51 replies to this topic

[ZL4PLM]

Well it arrived!

 

OMG its HUGE!!!

 

ever thought of going from 102 to 130 ??

 

Well this is what your up against!!!

 

 

First thoughts:

 

1. TS Express have been awesome to deal with so far - good comms and very helpful

 

2. extremely well packaged - no case supplied these days with them but still very nicely double box 

 

3. Out of the box - wow this is nice - feels like quality instrument - the 130mm triplet lens cell looks nice and is well coated and the tube has more baffles than hot dinners!

 

4. Def glad I went with the 3.7" focuser - very smooth and robust - has adapters to bring the focuser down from 92mm to 68 and to a 2" and 1.25" EP adapter - it even has a very nice roto lock style EP holder!

 

5. Tube has a nice rotator fitted to the focuser - very nice and smooth with some teflon looking material inside it I can see to allow easy turning 

 

6. Tube rings are CNC machined and very nice - the V style bar is a waste of space for this size tube - good job I have a long ADM one to fit 

 

7. Weight is about 11kg bare tube and focuser - not light but not too big to handle

 

8. Dew shield is nice and tight and does not slip 

 

9. Cover for lens is tight and will need a loop glued to it like my ES102 to make it easier 

 

10. paint finish is good 

 

 

Overall - first impressions are good - looks very well made and a quality instrument - def can recommend that 3.7" focuser though - v nice 

 

I'll post more as I commission  

[zjc26138]

Beautiful scope, congrats!

 

Looking forward to your first light report. A 130mm f/7 apo is a killer scope to have.

[Vanyar]

Simply awesome! Congrats!
Looking forward to your first light report...
BTW... which mount will you be using?

[beanerds]

Lovely , congratulations on a dream scope !

Beanerds.

[balu01]

Congrats , very nice . I loved my TS scope.

[ZL4PLM]

Simply awesome! Congrats!
Looking forward to your first light report...
BTW... which mount will you be using?

CEM60 and side by side on my CEM120

[Jon_Doh]

Congratulations.  Those are great telescopes.  Can't wait for your first light report.  I do feel sorry for your neighbors and all the clouds you've brought

[Vanyar]

CEM60 and side by side on my CEM120

[Vanyar]

Nice! Very nice indeed :)
I wish you lots of clear nights with still air and awesome seeing conditions!!
Enjoy!!

[BoskoSLO]

as if you were reading my mind. I also tempting to buy the exact same scope but I have yet to pull the trigger. Don't know when this will happen.

[MalVeauX]

Looks great, I've been watching this one!

 

Very best,

[ZL4PLM]

yes I was too it was this or something like an Esprirt 120 but glad I went for the bigger aperture!

 

I'll put some pics of the focuser up too 

[ZL4PLM]

 

 

[ZL4PLM]

 

 

[ris242]

Well done.

now we need photos of owners holding 130/9.2, 140s, 150s and 165s.

 

[ZL4PLM]

if theres anything you want to see or know about it then request away ill try post a pic or measure it or have a look on my tube!

[BoskoSLO]

if theres anything you want to see or know about it then request away ill try post a pic or measure it or have a look on my tube!

How does the focuser feel? Any give or sag?. I'm currently owning the TS-photoline 80/560 f7 doublet and the focuser is not the best but not the worst. It has a little sag and around 60 steps of backlash.

[HydrogenAlpha]

How does the focuser feel? Any give or sag?. I'm currently owning the TS-photoline 80/560 f7 doublet and the focuser is not the best but not the worst. It has a little sag and around 60 steps of backlash.

I have the rebranded 3.7" focuser from the same OEM. My imaging train (CCD+FW+reducer) weighs about 8 lbs in total, and I get absolutely zero sag on it. It's also very smooth. Not as good as the feathertouch 3.5" in terms of how well it keeps its position, however. I find that I occasionally need to refocus from one night to the next, whereas I did not have to do so for the FTF (if you're wondering, I live in the tropics, so there is negligible temperature change). 

[dapalmer]

I would love to hear if your CEM40 can handle that monster, if you can find the time.

[ZL4PLM]

How does the focuser feel? Any give or sag?. I'm currently owning the TS-photoline 80/560 f7 doublet and the focuser is not the best but not the worst. It has a little sag and around 60 steps of backlash.

no sag - can't see any backlash until I fit the EAF

 

what I can say its that its a quality feel to the focuser

 

very sturdy and quite a beast 

 

glad I went with the 3.7" focuser

[ZL4PLM]

I would love to hear if your CEM40 can handle that monster, if you can find the time.

jeeez no - its far tooo big a tube

 

cem60 will handle it - CEM40 def not - weight maybe in its  but its long and I wouldn't consider that on a cem40 even for visual!

[MalVeauX]

Very interested in visual performance on planets and everything else.

 

Very interested in performance with focal reducer on galaxies and OSC sensors.

 

Very best,

[ZL4PLM]

EAF fitted to the focuser last night - literally 5 mins to fit and everything you need is in the box

 

[MalVeauX]

I'm curious, is its really FPL53 in the triplet? I'm curious because of the AT130EDT F7 triplet not being FPL53 and being similar in price, usually similar/same scopes.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Very best,

[ZL4PLM]

this has been discussed time and again here on CN with statements direct from the supplier and is clearly marked on their website - yes it is FPL 53