14 replies to this topic

[Scott in NC]

A friend of mine took advantage of Takahashi's amazing 25% off sale and received a brand new TOA-130NFB yesterday. So when he called me today and asked if I wanted to test it out, who was I to say no?  After getting off work I drove home to get my mobile DPAC testing kit, and an hour later I was at his house. I've tested two prior TOA-130s before, both of which were the NS version. The NS and NFB versions are optically identical, only differing by their focusers, the former having a 2.7" single-speed or dual-speed R&P focuser (depending upon whether or not Tak's MEF dual-speed assembly has been added), and the latter having a dual-speed 4" R&P focuser. The triplet apochromatic optics consist of a mating element sandwiched between two FPL-53 ED elements, with wide air gaps between all three.

 

Here's the scope set up on my friend's optical testing bench (his dining room table).

 

[Scott in NC]

And here are the Ronchigrams, which looked quite similar to the two prior TOA-130s that I've tested. It appears that the optics are pretty consistent from scope to scope (at least based upon my n=3).

 

[Scott in NC]

Spherical correction is about as good as it gets, and is essentially nonexistent except for maybe a trace of under correction in blue. Blue is actually so near-perfect that if that degree of under correction were seen in green this would still be a very nice set of optics. Perhaps there's a touch of an edge zone, but quite minimal to my eyes. Chromatic aberration is nearly non-existent. Polish is very smooth.

 

The bottom line is that this scope is one that I'd be quite happy to own. Fortunately for me, I already have my own, so I'm not jealous of my friend one bit! And I thank him for allowing me to test his TOA-130 and present the results here.

[Scott in NC]

I tested two other fine refractors for him today, but y'all will just have to wait until tomorrow to hear about those! 

[Lagrange]

The performance is superlative, but perhaps even more notable is the consistently good quality. I believe the TOA design has very fine manufacturing tolerances, hence the need for such a substantial lens cell, and it's a testament to how well they've been made that they're this good and the sample variation is so small.

[scoale]

First, I want to thank Scott for testing not only this scope but, I think, a total of six refractors for me.  It's great to have friends with skills!

 

I did NOT need another 5" refractor, but the deep TAK discount proved more than I could resist.

 

I very much value these tests because they allow me to correlate the DPAC results with my star testing and what I am seeing under the stars.

 

In terms of this TOA-130nfb, the slight zones you see in the DPAC null images confirm what I have observed during star testing.

 

The spherical performance is actually a bit better than what I observed star testing - which I would expect given the atmospheric and thermal issues we all deal with under the night sky.  That said, tonight's star test affirmed that the spherical correction is, indeed, very good.  It does take the scope some time to settle, and you can see the correction improving over time.

 

Ring collapse to and through focus is concentric, and the airy disk video I took (4.5x stacked barlows) did not show any coma.

 

I did not spot astigmatism as I racked back and forth just slightly on either side of focus, and I did not see any transient astigmatism when in focus.

 

Outside focus contrast was good even without the scope fully settled.

 

I was unable to detect false color in, or out, of focus - which was impressive.

 

I'll risk sharing a star test image.  Please appreciate that conditions were poor this evening (note strobing, etc., in the images) and the scope was still settling thermally.  The zones are apparent at greater defocus.

 

The build quality is impressive.  The scope is built like a tank, and weighs about as much as one, too.  My TOA weighs 32.6 lbs including lid, TAK rings, ADM dovetail, TAK finder, and Baader BBHS diagonal (in other words, how it is equipped when I lift it onto my mount).

 

The 4" dual-speed focuser is robust, but I don't yet have a firm opinion of how it compares to the feather touch focuser on some of my other scopes.

 

The scope has seen first light: a three-hour, side-by-side, Jupiter comparison with my new-to-me Agema SD 130.  But that's probably a thread of its own.  After capturing tonight's star test images, I did take a quick peek at three triples with good color contrast (STF 2816, Iota Cass, and The Patriotic Triple) - and my initial impression was encouraging.  I look forward to some side-by-sides with my other scopes to tease out differences.

 

Edited by scoale, 08 November 2024 - 10:21 PM.

[HYQID]

Near perfect!

[turtle86]

A friend of mine took advantage of Takahashi's amazing 25% off sale and received a brand new TOA-130NFB yesterday. So when he called me today and asked if I wanted to test it out, who was I to say no?  After getting off work I drove home to get my mobile DPAC testing kit, and an hour later I was at his house. I've tested two prior TOA-130s before, both of which were the NS version. The NS and NFB versions are optically identical, only differing by their focusers, the former having a 2.7" single-speed or dual-speed R&P focuser (depending upon whether or not Tak's MEF dual-speed assembly has been added), and the latter having a dual-speed 4" R&P focuser. The triplet apochromatic optics consist of a mating element sandwiched between two FPL-53 ED elements, with wide air gaps between all three.

 

Here's the scope set up on my friend's optical testing bench (his dining room table).

 

IMG_6992.jpeg

 

I sure don't need another 130mm apo myself, but that 25% off deal is very hard to resist.  I think that for someone contemplating a 130mm apo of this quality, there may never be a better time than now to pull the trigger.

 

And those Ronchigrams look really really good!  

[turtle86]

First, I want to thank Scott for testing not only this scope but, I think, a total of six refractors for me.  It's great to have friends with skills!

 

I did NOT need another 5" refractor, but the deep TAK discount proved more than I could resist.

 

I very much value these tests because they allow me to correlate the DPAC results with my star testing and what I am seeing under the stars.

 

In terms of this TOA-130nfb, the slight zones you see in the DPAC null images confirm what I have observed during star testing.

 

The spherical performance is actually a bit better than what I observed star testing - which I would expect given the atmospheric and thermal issues we all deal with under the night sky.  That said, tonight's star test affirmed that the spherical correction is, indeed, very good.  It does take the scope some time to settle, and you can see the correction improving over time.

 

Ring collapse to and through focus is concentric, and the airy disk video I took (4.5x stacked barlows) did not show any coma.

 

I did not spot astigmatism as I racked back and forth just slightly on either side of focus, and I did not see any transient astigmatism when in focus.

 

Outside focus contrast was good even without the scope fully settled.

 

I was unable to detect false color in, or out, of focus - which was impressive.

 

I'll risk sharing a star test image.  Please appreciate that conditions were poor this evening (note strobing, etc., in the images) and the scope was still settling thermally.  The zones are apparent at greater defocus.

 

The build quality is impressive.  The scope is built like a tank, and weighs about as much as one, too.  My TOA weighs 32.6 lbs including lid, TAK rings, ADM dovetail, TAK finder, and Baader BBHS diagonal (in other words, how it is equipped when I lift it onto my mount).

 

The 4" dual-speed focuser is robust, but I don't yet have a firm opinion of how it compares to the feather touch focuser on some of my other scopes.

 

The scope has seen first light: a three-hour, side-by-side, Jupiter comparison with my new-to-me Agema SD 130.  But that's probably a thread of its own.  After capturing tonight's star test images, I did take a quick peek at three triples with good color contrast (STF 2816, Iota Cass, and The Patriotic Triple) - and my initial impression was encouraging.  I look forward to some side-by-sides with my other scopes to tease out differences.

 

 

 Congratulations!  You got a great deal on a great scope.  Would love to see a thread comparing this scope to the Agema.

[fate187]

Nothing to see here folks, move on . Truly an excellent example in terms of color correction AND super smooth wavefront.  

[Scott in NC]

 Congratulations!  You got a great deal on a great scope.  Would love to see a thread comparing this scope to the Agema.

That test will be presented soon. Stay tuned…

[Northern Jeff]

Agema and Stellarvue SVX 127 by any chance? Scoale has both.

 

Just asking…

 

Thanks for the testing you do Scott.

Regards.

Jeff

[SandyHouTex]

And here are the Ronchigrams, which looked quite similar to the two prior TOA-130s that I've tested. It appears that the optics are pretty consistent from scope to scope (at least based upon my n=3).

 

TOA-130NFB.png

You can't get much better than that.

[Jeff B]

That test will be presented soon. Stay tuned…

4:50 AM!?

 

[Scott in NC]

I’m dedicated—what can I say?