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Post a picture of your refractors (part 8)

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#1651 Nippon

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Posted 25 October 2020 - 03:48 AM

I took al of my Vixen counterweights to a powdercoater, and had them all done in a satin black with a powdered texture finish. They look amazing now.

I have thought of doing that and also thought of getting a stainless steel weight from ADM but they go from 8 pound to 15 pound. The 8 pound would be fine for my 4" refractor but my 7" DK needs 12 pounds. The ones from ADM are expensive compared to Synta counter weights but compared to Vixen or Takahashi not so much.


 

#1652 Kevin_A

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Posted 27 October 2020 - 07:33 AM

New Zenithstar 61 Mrk2 on a SA for a lightweight guided cold winter setup.

 

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#1653 BlueMoon

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Posted 27 October 2020 - 07:01 PM

My "winter scope", a SW 72mm ED apo mounted on a Vixen Porta II head and EQ-3 tripod.

Lightweight, quick set up and take down, almost zero cool-down and rock steady on the mount.

Great for splitting binaries. waytogo.gif


Edited by BlueMoon, 28 October 2020 - 08:49 AM.

 

#1654 MarkMittlesteadt

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Posted 27 October 2020 - 07:34 PM

Here's an updated pic of my refractor, my Lunt 102ED, with a new 9X50 RACI finder, and sitting upon my Vixen GP (with a newly painted counterweight ;) ). 

 

6f106c_d17609a9c8a14d95923c3b8fdb4a1498~


 

#1655 Praise.M42

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Posted 30 October 2020 - 12:58 PM

My new main instrument: APM 152 ED! Still tweaking the overall setup, but I already love it!

400086500488_116332-01.jpeg

I've always dreamed of owning a big refractor, just love the "galilean telescope on steroids" appearance grin.gif

 


 

#1656 payner

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Posted 30 October 2020 - 01:01 PM

Wonderful telescope and beautiful backdrop. Enjoy!


 

#1657 Chaser of Photons

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Posted 30 October 2020 - 02:41 PM

With the fires around here finally extinguished, finally getting in some imaging time!

 

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Edited by RogerM, 30 October 2020 - 02:42 PM.

 

#1658 SocalViking

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Posted 30 October 2020 - 05:16 PM

With the fires around here finally extinguished, finally getting in some imaging time!

 

 

Amen to that!

Nice view.. and the background too..

Where at, and how's your seeing there? I'm always looking for new spots..


 

#1659 Chaser of Photons

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Posted 30 October 2020 - 08:04 PM

Amen to that!

Nice view.. and the background too..

Where at, and how's your seeing there? I'm always looking for new spots..

Anywhere along the coast south of Half Moon Bay works depending upon wind and fog.  Seeing and transparency is mostly on 'average' due to the marine environment but occasionally we get really nice transparency/seeing.  Bortle Green zone mainly.


 

#1660 cmas

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Posted 12 November 2020 - 06:18 AM

My original post was here: https://www.cloudyni...4#entry10517016

 

It turned out that, as one should have expected, the cheap mount from TS was indeed cheap. It developed severe tilting in Az axis which I could not adjust away. Additionally I found out that there were cracks in the cast aluminium part of the mount. So I returned it and TS immediately returned my money. I was again looking for a mount. I went all over and checked small and light, heavy and sturdy and everything in between. Also discussed here in CN and changed a couple of private messages to get my bearings. 

 

As per my original quest "do not spend more than what was gained from selling AP gear" I was trying my best and sold some other hobby stuff (not astro) which I haven't been using for a while. And I finally pulled the trigger: I got Scopetech Mount Zero from FLO in UK and Leofoto LS-364C from Dext in Sweden. Then I re-arranged my transport case to house the arm part of the mount (bottom part is attached to the tripod and carried along with it), digiscoping adapter and a placeholder for the Quark once the sun is again up here in Finland.

 

The mount is about 1.4 kg (3.1 pounds) and the tripod about 1.8 kg (4 pounds). Yet the combo feels solid enough and is really portable. I can get the setup out from the cases and ready to observe in under 2 minutes. And naturally the mount is at a completely different level than the cheap mount I tried. 

 

So, to but it short, the updated setup is here:

- TS 80 / 480 mm FPL53 triplet APO

- Baader T-2 / 2" nose piece

- Baader T-2 prism diagonal (Baader #2456095)

- Baader 1.7x Glass patch corrector

- Baader Maxbright II binoviewer (Baader #2456460B)

- Baader Hyperion zoom mark IV (Baader #2454826)

- Scopetech Mount Zero Alt-Az (still waiting some slowmotion knobs)

- Leofoto Ranger LS-364C carbon fibre tripod

 

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The last photo has my phone and a mandarin to show the scale. 

 

Edit: By clicking either image, you'll get to see a few more. E.g. inside of the transport case (I did not want to spam this thread by adding too many photos).


Edited by cmas, 12 November 2020 - 09:09 AM.

 

#1661 jay.i

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Posted 12 November 2020 - 07:06 PM

90FL round two! I was looking for a faster scope for NV use and the price was right so I jumped.

Attached Thumbnails

  • 90FL-Round2-RightSide_small.jpg

 

#1662 nicknacknock

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Posted 12 November 2020 - 11:11 PM

Jay,

 

Same here, expecting the 90FL myself. Second one lol.gif


 

#1663 stevety

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Posted 12 November 2020 - 11:21 PM

steve.jpg


 

#1664 Scott in NC

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:08 AM

90FL round two! I was looking for a faster scope for NV use and the price was right so I jumped.

Hey Jay, that’s a nice looking scope.  It almost looks like an AP Traveler.  What brand is it?


 

#1665 Scott in NC

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:24 AM

Hey Jay, that’s a nice looking scope.  It almost looks like an AP Traveler.  What brand is it?

Never mind.  I think I figured out the answer to my question.  It’s a Borg 90FL, right?


 

#1666 jay.i

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:48 AM

Jay,

 

Same here, expecting the 90FL myself. Second one lol.gif

Uncanny!!

 

Never mind.  I think I figured out the answer to my question.  It’s a Borg 90FL, right?

Yessir! The first one I owned had a helical focuser and it wasn't right for what I wanted at the time. This time around might be different with NV in the picture. If I have to I'll use a TSFlat2 to flatten the field (my main issue before). So far, the optics are crystal clear and razor sharp at spotting magnifications (21E is blissful during the day).


 

#1667 Scott in NC

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 09:55 AM

Nice!  Thanks for the info, Jay.  The FT focuser was what threw me off when I first looked at the picture.  I think that that’s a great upgrade.


 

#1668 jay.i

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 10:08 AM

Nice!  Thanks for the info, Jay.  The FT focuser was what threw me off when I first looked at the picture.  I think that that’s a great upgrade.

Worlds better than with the helical focuser, in both function and form. grin.gif


 

#1669 nicknacknock

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 12:20 PM

Uncanny!!

 

Yessir! The first one I owned had a helical focuser and it wasn't right for what I wanted at the time. This time around might be different with NV in the picture. If I have to I'll use a TSFlat2 to flatten the field (my main issue before). So far, the optics are crystal clear and razor sharp at spotting magnifications (21E is blissful during the day).

I have the TSFlat2 myself and do plan to use it to flatten the field as well - great minds think alike!


 

#1670 wrvond

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 02:53 PM

Sky-Watcher 120 ED
My bride’s Meade R5 is in the background.

 

#1671 EricCCD

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 06:13 PM

Jay,

 

Same here, expecting the 90FL myself. Second one lol.gif

90FL round two! I was looking for a faster scope for NV use and the price was right so I jumped.

Nick and Jay, welcome back to the Borg 90FL fold, LOL. I'm glad you're giving that series a chance. Specifically Jay, I hope you have a better experience with your second go-round.

 

I'm still on my first 90FL, though it's on its third focuser. The helical/drawtube was a bit finicky in cold weather; I tried the Borg R&P but its shortness of travel drove me nuts. I finally got a 2.5" Moonlite which has proven to be pretty robust). Only downside now is that this combo is getting kinda weighty and flies in the face of the Borg grab-n-go philosophy. I'm keeping the helical for lightweight/travel though.

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • Borg90FLWith2.5MoonliteSmall.jpg

 

#1672 jeremiah2229

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 08:01 PM

 

Sky-Watcher 120 ED
My bride’s Meade R5 is in the background.

 

Which adapter are you using for the FT?

 

 

Thanks...


 

#1673 wrvond

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 10:53 PM

Which adapter are you using for the FT?

 

 

Thanks...

I purchased the focuser from @Lookitup who apparently paid Starlight Instruments to custom make the flange to fit the Sky-Watcher 120 ED.

 

This is the FTF2535HD focuser. It looks like the A25-2003-20 TMB80/Equinox 80/100/120 might be the correct adaptor for the SW 120 ED Pro.

 

Hope this helps!


 

#1674 SuperSirLink

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Posted 13 November 2020 - 11:17 PM

My new AP setup...

 

IMG_0303.jpg


 

#1675 denis0007dl

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Posted 14 November 2020 - 06:44 AM

Here is my new MOD of Skywatcher 120ED, which is binoviewer friendly.

More about it you can find here

https://www.cloudyni...and-shortening/

 

Kind regards

CS
Denis, binoviewers expert

Attached Thumbnails

  • 1605351279343.jpg

Edited by denis0007dl, 14 November 2020 - 06:45 AM.

 


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