TAL Alkor info

[LDW1]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

In general I agree with the comments above. The refractor will be better for wider field, low power views whereas the longer focal length refactor should be more suited to mid and high powers. A lot depends on the manufacturer and quality though, so you know which make they are?

If you let us know budget and where you  are then people should be able to suggest some alternatives.

Just for reference, I have a tiny 66mm TAL Alkor, f7.7 reflector and it is excellent, quite amazing for its size.

Out of interest can you sometime send us a pic or two of that 66mm TAL ?

[Stu]

13 hours ago, LDW1 said:

Out of interest can you sometime send us a pic or two of that 66mm TAL ?

Without wanting to derail the thread, here are a few both on its original stand and as I more often used to use it.

[Space Hopper]

Those tube rings look.........indestructible 😀

They don't build 'em like that anymore !

[LDW1]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Without wanting to detail the thread, here are a few both on its original stand and as I more often used to use it.

What a great looking scope ! The wall thickness of the tube looks 'thick' ? How are the views ?  PS:  I don't think you are detracting from this thread, just adding more info to it !

[RT65CB-SWL]

2 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Those tube rings look.........indestructible 😀

They don't build 'em like that anymore !

They look like a pair of Munsen rings or galvanized gutter downpipe rings.

[Stu]

9 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Those tube rings look.........indestructible 😀

They don't build 'em like that anymore !

They are actually munsen rings which were the best thing I could find to be able to mount the scope on a normal mount!

9 hours ago, LDW1 said:

What a great looking scope ! The wall thickness of the tube looks 'thick' ? How are the views ?  PS:  I don't think you are detracting from this thread, just adding more info to it !

I think it is built out of a short section of tank barrel, much like the Telementor 🤣. For a 65mm scope the views are amazing. Small scopes produce large airy disks, so double stars look very beautiful through it. Izar for instance looks like a grey gem on a golden diffraction ring around a beautiful golden disk.

Some comparisons and observations here, hopefully of some use to the OP showing the differences. I think the frac won out in these comparisons but is obviously longer focal length. That said, I tried my ST80 out the other night and was surprisingly impressed, particularly when using some decent accessories eg diagonal and eyepieces. So a fast 80mm achro isn’t necessarily bad!

 

[Stu]

7 hours ago, Philip R said:

They look like a pair of Munsen rings or galvanized gutter downpipe rings.

Spot on! 👍 Munsen rings.