12121 replies to this topic

[docwilkins]

I've been restoring a Meade Classic 12 that was donated to me a couple of weeks ago. It had one fatal problem and a subset of debilitating ones. After working through them I put it to Jupiter and Saturn last night and I can see why aperture matters. That said, while Jupe was bright and nothing was hidden, it was not putting the Vixens to shame. In fact, I think the 102 was clearer and the 90 was as good.

So tonight I took the Polaris 90L out on the Super Polaris with the $50 clock drive I just modded and I'll be danged it looked as good or even a tad cleared than the Meade. Of course it wasn't nearly as bright but at x162 the colors were great and a pinpoint moon was just heading behind. These Classics are something. Coming from a Mak 7 background I expect awesome planets and these old scopes just do it. (As an aside a colleague has a Skywatcher 6 and at outreach events the viewers always like the 90L best on planets).

[docwilkins]

The Meade was much better on Venus since there's no CA. Both easily reveal a nice half Venus. The 90L was a lot better on a bright Venus than my first Vixen, the Custom 90. The 102 ED beats both and the Tak 102 is king.

[vineyard]

A nice session last night with my old TV102iis in native BV mode.  With a PiFinder mounted.  Used 18.2mm Delites (48x, 2.1mm exit pupil), 28mm RKEs (31x, 3.3mm exit pupil) and also occasionally SVbony 3-8m zooms.

 

Started w M42, then wandered around various star clusters in Monoceros (this is Bortle 9 and a virtually full moon so no chance of any nebulae!), before heading to M45.  The scope handled the zooms down to 3mm on M42 (290x) without breaking a sweat.  It was nice seeing the clusters, the outer stars of M45 just about squeezed into the FOV - the RKEs were excellent, so sharp!

 

Then decided to wind up via the moon (BV and RKE 28mm = has to be done).  It was funny just following the glare, getting progressively brighter & brighter, washing the sky out (thinking wow this thing is bright), until there it popped.  And then the thoughts of how wretchedly bright it was just fell away.  A glorious Luna, part of me did think get a camera out, but the rest of me just sat there hypnotised  .  Such a sharp limb.  The shadow around the Lick edge of Mare Crisium was v contrasty, and Rimae Petavius sat clearly.  Just observed the moon generally a while noticing the different shadings of the different big Maria.

 

The most distinctive thing though were 3 dark and sharp regions surrounding Alphonsus.  They stood out like a sore thumb against the whole wider part of the moon there, and I don't recall seeing them before so clearly (so I don't know if they stand out more on particular days of the lunar cycle).  I suspect they may be slightly darker parts of the floor of Alphonsus (consistent with this image, the areas around Ravi/Soraya, Alphonsus R and the unnamed craterlets near the "A" on the other side).  Did anyone else notice them?  I wonder what their composition is that makes them so different from the rest of the Alphonsus crater (or is it just depth?)?

Edited by vineyard, 17 December 2024 - 12:03 PM.

[jgraham]

Another _long_ session that started around noon. I set out my 1969 Questar Standard on a Meade standard field tripod, a vintage Celestron wedge, and a small lithium-ion battery to run the clock drive (120vac output). I aligned the setting circles and fine-tuned the polar alignment using the sun as my reference target. After enjoying the view for a bit, I moved over the Mercury and found it without any problems. It showed a tiny crescent phase about 40% illuminated. I then swung over to Venus which showed a gorgeous gibbous phase about 60% illuminated. From there I swung up to Vega which looks like a blue spark against the blue sky. I tried to locate Deneb, Altair, and Saturn, but came up empty. I left the scope tracking on Venus and checked in on it until dusk. As the sky darkened, I swung over the Saturn for a gorgeous view despite passing bands of haze. After waiting a while for it to climb higher I moved over to Jupiter in time to catch a transit of Io and its shadow. Io appeared as a bright spark against the southern equatorial band and its shadow was a sharp black dot on the planet. Being just a bit past opposition, the shadow followed Io fairly closely. I stayed with it until Io emerged out into dark sky and the shadow finally departed the planet's limb. The sky conditions are sliding downhill, but I'm about to head back outside to take a peek at the moon before calling it a night... that started about 10 hours ago.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Cavs56]

First clear night in six weeks. Had six telescopes out, SCT didn’t do well in the cold, conditions were deteriorating fast. I just got a Celestron/ Vixen C-80 for a great deal so I wanted to try it to see if I was going to keep it. I’m keeping it. I sold my Vixen custom 90. The C-80 will replace it. Jupiter was beautiful magnification was limited to around 100x GRS was clear. Shadow from moon was nice. Clearly was better than my Sears 4540. The Unitron 150 gave great views at 160x at 320x the shadow was much clearer but all other detail suffered. So nice to be under the night sky and observing. Also viewed Venus and the Pleiades.

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orange tube c8 Jupiter

 

 

 

[deSitter]

First clear night in six weeks. Had six telescopes out, SCT didn’t do well in the cold, conditions were deteriorating fast. I just got a Celestron/ Vixen C-80 for a great deal so I wanted to try it to see if I was going to keep it. I’m keeping it. I sold my Vixen custom 90. The C-80 will replace it. Jupiter was beautiful magnification was limited to around 100x GRS was clear. Shadow from moon was nice. Clearly was better than my Sears 4540. The Unitron 150 gave great views at 160x at 320x the shadow was much clearer but all other detail suffered. So nice to be under the night sky and observing. Also viewed Venus and the Pleiades.

How did the 80m "Custom" alt-az mount suit you? I was surprised how much I liked it, because I'm an EQ guy from the get-go. I made a tiny modification (two holes in the saddle casting) to allow other sized rings to be used, so I can use my classic 76mm scope on it.

 

-drl

[Cavs56]

How did the 80m "Custom" alt-az mount suit you? I was surprised how much I liked it, because I'm an EQ guy from the get-go. I made a tiny modification (two holes in the saddle casting) to allow other sized rings to be used, so I can use my classic 76mm scope on it.

 

-drl

I love it my Vixen 90mm has the same mount. I’m always amazed that there is no vibration when using the slowmo’s. I know you got yours for $10. I paid $12.50 in excellent condition. I was going to sell it but the views were just too good.

[docwilkins]

Yesterday the weather was Spring here in the Pasadena area (great for scopes and fires) so I continued with the Vixen Classic Reviews, in particular the 90L against the 102 ED on Jupiter.

I put both on a new old Great Polaris with a Celestron RA drive slightly modded to work. The moon had not risen yet over the San Gabriels and Jupiter was maybe 20 to 30 above the horizon.

The finder always gets bumped when I store the 90L so I used the 26 Meade that is as ubiquitous as the grass under the tripod. Every telescope I find seems to have one of these in the collection. Once aligned I grabbed the 8mm Agena I got right before the pandemic.

At 163 Jupiter was great as usual with great bands and colors but since I was in a critical mood I noted CA around the perimeter. Not a lot of course but clearly present and clearly a doublet. I could see the GRS.

At 260 with the 5mm he was still nice but a lot dimmer. The CA didn't seem worse but not better. Colors still nice! Tracking is helpful at 260.

Back to garage to fetch the 102 ED. I needed another Classic greenish counterweight as one wasn't enough. Alignment was easier with the faster 102 and off to Jupiter! Well, it sure is smaller! I need a Barlow! Even the 5 made it only to x184.

I've managed to hold on to a Parks barlow from my first nice scope but rarely use it. Very nice! And so we are at x230 and wow, this really is an achromat! Just as clear but without the CA. Tried the 5 and it was darker but in the same quality range as my Mak without all of the weight.

Bottom line- nice scope, indeed

So while heavier and needing a Barlow if you don't have 3 or 4s, the 102 ED has the clarity of the 90L without the unwanted CA at higher powers.

Edited by docwilkins, 20 December 2024 - 02:09 AM.

[docwilkins]

I have another installment of Vixen ED 102 vs Vixen 90L to report on. Actually, last night I benchmarked my visual recollection of both of these against a Sharpstar 140 on Jupiter.

The seeing was good as far as Jupiter's appearance and the moon was below the horizon. The Sharpstar is really heavy so it sits on a Vixen Sphinx SXD2. It does max the mount out based on dampening time.

To recap, both the 90L and the 102 ED are fabulous on the planets. I use the 90 on a simple Polaris because it's so light and tenders Jupiter and Saturn about as well as my Maksutovs. The 102 does the same without any CA that renders itself at higher powers.

The bottom line is that I couldn't see any difference between the 102 and the Sharpstar except brightness. If the house caught on fire the choice would be easy. They really knew what they were doing at the shop many years ago.

[Orion68]

For the last two nights it has been semi-clear, with puffy clouds interspersed with dark sky.  Very few nights with any clear sky in central Oregon this time of year. It was a real treat.

 

My Orbit Scope 60mm F11 has new foil spacers so I was able to test the view. Happily, the view was excellent. Jupiter, M45, Almach (double), M31 were the main attractions.

 

Almach was stunning with dazzling colors of gold and blue. The view of Jupiter was superb using a 12.5mm Vixen .965 eyepiece. 60x provided the best view given the conditions. At this power the planet was small but still beautiful.

 

This little guy is a real performer with the new spacers. I saw no CA of any kind on Jupiter. On a better night I'll test it at higher power to see if I can detect any CA. No evidence of astigmatism or pinched optics.

 

It was a pain to get the spacers adjusted correctly, but the views make it worth it.

 

 

 

[deSitter]

For the last two nights it has been semi-clear, with puffy clouds interspersed with dark sky.  Very few nights with any clear sky in central Oregon this time of year. It was a real treat.

 

My Orbit Scope 60mm F11 has new foil spacers so I was able to test the view. Happily, the view was excellent. Jupiter, M45, Almach (double), M31 were the main attractions.

 

Almach was stunning with dazzling colors of gold and blue. The view of Jupiter was superb using a 12.5mm Vixen .965 eyepiece. 60x provided the best view given the conditions. At this power the planet was small but still beautiful.

 

This little guy is a real performer with the new spacers. I saw no CA of any kind on Jupiter. On a better night I'll test it at higher power to see if I can detect any CA. No evidence of astigmatism or pinched optics.

 

It was a pain to get the spacers adjusted correctly, but the views make it worth it.

 

lens cell re-installed.jpg

I had a 60/700mm that was optically excellent - Penncrest, same beautiful color and such a nice complement to the orangish legs - I sold that to friends. It is so handsome it has a place at their lake house in the living area. It's one of only 2 scopes I've ever sold and I miss it.

 

-drl

[Orion68]

I love the color as well, pretty unique. This was my first refractor, acquired in the mid 70's when I bought a house and this was in the attic.

[davidmcgo]

More of a vintage eyepiece observation than scope since I had my 10.25” f17 Dall Kirkham out last night looking at Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, M42, Sirius and the Pup, Theta Auriga, Propus, ETA Orionis, etc.

 

The Dall Kirkham is built around an old set of optics that I bought off an old timer in our club who had bought them used from someone else back in 1970 or so.  A little turned edge which I masked to 250mm clear aperture with black kydex cut with a high end Japanese circle cutting compass that gave a very smooth edge.  With this in place there is also no protrusion of mirror clips so the star images are stunningly clean and high contrast.  The rest of the scope is all modern, Parallax rings, Hastings tube, Protostar air spaced flocked liner, Feathertouch focuser.  A couple of magnetic bearing cooling fans.  All riding last night on my DiscMount DM6 on a Stellarvue TSL6 pier.  
 

Anyway, after the fans ran a bit Jupiter was showing way more detail that I could ever draw, easily handing 325x,  Saturn looked like a photo.  All the really tight unequal doubles were just clean and obvious, even Sirius B.

 

But the most surprising view was as Mars got higher, I decided to try my old Goto 12mm Huygens.  This was a bit of a chore hand tracking but gave so much nicer tonality and details within Syrtis Major compared to the Pentax XWs or Baader Hyperion Zoom that I was really shocked by it.  Some ghosts right as Mars crossed center of the field, but rather than just having Syrtis Major look a uniform dark, it showed different shades of grey green to grey brown and with somewhat higher sharpness and a lot of mottling within it.  Jupiter was a bit more muted with it than the modern stuff in terms of belt hues but on Mars it was pretty special. Going to drag out the G11 if it looks good again tonight to have tracking and try it again and my Brandons and Takahashi 0.96 MC Orthos.

 

Dave

Edited by davidmcgo, 21 December 2024 - 02:16 PM.

[davidmcgo]

More of a vintage eyepiece observation than scope since I had my 10.25” f17 Dall Kirkham out last night looking at Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, M42, Sirius and the Pup, Theta Auriga, Propus, ETA Orionis, etc.

 

The Dall Kirkham is built around an old set of optics that I bought off an old timer in our club who had bought them used from someone else back in 1970 or so.  A little turned edge which I masked to 250mm clear aperture with black kydex cut with a high end Japanese circle cutting compass that gave a very smooth edge.  With this in place there is also no protrusion of mirror clips so the star images are stunningly clean and high contrast.  The rest of the scope is all modern, Parallax rings, Hastings tube, Protostar air spaced flocked liner, Feathertouch focuser.  A couple of magnetic bearing cooling fans.  All riding last night on my DiscMount DM6 on a Stellarvue TSL6 pier.  
 

Anyway, after the fans ran a bit Jupiter was showing way more detail that I could ever draw, easily handing 325x,  Saturn looked like a photo.  All the really tight unequal doubles were just clean and obvious, even Sirius B.

 

But the most surprising view was as Mars got higher, I decided to try my old Goto 12mm Huygens.  This was a bit of a chore hand tracking but gave so much nicer tonality and details within Syrtis Major compared to the Pentax XWs or Baader Hyperion Zoom that I was really shocked by it.  Some ghosts right as Mars crossed center of the field, but rather than just having Syrtis Major look a uniform dark, it showed different shades of grey green to grey brown and with somewhat higher sharpness and a lot of mottling within it.  Jupiter was a bit more muted with it than the modern stuff in terms of belt hues but on Mars it was pretty special. Going to drag out the G11 if it looks good again tonight to have tracking and try it again and my Brandons and Takahashi 0.96 MC Orthos.

 

Dave

Seeing was not as steady as last night but my conclusion is that the uncoated Goto just tamed the brightness of Mars a bit better at a somewhat lower magnification. The 10mm Pentax XW showed all of the same finer shading and detail but is 455x instead of 379x for the 12mm next step down for those is a 14 which was still irradiating out finer features and shading.

 

Here’s the scope on my old 1990s G11.

 

 

Dave

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[deSitter]

More of a vintage eyepiece observation than scope since I had my 10.25” f17 Dall Kirkham out last night looking at Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, M42, Sirius and the Pup, Theta Auriga, Propus, ETA Orionis, etc.

 

The Dall Kirkham is built around an old set of optics that I bought off an old timer in our club who had bought them used from someone else back in 1970 or so.  A little turned edge which I masked to 250mm clear aperture with black kydex cut with a high end Japanese circle cutting compass that gave a very smooth edge.  With this in place there is also no protrusion of mirror clips so the star images are stunningly clean and high contrast.  The rest of the scope is all modern, Parallax rings, Hastings tube, Protostar air spaced flocked liner, Feathertouch focuser.  A couple of magnetic bearing cooling fans.  All riding last night on my DiscMount DM6 on a Stellarvue TSL6 pier.  
 

Anyway, after the fans ran a bit Jupiter was showing way more detail that I could ever draw, easily handing 325x,  Saturn looked like a photo.  All the really tight unequal doubles were just clean and obvious, even Sirius B.

 

But the most surprising view was as Mars got higher, I decided to try my old Goto 12mm Huygens.  This was a bit of a chore hand tracking but gave so much nicer tonality and details within Syrtis Major compared to the Pentax XWs or Baader Hyperion Zoom that I was really shocked by it.  Some ghosts right as Mars crossed center of the field, but rather than just having Syrtis Major look a uniform dark, it showed different shades of grey green to grey brown and with somewhat higher sharpness and a lot of mottling within it.  Jupiter was a bit more muted with it than the modern stuff in terms of belt hues but on Mars it was pretty special. Going to drag out the G11 if it looks good again tonight to have tracking and try it again and my Brandons and Takahashi 0.96 MC Orthos.

 

Dave

You have seen something I have tried to stress a hundred times - no matter how perfectly made, lots of glass means lots of scatter and loss. With planets, minimize glass! Nice to hear someone say this out loud.

 

-drl

[deSitter]

Seeing was not as steady as last night but my conclusion is that the uncoated Goto just tamed the brightness of Mars a bit better at a somewhat lower magnification. The 10mm Pentax XW showed all of the same finer shading and detail but is 455x instead of 379x for the 12mm next step down for those is a 14 which was still irradiating out finer features and shading.

 

Here’s the scope on my old 1990s G11.

 

 

Dave

I think those 70s DK Cassegrain optics were a Coulter thing. I would sure like to go back in time and try out more Coulter optics. You regularly hear reports of the Odysseys putting up great views. I remember a 6" f/8 mirror that was fantastic.

 

-drl

[John R.]

Pine needles. 
The weather here since the beginning of November has been relentlessly bad with no end in sight. 
I am forgetting how to observe. 
I was fooled by a great fall and early winter in 2022 when my interest in the hobby was renewed. All through October and November and December that year there must of been 30 clear nights. This last season…..maybe 1 full night. 
Grab and go has taken on a great urgency now, for those 10-20 minute gifts. 

[Cavs56]

Same here SW Ohio.

[Cavs56]

It cleared around 9:00 it was 25 degrees. I took a Quick Look with my new to me C-80 Celestron/Vixen. I got an Astro Tech 5mm paradigm ED for Christmas. Looked at Jupiter it was excellent saw detail in between the two central bands I’ve never seen before , very nice eyepiece. I also did a star test it was near perfect. The mount is going to need to be regressed.

[Paul Sweeney]

I was up at 7:00 and the sky was reasonably, and unexpectedly, clear. From my South facing window, I was able to pick out Mercury in the brightening sky with my 7x50 Zeiss binos. I quickly dressed and was out with my trusty Vixen 80L. Unfortunately, the sky was too bright and hazy for me to re-aquire Mercury.

So I spent a while checking out the moon. It was a bit hazy, which here means fog is forming. Sure enough, within 10 minutes the sky was blotted out.

[elstargazer12]

In 2018 I bought a 80mm f15 Towa (Sears version, model 4544) on the 'bay for a discount price out of curiosity. I fixed it up a bit, upgraded to a Mizar mount, used it a handful of nights and, honestly, haven't touched it much in the last 5 years. Tough competition around the house in the form of two larger apochromats.

 

I visited an old friend for a few days this weekend and decided to sharpen up the Towa and give it to their kids as a present. Fortunately we had two nights in a row of clear, steady skies on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night I was still home and set up the scope (while tuning the worm gear pressure, polar scope, etc). 

 

Wow, Jupiter looked SO good! I guess I wasn't expecting too much given that I'm used to a 5" APO on most nights and a 8" premium dob on the rest. At 48x with a generic Plössl, I really couldn't see any false color in-focus, even when looking for it. The NEB and SEB were of course very prominent and very contrasty, with the SEB especially showing along-length variations. Going to 120x with a converted, very high quality microscope eyepiece, the view was amazing! The GRS really jumps out of the SEB, somehow looking more displaced to the south then usual- must be an illusion from the lighter halo around it making it look more distinct. The two polar regions were easy to pick out, separated from the N/S equatorial belts by a well-defined light region. To top it off, in moments of good seeing, I could make out hints of the thin equatorial belt, with it clearly a little more distinct on the W side of the planet. As for false color, Jupiter definitely had a slight yellow cast at this power, and a very subtle violet halo if I looked for it. But even after using APOs and reflectors almost exclusively for years, it looked really good and was not at all distracting. The collimation was spot on, with the Galilean Moons forming tiny, round disks (though not resolved, just nice pin sources). 

 

All in all, very pleased with the 80mm f15! Makes me wish I used it more all these years. It's not BETTER than the TV-85 or anything, of course, just surprised how little it gives up to it! 

 

An addendum... Jupiter looked just as good on Sunday night, this time with my friend and his two older kids, 8 and 6 y/o. Mars showed a prominent northern polar cap and darkening in the southern highlands, although not much resolution. Hope their kids will enjoy this classic for many more years!

 

Happy holidays all

 

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[Cavs56]

I have that telescope, I really like it. Puts up great views. I kept it instead of my Sears 6344. My Celestron C-80 is slightly better.

[Cavs56]

What kind of an adapter do you have on it?

[elstargazer12]

As luck would have it, the bolt spacing on the top of the GEM-1 Mizar mount (not intended for mounting a scope, but between two of the four bolts that hold the top casting to the rest of the mount) is very close to the spacing on the Towa tube holder, so I just bolted the tube holder straight to the mount!

 

In case it helps anyone, that bolt spacing also close enough to the 35mm spacing on some vixen saddles (not exactly, but close enough) to easily bolt such a saddle on.