FS-60 Tak ?

[Nicola Fletcher]

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

I really, really need to avoid this thread. It's got to be the most dangerous thread I've encountered on SGL to date🧲  🔭 🧲😱.

I think this is one of my favourite posts on SGL to date 😂

[John]

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

I have no idea either, but I seem to have found myself in a Takahashi quicksand where I feel myself sinking. For some strange unfathomable reason I don't seem as though I'm making any effort to escape 😂.

I've got a very nice one but don't feel myself yearning for another. I'm pleased that I got a TMB/LZOS as my 130mm scope and some other brands as well for my other scopes. 

I have tried a few Tak eyepieces but I didn't hang on those for long but that is more about my tastes in eyepieces rather than the Tak eyepieces I think. Again, it was nice to try them and "see for myself".

I'm absolutely not knocking Tak of course, they make some really good stuff, but I don't worship the brand either.  

If I had not had the opportunity to own a Tak I would have been very curious though. There is so much talked about on forums about them these days, some of it quite sensible 😉

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by John

[bosun21]

1 hour ago, John said:

I've got a very nice one but don't feel myself yearning for another. I'm pleased that I got a TMB/LZOS as my 130mm scope and some other brands as well for my other scopes. 

I have tried a few Tak eyepieces but I didn't hang on those for long but that is more about my tastes in eyepieces rather than the Tak eyepieces I think. Again, it was nice to try them and "see for myself".

I'm absolutely not knocking Tak of course, they make some really good stuff, but I don't worship the brand either.  

If I had not had the opportunity to own a Tak I would have been very curious though. There is so much talked about on forums about them these days, some of it quite sensible 😉

 

Like eyepieces telescopes can be a very personalised item imo. I am happy with the three scopes I have at present. A 12" dobsonian on an EQ platform, a 6" reflector on a motor driven EQ5 and a Starfield 102 on a full go to EQ5. The only thing I feel is missing is a quick G&G set up for those short sessions squeezed into the cloud gaps. This is what drew me to this thread about the small Tak. I still keep saying to myself though that I should just buy a different brand of small ED doublet and the difference between them would cover the mount for it. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to sleep on it AGAIN 😂.

[JeremyS]

4 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

. I still keep saying to myself though that I should just buy a different brand of small ED doublet 

No no no, that won’t do. You need an FOA 60Q 😊

[bosun21]

11 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

No no no, that won’t do. You need an FOA 60Q 😊

It's actually the FC-76DCU and the 1.6 extender I have my eye on 🔭👀.

[IB20]

6 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

It's actually the FC-76DCU and the 1.6 extender I have my eye on 🔭👀.

Tis very nice 😁

[Mr Spock]

I don't want to add temptation, but if you have a FS-60CB you can purchase a FC-76DC Objective Unit to fit to it. You then have two scopes, a 60 and a 76 

[bosun21]

1 minute ago, Mr Spock said:

I don't want to add temptation, but if you have a FS-60CB you can purchase a FC-76DC Objective Unit to fit to it. You then have two scopes, a 60 and a 76 

I was looking at this as well. Is there a clam shell for the 76, or would I be better sticking with rings and a vixen plate. Can the clam shell be fitted to a vixen plate as I know they are designed primarily for Tak mounts. Sorry for the questions.

[Mr Spock]

It's the same size - you only need the 60 clamshell. You unscrew the 60 objective and screw in the 76.

So, the FS60-CB is £749 with clamshell and finder; the 76DC objective unit £949, that's a total of £1698.

The FC-76DCU is £1285.00 and the clamshell/finder is £355, a total of £1640...

What?

[John]

11 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

I was looking at this as well. Is there a clam shell for the 76, or would I be better sticking with rings and a vixen plate. Can the clam shell be fitted to a vixen plate as I know they are designed primarily for Tak mounts. Sorry for the questions.

I use a Vixen-type dovetail bar / plate bolted to the clam shell of my FC100. The clam shell on mine accepts M8 bolts so a couple of those and the Vixen dovetail bar is pretty securely held.

 

 

 

[bosun21]

5 minutes ago, John said:

I use a Vixen-type dovetail bar / plate bolted to the clam shell of my FC100. The clam shell on mine accepts M8 bolts so a couple of those and the Vixen dovetail bar is pretty securely held.

 

 

 

That’s ideal. Thank you.

[Roy Challen]

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I don't want to add temptation, but if you have a FS-60CB you can purchase a FC-76DC Objective Unit to fit to it. You then have two scopes, a 60 and a 76 

I have an FS60-CB, and you have just added temptation 😉. With a 76mm objective and the Q extender, there are four scope options.

[Roy Challen]

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

It's the same size - you only need the 60 clamshell. You unscrew the 60 objective and screw in the 76.

So, the FS60-CB is £749 with clamshell and finder; the 76DC objective unit £949, that's a total of £1698.

The FC-76DCU is £1285.00 and the clamshell/finder is £355, a total of £1640...

What?

The FLO site says the FS60-CB is £749 for the ota only, finder and clamshell are extra, glad I got mine second hand 

[josefk]

8 hours ago, JeremyS said:

No no no, that won’t do. You need an FOA 60Q 😊

 

8 hours ago, IB20 said:

Tis very nice 😁

 

7 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

It's the same size - you only need the 60 clamshell. You unscrew the 60 objective and screw in the 76.

So, the FS60-CB is £749 with clamshell and finder; the 76DC objective unit £949, that's a total of £1698.

The FC-76DCU is £1285.00 and the clamshell/finder is £355, a total of £1640...

What?

You lot are absolutely terrible 🤣  
 

keep strong @bosun21  keep strong!

[Stu]

11 hours ago, bosun21 said:

It's actually the FC-76DCU and the 1.6 extender I have my eye on 🔭👀.

Horrible things, don’t know what could possibly tempt you about them 😉

I do like the look of it despite the join lines, performance is fab too. Whilst I love the clamp for my FS-128, I use the MoreBlue rings and dovetail as I think they are lighter and more compact. Some think this is sacrilegious but I prefer it. Of course, you could also be tempted by a Feathertouch for them but they are unobtainium now unfortunately.

This somewhat ludicrous setup shows the comparison between an FC-100DC, FC-76DCU and FS60Q. Having such a flexible system is really convenient, and I bought all mine secondhand (except the FC-100DC) so not quite so expensive. I swap the module between scopes, it has the most impact on the 60 but also improves the 76 I feel, sharpening up edge performance.

I must say though, the FC-100DC is almost as convenient for travel, just requiring the removal of dew shield and focuser to be airline portable, and it is about as light as it gets for a full 4” scope.

One note of caution. If wanting the most convenient grab and go/travel scope, I would possibly go for something like a TS 72mm. These have fpl-53 glass and at f5.9 are quite a lot shorter than the f7.5 FC-76DCU, with more aperture than an FS-60C

Here’s the whole family for comparison.

 

EDIT This is my airline portable kit which includes the 60 and 76, plus CoolWedge, BBHS mirror diagonal, various eyepieces, StarSense etc etc

[Mr Spock]

4 hours ago, Roy Challen said:

The FLO site says the FS60-CB is £749 for the ota only, finder and clamshell are extra, glad I got mine second hand 

Perhaps this "The package version features the FS-60CB OTA plus Takahashi Clamshell and 6x30 Finderscope with Bracket" is confusing as there is only one choice available. Maybe @FLO could clarify.

[Mr Spock]

Does anyone know if the FS60 extender offers any advantage over a x2.5 Powermate?

[Stu1smartcookie]

15 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I'm a short drive from RVO. That's where I got my old blue tube 10" Newt from. Nothing wrong with them but these days I'd rather but from FLO.

The one thing i will say about FLO is that you can instantly see if something is in stock . With Rother Valley you constantly need to send enquiries which takes up their time to answer.... sometimes it takes a fair time for them to answer . Also i had a good "chat" with Chris at FLO the other day regarding a scope and i was really appreciative of his helpfulness . I can get that with Widescreen too though as i know Simon ansd Elena very well . 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Stu1smartcookie

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

Does anyone know if the FS60 extender offers any advantage over a x2.5 Powermate?

I’m sure it does, because the Tak extender is matched to the FS-60C, it also corrects (flattens the field) and generally tightens the edge performance up.

Roger’s reviews may be helpful as the first link includes spot diagrams showing the inprovement:

http://scopeviews.co.uk/TakFS-60Q.htm

http://scopeviews.co.uk/TakFC-76Q.htm

 

[fireballxl5]

The FS60CB and its extender make a great portable rig for solar eclipses...

[Elp]

Taks should come with a health warning. I have so far managed to distance myself from them, lest I be caught in the trap of buying all the add ons for them.

[Stu1smartcookie]

IF , i am to buy one it will be the 60mm , with the extender ... i really begrudge paying for the cradle , but ces-la-vie . 

Already making up excuses as to "why" i need it .. 

1 Research 

2 Easy to Store 

3 AstroBiscuits description of the "best small scope " 

Not sure if any of those will wash ... but at least its small enough to hide 😃

[JeremyS]

25 minutes ago, Elp said:

 lest I be caught in the trap of buying all the add ons for them.

That’s all part of the fun of ownership 😊

[Elp]

8 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

That’s all part of the fun of ownership 😊

But doing AP primarily is already a sinkhole without getting into a panic a-Tak.

[Elp]

18 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

IF , i am to buy one it will be the 60mm , with the extender ... i really begrudge paying for the cradle , but ces-la-vie . 

Already making up excuses as to "why" i need it .. 

1 Research 

2 Easy to Store 

3 AstroBiscuits description of the "best small scope " 

Not sure if any of those will wash ... but at least its small enough to hide 😃

You need it because it's small and cute and needs your protection.