TS Triplet FPL-53 APO 80/480 Arived Today

[johninderby]

TS Triplet FPL-53 APO 80/480 Arived Today

This little beauty arrived today. I had been considering getting a Megrez 72 as small portable scope that would work well on a photo tripod, then this one caught my eye. The TS Triplet is about the same weight and only 2" longer with the dewshield retracted. Yes it is about £230.00 more....but for an 80mm FPL-53 Triplet APO! It sounded great and after reading some very promising independent test results on a German forum I decided to order one. Would it be too good to be true? Had Telescope Service cut corners somewhere? Pricing is similar to Meade's Triplets.

Well upon opening the shipping box and taking the scope out of the case the first impression was of just how solidly built it is and flawlessly finished as well. The objectives coatings looked perfect and reminded me of a TMB APO I used to have. The focuser is very solid and it feels as if it will handle a quite a load. The drawtube has three locking screws instead of the usual one or two and uses a steel plate on the bottom instead of just a plain anodised surface. The dewshield has a locking screw on it but it seems to stay in place without using the screw. The mounting foot is removable and will attach to an EQ5 mount or NexStar SE mount or a photo tripod.

Synta also has this FPL-53 Triplet objective and are using it in the new Orion 80mm Triplet APO. I think you can guarantee a SkyWatcher version coming out before too long. With Meade doing well with their Triplets, I was wondering why Synta hadn't released something to compete. hmmm....A SkyWatcher 80mm FPL-53 Triplet APO selling at about the same price as the Meade Triplet with it's FPL-51 equivalent glass. That should make for an interesting winter season in the small APO wars.

Telescope Services blurb

*************************************************************

Air spaced Triplet APO Objective 80/480mm

-- FPL-53 by O`Hara for optimal colour correction

-- Retractable dewcap - allows a transport length of only 355mm

-- Universal saddle plate with 1/4" photo tripod thread

-- 2" Crayford focuser with 1:11 dual speed transmission

-- 5.5° field of view with 2" eyepiece

-- In combination with the 2" TS flattener an exceptional and fast photo Apo

-- Aluminium travel case

BTW TS's website quotes the wrong OTA weight.The actual weight is 2.4Kg.

Now if the forecast for tonight is right there should be clear skies after 10:00 pm. I'll settle for few holes in the clouds, anything so I can actually try out the new scope.

John

[Mark at Beaufort]

John that looks a lovely scope. I will be interested in your first light report. Fingers crossed you might get a slot tonight.

Mark

[johninderby]

Here's a couple of pics with the scope on a Nexstar SE6/8 mount. Being able to store the OTA vertically makes it really easy to carry the whole setup outside without clouting something on a door-frame. Also shows how compact the scope is.

No chance for a proper first light last night, but threre were a few small holes in the clouds. Enough to take a brief look, although anything worth looking at was well hidden by the clouds. Stars were very small and sharp though and the in and out focus Airy disks were excellent. Can hardly wait for a proper first light.

John

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Really interesting scope! Looking forward to a first light report!

[F15Rules]

Looks like a great scope John, congratulations..

TS have an interesting website and seem very competitive with some "different" products...smooth transaction?

cheers

Dave

[johninderby]

With the weather lately I haven't had the chance to use it as much as I would have liked to but it has been all positive so far despite a little misadventure along the way.

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/113358-ts-ts-ed80-fpl-53-triplet-apo-its-misadventures.html

It's one of those scopes that will surprise you and performs better than it has a right to considering it's only 80mm. I had mentioned before that I thought it was about 90% as good as a TMB but after having used it a few times now I'm thinking that for visual at least it's even closer. BTW it's worth taking a look at the image of the Rosette Nebula that Wolfi at TS has taken (near the bottom of the web-page)

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p3881_TS-Triplet-FPL53-Apo-80-480mm---f-6---no-colour-fringes.html

Ant has the 90mm FPL-53 triplet from TS and he's as enthusiastic about it as I am about the 80mm.

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/112760-its-here-ts-ed90-triplet-apo.html

John

[A McEwan]

Yep, I must write something up about mine soon. I haven't had very good weather recently so it hasn't seen much use either apart from the first few nights after I got it.

"Performs even better than it has a right to" is a very accurate phrase for these TS APOs; at least it fits my experiences so far too.

Ant

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Especially when reading that the scope comes in a case, and that the weight is only 2.4 kg, rather than 3.5, this is becoming the top candidate for a new travel scope very quickly. There are just two reasons I am still considering the Robtics ED 80mm F/7. The first is simply price (funds are ultimately limited) and the second is that I can stick my 40mm Paragon in the latter for a large FOV (4.92 deg), whereas I can only use the Nagler 22mm for an FOV ov 3.76 deg in the former. Of course, the Nagler 31 gives 5.3 deg FOV, but that is another big investment.

[johninderby]

As I've mentioned previously I had been looking at a small travel scope like the Megrez 72, but then I came across the TS80 which was the same weight and only an inch longer, but much more capable.

Just to give you a better idea of the size of the scope here's a photo of it with a pair of 15x70 bins.

John

[FLO]

Synta also has this FPL-53 Triplet objective and are using it in the new Orion 80mm Triplet APO.

Synta say they are not related in any way to the TS telescope.

I think you can guarantee a SkyWatcher version coming out before too long.

They currently show no sign of entering the triplet refractor market, though there are rumours.

HTH,

Steve

[johninderby]

As Orion buys in a lot of equipment from Synta I had assumed that Synta had something to do with the new triplets. It now appears that Orion is buying them in from the same manufacturer that is making the triplets for TS and putting the Orion name on them. It will be a pity if SkyWatcher doesn't do a comparable FPL-53 triplet.

I wonder if SkyWatcher will drop the price of the Equinox 80 as it's a bit too close in price to the triplet at the moment. A £399.00 Equinox 80 however wouldn't be competing with the triplet.

John

[PeterM]

It coud be North Group (North (Nanjing) Instrument Technology Industries Group) as they manufacture a triplet scope that looks identical to TS one. Looks like a fantastic scope, btw.

[Teal Rain]

Hi John

A quick question.. would you know if the scope requires any extension tubes for 1 1/4" use?

Thanks

Mark

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Hi John

A quick question.. would you know if the scope requires any extension tubes for 1 1/4" use?

Thanks

Mark

I have the APM counterpart and that does not need one

[johninderby]

Hi John

A quick question.. would you know if the scope requires any extension tubes for 1 1/4" use?

Thanks

Mark

Hi Mark

Although I've only used a 2" diagonal there was enough excess drawtube travel that I can't imagine it being any problem at all.

John

[Teal Rain]

Hi John and Michael

Thanks for the info. TS are out of stock at the moment!

Cheers

Mark

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Hi John and Michael

Thanks for the info. TS are out of stock at the moment!

Cheers

Mark

Try the APM variant at the APM website. Same scope for the same price, although I do not know if their shipping costs to th UK are reasonable. I seem to remember they were high, but I might be wrong.

[prokyon]

Hi John,

I exchanged my Pentax75 for the TS Triplet FPL-53 APO 80/480. I hope to get the same focus for R, G and B now.

I will get it this week.

Cheers

Werner

[johninderby]

Hi John,

I exchanged my Pentax75 for the TS Triplet FPL-53 APO 80/480. I hope to get the same focus for R, G and B now.

I will get it this week.

Cheers

Werner

Hi Werner

I think that you will be very pleased with it and I look forward to seeing the images that you get with it.

Cheers

John

[Teal Rain]

Mine's on it's way now. Wolfi at TS was as helpful as ever - shame some of our home-grown dealers are not the same.

And time to say goodbye to the William Optics Zenithstar 80 and the Tiny Tak (if I can!)

[Teal Rain]

Hi John

The TS 80/480 arrived on Thursday and the Lunt Wedge on Friday. First light for the scope was on some swaying trees across the road from the house - just that showed it's performance. Hope to get some clearer skies to try the 80/wedge combo - too much high level cloud today.

Thanks for the articles on the scope - it's almost as light as the Tiny Tak (inc the clamshell and finder) which is quite impressive.

Now all I have to do is pay for it all!

Might need to back off the tension on the focus mount - any ideas? it's just the standard TS one.

Mark

[johninderby]

Hi Mark

Yes it is amazingly compact and lightweight for an 80mm scope. I look forward to your proper first light report. I'm betting "It can't be this good for the price" creeps in somewhere.

The focuser tension adjustment is the central hex socket just behind the big drawtube locking knob on the bottom of the focuser. You may have to remove the locking knob to get at it properly.

Cheers

John

[Teal Rain]

Hi John

Thanks. At the moment its sitting on the BB with the 410 head - my grab and go of choice at the moment. Had a brief view of the sun last weekend using the Lunt Wedge - very pleased with that to, and the 1st quarter moon the other night. The views were "Takahashi-esque!"

Not sure if that's the correct spelling - but you get my drift!

Cheers

Mark

[astroimpulse]

How is this scope working out for people?

I'm not far off from having the full amount to get the whole package including the flattener.

I've had offered of very similar scopes like a SET Optics one I'd never heard of, albeit pretty much the same but maybe better optics.

[astroimpulse]

ps. Did you add the finder shoe? And presumably the one with the bins isn't the same scope as it has the Baader Steeltrack focuser