Show us your equipment!

[UniPol]

Pics attached of the PM-1/FSQ-85EDX4 and no problems with balance, this should prove to be a nice combination I think.

[Wavytone]

Jeni there’s an easy solution - head to Bunnings and the Velcro section. They have packs with several pairs of small pieces with very strong adhesive backs. I’d put the hook pieces on the side of your mount, then apply the soft fabric pieces to say eyepieces or anything else; they will simply stick to the scope.

You could also make a small tray to hold a couple of eyepieces and stick that in place with Velcro!on the side of the base or even along the top of the OTA.

[ab1963]

That combination looks so perfectly matched, Impressive Steve

[UniPol]

Thanks Andrew, I'm really happy that it is working out well not only for the FSQ-85 but is well suited to the FS-60 and FC-76. It is a shame that Tak no longer make the PM-1 and I was lucky to get the the last one produced.

[Wilso]

Nice one Steve looks great :thumbsup:
I don’t know about the straight through viewing though - not for me.
Try rotating the motor 180degs when balancing so it offsets the scope to the otherside (allowing more movement ).
I tried this today and seemed to work with the intes!

Cheers

[UniPol]

I'm not a fan of straight through viewing either, I just store the scope that way. I've attached the latest system charts from Tak for the EDP model, hours of fun playing around with the various arrangements.

I'll give you idea of rotating the motor housing a go, it would give greater clearance for the OTA for sure.

[LewisM]

There, you've done it again Steve...

Now I need an FSQ-85 again :)

[UniPol]

You're No.1 on my list Lewis if and when I decide to part with this little beauty:thumbsup:

[JeniSkunk]

On Saturday, I purchased from Doolsduck, the early 1960s Royal Astro Optical 50mmx500mm f10 refractor he had up for sale here in IIS.
This evening, I've finally managed to take some decent photos of the new acquisition.
I still need to take care of a couple of tasks before I put this classic scope to work. I need to get a suitable height table for the patio/balcony of my flat to set the scope up on, and for safety reasons (anyone in the future who might wind up with this scope) I need to scratch the heck out of both sides of that SUN filter so it is unusable.

[Wavytone]

A hammer will fix the filter, permanently. A firm whack.

[ab1963]

Smash that thing into a million pieces!!!

[GrahamL]

50 mm/540 .. i had issues with how the maker had attached the focuser to the tube ,, a smear of epoxy on two flat surfaces ,, its now got a threaded

sleave which wont ever fall apart .

[FlashDrive]

Nice Classic Scope Graham :)

[JeniSkunk]

My early 1960s RAO 50mm x 500mm refractor, in its temporary set up on my ironing board, for trying to get used to using a refractor.

[Andy01]

I love my Tak NJP & Big 10" CF newt - but couldn't live with the baby green mount colour anymore - so had it stripped down & powdercoated in Apollo 11 colours.

Also changed the colour of the Skywatcher white tube rings & mirror cells from the 'scope Jet black, and also powder coated the white Ioptron tripier legs silver to match it all.

There were a few minor gremlins with performance post mods due to slipping locknuts on powdercoated surfaces, but that's all sorted now. :D

The project took about 2 months and only cost me around $750

Must be the result of watching all the episodes of "Wheeler Dealers" :)

[casstony]

You should send those pictures to Takahashi Andy - might give them some ideas.

[Wavytone]

Mmm ... I still think the Unitron look is better - white OTA with black trim (all the metal bits) apart from bare metal sliding surfaces.

The classic look though is white OTA with the trim in gleaming lacquered brass or better - phosphor bronze - the lens cell, focusser, finder, sliding weights and the mount ... with silver engraved circles...

[Slawomir]

Love the paint Andy and what a beast of a scope!

Good to see R2D2 keeping an eye on everything :thumbsup:

[Slawomir]

Hi all,

Yesterday I finally detached the camera from the scope and have decided to enjoy some casual short visual sessions from our backyard in the coming weeks.

I already have forgotten what a joy it is to look at the nightsky!

Saturn with a few moons at zenith were just beautiful, so was the mighty Jupiter and the Galilean moons. Waxing crescent moon was a wonderful sight as well, and so was just surfing across the Milky Way - the Lagoon stood up for sure, but then unfortunately clouds rolled in before I could locate the Helix in the East that I dedicated so many photographic sessions to.

I am not an experienced observer at all, but the 13mm Nagler I bought from a fellow IIS member seems to be a perfect match to the little and rather fast CFF, beautiful wide field and really sharp stars to the edge of the field. I only wish both eyes could enjoy the view simultaneously - I now understand why some go for a binoscope!

[bigjoe]

Looks Fabulous Suavi theyre a fantastic scope from all accounts..hard to beat a great APO. ..gives your eyes some fun too.
PS:Try some doubles too..eg Antares!
Bigjoe.

[Slawomir]

I certainly will check the doubles - thank you for the hint Bigjoe and thank you once again for passing on such wonderful eyepiece :thumbsup:

[Wavytone]

From left:

- Riffle MikroMak 50mm f/12
- Intes M615 150mm f/15
- Santel MK91 228mm f/13.5
- APM/Wirth MC 250mm f/12.5 (the cheesegrater)

First light tonight of the cheesegrater - looks like a nice evening here.

[bigjoe]

Thats CRUEL WAVY!
Have sympathy for us poor lil 130mm Apo owners !

Bigjoe.

[UniPol]

Earlier I posted pics my Tak FOA-60Q mounted on my newly acquired Tak PM-1 mount. Recently I was going through my old Unitron collection and thought the 60mm OTA looked about the same diameter tube as the FOA-60Q which in fact it was, both exactly 68mm in diameter. Considering I've had the Unitron for nearly 50 years it is near new condition and mated with the PM-1 mount perfectly. I've spent the past few nights reacquainting myself with the Unitron and apart from the dreaded purple halo (in some people's opinion) the scope was sharp and clear even by Tak standards. Stars are pin point and on higher powers show textbook diffraction rings. Jupiters bands were sharp and contrasted but the purple halo was quite evident. Funny I never really noticed the purple fringing when I was younger, never bothered me and still doesn't. I've yet to try out my fringe killer filter when I can find it.

[beren]

:thumbsup: Superb Steve , testament to how well you look after your gear

[bigjoe]

Looks lovely.
Had the 4inch F15 Alt Az which my Parents got for me late 70s..purchased from Astro Optical at Clark St Crows Nest ,as a reward..
Was about 375 from memory....I stupidly sold it some years ago to a Farmer in Jamberoo.
It snapped to focus and had RAZOR SHARP images...aperture fever kicked in I guess.

PS:
+1 for the Fringe killer; not much of a colour cast, if at all..aging yellowing eyes do the job for some!
Bigjoe.

[Wavytone]

Mmm I’ve had bigger finderscopes ... :D

[FlashDrive]

Steve .... you should call your Scope ' Violet ' :lol:

[LewisM]

Having owned and used the shorter focal length version of this scope (the guidescope version essentially), I can attest to how razor sharp they are - it resolved many clusters FAR better than I expected.

Sure, there was purple around bright objects, but since it doesn't distract from the detail, it was totally unnoticed.

[UniPol]

Nah, I think I'll go with "Pansy", they're violet as well.

[AnakChan]

Heres's my (trans)portable setup. The FSQ-85ED with an SS-One Traveler harmonic drive-based mount. The SS-One is made by a chap called Nakazawa-san and he makes many small unique stuff.

The Raspberry Pi based AutoGuider Pro controller (which he makes not only for his Traveler mount, but also for other makers), is a pretty nifty device. Not only does it perform autoguiding, it controls focusing, DSLR intervalometer control, dithering, GOTO, and Polar Alignment. With it's USB ports, it accepts WiFi and GPS devices. The WiFi USB, there's remote VNC display, and Sky Safari Pro control for a more extensive GOTO.

So there's really no more need for a PC/Laptop with this setup. It does need 12V which I use the OmniCharge Ultimate to power the mount.

A little video snippet of the Autoguiding calibration in action :-

https://youtu.be/v6-zXrae7eI

[Spock]

I've built a 'mobile observatory' for Celestron Edge11" on an EQ8 mount, because of my forested property. I'm learning SynScan WiFi, Stellarium & PHD2 guiding etc. As a Vulcan, all the other human setups are very foreign to me and I'm still to image successfully. Is anybody out there...out there...out there...

[Wilso]

Hi all,

Finally managed to mount my new to me focuser on the intes mk-65.
Not too many focusers will fit this scope due to its very short light path to reach focus, the only ones that I could find were made by JMI and Starlight instruments.
Only by matching this with the T2 Baader prism diagonal made this possible with a min total 120mm light path to focus my shortest eyepiece.
Hopefully will be a great improvement over the stock helical eyepiece/diagonal.
The last photo shows the original diagonal/focuser
:thumbsup:

[FlashDrive]

That's much better than the original....really like it.

Col...

[Rainmaker]

I managed to pry this beautiful TMB-LZOS 152F8 from Chris's grip a few days ago, have to make a handle for it today then "First Light" time.....

Those familiar with the Lego SaturnV will understand how big the scope is:
(and visa versa :D)

[sharpiel]

Love that mount so much!

[sharpiel]

Lovely scope. Wouldn't mind it myself.

[croweater]

Gee that is nice Matt! What do you buy your wife as appeasement? :)
Cheers, Richard

[ab1963]

Nice scope Matt and beautifully finished but where's the pictures of the objective.......:question:

[Rainmaker]

Here you go Andrew .... :lol:

You know me, I just have to tear things apart to see how they work....:question:

Hard to believe that there is more $10K of Russian glass sitting there.... these TMB-LZOS cells are built from the hubs of Russian tanks.....
however after many years use near the coast in Queensland enough of the salt air had found its way inside to leave a deposit on the front of G1 and rear of G3 elements and my OCD just couldn't leave it there.

The glass is once again pristine. There were a dozen spots that no cleaning liquid would dissolve so using Roland Christen's method (a little saliva on the fingertip) even they are now history.

I hope Chris doesn't see the picture or he might want the scope back....

[CeratodusDuck]

Yes sir, definitely some bragging rights there Rainmaker!

[ab1963]

Thanks for that Matt a thing beauty and hanging for first light

[Wilso]

Thanks Les I do too,
It’s a very versatile mount, I’ve only used it in equatorial mode twice since I’ve had it, so it stays as is in planet fork mode all the time because I like it that much.
I have the adapters also for alt/az which I haven’t even tried yet!
One day...

[Rainmaker]

Shortened the ScopeGuard case by 300mm since I won't be hanging imaging equipment from the Feathertouch....

[FlashDrive]

Always Nice Gear Matt ....:D

[Wavytone]

Flash, get a towel...forget those little refractors, here's THE BEAST !

A quiet afternoon so I spent some time getting ready for next weekend.

- OTA on the mount... inside that Matthias Wirth lid lies a work of art.
- I've moved the finder well forward on dovetail - this turns out to be way, way more convenient than having the finder on the rear end of the scope.
- The business end with a 30mm erfle of some sort,
- Loaded with a turret with a set of Fujiyama orthos and a finder eyepiece.

Interestingly the van Slyke turret requires less backfocus than the APM star diagonal with rotolock does.

[Slawomir]

Wow.. nice scope, if the optic really are that good !

but... get yourself a sharpie pen and blacken the interior - the scattered light from the inside of the tube is atrocious.

[Wavytone]

Ah it’s not as bad as it looks - that was right under a twin 40W fluoro light.

And I do have a bottle of Black 3.0 for the day I’m brave enough to open the OTA as I am thinking of some mechanical mods.

In practice the contrast on the moon/Jupiter is superb, like a refractor.

[Slawomir]

I'm sure it's a fantastic scope Wavy. Just when I saw the reflections I could not resist paraphrasing your very comment (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1299358&postcount=9) from a while ago - I thought it will be funny.

[Wavytone]

Hmm. Very poor lighting indeed .. in the second the primary looks like it’s cracked LOL... but it’s just a reflection of something behind me.

[Slawomir]

Clear skies Wavy - the views through the beast will be inspiring for sure :thumbsup:

[FlashDrive]

I'll own that one day ( in my dreams ) ...you can't keep it forever ;) :D

[Rainmaker]

Quiet evening at Mount Stromlo Observatory with my new Grab&Go outfit waiting for Darkness to arrive....

TMB-LZOS 152mm F7.9 @ 1200 by APM
+ Baader 2" ClickLock visual back
+ Baader Zeiss T2 BBHS Prism
+ Zeiss Binoviewer
+ LE & LOA eyepieces
+ Baader SkySurferV Finder
on AZ-EQ6GT mount & Tak TMT70300 tripod

[mental4astro]

Wavy brought along his 10" to my place a couple of weeks ago, and we did a drag race with it an my 7" Intes Deluxe. The 10" really dwarfs the Intes.

Seeing was terrible, so a resolution comparison was not possible - but not as anticlimatic as one might think...

What it allowed us to do was look at another aspect - the image contrast measured by the sort of internal baffling of each scope.

The subject was the Moon. To make it an equal match, the same eyepiece was used, a modest 2" 38mm 70° - the same as the Orion Q70. The focal length of each scope is actually nearly identical as a tick under (Intes) or over (10") 3000mm, so any difference in magnification is insignificant and of no consequence.

The internals of the 10" Nick has posted a photo of, which is designed and manufactured by APM. The Intes has a series of internal baffles on the inside of the OTA (see pic - corrector plate removed to better show the baffle rings).

The difference was staggering!

The "Black" around the Moon in the Intes was washed out, like a very, very deep grey. The 10", the same image of the Moon, and the "Black" was decidedly BLACKER!

The contrast provided by the Intes say compared to my Meade SCT is markedly better. But this 10" Mak, it is a totally different beast. Both Nick and I were left astounded at the difference. Same EP, same magnification, totally different result.

Wavy's photo showing the internal structures of the 10" hide something special that only Matthias knows about. Looks are very deceiving!

Whatever Matthias has done to the internals of that scope, it is just staggering the degree of contrast that scope has!

[BlueGumby]

I'm excited because I took delivery of my first Takahashi yesterday, a TSA-102 which looks just beautiful.
Had trouble sleeping last night as feeling a little wound up. I expect to use this a lot as my quick grab for a quick look, particularly on week nights.

Waiting for clouds to clear.

cheers all

[ab1963]

Nice and so you should be excited it's a lovely scope and you'll have many a happy hour with it

[BlueGumby]

thanks mate!

[anj026]

TSA 102 is a fantastic scope. I owned one for over ten years before trading it on a TSA 120. Highly recommended.

[BlueGumby]

cheers. That's encouraging if you kept it for 10 years then upgraded to a larger Tak! Graham.P

[Wilso]

Very nice score there Graham :thumbsup:

As your probably aware these scopes were often used as benchmarks by reviewers to compare the optics of other telescopes and equipment so they’re held in very high regard. They don’t come up for sale very often here so if I were you, I’d be very excited to get one as well!

:xmas:Enjoy!!!

[BlueGumby]

Thanks mate, and it is exactly like an early Christmas present. I feel like a 10yo again! woohoo

[Wavytone]

Might use this in altaz mode for outreach nights :D Just testing the balance to see if I need another counterweight (3 are enough, as it turns out).

Now if I could get the 50mm micromak and 70mm APO onboard as well...

[sharpiel]

Pm me for my details Wavy so you can put me in your will accurately.

[sharpiel]

Love the purple reflection btw

[FlashDrive]

Sorry Les ...I'm 1st in a very long queue ;)

[casstony]

Beefed up the AZ-EQ6 with a Planet tripod and Vixen pillar to carry the 150 ED.
An adapter sits between the mount and pillar courtesy of Josh.

[ab1963]

Looks great and I would love to look through one of these scopes, How does the focuser perform Tony.....

[casstony]

The focuser is fine for visual and light duty imaging Andrew. My planned imaging use for the scope is to target small, bright objects at full focal length eg. PN for which the original focuser is good enough.

However if I can pick up a used 2.5" R&P focuser I'll put that on the scope.

[ab1963]

No worries Tony i think you have a really nice setup there and definitely looks impressive

[mynameiscd]

Here is my setup.
Just starting to work it all out but still got a fair bit to go.
My cables need a but of work and yes that is a plastic bag under the mount.
Cheers
Andy

[Wilso]

Here’s my new to me Tak heavy set up thanks to classified Ice in space members!
Compared to my grab and go Pm-1 mount set up it’s a brute. The big tripod alone weighs 15kg. The em-200 temma2 mount balances beautiful, super smooooth and quiet.
Hopefully the smoke and fires abate tonight for everyone’s sake.

Take care :thumbsup:

[Rainmaker]

Nice setups Darren.

That TMT70300 tripod is by far the best I have used and whilst not a bargain price, worth every cent. No matter what setup I have used, it has been as steady as a rock.

Hopefully soon we will be able to see some stars again, lately I have kept everything sealed in cases :sadeyes:

[Wilso]

Cheers Matt,
Yes it’s an impressive tripod, very sturdy indeed. They don’t come up for sale here too often either. I’ve been impressed with the mount also, unlike other mounts I’ve had has a retractable counterweight shaft. Makes it very easy to fine tune balancing, transport and storage. :thumbsup:

[AndrewSmith]

Thought I'd finally share a post about my imaging setup, before it goes the way of the dinosaurs. Meade LX200 GPS 10" on a Meade Ultrawedge, piggybacking an old Orion ED80. Imaging with a ZWO ASI1600C. Two unusual features: the finder I use is an Orion 70mm Multi-Use Finder Scope for the wide field. This is a tricky beast to align & focus, and needs at least a 20mm eyepiece to reach astronomical focus with the diagonal, but I've finally got it working OK. The dew heater is an old barrel heater from a home brew kit. This works from mains so needs monitoring but works OK.

[Imme]

Re the keg dew heater....Although I’d never recommend playing with 240 volt power because that would just be stupid I may have, in a previous life, attached a dimmer switch to a keg heater. It allowed excellent heat control. (Although it did only need about a 90’ turn of the dial to go from cold to full power

[Outcast]

Finally got all my OTA's & paraphernalia organised onto some solid storage shelves...

[AndrewSmith]

Great idea, why didn't I think of that?! Thanks.

[AndrewSmith]

Nicely done. Lucky you have enough space indoors. I'm storing my own gear as well as my mate's, so my wife made me build a shed just for the astro gear!

[UniPol]

Very happy with my recent purchase of the Sky-Watcher Evostar 150ED deluxe. Last night was the first decent sky I've seen in months. The scope was perfectly collimated showing pin point stars with lovely even diffraction rings. The scope is not overly heavy and is well suited to EQ6, EQ6R's and AZ EQ6GT mounts and is particularly good on my T-Rex. I used a set of Explore Scientific 100 degree eyepieces in 5.5mm, 9mm, 14mm and 20mm focal lengths which proved to give a nice spread of powers coupled with a Tak 2" diagonal. The 2" focusser is very solid and particularly smooth.

[MortonH]

Nice. Any pics of it pointed at zenith? ;)

[Quopaz]

Here's mine, it's a Skywatcher 10 inch dobsonian.
It's my first telescope, and it was hard to decide which one to get.
Mainly for visual observing, but will also try to get some photos with it as well. Pretty happy with it so far.

[Rainmaker]

Congratulations on your first telescope, a 10" Dob can give you a lifetime to visual astronomy !!!

[Quopaz]

Thanks Matt, 10" seemed like a good size.

[Rainmaker]

TMB-LZOS 152/1200 + Tak FC76DC + Tak FOA60Q = 288mm of visual excellence:D

[LewisM]

Hmmmm...I recognise a bunch of parts there. Where did they come from :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Atmos]

Now you need a bunch of beam splitters to combine the light of all three telescopes into one!

[Rainmaker]

With many thanks to Julian, I now have at home (after an all-night drive to Mexico last night) this beast:

Skylight AR101/15 ... Full Brass Edition by Richard Day, Skylight Telescopes, London

Just needs some clear skies :shrug: (and more money, the bank balance has suffered lately :sadeyes: )

[casstony]

You didn't consider staying in Melbourne for a few days Matt, to get away from the smoke?

[Rainmaker]

Tony, I should have done that, the sky here is grey and we have ash falling like little snowflakes.....

I was surprised by how good the sky way at Doreen,VIC where Julian lives...

[FlashDrive]

Gee .....that's nice....!!

[ab1963]

It looks great Matt and what is impressive is the focuser,Diagonal ,Mount,Tripod they are as good as it gets and without no scope can perform to potential

[LewisM]

You need to paint that focuser Duracoat Brass.

Or have it powdercoated like Andy's NJP :P

[Rainmaker]

I'm getting a mate to gold plate the focuser with 24ct.... just waiting for him to get more supplies.... :thumbsup:

I am also going to make a brass dew shield cap like the old Takahashi ones that fit inside..... got the lathe just need a couple of kilos of brass.... 95% which is going to be reduced to swarf

[LewisM]

Sell the brass swarf - safer than recycing copper from live wires for old age pensioners :P

[MigL]

What would be the winner between that Tak FC76DC and that Tak FOA60Q for you?

[N1]

Matt I see you re-acquired an FC76. Nice one.

[N1]

Haven't seen a Telementor on here for a while, so here are a few shots of mine, a TM II on Porta II, which I keep in Germany for those rare occasions when an opportunity to observe presents itself. Here it is poined at Venus, which was located using the CZJ 7x50s in front of it. A home made adaptor lets me use 1.25" EPs with it. The Baader clicklock adaptor works even better but that goes at the expense of the clean look of the OTA which I do like.

[casstony]

I wish I had your Esprit focuser Steve. Mine looks the part but it's a slippy crayford. I went for the cheaper version as I didn't know if I'd like the scope but turns out it's a keeper :)

[Rainmaker]

Classic scope, very nice :thumbsup:

[Rainmaker]

Horses for courses Miguel, the FOA60Q is my favourite Grab&Go and for showing kids double stars, due to the small aperture the Airy discs of stars are like perfect circles.....

The FC76DC may end up being bolted to the mirror box of my Dobsonian :question: or as a finderscope for the TMB 6" Apo.. :D

[MigL]

Thanks Matt... my heart is splitted between the two (FOA60Q and FC76Q)... thinking in double stars, planets and moon visually from my home.

[Slawomir]

Hi all,

Had this scope for about 8 years. I used it as an experiment and gradually this little frac underwent a DIY transformation which included ridding of the foot used for holding the scope and adding rings, focuser upgrade, reinforcing the tube with epoxy cement and finally a paint job. I’m also pretty sure it’s not under-mounted :lol:

[FlashDrive]

Suavi .... very nice setup ....!!

Col...

[AstroBoy64]

Home made optics and telescope. 8 inch F/7.75 with stepper motor driven sled focuser.

[ab1963]

Got my Tak FSQ106ED today and to say I’m happy with it is an understatement,At f8 all my ep’s come to focus and at f5 2 need a small extension tube, Balances on the DM4 without my usual ankle weights with no adjustment from ep to ep, Perfect colour correction and flat huge fov........

[m11]

Hey Andrew,

Looks very nice, like the setup including the mount. :thumbsup:

[Rainmaker]

That looks like a very nice little FatBoy scope :lol:

[ab1963]

Hi Matt tell the wife that is what it will be known as and thanks for the plate it couldn’t have been better suited

Thanks Mel I am stoked with the setup

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

Lex. Super impressive...also like your Obs..cheers Tom

[Wilso]

Looks great Andrew!
You’ve got the best of both worlds there, Astrophotoghraphy and visual!
The Takahashi extenders are great on the Fsq range also. I’ve always been tempted to try the reducer on my Baby Q but haven’t got around to that yet.
Enjoy :thumbsup:

[ab1963]

Thanks Darren i am not an imager so now it will be used purely for visual, Had first light through it last night and lived up to its reputation......

[ab1963]

Had the objective cleaned professionally because I just didn’t want to take the risk but very happy with how it came up

[UniPol]

Spending more time at home at the moment :) so decided to bling up some of my Taks. I have added a tube balance weight (650g) which came off one of my 1960's Unitron refractor as the FOA-60Q is rather back heavy. Here are a few pics of my FOA-60Q which I have had out the past few mornings to view the planets. For a 60mm scope it is ultra sharp and the views are almost 3D.

[UniPol]

Finally got around to fitting my Pegasus motorized focuser to the FSQ-85EDP. It was quite simple to fit and was made even easier as the 11" ADM dovetail plate had a couple of counterbored holes which suited the Pegasus slotted mounting bracket. The double tube rings are made by Moonlite specifically for the FSQ-85. The set up shown weighs in at just under 6kg.

[ab1963]

Both scopes impressive Steve. Coatings on the FOA are extraordinary

[UniPol]

Thanks Andrew, I meant to comment on your FSQ-106, very glad that you are happy with the cleaning of the objective, they're a great scope, cheers.

[ab1963]

Cheers Steve i can't get over the coatings on the FOA there's some Japanese magic going on there i have to have a look through one now, Another iis member i know just bought one and when the virus thing is over we're going to have a look from my house i will have to ask him to bring it...

[Andy01]

Seems that I've joined the Tak owners fraternity - with this mint condition TOA 130 riding on my previously pimped NJP.:D

Back story: I won a QSI competition, the prize was this fab new QSI 6162 camera. :D However, it being almost a full frame sensor (APS-H) my Newt would have needed major upgrades to accomodate it (new focuser, big Paracoor etc) and I had to buy a full set of 2" filters for the camera.

So after much thought I figured, might as well sell my faithful QSI 683 & the Newt to fund a nice big Tak & a decent set of filters. No point putting el-cheapo filters behind Rolls Royce quality- Tak glass!

Fortunately a fellow IIS'er was trading up and offered me this beautiful 2nd hand Tak. It was formerly housed in observatories by both the original and 2nd owners and it came with a big Feather touch focuser, motor controller, flattener & reducer too!

Just needed someone to manufacturer adapters to marry it to the big QSI 6162. Fortunately the original owner came to rescue, and with QSI's newly commissioned factory drawings he manufactured a fine set of variable spaced adapters, thanks Jim!

I sourced the Chroma filters from TolgaAstro (https://www.tolgaastro.com/) in the states. Chroma made Astrodon filters until 2011 and now sell LRGB & tight (3 & 5nm) NB filters under their own label. They're still not cheap but given the exchange rate, they represent far better value/price than the Don's, and Tolga personally guaranteed I'll be very happy with the Chromas.

Naturally, as soon as everything was assembled the clouds rolled in over Victoria (sorry about that folks!) so hoping for first light soon! :D

Big shoutout & thanks to James P, Jim F, Lewis M, Peter W, Marc A, Mike S, Diego C, Paul M & everyone else I pestered for advice, much appreciated! :thanx:

A co-incidental side note: When I went to my first ever ASV star party eight years ago, I was lucky enough to view M42 through a nice big Tak. I even saw some colour and was hooked! Promised myself then 7 there that one day, I'd own one. Well I've come full circle as I bought this scope off the owners of that same lovely Tak all those years ago! Small world huh? :)

[The_bluester]

I don't think I have put my setup in here before, certainly not my current one.

Having dabbled in AP for about a year and making the mistake of borrowing Andy's lovely Stellarvue SV70T, I ended up buying a brand new SVX80T-3SV, pictured here with my old (Year old!) Skywatcher Evostar 72mm on top as a guide scope. I am just waiting for a new OAG to arrive to add another brand to the franken-setup as the OAG that appeared to have the best chance of no flex that would work in my kit is the QHY OAG-M which I can put together either all with bolted flat parts or screwed together adapters (Add Blue Fireball to the franken mix along with a TS optics rotator)

I tested this with my wifes full frame DSLR last week and even with a 2" filter about 50mm from the sensor there was only the tiniest bit of vignetting in the corners and a sniff along one side, probably from the mirror box, and while 8um pixels are pretty forgiving, crisp stars to the corners. I am dead keen to arrive at a full frame camera for this in a while but the current situation in the world means I plan to just make the best of it for now. Once I get the new OAG set up I will probably sell the ED72 and reducer, a good little starter package but I have outgrown it.

[ab1963]

Nice scope Andy have looked through one at Orion with a LVW22 at a fellow iis members house and it was bery impressive, Have you done any visual through it

[FlashDrive]

I have a ' soft ' spot for early WO Scopes.

Thank You to the Member who allowed me to purchase.

Col...

[MortonH]

For a moment I thought it was one of the even earlier 80mm scopes but the 90mm is nice :)

[ab1963]

Nice Col, Good to see you have renewed your interest into Refractors..:thumbsup:

[Wilso]

Oh nice ! Andy
My dream scope. Makes your Tak NJP look kinda small:lol:

[Rainmaker]

Sol worshipping in the front yard, Skylight AR101F15 + Baader Cool Ceramic Herschel Wedge + TV N26T5 on TV Gibraltar V

[FlashDrive]

Very Nice Matt .... !! :)

[TrevorW]

After a bit of a hiatus from imaging I've opted for a new scope. family room balancing act, however still waiting on clear night for first light

[Rainmaker]

TMB-LZOS 152/1200 Apochromatic refractor
Baader Cool Ceramic 2" Herschel Wedge
SkyWatcher AZ-EQ6GT,
Astro Device Nexus DSC
Takahashi TMT70300 Tripod
Televue N26T5
Baader SkySurferV RDF

with HSK/DSS46 "Apollo" antenna in the background at CDSCC today

[croweater]

G,day Matt. I don't think a refractor setup could be any better. Looks fantastic.
Cheers, Richard

[Outcast]

Intes Micro 715D & Meade S5000 80mm side by side on the AZ-EQ6 setup for the Virtual Star Party on Monday night when our skies were clear... :)

Wonderful viewing of Eta Carina, Globular clusters & other fine wonders of the night sky... it was an interesting exercise to contrast the widefield views of the 80mm with the 'up close & personal' of the Intes...

[UniPol]

A great set up Matt, you must be very happy with it.

[Rainmaker]

Thanks Col, Richard and Steve, the more I use the TMB the more I like it.
My latest addition is a counterweight to help balance the big chunk of glass at the front. This allowed me to slide the scope forward in the rings an extra 50mm and that allows me to use the shorter tripod extensions......

[LewisM]

As usual, superb!

If only others could learn to look after their instruments as well, and finish DIY/homemade to a fine degree rather than "She'll be roit".

[FlashDrive]

That's real nice Matt ... :astron:

[ab1963]

Feathertouch focuser landed today and eventually with a little help got the stock focuser off and on it went so now is fully set up i just have to make a decision on if to run a Nexus DSC or not with the DM4

[Andy01]

Hopefully you'll have more luck with the FT than I'm having with mine! (same model as yours)

Darn thing was poorly made, tak adapter was out of round, focuser is wobbly as heck and don't even get me started on the rotator which won't lock flat.
A top brand does sadly not equal top quality. :sadeyes:

Thankfully, ASV member Stefan Buda can re-machine it all and make almost everything better!

[ab1963]

At its price point i wouldn't accept less than perfect, Did all the basic tests and so far so good and in my book the one you have is unacceptable and think you've been extremely unlucky i have had about 8 FTF this the first brand new one they don't come up on the used market but everyone has been spot on have you contacted Wayne at starlight?

[Andy01]

Hi, unfortunately it's third hand and 5-6 years old. How the previous owners managed to get round stars I'll never know! :shrug:
However, Stefan inspected and diagnosed it by spinning the entire thing on the lathe - then re-machined the both ends of the Tak adapter, both internal faces of the rotator mechanism, and made new spacers - I hope and pray that when I test it again next it will be ok. :question:
No point mentioning it to Wayne as I cannot verify it's history. :sadeyes:

[Rainmaker]

Andy and Andrew,

Something you need to be aware of with regard to using the Feathertouch focusers.......

Only use the thumbscrew under the focuser to lock the focus in place, Do Not engage it partially and then move the focuser..... Kent had a new FT3545 fitted to his TEC200 that failed as he had been using the thumbscrew to adjust tension (as instructed) but this causes wear that requires full dismantling and parts replacement..... Wayne and Jon declined Kent's warranty claim saying that he had caused the damage and it cost $300 USD for the repair...

Draw tube tension must be adjusted by the socket screw on top of these FT focusers.....

I have just adjusted two of my three FT focusers so that the 'tension screw' does not need to be touched unless I really want to lock the focuser....

Here is some light reading for all FT users:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/696785-feather-touch-focuser-problem/page-3

[ab1963]

Thanks Matt i will not be using the tension screw at all after reading that

[Brisbanedad]

This is my current set up, C9.25 XLT on NEQ6 Pro mount. I run Hyperstar on it as well for wide field, and take it off for planetary. Currently using Canon 50D for imaging.

Having said that, I'll be looking to move this gear along in favour of a new setup, probably something more portable!

[croweater]

260158


Hi crew, These are my grab and go setups. I just bought the Heritage 130 recently and whacked it on my Vixen porta 11 (with Nexus DSC) The little Vixen now on the Heritage dob mount. They both work really well and am very happy with them. The Heritage sits beautifully on the Porta and really nice to use. Great scope for the price! The little Vixen on the dob mount is fantastic and is rock solid. So easy to use. I took it to the local reserve and it makes a great nature scope with nice sharp comfortable views. Excellent with my Baader zoom. Next time I go to Portland to see the whales it will replace my binos. :thumbsup:
Thanks for looking.
Cheers, Richard. :)

[Rainmaker]

Hello Richard,
Great little G & G setups, they should be a lot of fun to use.

[LewisM]

My Baby Q FSQ-85, complete with some custom made bits (thanks Stefan Buda!).

[Wilso]

Yeah they’re a fantastic versatile little scope Lewis, I still have mine.
How many have you owned now???

[croweater]

Cheers Matt. Thanks for looking :)
Regards, Richard

[LewisM]

Darren, FSQ-85's specifically...errr...this is the 4th :P Number of Taks in general...let's not go there. :P

[FlashDrive]

Col.

[TMTYL]

Posting my rig..

Its a vintage orange tube C5 DIY on a laser level tripod and old tripod dolly. I'm looking out for a wedge to complete the mount, hopefully can find one.

[ab1963]

Have finally got my Tak where I want it was not going to use the Nexus but so happy I did work out how to use it the last couple of days job done Serge’s YouTube video on the quick setup is priceless

[FlashDrive]

Very Nice Indeed Andrew :)

[ab1963]

Thanks Col

[FlashDrive]

My Humble Setup .. !!

WO Megrez ED90mm F6.9
New Eyepiece Tray
Hybrid Mount.

Col.

[jahnpahwa]

Looks very refined to me, Col.


I picked up some second (Third? Eighth?) -hand glass last week, one big, one little. 12.5" meade starfinder and canon 70-200mm f4 lens.

[ab1963]

Nice job with the tray Col

[FlashDrive]

All ready for Jupiter ... at its closest point to Earth tonight...!! 14/7/2020

[jahnpahwa]

Oooooo yeah! get it, Col~!

I'd never seen a pic of one of these before... looking awesome :)

Hoping for clearskies up your way, and down here too.

[sharpiel]

Love the performance altitude rims you’ve fitted there Col. I’m sure you see Jupiter faster and your cornering will be greatly improved too.

[jahnpahwa]

I ordered a skywatcher az gti with eq kit from Andrews during the week, and it arrived as i was packing the car for a long weekend to Coonabarabran and surrounds. Took the big mount out of the car, this one in!


I need to get home to update the firmware for eq mode, but the counterweight and bar came in handy in alt az mode, too. The WO zenithstar 81 with finder, diagonal and eyepiece is pushing its payload limit, and the counterweight balanced the whole mount nicely.



Set up was easy, alignment was fine, and after two or three objects GOTO was spot on. I was running it on 8 AA batteries which also went well. I think the whole set up is around 10kg. Its certainlyoff to a good start. Also incl is a 30s pic at 24mm focal length, taken out the back of our accommodation at Pilliga Pottery, a very, very dark place :)

[miketheobscure]

New focuser, the last of my red themed July scope bling arrived -- ADM saddle, Moonlite focuser, & ZenithStar 73mm, all nicely highlighted in red.

Pics: In the garage when it was still light, out under the stars tonight, & an iPhone up to the eyepiece shot (EP = 35mm Panoptic.)

My Zwo ASI462MC shipped today too, while it won't be July bling it'll mean better moon shots in the future I hope.

[FlashDrive]

My Scope with its new MoonLite Focuser ...!!
With 4.5 inches of draw tube travel, I doubt that any eyepiece wouldn't come to focus.
Nice piece of kit .. !!

[LewisM]

Nice Bling Col.


You sure that LONG drawtube won't vignette racked in?

[sharpiel]

4.5 inches is enough to satisfy isn't it Col..?

[LewisM]

C’mon Les, you are going to give Col a big head

OMG...don’t...no....don’t misconstrue that :lol:

[jahnpahwa]

Courtesy of Steve (madtuna) here. Very excited to see how this goes. Its a very nice thing to behold.


8 days from 150km north-west of Kalgoorlie to my hands in Canberra... not too bad, auspost, not too bad.

[Astronut07]

Clear skies, open space, campfire & great company
Makes the whole experience amazing

[Astro_Girl]

Agree 100%

Campfire is now a requirement on those cold nights out imaging :)

[TrevorW]

I tried but the image was quickly removed :eyepop::P;):lol::D

[Slawomir]

A bit cloudy but, unlike with imaging, it only takes a few minutes to set up. Love Baader click-lock, how could I ever stargaze without it? Oh yes, I hardly did any stargazing in the past :lol:

[AdamJL]

That looks amazing. Where was this? Private property?

[Martin_S]

An ED72 for EAA

Hi I thought I'd share my EAA setup.A quick and easy setup for widefield viewing.

Skywatcher ED72

Meade focal reducer( one of the short focal length series)

ASI385 mc camera.

T7 camera (ASI120c clone) with f 1.7 CS lens to use as a skycam.

Celestron Evolution Mount with Starsense , controlled by CPWI.

Sharpcap for captures.

Exposures 3.3s, gain 447,with dark frames.live stacking up to 5 mins.

All images are as taken, just resized for posting.

Martin

[AstroApprentice]

Hi Martin,
Is that a diy Focus motor?

[Martin_S]

It sure is Jason. It's a small servo motor modded for continuous rotation.
All parts bought on Ebay for under $12, the alumimium was from Bunnings
Here's a close up.

Martin

[Hans Tucker]

Meh .. my brag. Two scopes in my arsenal, APOMAX 130mm & TEC160FL. Shame you have to resize to post .. looks better in larger images.

[jahnpahwa]

phwooaar! such a nice set up!


The APOMAX focuser wheels look crazy lightweight... can I see the footpath in the background through the near one?!


I often wonder about people observing or imaging from the driveway or path... do you ever worry that the dodgy neighbours from around the corner will jimmy your garage open and make off with your very-difficult-to-replace kit? Or is it just a nice vibe of people sometimes stopping for a quick chat and a look and you have to slap their hands away as they go to touch it?

[Hans Tucker]

Yes, it is a concern and I have been broken into twice but they never touched the Telescopes. Security has been vastly improved and off loading an APOMAX in Australia would be difficult, it is the only one in this country I believe. I have no real choice on observing location because the backyard is not ideal. I recently showed a neighbour and his daughter Jupiter .. their reaction to a first view of the planet was priceless.

The APOMAX Focuser is aesthetically pleasing and functional for visual but no good for imaging.

[jahnpahwa]

Was hoping for a close up. Thats very nice!

[bigjoe]

This 115 mm TS Came recently with box etc really amazing contrast on Mars with a Tak Toe 4..Glend said these were great..they are.. perfect on eq6; even works on a nextstar 8se mount to 80 degree alt..weight is 6.2kg with light diagonal and Orthos say
Bigjoe.

[FlashDrive]

Very Nice Scope Big Joe ....:)

[bigjoe]

It is truly Col seems to resolve most globs, barges on Jupiter with ease too..and at 5.9kg I've used it even on an 8se mount, tracks great at high powers of 500x on close doubles Zeta Aquarii can be spotted naked eye and Pi aquillae were crackers in it.

Surprised. its sooo portable for what really is a biggish scope.
Cheers bigjoe.

[jahnpahwa]

After so much bad, bad, baaaaad weather, tonight is looking alright!
I'm out with camera rig and visual rig, first time using the fine tuning ring in the Hyperion 5mm to bring it to 3.2mm.
Really, really hoping it stays clear all night here, and every-single-where that you guys are getting after it!!

[Rainmaker]

I recently sold the motorhome and in its place decided on a vehicle that could house the 18" Excalibur without dismantling.......... just lock the Alt axis down at 30degrees and wheel the scope up the ramps....

Then just for somewhere to snooze, I found a tiny caravan in Victoria at a price I couldn't pass on...

Ford Transit Custom Sport and Wingamm Rookie 3.5, I can now take all my scopes with me on travels around Oz..

[LewisM]

I've got to say, that new rego plate is very apt :P

You Old Phart...

[Rainmaker]

I thought so too.....;)

[strongmanmike]

Wow, an astronomers dream portable setup, for what is still the finest DIY dob in Oz :thumbsup:

Mike

[croweater]

Nice Matt,
Won't your feet poke out the end? :)
Cheers, Richard

[Rainmaker]

Thanks Mike, the little caravan is built in Italy and weighs just 730Kg and the Transit C/S hardly knows it is there....



Almost Richard, almost :lol: Surprisingly this little 12ft caravan has all the mod cons, shower, toilet, ducted heating and aircon as well as 210AH batteries charged from a 250W flexible panel on the roof and a fridge that takes 30 stubbies and some food :thumbsup:

I am at the moment designing a set of cabinets inside the blue van that will house the Dob as well as a 6"F8 refractor, 4"F15 solar scope and a bunch of other astro stuff.....

[strongmanmike]

Yeah I looked'em up and had a good look too, they look like a great idea for astro endeavours and travel, envious :thumbsup:

Mike

[anj026]

I like your new Ford and Caravan Matt, very nice.

Yesterday I was able to secure a deal on the FS152 that was available here in Perth on Gumtree. It is a 2004 NSV from the original owner. Looking forward to getting it mounted and operational.:)

Andy

[jahnpahwa]

Well done!! Which mount do you plan to use?

[anj026]

Initially I have the home made alt az that I use with the D&G refractor. It is a bit high but I can reduce that in time.

Andy

[jahnpahwa]

well, I'm quite envious of all of it. Enjoy! And I for one would be really keen to read any impressions and comparisons that you'd care to share :thumbsup:

[FlashDrive]

Good Score Andy .... Lovely TAK Scope. :)

[Wilsil]

My set up when camping in the bush.
SW HEQ5 Pro GOTO with SW ED80 and Canon EOS-M6 mark2.
The latest upgrade is the ZWO OAG and ZWO ASI120MM mini guide camera.

[Rainmaker]

That's a beautiful Tak right there Andy :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Rainmaker]

Nice .... but I don't see an eyepiece;)

[FlashDrive]

Nice Van and Cool looking Caravan setup Matt :thumbsup:
No room for Jennifer .... ;)

[ab1963]

Very nice Andy and think it's the best condition wise i have seen

[GrahamL]

First light tonight 3 years on.


Zeiss 50 /540 .. CZJ 25 o and 10 o as well

[nohsmount]

It is a new mount of ''Nohs Mount'' from Korea.

[MortonH]

Recently acquired a TV-85. It's an older model (single speed focuser with compression ring) but in very good condition.

[FlashDrive]

Will look good on my Mount ;) ...Nice One Morton.

[jahnpahwa]

Class plugged into class, sitting atop more class. I'd love to take a look through this!



Mount looks very nice, followed the link from CN post that I found. I'll paste it here for you :) Price is around 100,000JPY? Any notes on shipping?
EDIT: That tripod looks unreal! Are you still making those?




http://www.nohsmount.com/

http://eyebell.com/supermount.htm

[FlashDrive]

It's always cloudy at the moment....!!

Col.

[Rainmaker]

Not mine but the story can be found here:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=189625

:bowdown:

[FlashDrive]

My only Refractor.....WO TMB Zenithstar 80FD f/6.

Col....

[SumoGeek]

10” Bintel DOB and 5” DOB on TW1

[Karlz]

My RC8 set up for some clear skies tonight, I still haven't worked out what to target :lol:

[N1]

Gavin, that Heritage-on-Twilight setup is a cracker!

[croweater]

Yeah I like it too. I have the heritage on a vixen porta 11 with nexus. It's a top little scope for the price. :)

[SumoGeek]

Thanks guys. It is also my quick response set-up. Would have been better if I got a 150cm collapsible DOB. It will do for now.

[denodan]

My Celestron SCT 9.25, on my just enquired EQ6 R PRO for EEA imaging

[Wilso]

Finally had time to mount my new to me Takahashi modified Lapides mount.
Temporary fitted to my Pm-1 tripod and column until I can get a stronger tripod.
Looking forward to use this simple alt/az mount.
Enjoy!

[N1]

Wilso, that's neat, particulary the insulation job. Can you tell us more about it?
Also, how the Teegul mount is handling it.

[Wilso]

Hi Mirko,
The insulation is 5mm wet suit material, obviously a lighter colour would have been better thermally. Covered the joint with carpet edging and used Velcro for the small split around the dovetail mounting point.
The mount is intended for my TSA-102, hence a more stable tripod is required.
The Pm-1 mount is approximately 65mm dia and the Lapides mount (in picture) is 82mm dia and has an extra load carrying capacity.

[Bergkamp_]

my set up of AZ GTI and Takahashi FC76DCU. Loving it!

https://cloud.degoo.com/share/SG-PNvdhnA1HTvkTkv4adA

[Hemi]

Found this on Gumtree for $250…
Focuser needs a bit of attention and the optics are a bit dirty, but a bit of TLC should sort it!

[croweater]

Hi Hemi, looks like a bargain. Good one :)
Cheers, Richard

[DJ N]

Hi everyone

Just recently received my latest addition to the family.... Takahashi FC100DF. At this point, I have only managed a quick 2 minute first light as the weather has been very poor lately. I suppose it is winter :lol:. I am hoping for some clearer nights this week, especially as I am super keen for a bit of a shootout with the FC100DF on the DM4 and my Esprit 150ED on the DM6. Actually, that would make for a nice family portrait.... must also include the FS60CB.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Cheers

D

[SecretSquirrel]

Here is a pic of my widefield rig, I purchased my 72Ed around 2 years ago and it has evolved into this.

72ED with flatenner, Heq5Pro with rowan mod, AsiAirPro, Zwo AEF, ASI533 Pro, filter drawer with baader ir/uv, 50ED guide scope with ASI120MM, and an Orion side by side mount. Starting to get some nice images but I still have a lot to learn :)

[SecretSquirrel]

What a good buy, well done!

[SecretSquirrel]

My latest addition is a GSO RC6, so far I'm pretty happy with it considering its low cost.

[AdamJL]

That's really good. I was thinking about the same with regards to side-by-side mounting. How do you find the performance and are you getting good guiding? Easy to balance?



Nice and neat cabling, well done!

[AdamJL]

I thought I'd share my widefield setup based on a shot I took of Rho Ophuichi (https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=191832)

This is a Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS connected to an Astromechanics adapter for autofocus (still don't know how to use it, but plan to test it this week).
I love how the guider combo is longer than the imaging rig :D
Longer focal length too (242mm vs 100mm), so maybe guiding isn't required.

[SecretSquirrel]

I wondered if I would have any problems at first but I constantly get great guiding with this setup, balancing is a breeze. :)

[AdamJL]

That's great to hear, cheers :)

[ariefm71]

After two weeks of continuous rain, the weather looks good tonight 😀

[AdamJL]

My old 80ED, now gifted to the little ones.
I was searching for ways to mount the scope on my tripod. I remembered my Wimberly head and Gitzo tripod combo, and then started looking for arca-swiss plates for telescopes.

That made me realise I already had one :)
Four posts up, my PrimaLuceLab's vixen bars can be turned upside down to be arca-swiss compatible :) I love that!

So here is the setup now that the kids will use. I'm so excited for them to use it.

[FlashDrive]

Alter MN56 Mak Newt ( Russian Voodoo )

Col...

[awbroady]

Awesome setups shown, the best part is the variety of everyone’s gear.

Here is my first real telescope, recently purchased from another forum member. I have attached it to a Manfrotto video head and Benro tripod. Is working well as intended, as a quick grab n go.

[ab1963]

This is the scope i regret selling the most i had one and in a fit of madness sold it can really understand why you hold it in high regard beats anything in the 80mm class IMO

[Drac0]

Got my new setup together over the last week and was very happy with it for the one night I've had without clouds. Saxon 102mm APO FCD100 triplet.

The other image is my C8 on my current mount (EQM-35 Pro) but haven't really tried it since I added a few extras taking the total weight up over 9kg.

[AdamJL]

That's great. What lens foot/dovetail are you using? I didn't think the standard photographic plates were compatible with vixen dovetail bars.

[ariefm71]

Looks familiar 😀
Awesome setup. 50x for moon and 150x for Jupiter and Saturn. Next would be upgrading the mount to a Vixen Porta or similar with the slo-mo controls

[JA]

Hi Adam,
There appears to be a manfrotto long plate attached to the underside of the vixen bar. The manfrotto long plate is in turn held by the manfrotto tripod head. Exercise care with loading, balancing and locking if trying this with heavy or longish loads.

Best
JA

[awbroady]

JA is correct, the vixen dovetail is secured to a standard camera tripod plate. For added security I am using two 1/4-20 screws through the plate and into the dovetail(which handily had two threaded holes to make this possible).

I've now also mounted the telescope backwards on the video head which allows me to point at a full 90 degrees from the horizon. This particular model video head(501hdv) also has a counter balance spring system which loads up nicely as I reach the zenith.

Hello Arief, yes the only thing I'm missing is slow motion control. 156x with the TV barlow has allowed me to split some nice doubles.

[AdamJL]

Thanks JA and Andrew.

I ask because I was trying to find a solution for myself a couple of months ago, and my dad.

I know Primaluce make their Vixen bars to be dual configuration. You just turn them upside down and they switch from Vixen to Arca-Swiss which is really handy. But good to know you can just screw an Arca-Swiss plate directly to the Vixen as well.

[donavan.jones]

There are some beautiful scope on here, thank you guys for sharing, just need to stop drooling......

[DJT]

You can never nave enough scopes.

This week I dug out the dob which hasn’t seen the light of day for a while and had great fun comparing views of an almost full moon between the 12”, the FC60 and the FS60q
(Just for clarity, I did remember to remove the solar filter…)

[MortonH]

Having culled my collection due to lack of space and observing opportunities I was left with just my vintage C5 until snagging this 72mm apo.

[ariefm71]

Just the mandatory Xmas family pic

[FlashDrive]

Hoping to ' see ' something tonight ....!!

Col...

[AG Hybrid]

Transferred my 12" Skywatcher optics into a new body. This Geoptik Nadrius structure was a kit however and I did a lot of work over the last 4 days to polish the system into a very smooth experience. Setup, tear down and movements are all silky! :thumbsup: Holds collimation like a boss, and the open mirror box and cell means I don't need to install my 120mm fan.

Used an air brush to apply Musou Black to the mirror box and upper OTA for that 99+% light absorption. I realised though that when applied by air brush that paint is very fragile and applied 2 coats of matte varnish from a spray can. It lightened it up a bit to the eye but it is still orders of magnitude darker then the Black 2.0 which I used as a primer. The varnish will at least keep any particulates from releasing when using an air blower and provides some water resistance - which will help with dew. I may touch it up once a year or so. I still have a full bottle of each Musou Black and Black 2.0

Future things to add to it include:



Low profile focuser as some of my eyepieces and especially my coma corrector doesn't have enough in-focus despite pulling the primary as high as it will go.
Figure out a mounting solution for my iPad. A pole on the side or something as the UTA is crowded now.
Install the wireless DSC that are actually made bespoke for this structure.
......and I don't know. Maybe sand the whole thing back and stain varnish it? I do appreciate the lighter colour does make it easy to see in the dark.
While I feel I've never had an issue with the current optics - which are now 11 years old. Might switch them out for a Hubble Optics sandwich mirror.

[astronut]

Hi Adrian, I just moved my 12" Lightbridge optics over to the Geoptik.

I changed out the primary knobs to something smoother, also the washers are now Teflon. Painted the mirror tub matte black. And moved over all the accessories from the LB. Filter slide, sec dew heater, focuser,finder. I'm using the Geo spider, but with my LB sec holder & mirror.

Moved the handle over for left side viewing. Did you purchase the balance weight as an extra? I'll put up pictures, soon. I would love to see what other changes you make.:):)

[AG Hybrid]

In my case I'm left eye dominant so switching sides was a welcome change for me. I hadn't considered just demounting the old secondary holder and reusing it. I couldn't use my dew heater with the new holder. But, I like the new secondary spider and collimation knobs. Maybe I can change that, add my old secondary holder and dew heater. That being said I do have a 12v hair dryer to use instead.

In the case of the balance weight. I wasn't willing to spend money on that. A strip of velcro on the mirror box. 2 x 0.5kg weights duck taped up with some velcro more then does the job. Although I'm not sure if 1kg is enough anymore.


It must have been nice just to drop those LB optics in. They are GSO which are 300mm mirrors. Skywatcher mirrors are actually 305mm. Doesn't sound like much, but I had to use a table wheel grinder on the primary mirror holders to make it fit. Lucky they are just hard plastic.

[ariefm71]

My Geoptik Nadirus 12" in a (relatively) dark sky location 2hrs outside Perth
Add-ons: 10" f6 John Lightholder primary, Astrosystems spider and secondary holder, Moonlite focuser, Takahashi finder, Telrad, 1.83" 1/30 wave Antares secondary (planets, doubles, and small DSOs), 2.48" GSO secondary (large DSOs), VW Golf 2015

[MortonH]

The Geoptik looks nice.

[astronut]

Arief, so your Geo has a 10" mirror.
Did you modify the scope in anyway for the mirror?
As you would know the Geo is produced to house a 12" or the bigger kit a 16"


I have just moved all my optics (et al) from my 16 year old 12" Lightbridge over to the 12" Geo kit.
It certainly is an improvement, lighter, more rigid and much easier to use.:)

[AG Hybrid]

That Tak finder looks awfully difficult to look through. :lol: You must be very flexible to make that work. :lol:

[ariefm71]

The Geoptik is designed for 12" f5, my mirror is 10" f6, so based on newt calculation I don't really need to adjust the tube length. I had to modify the mirror cell to align with the plop calculation for my mirror. The 13.6" OD UTA is of course oversized but I still have 100% illumination with the 1.83" secondary if I use my 7mm and 5mm Pentax EPs. Great planetary views (primary is 0.99 strehl certified and secondary is 1/30th wave), slightly bettered only by my 10" CZ mirror I had a few years ago. I will not have 100% illumination at the centre if I use my 22mm LVW or lower mag EPs, need to swap with the 2.48" secondary I have as well. Recollimation is easy and fast with a cheshire and glatter laser, but I think I will be making a new UTA for it with 11.5" OD for my next project, and I need to do something in regards to the finder placement.. I use my left eye to view through it lol :)

All in all, the Geoptik is a very good alternative to the ultra premium structure, especially if you already have a good set of mirrors for it.