First Light on a barely-used Takahashi FC-100 DC

[SuburbanMak]

Well, typing that title gave me goosebumps! 

I had a really nice day on Sunday driving from one end of the South Downs to the other, from Winchester over to Eastbourne to pick up a used Tak FC 100 DC from a very nice chap who has made the inexplicable decision to give up the hobby. I savoured the trip and took the route over the Downs listening to some civilised music.   The seller had mentioned that he'd only used it three or four times since purchase last Feb, and all was indeed pristine, paperwork and original receipts & even a Tak sticker present & correct.  The business side took 45 minutes and then I was on my way back, giant, exciting, triple-ply coffin type box stowed in the back.  I kept checking in the driver's mirror to make sure it was real. 

On getting it home I paired it with the clamshell I'd taken delivery of earlier in the week from @FLO and got it mounted up on a Berlebach 312 Report.  It looks fantastic. For now I'm running it on my original AZGTi, not the new AZGTiX - mainly because I want the security of the much better than standard ADM clamp on my older mount. This, pairing to the ADM Tak-Vixen bar mean I've a really solid connection to the mount. 

Now I know that the point of all this is in the views and the observing, but there is a separate aesthetic pleasure to owning anything that is beautifully made.  As a kid I hankered after a "proper telescope" and for little me back in the late 70's / early 80's that meant a long, white-tube refractor. At the time I never got further than a Tasco 40mm with a weird built-in variable power eyepiece (even that gave me some memorable evenings squinting through it at the moon, Jupiter and M42 whilst it perched on a wobbly tabletop tripod balanced on the boot of Dad's Triumph Toledo!).  On my return to the hobby at the beginning of lockdown (courtesy of a family 50th birthday present of a Skymax 127 Mak on an AZGTi) I quickly developed a thing for picking up some of those old fantasy telescopes on eBay (Towa 339 80mm f15, Hilkin 60mm f13, Prinz 60mm f11.8). My point here is that the Tak with its duck-egg green, crackled-glazed, hand-cast clamshell & focuser and its off-white, car-paint gloss, reeks of craftsmanship & utterly pushes all those nostalgia / wish fulfilment buttons for me personally before I've even looked through the thing. Suffice it to say that riding on a Berlebach 312 Report & the AZGTi with counterweight, this sure looks like a telescope! 

I encountered a tiny snag attaching the finder in that as far as I can see (and I've been back through all the packaging) the finder bracket was not supplied with attachment bolts and the screws on the finder attachment points on the scope are way too short to use.  Turns out they are a standard M5 thread and I've managed to cobble together something for now from my bits and bobs drawer - a bit Heath-Robinson but it'll do while I work out if I'm prepared to spend £63 on the ADM quick release bracket! 

So after an hour or so of admiring the deep green lens coatings & (I am not ashamed to confess) slewing it about a bit indoors on the wifi mount,  I thought about actually taking it outside...

While Clear Outside was showing all red, the Met office had a cheeky moon peeking out from behind a cloud for a couple of hours from midnight down our way. Sure enough as most of the rest of the household went to bed, I bit the bullet and cradled my new purchase out into the garden, an easy carry and if anything a little lighter than with the fully-loaded Mak on board. 

An approaching full moon dominated but seeing looked steady, transparency variable with some bands of high cloud - my main goal here though was to have a quick look and align the finder. 

I excitedly popped in my existing Tak prism, new Morpheus 12.5 and, not aligning the mount at this point in case I only got a few minutes between cloud banks, swung to the Moon as my first target.  I set up my chair and assumed the position at the eyepiece and.... couldn't see a damn thing! 

The best focus I could get was a large gently swimming disc that might have been the moon, I tried a couple of different EPs, 32mm Plossl, new-to-me baader Morpheus 12.5mm, Hyperion 24mm, BCO 18mm - nope, nothing reaching focus.    Don't panic!     I went indoors and dug out my original 1.25 SW mirror diagonal - same result.    I was feeling mildly alarmed at this point as this was not what I'd been hoping for! After a good deep breath I thought things through and took a close look at the focuser, sure enough there was a longish extension tube attached - 80mm - which once removed solved the problem. 

With the Morpheus 12.5mm at 59x there it was, an absolutely superb view of the moon. I exclaimed something that translates decently as "I say, that's a splendid view!".  Down in the SE corner on the terminator I could see a couple of peaks & a crater rim that looked like they were floating in space - the crispness of the line delineating them from the main body of the moon was like nothing I've seen in my Mak or 10 inch Dob.  The vast numbers of tiny craters popping across the fully illuminated area seemed sharper and more noticeable than in the Mak & more akin to the jump in resolution going to the 10", I know its not optically possible for the 4 inch to be resolving the same features, but the effect through increased sharpness felt as dramatic. Just a stunning view. I was joined for a time by number-2 son, on his way back from an ill-advised Sunday night at the pub, who was similarly blown away. 

Looking around, the sky had cleared a little further so, after the usual finder-alignment fiddle (slightly refined on the Tak from those old Towa/Tasco days but essentially the same system), I set about North aligning the mount and despite some high haze figured I'd try a few different targets. 

Whilst aligning on Arcturus I went either side of focus with the Hyperion Zoom at 8mm, 92.5x, and was rewarded with beautiful, even circles - seeing really wasn't bad either. 

On to M3, not really resolving but standing out well against the background despite the moonlight and awful local LP in my garden.  

A couple of doubles - Cor Caroli, Algieba, Porrima - all looked superb in the moonlight and, the acid test for me as its a real toughy with the Mak's particular diffraction pattern, Izar (Epsilon Boo) -  split easily and beautifully with a lovely yellow/blue-green colour contrast. I am going to be looking at a lot of double stars with this scope the images are just perfection. 

Now it wasn't the night for DSOs but I thought I'd take a quick look at M13 starting with the Hyperion 24mm 31x (which seems to perform quite nicely at this FL so no need to invest in the ES or APM UFF equivalent right now based on first look), moving up to the new  Morpheus 12.5mm (59x) lovely crisp view of the still unresolved glob between its sentinel stars, and finally stepping up through the magnifications with the Baader Mk IV Zoom, again another of my existing eyepieces performing well at f7.4, at 8mm (92x) just beginning to see some "diamond dust" star resolution and perhaps a hint of a darker lane. 

As a final punt I tapped in M57 and picking up the merest smudge in the 6x30 finder was rewarded, still using the Zoom, with a washed out but perfect smoke-ring in space. Very good result considering the moon phase.   

I slewed to the Double-Double, rising E above the houses and streetlights, which I initially acquired easily enough but as I was racking up the power to split, the views began to degrade rapidly, stepping back from the eyepiece I realised that the clouds were closing in again.

The town clock struck 2, I was amazed as I'd have said I'd been out 45 minutes or so but in fact two and half hours has slipped by with this super-crisp, contrasty thing of beauty and I guess that says it all.  

Can't wait for the cloud to clear! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by SuburbanMak

[MalcolmM]

Wonderful read! You've really captured the magic 🙂 

Malcolm 

[Alan White]

Congratulations on such a nice looking set up.
I had seen the same scope on AB&S and wondered who had been tempted.

Nice report and glad you got first light, carry on enjoying and observing.

 

[josefk]

nice post and nice scope!

[Littleguy80]

Great report. I'm more than a little jealous. I looked at that advert more than once but just didn't have the funds available. Really happy for you though. I'll live vicariously through your reports until I can afford my own  

[SuburbanMak]

Thanks @Littleguy80 - I’ll be sure to write up the adventures I have testing it out over the coming months. I expect to be collecting plenty of photons! 

[Space Hopper]

Nice read @SuburbanMak and congratulations on acquiring such a nice little scope.

A nice refractor, mounted alt-az on a Berlebach : what  a great combination 😀

[Stu]

Great stuff @SuburbanMak, funny how no one is ever disappointed with an FC100DC! I wonder why? Superb scopes, many happy observing hours ahead of you.

[bosun21]

Nice scope @SuburbanMak, and a great write up on your first views with it. You can’t go wrong with a Tak!

[SuburbanMak]

13 minutes ago, Stu said:

Great stuff @SuburbanMak, funny how no one is ever disappointed with an FC100DC! I wonder why? Superb scopes, many happy observing hours ahead of you.

Thanks @Stu , I can't wait to get it out to a darker site. 

[SuburbanMak]

5 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Nice scope @SuburbanMak, and a great write up on your first views with it. You can’t go wrong with a Tak!

Cheers - the sharpness was immediately apparent (well, once I got rid of that extension tube anyway!) and I was struck by the contrast on M57 in particular given the sky & moon conditions. Bodes (no pun intended) very well for nights out under really good skies! 

[Ratlet]

Cracking report.  I don't know why but I always get a giggle seeing an azgti paired up with an expensive scope and tripod.  Versatile bit of kit!

[callisto]

Thanks for sharing your first light 

[JeremyS]

Amazing.

Regarding the finder screws, in my experience (and I have a little) they come partially screwed into the focuser- not with the finder stalk. Is it possible the previous owner has them still?
 

Glad to see you are sticking to OEM Tak equipment like clamshell and finder 😊

[SuburbanMak]

10 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Regarding the finder screws

Thanks @JeremyS - happy to report that the finder screws have just turned up in my final pre-recycling check of the Flo packaging. They are just little fiddly bolts though so as my main use will be grab & go, I think I will be ordering the ADM quick release bracket next time I have a Flo basket worthy of the postage! 

10 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

 in my experience (and I have a little) 

... I'd noticed that you do seem to have a little experience with the brand yes  

10 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Glad to see you are sticking to OEM Tak equipment like clamshell and finder 😊

Yes, I was leaning toward some More Blue rings which are a bit lighter and do allow easier attachment of an additional RDF etc, but after watching the video of the guys in Tokyo building their sand-casts I think I may have become a purist in this regard! 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by SuburbanMak

[Ratlet]

3 minutes ago, SuburbanMak said:

Thanks @JeremyS - happy to report that the finder screws have just turned up in my final pre-recycling check of the Flo packaging. They are just little fiddly bolts though so as my main use will be grab & go, I think I will be ordering the ADM quick release bracket next time I have a Flo basket worthy of the postage!

You're a better man than I.  I usually find myself wanting parfocal rings and then adding stuff to make the postage and packing worthwhile!  Any excuse 😂

[SuburbanMak]

3 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

You're a better man than I.  I usually find myself wanting parfocal rings and then adding stuff to make the postage and packing worthwhile!  Any excuse 😂

I don't know about "better", right now after my recent round of splurging its probably more just a case of "skinter"....

[Captain Scarlet]

Very nice and lovely read. New scope is even more exciting than new bike, and I wouldn’t have believed that were possible!

Well done, Magnus

[SuburbanMak]

22 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

 New scope is even more exciting than new bike, and I wouldn’t have believed that were possible!

Thanks Magnus! In my world that would also translate to "new guitar" too  

[mikeDnight]

  What a wonderful read!  It was as if I was with you all the way, even down to the 'time displacement', where two and a half hours feels like 45 minutes, and which is experienced by all those who are meant to be Takahashi owners.  I also found pleasure in your appreciation for the old school style, and even the beautiful traditional castings produced by that great company. Four inch refractors dont get better than this, and it seems there's a life-long friendship in the making. 

  Just as a side note, I know a lot of people like the detachable finder and that's fine, but I find that having the finder stalk attached can be beneficial.  When the Tube is cradled vertically in my left arm, the finder stalk acts like a secure handle, and just adds some extra security when carrying the scope. Just something to think about!

 Anyway, I'm confident you'll have many exciting times ahead with your awesome little apo, and see many amazing sights together. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by mikeDnight

[Sunshine]

11 hours ago, SuburbanMak said:

I kept checking in the driver's mirror to make sure it was real. 

 I have done the same many times while excitedly driving home from the telescope shop, I really enjoyed reading about your first light and am elated for you!. Let us know all about your second first light when the skies do clear up.

[cajen2]

One seemingly unimportant question about this scope and the DF: when the specs say that the dewshield is 'fixed', does this mean that it can't be unscrewed for transportation, or merely that it doesn't slide in or out?

Great report, Mark, btw.

Edited March 8, 2023 by cajen2

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

One seemingly unimportant question about this scope and the DF: when the specs say that the dewshield is 'fixed', does this mean that it can't be unscrewed for transportation, or merely that it doesn't slide in or out?

Great report, Magnus, btw.

No, the dewshield on the DC, DF, DL  & even the DZ can be unscrewed, as can the focuser, leading to a short tube for transport.  

[SuburbanMak]

12 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

  What a wonderful read! 

Thanks for the kind words @mikeDnight -  time really does fly by when you're having fun! 

As for the finder stalk, you make a good point.  Mine will have to fit fairly snugly into a Geoptik bag for safe transport out to darker skies & I am fairly certain it won't fit with finder attached. I am mounting it via the clamshell & ADM Tak-Vixen bar which does give something robust to hold on those nerve wracking transits with a dew covered tube!   I realise that alongside many more hours at the eyepiece the next stage of my development as an astronomer involves the deep study & appreciation of handles...

[SuburbanMak]

10 hours ago, cajen2 said:

One seemingly unimportant question about this scope and the DF: when the specs say that the dewshield is 'fixed', does this mean that it can't be unscrewed for transportation, or merely that it doesn't slide in or out?

Hi @cajen2 - the dewshield on my DC unscrews easily and shortens overall length by 3" / 76mm.   

I have the Geoptik bag for f7.4 refractors and with the focuser in 1.25 inch mode and fully wound in it is a perfect fit with almost nothing to spare with the dew shield in place.  

Best, Mark. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by SuburbanMak