The Tal 2 M Newtownian Reflector

[part timer]

The mount will track very well for visual use.

I can use mine to get reasonable results for exposures of about 10 seconds using set up which magnifies the view quite a bit.

I've never had a problem with the electrics either although I do try to avoid setting up in a puddle!

One of my next purchases will be the corrector from APM but for purely visual the mount tracks well enough that an object is still in a low power eyepiece at least 45 minutes after I leave it.

[crepitis]

Sounds good, I dont have any intentions of using it for anything other than visual .

I was wondering about using it away from home if an EQ5 mount would be capable of holding the TAL ota, although I gather that I would have to get some seperate tube rings as the TAL ones are permanently attatched to the mount?

[part timer]

No the tube rings come off. It's only on some older/smaller scopes that they are attached.

I once asked some one on this forum who used an EQ5 for this tube and he said it was only just coping.

[AndyH]

The 2M is still available, BUT the mount is now the MT-3S stepper. Everything else is the same.

As part timer says, only the VERY old scopes had rings as part of the mount casting.

'Aquire' one of your wife's tupperware boxes and cut a few slots in it, if the cable isn't long enough to put the transformer in.(I think the cable from the transformer is 20FT?). I'd use one of those cut off plugs for lawnmowers etc.

I'll dig out my 2M manual and give you a list of what should be there.

Off the top of my head just now,

1/ OTA , rings and finder with holder(edit: dewshield for finder). Make sure no thumbscrews are missing from the mirror cell. Two tube end caps. A cap for the focuser.

2/ 3 eyepieces(varies depending on year of manufacture), barlow and (edit:6)filters and edit: crosshair recticle

3/ Manual, brush, screwdriver and edit:cleaning cloth

4/ Large white plastic piece for solar projection

5/ Pedestal and 3 legs

6/ EQ Mount, with detachable couter weight bar and 1 huge weight.

7/ Transformer and plug. 20ft(?) cable from transformer to mount

Cheers,

Andy.

[AndyH]

Hope this is of help.

Not the best in focus pics.

Andy.

[brendant]

I was wondering about using it away from home if an EQ5 mount would be capable of holding the TAL ota, although I gather that I would have to get some seperate tube rings as the TAL ones are permanently attatched to the mount?

I used to use my Tal-2 tube on an EQ5 for imaging and it was only just up to the job, even for visual it was very succeptible to gusts and vibration when adjusting the focuser.

The 2M tube is very heavy and long, you will be better off with a HEQ5 mount, the Tal tube rings can be removed as "Part Timer" says (just a screw underneath with a lock screw in the centre, remove this screw first with a flat head screwdriver then unscrew the larger knob till it comes off) but as they are non standard they do not fit directly onto a standard Skywatcher dovetail, if you can get a dovetail which is flat on the top surface it will work.

Getting new rings that fit off the shelf will also be difficult due to the non standard diameter of the tube.

Good luck with the mods.

Brendan

[AndyH]

A couple of pics showing a Tal ring and a standard skywatcher style dovetail.

As Brendan says, unscrew the locking screw and take off the thumb nut. The end holes on the dovetail have a hole slightly bigger than the rings screw thread, so it slips through with no drilling out. Tighten up the nut and hey presto.

Sorry for the lack of focus on this pic.

Cheers,

Andy.

[brendant]

Well done taking pictures Andy, as they say "a picture saves a thousand words". On the second picture as you can see you only get point contact between the ring and dovetail, a flat dovetail plate gives a better fit but for visual should work fine (I actually machined a flat in the Skywatcher dovetail the width of the ring to make it fit in, it was a nice secure fit and meant the screw was only clamping on the ring, the side load being transferred to the dovetail bar directly).

Brendan

[crepitis]

Thanks very much guys, Andy, above and beyond the call of duty , many thanks for taking the time to post the pics,

[F15Rules]

Hi Crepitis..

Ref the damp dew etc, just use a powerbreaker plugged into your mains socket, just in case....otherwise the current might save your wife a job:D

[crepitis]

If the powerbreaker is plugged into your mains socket indoors, can you then plug an extension lead into the powerbreaker and then the TAL transformer into the extension lead and still be protected, ( sorry if thats a stupid question) or would you need two powerbreakers, one in the mains socket and one between the transformer and the extension lead?

[AndyH]

Fixed one of the pics. It should make a bit more sense now(I seemed to have doubled up one).

Probably just the one powerbreaker at the wall. Someone with more electrical sense will reply soon. I'm clueless, though not as bad as a family member, who thought it a good idea to put her fingers in the light bulb socket to 'feel' where the two prongs were. The lightswitch was still on.............sigh.

Andy.