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Octane
14-09-2009, 09:10 PM
... even if it isn't a true apochromatic refractor by Takahashi or Astrophysics standards. I don't have a bank account to match, either. ;)

My birthday present to myself arrived today. An ED127 triplet APO.

Pretty impressive. Payment cleared last Tuesday. Scope sent on Friday. In my hot little hands today.

My God, this thing is huge. I can only imagine how big and heavy Greg's TEC180 or RB's pair of TOA's are.

I have managed to hook it all up to my G-11 on a mini plate which is secured inside a clone of the Losmandy side-by-side plate. I will get my father to drill and tap the relevant holes in my Losmandy DUP clone (bought from Telescopes & Astronomy) and it will be a lot more secure, then. Or, might just even purchase the Losmandy originals.

I have lucked out, big time, too; the finish on the dew shield matches, pretty closely, my ZenithStar FD80.

I am so happy. I can now do this telescope some justice.

The whole setup looks pretty damn spiffy. :)

Regards,
Humayun

firstlight
14-09-2009, 09:13 PM
Looks great Humayun,

Happy Birthday.

Tony

MrB
14-09-2009, 09:18 PM
Woohoo!
Time to get imaging! .....and edit your sig.

dpastern
14-09-2009, 09:21 PM
Congrats, have fun H!

Dave

mithrandir
14-09-2009, 09:26 PM
Belated Happy Birthday Humayun.

Pressies for yourself are the winners. They work for me - as long as the boss doesn't apply the veto.

Time to update the sig?

DavidU
14-09-2009, 09:30 PM
I knew you orded a 127ED ! Enjoy mate.
I can imagine what you can do with it

renormalised
14-09-2009, 10:17 PM
Nice scope:D:D

Now, to put it through it's paces:D:D

Jen
14-09-2009, 10:30 PM
:eyepop: wow thats a nice looking toy there H :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

g__day
15-09-2009, 12:05 AM
Happy Birthday - very interested to see what you can do with this - are you planning to upgrade the focuser?

Nightskystargaz
15-09-2009, 02:06 AM
:D, nice scope, Have Lot's of fun with it.

:thanx:,

Tom

gbeal
15-09-2009, 04:43 AM
Yep, nothing like a big refractor to get the blood boiling, enjoy it, I am.
Gary

leon
15-09-2009, 09:22 AM
Humayun, it sure dose look spiffy mate, ;) there is however something very familiar with that set-up though, :shrug: it should come to me shortly. :lol: :lol: :lol:


Leon :thumbsup:

[1ponders]
15-09-2009, 12:20 PM
When I first looked at the images I'd thought you'd made a typo Humayan. G11 ...nah that's a G8. Then I looked again :eyepop:. That sucker is big!!

Have fun.:D

strongmanmike
15-09-2009, 05:08 PM
It may not be an Astrophyisics but at least you got it in a matter of days, an AP would have taken you a matter of "years" to acquire :eyepop:

It looks superb mate and if it's an ED triplet I am sure the optical performance will be just great.

Look forward to your images taken through it, I feel some masterpieces coming on actually ;)

MIke

Hagar
15-09-2009, 05:34 PM
Looks good H, you should have some fun with this beast. It makes the 80 look like a toy. Looking forward to some nice new images.
Great stuff Mate.

seeker372011
15-09-2009, 08:05 PM
congratulations humayun

did you buy from north group?

Octane
15-09-2009, 09:09 PM
Tony,

Thanks! :)



Simon,

I was hoping to go imaging this weekend, but, it turns out that I'm required at work from 8 AM to 8 PM. D'oh! It might turn out that Lostock is first light. :(

Signature updated. :)



Dave,

Cheers, dude. :)



Andrew,

Thank you, sir! I haven't gotten presents since I was a kid. Don't really celebrate birthdays, but, I thought 30 was a good occasion to spoil myself. :)

Signature updated. ;)



David,

:lol: Yes, I know you knew. I was just trying to do it on the sly. ;)

I absolutely cannot wait for first light. I think I might just leave it assembled here in my little lounge room to admire. ;)



Carl,

Thanks! Soon, I hope!



Jen,

Thanks, it does look pretty schmick. :)



Matthew,

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I ordered the telescope with the optional focuser for astrophotography. I will stick the modified 40D in it later tonight and point at all angles, then, try the heavier 5D Mark II. It looks quite robust to me.



Thomas,

Thank you -- I can't wait to. :)



Gary,

I can only imagine what bigger scopes like the 132s, 140s, 155s and 180s of the world are like. My little photography business is slowly gathering momentum. If all goes well, I hope to buy into the Takahashi/AstroPhysics game at some stage. I reckon, though, that I am going to get an immense lot of usage out of this setup now.



Leon,

Thank you, mate.

:lol: I was quite lucky that the dew shield finish matches the William Optics ZenithStar. What a fluke!



Paul,

:lol: The scope does make the G-11 look a bit like a G-8!



Mike,

Yes, I'm aware of the horrible wait times. But, I suppose that's the price you pay for absolute quality and precision engineering. As mentioned above, however, I know I can do justice to this telescope. It's just a matter of getting out there.

As far as I am aware, it is an ED triplet.

I hope I can do as you've mentioned -- create a few masterpieces. ;)



Doug,

Thanks, sir! I'm looking at it now, it's right beside me, and the little 80 looks like a finderscope, :rofl:

I need to get in touch with you at some stage re: hard case for the G-11!



Narayan,

Thanks! How do you find yours? Enjoying it? I bet the white matches great with your EQ6. :)

Yep, I ordered it from Gilman. I have a lot of praise for their customer service. Whilst there is a language barrier, he does his absolute best.



Thanks, all.

Regards,
Humayun

netwolf
16-09-2009, 11:46 AM
Congrats Humayun and happy birthday, looks like a lovely present you got yourself. I guess with the dollar high its the right time to pick these bargains up. Did you get the new focuser or the standard one?
I just wonder why no one locally is bringing them in at this great price. Surely Andrews or ATS could do something here.

Octane
16-09-2009, 12:50 PM
Fahim,

Thanks, mate!

Yep, I ordered the scope with the new focuser for astrophotography.

Regards,
Humayun

gregbradley
17-09-2009, 06:26 AM
Wow, nice birthday present. It looks super with that nice red aluminium too.

127 is a big scope. It should be a winner.

Greg.

william123
17-09-2009, 08:10 AM
That's a removable dew shield, right? I thought North Group's ED127's all had sliding dew shields....

Can anyone comment?

Bill

Octane
18-09-2009, 12:07 AM
Greg,

Thanks, mate. Looking forward to giving it first light. Actually, I'm desperate, hah. I'm thinking of asking for recreational leave for a couple of days next week.



Bill,

Yes, you're right. It is a removable dew shield.



Regards,
Humayun

Omaroo
18-09-2009, 10:31 AM
Leaps and bounds Humayun, leaps and bounds! :) :thumbsup:

Can't wait to see your DSO work as your get your head around this newie!

DavidU
18-09-2009, 10:46 AM
I would dearly love to buy one of these 127ED's.

allan gould
18-09-2009, 01:27 PM
Humayun
Hope you are as happy with yours as I am with mine. They are a beautiful scope. I gave mine a Moonlight focuser (nice red anodising) and just love it. Can't praise mine highly enough.

Octane
25-09-2009, 05:33 PM
Chris,

Seeing your lovely setup at Border Stargaze was an impetus in getting one of these. I know it's not a Tak, but, I'll do what I can with what I can afford. :)



David,

Get one! :)



Allan,

I am really happy so far! I bought mine with the new focuser that they've designed for astrophotography. I might still end up going for a Moonlite or Feathertouch. Will see what I can afford. Motorised would be lovely!



Regards,
Humayun

pmrid
20-10-2009, 03:31 PM
Hey guys. I just ordered one of these from Gilman - the Ed 127. With the A$ at these levels, I had to.
Does anyone have any images taken with one of these. I'll need something to whet my appetite until it arrives.

Peter

DavidU
20-10-2009, 04:49 PM
I got a quote from Gilman today and it's under $1kUS !!!! with the better focuser

JethroB76
20-10-2009, 06:18 PM
holy moly

Moon
21-10-2009, 08:27 AM
Most of mine are with the ED127. http://deepspaceplace.com/images.php

Octane
21-10-2009, 03:39 PM
Peter,

I've posted 3 images with mine now in the deep space forum.

You'll have to go back a few pages for my Sculptor and M42, and check today's page for my M45.

Regards,
Humayun

pmrid
22-10-2009, 12:30 AM
Thanks folks. That's encouraging. Hey Hamuyan, had a look at that M45 of yours. Amazing diffraction spikes for an APO??
Peter

Octane
22-10-2009, 07:19 AM
Peter,

30-pound fishing line. :)

I might switch back to black cotton thread which I have also used in the past.

Regards,
Humayun

pmrid
23-10-2009, 10:31 AM
Brilliant!
I just saw that my ED 127 has arrived in Brisbane from Nanjing. I'm pacing up and down like an expectant father.

Peter

Octane
23-10-2009, 01:36 PM
Peter,

Congratulations on the shiny new toy. You won't be disappointed.

Did you get the updated focuser for astrophotography? Did you also order a finderscope?

Gilman's service is top notch, although, after having ordered a finderscope I had a couple of issues. The finderscope arrived with a bracket, but, there is nowhere on the tube before the focuser to attach the finder to. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing he is sending me out a collar which sits on the pre-focuser tube, on to which I can then screw the finder bracket on.

As you can see from the images, the field is quite flat, and, if your focus is spot on, you will either have no, or non-discernible, chromatic aberration. I knew this telescope was up to the task -- however, it was very difficult to find good/well-processed images taken from it on the web. I hope to do it some justice.

Regards,
Humayun

gb_astro
23-10-2009, 08:29 PM
Hi H.

Does the scope need this propriety finder or can you somehow attach a normal Skywatcher/Bintel type finderscope or red dot finder?

Thanks,
gb.

trackerau
24-10-2009, 12:44 AM
Nice scope and price looks great, but who is "Gilman" and is there a web page?

Thanks :sadeyes:

Octane
24-10-2009, 04:54 AM
Greg,

There's no fittings on the tube at all to allow a third party finder. If this didn't work, I was going to just get a Telrad. But, even then, that would be difficult to use with my current configuration (guidescope).

So, he's sent me a collar and I have some very rudimentary instructions on how to install it. I just have to ask, and, he'll send me photos showing how it's done. I am sure I will figure it out! :)

Gavan, Gilman is the representative from North Group that a few of us have been dealing with. Do a Google search for "ali baba ed127" and you'll find them. His email is hioptic@gmail.com

Hope that helps!

Regards,
Humayun

pmrid
24-10-2009, 07:17 AM
Finderscope!!! AHHHHH S@#$%
You know, I just assumed that there would be a fitting for attaching the ubiquitous finderscope. I didn't notice that there was none. I was blinded by the nice shiny new toy and didn't see it. Reality check.
Although the idea of pulling off the focuser and drilling holes in the OTA to fit a finderscope bracket seems extreme, it may be necessary.
I did order the updated focuser --- but how can I tell if that is what I get. What are the visible differences? Do you know?

Peter

AlexN
24-10-2009, 12:00 PM
Peter, what do you need a finder scope for? put camera in scope, take 2sec exposure.. Bam! Finder!

Octane
25-10-2009, 11:49 PM
Peter,

I'm not sure what the cosmetic differences are between the upgraded focuser and the stock one.

Gilman sent me an email with a photo showing which screws to remove from the focuser tube to attach the collar. Looks pretty straight forward, actually.

Regards,
Humayun