16 replies to this topic

[ratnamaravind]

I finally had an opportunity to put my Stellarvue SVX127D through its paces last night and now understand its true potential. With young kids, it has been a bit hard to get out as much.

 

I have always been impressed by this scope's build quality and being a doublet, cooldown is complete by the time I attach accessories and check balance and alignment. Let me focus here on its optics as defined by what I saw with my eyes on a night of great seeing where I live in coastal San Diego. 

 

There is no false color on Rigel, Sirius and Venus at 400x, either in focus or on either side of it. In this area, it just spanks my Tak FC-100DF which is well corrected in red, but shows just a bit of color at higher magnifications on the violet side of the spectrum. The f/8 ratio helps, but I have looked through an FS-128 which is also an f/8, and I have seen just a bit of color out of focus past 250x, but with no problems in focus. 

 

I don't own a triplet since I have zero interest in conventional imaging, and I guess I have never seen a doublet snap in Sirius so tightly with the airy disk so etched. Sirius B was visible with direct vision even with the moon coming up on the horizon. It was also the first time that I ever saw the F component of Theta Orionis with one of my own refractors. Double stars have always been just great- I had a chance to look at almach, beta mon and theta aurigae,...all are easy even with my Borg 90FL, but there is such a confidence with which this scope delivers.

 

Mars and Jupiter were just amazing (I wondered how the correction is in the red at high magnification- all my fears have been laid to rest) with my binoviewers. I won't even try to describe it. Planetary detail is on another level relative to 4" in good seeing. Yes, it is a bit more work to get it setup than a 4" on a grab and go alt az mount. I really like my FC100-DF on the Teegul Lapides, but Astro isn’t about just the quick looks after a point.

 

Once your eyes relax into the view, the possibilities really open up. I saw festoons on Jupiter that I had never seen before. Mars is now a seriously attractive object as it nears local opposition…I could just about make out Huygens and Schiaparelli craters at 350x.

 

I remember posting a thread in this forum many years ago in regards to looking for an uncompromising 5" doublet. My prayers have been answered. Kudos to Vic Maris and team. It was worth spending some extra money on a scope that been through competent human QA.

 

This could be the only scope I own one day. Attached is a picture of my setup.

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Edited by ratnamaravind, 21 December 2024 - 02:11 PM.

[LunarObserver]

Great report!  I really enjoy my SVX127D.  It gives outstanding views of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and double stars.  You have me quite interested in trying it on Sirius.  What magnification does it take to get the Pup?

David

[ratnamaravind]

300x for the pup.

[Bikeboy60]

It is a phenomenal scope! :-) Enjoy.

[kgb]

Looks great on that mount too.

[elstargazer12]

Hi ratnamaravind,

 

Nice to talk again! I was wondering how stable you found the 127 on the EM-1S mount. I've put my 5" APO on a GP-DX for many years and have found it "OK" and worth doing given the GP-DX is light for its capability. But I often wish for something a bit stronger at high power. Do you find high power vibrations acceptable with the EM-1S?

 

Roger

[ratnamaravind]

Roger,

 

I bought this mount from Koji Matsumoto who told me that he found it stable on an FS-128, which has similar specs. FWIW the FS-128 used to be packaged with the EM-2 mount which was the EM-1's successor. These early 80s mounts had strong motors, understated their load capability (this one is technically 8 kg, and my setup is 10 or so) and were built to last. The overall setup is quite usable at high magnifications. Settling time is perhaps 2 seconds at 400x.

 

 I would definitely need a larger setup for a TEC140 class scope. For now this is goldilocks.

Edited by ratnamaravind, 21 December 2024 - 04:52 PM.

[Patrick]

Rat,

 

Thanks for the great review!  Makes me want one even more!

 

Patrick

[ratnamaravind]

Rat,

 

Thanks for the great review!  Makes me want one even more!

 

Patrick

Thanks, that seems be the point of these equipment forums!

[rob.0919]

Looks great.

 

What is your focuser on there....?

Are you using an extension on it ?

[ratnamaravind]

Feather touch. The scope comes with a 4” extension which is removed for binoviewing.

[kmparsons]

I have the little brother, the SVX102D. I do own triplets, and I find that for visual it gives up nothing to them. I have yet to see any discernable CA on any object. It is terrific for planets, Luna, or deep sky. 

[Astro-Master]

I've been thinking about the Stellarvue 127D for a while, I have a CGEM II mount setup in my back yard that I know would work well, but for a lighter travel mount I wonder how well the SkyWatcher Alt Az-EQ 5 Mount would work?

 

I'd love to hear how well that SkyWatcher Mount works on a 5" F/8 Refractor. 

[Anthony236J]

Hi ratnamaravind, I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your post. Coincidentally, I saw your post a few hours after placing an order for my SVX127D. It arrived last week and someone must have made a mistake somewhere because the skies were clear that same night. Unfortunately, the conditions were not good enough for any real test of the optics. But I was able to get some experience with the setup and make a few night sky observations. 

 

The two limiting factors for testing were very poor seeing and lack of sufficient cooldown time. I only had about 45 minutes to observe, which included 15 minutes of cooldown in an unheated garage. But with a temperature delta of ~40 degrees Celsius and an outdoor temperature of -22 C, much more time would be needed. This was expected since I have also experienced long cooldown times with the 102mm f/7, but I still wanted to try a little observation with the new telescope. Despite these conditions, the 5" aperture provided me with the most detailed view of the Orion Nebula so far. Jupiter and Mars were not as forgiving but I immediately noticed an increase in contrast and saturation on Jupiter, and the polar cap on Mars was detected much more consistently in poor seeing compared to the 4" refractor. 

 

The equipment configuration included the CT-30 mount on a T-POD 130 tripod. I am hopeful about this combination but it did not work well on this night. I attribute the excessive vibrations to the snow layer, which has had a similar impact with my other setups. I have read that the swiveling feet can also cause issues and they will be replaced by steel tips. However, the mount panning seemed to work very well. I hope to have more time for a proper test soon but am encouraged by your review and these initial observations in the meantime. 

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[ris242]

Hi ratnamaravind, I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your post. Coincidentally, I saw your post a few hours after placing an order for my SVX127D. It arrived last week and someone must have made a mistake somewhere because the skies were clear that same night. Unfortunately, the conditions were not good enough for any real test of the optics. But I was able to get some experience with the setup and make a few night sky observations. 

 

The two limiting factors for testing were very poor seeing and lack of sufficient cooldown time. I only had about 45 minutes to observe, which included 15 minutes of cooldown in an unheated garage. But with a temperature delta of ~40 degrees Celsius and an outdoor temperature of -22 C, much more time would be needed. This was expected since I have also experienced long cooldown times with the 102mm f/7, but I still wanted to try a little observation with the new telescope. Despite these conditions, the 5" aperture provided me with the most detailed view of the Orion Nebula so far. Jupiter and Mars were not as forgiving but I immediately noticed an increase in contrast and saturation on Jupiter, and the polar cap on Mars was detected much more consistently in poor seeing compared to the 4" refractor. 

 

 

 

wow........my prized scopes don't leave the garage below +5C   

 

in the winter months........living in a valley the fog forming, would put a stop to observing anyway.
 

[ris242]

my OCD kicked in. 

 

if you own the scope you know.

 

 

 

[astronomer10]

Any tests done to see if the baffles vignet?  For example, on the older Taks FC 100 the baffles vignetted from 100mm aperture down to 92mm!!! ( Maybe the focuser baffles?) 

 

Try to do the test in daytime for the SVX127, let me know if it clears full aperture....

Edited by astronomer10, 14 April 2025 - 12:00 AM.