9 replies to this topic

[RobM]

I was able to pick up a recent Tak FC100DF at a decent price from a member here and now comes the hard (but fun) part while I await the Big Brown Truck.  Since I'm disabled (blind in right eye / semi-paralyzed on right side), I wanted to put the lion's share of $$$ into a premium OTA for a lightweight rig.  My previous opportunity at getting an AT102EDL fell through due to a miscommunication.  The FC100DF will be mounted on a vintage Vixen Polaris EQ with alsastro.com finished oak legs.  I need advice on the following:

• tube rings (lightweight ones that can be used with a handle). 
• A quick-release bracket for a RDF finder
• I already have a good set of Astronomics Paradigm EPs (with a lonely 19mm Panoptic) and find myself wondering if TV Delites would provide all that much of a bump in image quality. 
• Would I be better off with a Baader Mark IV zoom for this one-eyed-Jack to avoid the "where-did-I-put-that-EP" factor?
• The same holds true for a barlow / TV Powermate.  Am I better off with a Tak Ext-Q (not aware of one specifically dedicated to the FC100 series scopes) or TV 1.25" PowerMate?  I know Tak designs their Extenders to integrate seamlessly into their optical system path
• I also need advice on a premium 1.25" diagonal, as 2" hand grenades are not in the cards (visual only).  I know there's a big debate re: prism vs. mirror and how much of this is influenced by f ratio? Native the FC100DF is f/7.4, but with a Tak 1.6 Ext-Q, it becomes an f/11.8, and with a TV 2.5x PowerMate, the f ratio is f/18.5

I'm in Central NJ where 95% of use will be visual on planets & Moon, and perhaps solar H-alpha down the road. 

 

Many thanks in advance.  All comments and advice are welcomed. 

 

Rob

Edited by RobM, 22 February 2021 - 02:44 PM.

[MJB]

Congratulations - I'm sure you'll enjoy this fine telescope.

 

For tube rings: I've got the Prima Luce 95mm set and these work fine. You can add a second dovetail on top that will act as a handle - or go to the hardware store and get a piece of flat aluminum stock, some 6mm bolts  and a drawer handle of your choice. Costs around  $10 and makes a nice handle. 

 

I've got the Tak 1.25" diagonal and like it. Not too expensive, either.

 

Here's a link to a recent thread you might find of interest. The stated topic is binoviewing - but ignore that and further into the thread there is discussion of Tak Q-Extender vs. Barlow/Powermate.

 

https://www.cloudyni...or-binoviewing/

[DeanD]

Hi Rob,

The scope will easily cope with up to 200x for planets and the moon: even higher on a good seeing night. I don't know what your set of eyepieces contains, but a 4mm or 3mm eyepiece will give you enough high power viewing. Personally I wouldn't go buying any other eyepieces until you have tried the ones you have: I suspect they will give you excellent views anyway. You can always get other eyepieces down the track if you are dissatisfied with what you have.

The Powermate barlows are designed for AP: they work fine for visual, but you don't need them. A standard TV 2x barlow will do a great job for planetary (eg: the Paradigm 8mm + 2x barlow will give you ~190x), and you certainly wont need the Ext-Q unless you want to do dedicated planetary imaging.

A Baader Mk IV zoom would work well, but again if I were you I would be using what I have already and see how you go with changing eyepieces. Note that the Mk IV only has a 50° AFOV at the 24mm FL (68° at 8mm). Your Panoptic will probably give you a better wide-field view.

If you want a really useful high-power eyepiece the Nagler 3-6mm is magic as you can adjust for the optimum power with any given seeing conditions. They aren't cheap, but you get 4 top quality medium to high power eyepieces for the price of one.

I second Mike's comment for the Tak 1.25" diagonal. It does a great job, even though it looks a bit cheap with its plastic casing.

Another option which I have used with my Tak is to get the Baader eyepiece turret. (See: https://www.ebay.com...EBoCuuoQAvD_BwE )

That way you can load up 4 eyepieces at once and just rotate them. There are other, much more expensive turrets out there (Takahashi make one too), but the Baader does the job if finances are limited. Again, it looks a bit cheap because it is made of plastic, but I haven't had any problems with mine. 

There are plenty of finder brackets out there, and they could be attached to your tube rings if the holes don't fit for the scope. See, eg: https://www.astronom...be-holders.html, or   https://agenaastro.c...ccessories.html

 

All the best, and I am sure you will love the new scope.

 

Dean

Edited by DeanD, 22 February 2021 - 11:31 PM.

[Gazpacho]

Baader BBHS diagonal with clicklock ep holder. There is probably a way to permanently attach to the drawtube

[dweller25]

Nice scope

 

I use a Baader Zeiss BBHS T2 prism in my DZ - it is superb.

A big plus is you can use glass path correctors of x1.25, x1.7 and x2.6 which are much lighter than a barlow.

 

Tube rings....

https://www.firstlig...ting-rings.html

 

Finder bracket...

https://www.aliexpre...1971192594.html

 

Definitely get a zoom eyepiece.

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

Edited by dweller25, 23 February 2021 - 05:54 AM.

[GoodAsh]

+1 for the Baader prism. Just excellent. Also, PL rings are light and look great. For high power ep’s, nothing beats the Tak offerings, especially, for me, the 7.5 and 5mm LE. Radians (used) are also excellent. We should have a Tak star party here in NJ this summer!!

Al

[bobhen]

Parallax offers tube rings for Takahashi refractors. They are not the lightest but I believe they are the least expensive. They have holes on the top so you could attach accessories or a makeshift handle. HERE is a link.
 

Agena Astro has bases for Synta/Takahashi interface. Double check to make sure they fit. HERE is a link

 

A single high quality planetary eyepiece will be sharper than most zooms (especially low–mid priced zooms) however zooms have advantages and they seem to be getting better. Here are some nice choices…
The Orion 7 to 21mm Zoom: around $62, a very nice low-priced zoom
The Lunt 7.2 to 21.5 Zoom: around $150, a very nice mid-priced zoom
The Baader Mark IV Zoom: around $290, a very nice mid-priced zoom

 

A nice quality Barlow is all you will need. The Tele Vue 2x Barlow is excellent. There are others but you want a high quality Barlow because you don’t want to degrade those high quality Takahashi Optics.

 

I would stick with a mirror diagonal. Mirrors are apochromatic and you want to preserve the color correction of your Takahashi optics, so no need to worry about FL or CA introduced from a prism. Tele Vue makes a nice enhanced silver 1.25” for around $130. I would avoid the cheaper 1.25” dielectric diagonals.

 

I’m in PA and use the following with my TSA 120: Parallax rings, TV Delites and an Orion 7 To 21 zoom, TV Barlow, TV 2.5 x Powermate, Lumicon 1.25” diagonal (a great 1.25” diagonal if you can find one) an Astro-Physics Maxbright 2” diagonal and a Synta to Takahashi finder base that was once offered by Stellarvue, but I believe has been discontinued but you could call them. All the above work very well. 

 

Congratulations on a superb refractor – enjoy

 

Bob

Edited by bobhen, 23 February 2021 - 10:31 AM.

[EricCCD]

For mounting rings and other Takahashi-related accessories, there is a line called More Blue from Japan, available from Hutech (the US Borg importer):

 

https://astrohutech....s-b3-more-blue/

 

$119 for a pair of 95mm rings. I have no experience with them, and note that the 95mm rings are not clamshell-style.

 

HTH,

Eric

[25585]

FC100DFs use Primaluce 95mm rings. My DL is mounted with them on a Primaluce Losmandy D bar. Each ring attaches to the bar with 2 M6 bolts that are included.

 

I use a Primaluce clamp which has good grip blocks.

[teashea]

It seems that you will really enjoy the DF.  I have a DC and my DF arrives tomorrow.  One nice thing is that these scopes are pretty light.  That will be an advantage for you.  

 

I would suggest the Tak clamshell tube holder, but the handle issue may prevent that.