57 replies to this topic

[ken30809]

What mount do you use for your 140, any alt az suggestions?

The Stellarvue M2C seems to work well for me currently and I plan to use it with my SV125 with a losmandy plate. The mount has dual saddles: vixen and losmandy and both work perfectly. Also, I see now that they're offering some nice wooden tripods available with the mount for $100 more than the standard configuration which uses a celestron tripod. The mount itself is machined in their California facility. I'm a fan as you can see :-) but seriously check it out. (25 Lb capacity according to the specs.)

[Kunama]

The Cloud Gods relented and gave me a chance to try out the APM SD Apo 140 F7 last night..... in brief:

 

My background is with Takahashi refractors, I have owned and used everything including the FOA, TOA, TSA, FSQ, FS and FC versions in 60, 76, 100, 102, 106, 120, 128 & 130 apertures.....

 

I bought the APM for my outreach activities but I expect I will be used more often than that for lunar and planetary views.

 

The APM SD Apo 140mm F7 is very, very good.... whilst not corrected to the level of the FOA, TSA or TOA, it surprised me with the quality of view it showed.  The optics are very sharp, the collimation is excellent, out of focus rings round and concentric. I viewed Jupiter and Saturn as well as a few other targets and found it showed the clouds on Jupiter well and the Cassini Division very sharply. 

 

The available back focus fell a few mm short of the required for my binoviewer system so I will need a Baader 1.25X GPC installed into my Zeiss prism. 

The 2.5" focuser is obviously lighter than the 3.7" so the scope is nose heavy, I will be installing a tube counter weight of about 1.5Kg in order to move the balance point back a little.

The focuser itself is very smooth and features a rotator though I tend not to need that function.

 

I wonder how a pair of these would look with some EMS-UXL bino-backs ???? 

[Axunator]

Hei Matti - pictures please, or it didn’t happen

 

I presume you mounted the APM on your AZ-EQ6 in alt-az mode? How well did it handle the largish APO in that mode? Any zenith clearance problems?

[Kunama]

Hei Matti - pictures please, or it didn’t happen

 

I presume you mounted the APM on your AZ-EQ6 in alt-az mode? How well did it handle the largish APO in that mode? Any zenith clearance problems?

Aki, 

Pictures coming soon...... (heti kun saan kamerani vaimolta takaisin  )

 

AZ-EQ6 has no problem at all with the scope size or weight however tripod clearance with a standard AZ-EQ6 would be an issue.

An extension pier would be needed.  I am going to install a tube counterweight ( from a TOA130) of 1.5Kg which will allow the tube to be slipped up in the rings enough to clear tripods.

The scope is so light for its size that a counterweight will not make any real difference for carrying the OTA around. The APM fit and finish is really good !!!

Edited by Kunama, 18 August 2019 - 12:47 AM.

[25585]

They look shorter in photos than 1m in OTA length, maybe aperture size does that. My new Giro Ercole (mounted on an EQ5 pillar) makes the 140 tempting, if I ever upsize.

[Kunama]

A couple of quick pics of the scope:

 

 

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[Axunator]

A couple of quick pics of the scope:

I believe when you say that AZ-EQ6 carries it fine, but it does have the visual effect of making the AZ-EQ6 look like a small, compact mount   

[Bomber Bob]

As ris242 has mentioned above, the 130 is a triplet, so there's undetectable CA even in imaging. I have looked through the APM152 which uses FPL-51, and visually I can't see any CA in-focus. The 140 should do even better with FPL-53+Lanthanum, so I don't think CA would be an issue. 

According to the lab report that came with my 2017 APM 152ED, mine is not the pick of the litter -- all the other reports posted so far by owners have better specs.  And yet, I see zero false color at focus.  None along the limbs of the Moon or Jupiter, or any of the places I normally see it after 50 years of refractor use.  And, I don't have to try & hide it by tweaking camera settings during captures, either.  So yes, assuming similar quality, I would expect the 140 to be even better at CA-control than my 152.

 

In fact, before I ordered my 152, but after I'd decided against the other brands, my final internal debate was between the 140 and the 152.  I already had mounts suitable for either model.

[tony_spina]

Has there been a pattern to when the apm 140 has gone on sale?

[ris242]

Has there been a pattern to when the apm 140 has gone on sale?

 

Me thinks they don't need it.......but it would be nice.

[HydrogenAlpha]

Has there been a pattern to when the apm 140 has gone on sale?

There's the violet Friday sales in November, where you get the nice big discount (pulled the trigger on my APM during that period last year). Alternatively, go for the demo units. If I remember correctly, the demo unit prices are the same as the violet Friday prices.

[at dusk]

My 140 has been at home for a week now. With full moon and windy weather I haven’t tested It properly yet.

I think that I will love this telescope. There’s a hint of chromatic aberration on bright stars and there’s a bit of undercorrection according to the star test.

 Anyway,  Jupiter and saturn were absolutely amazing in spite of the lousy seeing.

I expect I can take It to dark skies at the end of the week. My last big refractor was a Tsa120 FT version that  I sold last year. The taka was perfect in every sense. Unfortunately I can not compare them side by side, but I want to se if the APM lives up to the expectation 

Edited by at dusk, 19 August 2019 - 12:51 PM.

[Kunama]

My 140 has been at home for a week now. With full moon and windy weather I haven’t tested It properly yet.

I think that I will love this telescope. There’s a hint of chromatic aberration on bright stars and there’s a bit of undercorrection according to the star test.

 Anyway,  Jupiter and saturn were absolutely amazing in spite of the lousy seeing.

I expect I can take It to dark skies at the end of the week. My last big refractor was a Tsa120 FT version that  I sold last year. The taka was perfect in every sense. Unfortunately I can not compare them side by side, but I want to se if the APM lives up to the expectation 

Look forward to reading your thoughts once you get some more time with the APM.  Mine too shows some under correction especially while still cooling, and the little bit of CA, but the optics seem to be well made and sharp enough for my use.  It has proved to be ideal for the outreach work I do with it, basically ready for use at medium magnifications directly from the car and cools quite quickly for its size.

 

It certainly has exceeded my expectations for a 140mmF7 doublet optically and the build quality is also excellent.  The APM standard rotating focuser also works well enough and even holds my Zeiss binoviewer setup well.

[Artimus183]

Got the 140 with a 3.7" focuser...so far so good, still learning to use it (its a big scope for a newbie like me). One thing I know I want to upgrade is the dovetail - I prefer the added support of a 3" bar. The carry handle measures 24cm (9.5") so I assume the bar has to fit that. Any suggestions on which one to get? 

[25585]

Shame on APM for not providing a 3" as OE, and others who also do not either.

[emilslomi]

Shame on APM for not providing a 3" as OE, and others who also do not either.

Mine came with a Losmandy, and going by the APM site, it is (and afaik always was) being sold that way.

 

Emil

[daquad]

Got the 140 with a 3.7" focuser...so far so good, still learning to use it (its a big scope for a newbie like me). One thing I know I want to upgrade is the dovetail - I prefer the added support of a 3" bar. The carry handle measures 24cm (9.5") so I assume the bar has to fit that. Any suggestions on which one to get? 

Should have been sent with the 3" bar.

[Kunama]

Got the 140 with a 3.7" focuser...so far so good, still learning to use it (its a big scope for a newbie like me). One thing I know I want to upgrade is the dovetail - I prefer the added support of a 3" bar. The carry handle measures 24cm (9.5") so I assume the bar has to fit that. Any suggestions on which one to get? 

Did you buy it new, I too was under the impression that they all came with the 'D' type dovetail plate. 

[Artimus183]

Did you buy it new, I too was under the impression that they all came with the 'D' type dovetail plate. 

I got a Demo unit, #218. Looking at the site again, the pic (below) seems to show the same V-style bar that I got, and I can't find a matching D on APM, nor anywhere else for that matter (primarily due to the 9.45" hole spacing on the included handle).

 

And tbh the scope is very stable on the V, but I got an ADM saddle (Dual M6) that makes it so much easier to mount the bigger bar ..and its a heavy enough scope IMO to warrant the upgrade.

Edited by Artimus183, 26 November 2019 - 10:42 AM.

[Artimus183]

Mine came with a Losmandy, and going by the APM site, it is (and afaik always was) being sold that way.

 

Emil

Did yours come with a handle? Do you mind letting me know the dimensions/hole pattern of both? 

 

And I got a pretty good deal on my 140, so I totally do not mind doing the upgrade (I enjoy tinkering with this stuff - enhances my feeling of ownership  )

[Auburn80]

I got a Demo unit, #218. Looking at the site again, the pic (below) seems to show the same V-style bar that I got, and I can't find a matching D on APM, nor anywhere else for that matter (primarily due to the 9.45" hole spacing on the included handle).

And tbh the scope is very stable on the V, but I got an ADM saddle (Dual M6) that makes it so much easier to mount the bigger bar ..and its a heavy enough scope IMO to warrant the upgrade.

Did you contact APM?

[Artimus183]

Did you contact APM?

I have not yet since I assumed it was my personal preference to upgrade. If the general consensus is that it should (or at least used to) come with a 3" ill reach out to Markus. 

 

Also, the plate in the pic above is not a 3 inch, so I feel I received what was advertised. Best I am hoping for is a part # to a bar that fits wo having to tap new holes..

 

 

-Edit-

 

Just reached out to Markus to ask if/where I can buy the D style plate. Will update here once I hear back.

Edited by Artimus183, 26 November 2019 - 01:44 PM.

[Jon_Doh]

Outdoor Sports Optics is the dealer/distributer for APM in the states.  Here is the page of APM and Losmandy dovetails.  Hopefully, one will work for you.  If not, give them a call and see if they can help.

[HARRISON SCOPES]

I have one here and gave it a good test a while back. Surprisingly good, star images are tight with very good colour correction. I haven't weighed it but it did seem a heavy scope, No issues with collimation and overall a real winner, nothing bad to say at all.

[Far Star]

Below, I have attached a photo of my APM 140 mm f/7 Doublet on Vixen SXP mount and Berlebach Planet.

 

The APM 140 is excellent (very good spherical and chromatical correction, pinpoint stars, "hard" Airy disks and very faint first diffraction rings even at 400x). Last Sunday I took a photo of the double star STF 2780 (m = 6.1 / 6.8; sep. = 1.0"). It's an only slightly edited single frame (no stacking of several pictures): https://www.cloudyni...to-of-stf-2780/

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Edited by Far Star, 27 November 2019 - 04:34 AM.