138 replies to this topic

[Obs30]

Indeed, they most likely take over the same design.

 

The flattener seems to get better around 60 mm distance. lukomatico demonstrates this nicely in his review:
https://youtu.be/PTYl14Oyja0

[Obs30]

BTW, I don't think that the standard scope of delivery contains a carrying case. Bummer.

 

This case from TS might barely work when not using the camera-adapter rings:

https://www.teleskop...m-Oeffnung.html

 

Or this one from Geoptik:

https://www.teleskop...cal-length.html

Edited by Obs30, 29 April 2023 - 07:21 AM.

[sehoon104]

BTW, I don't think that the standard scope of delivery contains a carrying case. Bummer.

 

This case from TS might barely work when not using the camera-adapter rings:

https://www.teleskop...m-Oeffnung.html

 

Or this one from Geoptik:

https://www.teleskop...cal-length.html

Really? Hmm I was expecting a hard case like the Askar one. Where did you hear that it doesn't include a case?

[Obs30]

If you go to the ZWO website for the FF130, it does not say anything about a hard case:

 

Scroll all the way to the bottom, where it says "What's in the box":

https://astronomy-im.../zwo-ff130-apo/

 

I asked my telescope dealer and are waiting for his reply.

[Mesli]

Hi!

I pre ordered the 107mm version and they stated in their website that a case is supplied with the 107 and 130mm.
You can have a look on the Q&A tab of the 107mm page.
By the I way, I'm the one who asked for the quality control before shipping.

[Obs30]

Hi!

I pre ordered the 107mm version and they stated in their website that a case is supplied with the 107 and 130mm.
You can have a look on the Q&A tab of the 107mm page.
By the I way, I'm the one who asked for the quality control before shippin

THANK YOU!  Excellent hint!  Their webpage is a little bit misleading!

 

Here the link to the Q&A:

https://astronomy-im.../zwo-ff107-apo/

[Mesli]

You're welcome

As you said, their website is not clear about that and I hope for the lower diameter buyers they will also be given a case..

[Obs30]

Yet another point that is misleading. It says Vixen-style mounting plate in the "What's in the box" section, while on all the pictures the Losmandy-style dovetail plate is clearly visible.

 

https://i.cmoscool.c...APO详情-EN_15.jpg

 

I am sure everything will be fine. I think, they wanted everything to be ready for NEAF and took some shortcuts ;-). 

Edited by Obs30, 29 April 2023 - 01:18 PM.

[Ar3s701]

If you go to the ZWO website for the FF130, it does not say anything about a hard case:

 

Scroll all the way to the bottom, where it says "What's in the box":

https://astronomy-im.../zwo-ff130-apo/

 

I asked my telescope dealer and are waiting for his reply.

You know. I swear everywhere I was looking before I pre-ordered said that it came with a hard case. Now that I'm looking at Agena again, I'm not seeing hard case mentioned at all.

[Obs30]

You know. I swear everywhere I was looking before I pre-ordered said that it came with a hard case. Now that I'm looking at Agena again, I'm not seeing hard case mentioned at all.

While this is indeed strange and had me confused, in the Q&A of the FF107 it clearly says that a hard case is in the box of both the FF107 and the FF130. See the post above. 

Edited by Obs30, 29 April 2023 - 07:17 PM.

[Agena Astro]

We've confirmed with ZWO that all their scopes will come with a hard case. Our site has been updated as well.

 

Regards,

Manish

AgenaAstro.com

[Obs30]

Thank you! Excellent service!

I saw that you also corrected the dovetail!

Same here, I just received an official email from ZWO USA confirming that the hard case and the Losmandy-style dovetail plate are included.

Edited by Obs30, 01 May 2023 - 03:48 AM.

[Agena Astro]

>>We've confirmed with ZWO that all their scopes will come with a hard case. Our site has been updated as well.

 

ZWO has just informed us that the 65mm and 80mm scopes will NOT include a hard case, contrary to what they told us earlier; only the 107 and 130mm scopes will.

 

And only the 130mm scope has a Losmandy wide "D" plate. The others have the slimmer Vixen rails.

 

Regards,

Manish

AgenaAstro.com

Edited by Agena AstroProducts, 04 May 2023 - 01:29 AM.

[BrentKnight]

I noticed that HightPoint now has the Askar 130PHQ in stock.  It's tempting, but my reasons for going with the ZWO are still valid - I'm still a couple thousand in the hole on selling used stuff...

[coldzero]

I noticed that HightPoint now has the Askar 130PHQ in stock.  It's tempting, but my reasons for going with the ZWO are still valid - I'm still a couple thousand in the hole on selling used stuff...

 

Was debating getting swapping to the Askar to but after adding it all up its close to $700 more expensive after all the NEAF sales, free reducer, etc.  So its ZWO FF130 and twiddling my thumbs till June.

Edited by coldzero, 05 May 2023 - 06:19 AM.

[Obs30]

I noticed that HightPoint now has the Askar 130PHQ in stock.  It's tempting, but my reasons for going with the ZWO are still valid - I'm still a couple thousand in the hole on selling used stuff...

Hi… Indeed very tempting.

 

The same with Teleskop-Service in Germany. They have different 130mm apos (both FPL53 and FPL55-based optics) in stock at actually very competitive prices with and without flattener and reducers. The price difference between their in-house brands and the Askar 130PHQ is not that much. While the ZWO 130FF is offered for a rather high price, strangely.

 

Anyway,… I am sticking with my ZWO pre-order with my local Swiss dealer. It is still a great offer. It seems that Nico Carver from Nebula Photos is building an observatory around his 130PHQ ;-)….  If this isn‘t a great reference!

Edited by Obs30, 06 May 2023 - 06:52 AM.

[Obs30]

>>We've confirmed with ZWO that all their scopes will come with a hard case. Our site has been updated as well.

 

ZWO has just informed us that the 65mm and 80mm scopes will NOT include a hard case, contrary to what they told us earlier; only the 107 and 130mm scopes will.

 

And only the 130mm scope has a Losmandy wide "D" plate. The others have the slimmer Vixen rails.

 

Regards,

Manish

AgenaAstro.com

Thank you for the update and the corrections and accuracy on your website! We buyers appreciate this :-)

 

I noticed another discrepancy. This time concerning the ASI533 camera. They call it a 1“ chip, consistent with Sony and Nikon marketing, while the chip diagonal is actually just 16 mm. All of their drawings wrongly show a 1“ diagonal. I made ZWO USA aware of this and they confirmed the „difference“.

 

The 1“ terminology is due to historic reasons from the CRT ages, where a 1“ CRT tube had an active area of 16mm in diameter and an outer mechanical/mounting width of 1“. 

[PIEJr]

Ohhhh! You guys are terrible!

 

I've been drooling over the Askar 130 PHQ as my upgrade for my imaging.

Now you show me this offering. 

At first I thought RED? But quickly realized my Camera ZWO ASI 1600mm Pro, ZWO Focuser EAF, and ZWO ASI Guide camera ZWO ASI290mm are all ZWO ASI RED anyway, so what the heck?

The red Losmandy style bar might make a good visual break between the clamp and the telescope on my all black mount (Losmandy GM811G HD) anyway.

 

I did pose a couple of questions on Agena Astro's website, maybe one of you chap's might know?

The weight of this telescope? And is the tube construction? CF, Aluminum?

Weight is not so much of a concern to me. I have a 50-pound Photographic Instrument weight window to work within. And confident that is no problem.

But I am quite partial to CF (Carbon Fiber) construction. Due to its properties for holding focus better than metal or fiberglass. (Not so much of a concern now as it was back when I began AP. (Ie: NINA, Autofocus, and Plate-solving.)

My focus is for DSO and Nebula specific objects, as my preferred aim.

So I beseech your higher understandings as I prepare to advance again.

Thank You in Advance.

 

Edit in: Found it. The Askar model weighs 23.14854 pounds (10.5 Kg). I doubt the RED makes it weigh differently.

Oh, my mouse finger is twitching sooo baaad!

Edited by PIEJr, 06 May 2023 - 08:28 PM.

[PIEJr]

Indeed, they most likely take over the same design.

 

The flattener seems to get better around 60 mm distance. lukomatico demonstrates this nicely in his review:
https://youtu.be/PTYl14Oyja0

Obs30,

That was a well spent 35 minutes! Enjoyed the entire video.

Thanks for the link!

[sehoon104]

I was honestly looking at the 151PHQ as well, but just as you mentioned there isn't a huge difference in FL (1057mm vs 1000mm) and f stop (f/7 vs f/7.7). Plus I was worried that the weight of a 151mm scope would we troublesome for my EQ6R. It would put it pretty close to the max capacity of the scope once you add in all the imaging parts.

Although this preorder is a much better deal, I ended up switching to Askar 151PHQ due to some personal reasons (had to get the scope before June, wanted a bit of extra speed since I'm shooting in bortle9 zone). I believe EQ6-R will handle all the weight just fine, although it's not fun balancing heavy load with precision. I have an EQ6-R driving an EdgeHD 11 equipped with 0.7Xreducer(3.25lb) + celestron oag + full imaging setup, and it still manages to guide at around 0.5"~0.7" rms. I'm guessing this is about 38lb+, but just wanted to bring up that it's doable.

[BrentKnight]

Although this preorder is a much better deal, I ended up switching to Askar 151PHQ due to some personal reasons (had to get the scope before June, wanted a bit of extra speed since I'm shooting in bortle9 zone). I believe EQ6-R will handle all the weight just fine, although it's not fun balancing heavy load with precision. I have an EQ6-R driving an EdgeHD 11 equipped with 0.7Xreducer(3.25lb) + celestron oag + full imaging setup, and it still manages to guide at around 0.5"~0.7" rms. I'm guessing this is about 38lb+, but just wanted to bring up that it's doable.

Good to hear.  I'm getting a warmer, fuzzier feeling that the 130 will work well on my GEM45.

[Ar3s701]

I wish there was a way to tell my place in line with my pre-order at Agena.

 

You guys are doing way better at guiding with the EQ6R. Not sure what I can do but my rms can't break 1.2". My pixel scale is 2.3" so it doesn't hurt me, but I bugs me.

[BrentKnight]

Wherever you are in line, I'm right behind you...

[coldzero]

Wherever you are in line, I'm right behind you...

I'm totally expecting mine to be waiting on the doorstep when I return from Cherry Springs in June

[Obs30]

I wish there was a way to tell my place in line with my pre-order at Agena.

 

You guys are doing way better at guiding with the EQ6R. Not sure what I can do but my rms can't break 1.2". My pixel scale is 2.3" so it doesn't hurt me, but I bugs me.

Yeah… would be nice to know the GLOBAL line ;-)

 

I used to guide my RC10 on my M-Uno with an 80/400 guide scope and the ASI120MM. Never been below 1“ rms, typically above.

 

So I switched to an ASKAR OAG + ASI120mm and now I am usually below 1“ rms, typically around 0.7“ to 0.8“ rms. I think this is more due to (wind-induced?) vibrations rather than the guiding capabilities of PHD2.

Edited by Obs30, 08 May 2023 - 02:37 PM.