out with it @jetstream - a decent amount of grab n go so far this year but only four opportunities for more considered sessions with the TOA due to what feels like endless night time cloud. 
I know already it’s a performer from a session  on Mars and Jupiter in January - loads of accessible detail and contrast and lovely absorbing aesthetics (presentation?)

As Venus climbs higher in the evening that is on more my “determined to do” list for sure even if it’s only a short window of opportunity cloud wise. 
 

👍

Edited February 16, 2023 by josefk

[josefk]

You can tell its been cloudy 5 long weeks. Is there a term for astro cabin fever?

...so looking for satisfactions from little tweaks > I'm extremely happy with this new counterweight arrangement: 

I have 4.9kg of weight in the offside saddle here - all of it adjustable forward and back and 3kg behind and/or below the altitude pivot.

If i balance the scope at a good 45-50 degree angle using my lightest eyepiece then with only 10cm of fore and aft movement of my "counterweight sledge" i can balance everything from a 5mm ortho (110g) to a 31NT5 (924g) and MaxBright binoviewers with orthos or panoptics in the middle of that range too. 

No roll over even when deliberately unbalanced  - this pic below is deliberately unbalanced with BV - clutches fully off:

Now where's the clear sky?

Edited March 31, 2023 by josefk

[josefk]

A spring all nighter with the TOA for company last night. I’m fully dialled in on this OTA now. I love it. 
 

Here getting set for Venus early evening:

and here frozen to the bone >8hrs later finishing with an unexpected and bonus observation of Saturn (and not a rubbish wobbly one either even at this low altitude) in the crisp morning air:

 

[RobertI]

Perfect, everything the keen astronomer needs, premium refractor and mount, spacious 4x4, and floppy hat. 🙂

[josefk]

2 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Perfect, everything the keen astronomer needs, premium refractor and mount, spacious 4x4, and floppy hat. 🙂

hahaha. The floppy hat is a patented iPad dew shield (so the touch screen doesn't go wonky) and usefully also works as a light screen  👍. 

[Hans Joakim]

@josefk Loving your TOA on the AZ100, so hope it is ok to revive this thread! Just curious to know whether you have found a good case (soft or hard) for the AZ100 with the Tak cradle fixed? Or do you remove the cradle from the mount every time you tear down? 

[josefk]

Hi there @Hans Joakim  thanks for the comment on the set-up. I love it. However you do inadvertently put your finger on a sore spot 🫤. 
 

The AZ100 alone (with losmandy saddle) packed beautifully in a Zarges K470 aluminium hard case. A tight fit but perfect. Hugely recommended for the AZ100 if you need to travel with this mount and chuck it about and know it is superbly protected. 
 

The AZ100 with Tak clamp and with 200mm riser fitted doesn’t fit in any hard case I have including a large Peli 1600 something so at the moment I pack it last on top of everything else in the back of the Landy wrapped in a blanket but I’m not very happy about it. 
 

I could lose the riser but that won’t fully solve the problem and anyway I like the riser. 
 

I could lose the riser and fit a losmandy bar to the Tak clamp so I get my neat K470 packing back but I won’t because I really really like the safety (and elegance) of the direct connection of the Tak clamp to the AZ100. 

It would be a huge faff to remove and refit either/both items at every set up. 

So what I will probably do (when I pull my finger out) is look out for a reasonably robust medium sized hold-all of some kind and make my own cocoon style padding inside it so I can chuck the AZ100+clamp+riser into it all in one piece but at least then protected from transport rough and tumble and better than only being wrapped in a blanket. 
 

Any suggestions for alternatives would be great fully received. 🥴

[Hans Joakim]

Thanks for sharing, @josefk! 

I will also be looking for a case for the AZ100 w/ 200 mm riser, but with the 125 mm Tak cradle for the TSA-120. 

I do have one of the Tenba Cineluxe “doctors case” for my AZ75 - I think it is the Cineluxe 21. That works perfectly for the smaller, shorter mount, and allows it to be safely stored with the cradle mounted. The AZ100 is taller, and the riser complicates the storage - perhaps the way to go is to separate the riser (leave the riser top fixed to the mount). I will start looking in earnest when it is all here and assembled, and certainly share if something useful comes up!

Thanks again 👍

Edited August 23, 2023 by Hans Joakim

[josefk]

@Hans Joakim  sounds good. You will love the TSA on the AZ100. After I’d dialled in the balance for the TOA the mount just disappears. Or rather it just shrugs off the scope as if the scope weighs nothing. 
 

In case you hadn’t seen them you can get bolts from Rowan to separate the mount from the riser by hand (rather than with a hex tool) but it’s such a critical interface I do quite like it done up tight there. 
 

Good luck. 

[josefk]

@Hans Joakim  just looked at those tenba bags. They do look useful indeed. FYI The footprint of the AZ100+clamp+riser is circa 52cm x 45cm x 25cm (hwd). 

cheers

Joe